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Google has sent invitations to its next product show, called “Google Launch Night In”, where the Californian company has promised to reveal a “new Chromecast, our latest smart speaker and our new Pixel phones.” Sounds like a pretty busy night. Unfortunately for Google, some of the biggest surprises from the event, which will be streamed online, have appeared online before the curtain call.
Google can’t be too upset about the design of its next-gen smart speaker coming online ahead of the event because Google itself posted a picture of the device months before “Launch Night In.” The search company responded to a series of leaks on social media with images of the speaker codenamed “Prince” in July.
According to the latest rumors, “Prince” will be branded as “Google Nest Audio” when it launches later this year. It looks like it will replace Google Home in the current line of Google-branded hardware and complete the transition from the “Google Home” brand in favor of “Google Nest,” which was previously reserved for security cameras, smart thermostats and others connected home products.
Instead of sitting flat on a surface, like the previous Google Home smart speaker and the existing Google Nest Mini, the Nest Audio will apparently sit upright. It’s hard to judge the dimensions from the few images we’ve seen, but the Nest Audio certainly appears to be bulkier than its predecessor. Hopefully that extra size will also result in better audio quality.
While the Google Home design was part fabric and part hard plastic, this new model is almost completely covered in mesh. Two finishes have been seen: a dark charcoal-like color and a lighter off-white finish.
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Despite widespread rumors that Google’s next-gen smart speaker would have a built-in battery to allow listeners to pick it up and take it outside, every image we’ve seen so far shows a thick power cord plugged into the part. rear of Nest Audio.
In addition to Nest Audio, Google has promised details about the Pixel 5, which is rumored to remove the gesture-sensing system found on its predecessor and comes equipped with 5G support, and a 5G-enabled version of the stellar Pixel 4a from before. . this summer. And finally, Google has promised an update to its hit Chromecast series.
According to recent reports, Google seems willing to take a sheet from the Roku Streaming Stick and Amazon Fire TV Stick playbook and cast its next-gen Chromecast with a remote. Yes, after years of forcing Chromecast owners to search the house for their smartphone every time they want to select a new episode of a show or pause a movie, Google finally includes a dedicated remote.
Leaked images purporting to show the final design, courtesy of WinFuture, reveal a circular directional keyboard, a Netflix-branded button, and a shortcut to the Google Assistant to presumably use the AI assistant to find movies by a certain director , Recommended shows check the latest weather and headlines, and all the other helpful tricks we expect from the virtual assistant.
As before, the Chromecast itself appears to have a hockey puck-like design that connects directly to your TV’s HDMI port. Power for the device apparently comes from a USB cable, just like the current model.
Unlike previous Chromecasts, Google seems ready to use its Android TV operating system, which is already available on a wide range of TVs from several popular manufacturers, to bring a menu, streaming services, and games to the new HDMI dongle. This will allow Chromecast to compete directly with set-top boxes like Roku, Amazon, and Android TV, like the Nvidia Shield series.
As always, these are just rumors and unconfirmed leaks for now, so take it all with a pinch of salt. Express.co.uk You will be watching Google’s Launch Night In from the comfort of our office (at home) and it will bring you all the latest announcements on October 30, 2020 starting at 6pm BST (2pm ET / 7pm CEST)
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