Google released a couple of new 5G Android smartphones: the Pixel 5, its flagship model, and the Pixel 4a 5G, an entry-level device with faster cellular network speeds.
While the Pixel 5’s display is in line with the latest high-end phones from Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., changes in its features and a lower price put the phone in more direct competition with lower-end phones. of those companies.
Google began offering its own smartphones to much fanfare in 2016, after years of collaborating with mobile phone manufacturers on a bespoke Nexus line aimed at demonstrating the best of its Android operating system. Progress has been slow. While IDC data shows that Pixel shipments increased 52% to 7.2 million units last year, Apple, Samsung and Huawei Technologies Co. each sell more than 100 million phones a year.
The Pixel 5 moves to a front screen that is almost the entire screen. Both new phones feature slower processors, fewer camera sensors, and cost less than their rivals’ mainstream phones. The Alphabet Inc. unit also removed the facial recognition camera and motion sensor from last year’s Pixel 4, rather than adding a notch the size of a hole for the camera and reverting to a fingerprint sensor on the back. later. The Pixel 5 starts at $ 699, $ 100 less than last year and the same price as the entry-level iPhone 11.
The latest top deals from Apple and Samsung cost more than $ 1,000. Rick Osterloh, Google’s hardware chief, said the company removed expensive components because it didn’t want to sell a $ 1,000 phone that would push many consumers off the market in an economic downturn.
The flagship phone unveiled Wednesday for the new fifth-generation, or 5G, wireless networks now comes in a single 6-inch model, replacing last year’s 5.7-inch and 6.3-inch Pixel 4 offerings. It comes in black and green. The phone also adds the ability to charge headphones on the back of the phone and a new low power mode to extend battery life.
Pixel devices have won over some customers with capable cameras and photo-related software. But Apple and other manufacturers have caught up and one of Google’s top camera tech experts, Marc Levoy, left earlier this year.
The Pixel 5 adds an ultra-wide camera, replacing the telephoto camera lens from last year’s model. The latter setting helps users photograph more of the surroundings, while the telephoto lens had more zoom. Google is making up for the lack of optical zoom with software. Apple and Samsung offer three separate cameras on the back of their more expensive top-tier phones.
The front camera of the Pixel 5 is 8 megapixels, the same as the Pixel 4, but the new phone has more memory and a bigger battery. The phone also adds a feature to use portrait mode in the dark and new modes to improve video stabilization.
The Pixel 4a 5G is similar to the Pixel 4a announced in August, but adds a 6.2-inch screen, improved cameras, and a faster processor. That phone costs $ 499, considerably more than the smaller non-5G variant. Both phones are scheduled to launch on October 15, Google said.
Apple plans to launch four new iPhones in October, adding faster chips, improved cameras, its larger and smaller screen options, and an updated design, Bloomberg News reported.
Google introduced other hardware products on Wednesday, including a new Nest Audio speaker and an updated Chromecast TV streaming device.
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