Google Unveils Pixel 2 Smartphone, Pixelbook, and Two New Google Home Speakers

[mmm1345]

I have to argue on the premium speaker. Google Home has been around now over a year - it's only natural they would offer an updated/upgraded version.

What's sad to me is that Apple didn't go the reverse route and offer a "puck" in addition to their $350 device. The barrier of entry is a bit steep.

Not to mention they haven't done much of anything to improve Siri.

 

[lordofthereef]

they're bummed out, but they're not hating on Google for it. they hated on Apple for it.

as for the airpods price:
https://twitter.com/MKBHD/status/773594097323872259

Eh. They’re hating. I just saw someone call it user hostile lol. Believe me it depends on where you look. I’ve also seen a few tech writers take a dig at google for their “AirPods clone” despite the fact the damn thing is almost identical to the google glass earpiece that almost nobody knew about.

FWIW I hate the look of AirPods but I hate that googles answer to Bluetooth buds has them permanently tethered together. Can’t have it all I guess.
[doublepost=1507157055][/doublepost]

if you don't pull the phone out of your pocket how will the person you're trying to communicate with hear the interpretation?

I’m referring to having something audible translated to you. Such as when someone is speaking to you, some sort of audible command is being made, etc.

I don’t think technology is good enough to have an auto translated conversation. And I certainly don’t think that’s the goal with this product.

Edit: it actually seems that is the goal where both parties have the headset. That’s pretty darn cool IMO.

 

[pat500000]

Being aware of a potential threat, is better than being ignorant to it.

I am aware of dangers of water, but I still enjoy swimming.


No, kind of like the iPod Touch, with AMOLED and a edge to edge screen and LTE capabilities. in other words, a small + thin phone.

Hey, 840.
I know you mentioned that you got 2 androids. Are you heavily embedded in Apple's eco-system? I mean, do you have imacs/mac pro as your computer and such...?

 

[mlody]

Where is the best place to rewatch the keynote?

 

[lordofthereef]

Where is the best place to rewatch the keynote?

The verge has a nice truncated 18 minute version that cuts out most of the fat. Full version I have no idea lol. I haven’t had the time to sit and watch something that long back to back since my son was born hahaha.

 

[Septembersrain]

I feel the opposite. I haven’t been enthused over last year’s Pixels and didn’t expect to like this year’s. I’ve just been waiting for the Mate 10.

However I like the new XL, I think it’s a strong contender to be my next phone. If Huawei messes up and puts LCD instead of OLED on the 10 Pro, I’ll probably get the Pixel.

I do like the way the Mate 9 looked. It was very beautiful to me for some reason. I just wish Huawei would come to the carriers. Buying outright is beyond my reach. As it stands I'm between the Note 8 and V30 right now. The headphone jack is a necessity in an Android as it will be taking the place of my Note 3 for media.

 

[840quadra]

Hey, 840.
I know you mentioned that you got 2 androids. Are you heavily embedded in Apple's eco-system? I mean, do you have imacs/mac pro as your computer and such...?

It is a bit off topic, but, yes, I have collector Mac models up to a ‘15 MacBook Pro. I support both systems in a career capacity, and enjoy both ecosystems.

More on topic, I really like the Pixel line, and am really looking forward to having one with the feature upgrades announced today. Just not sure how often I will want to squeeze my phone .

 

[lordofthereef]

"Unlimited cloud storage". Very sexy words, indeed.

What’s the typical timeline for something like that? Surely it’s not for life?

 

[pat500000]

It is a bit off topic, but, yes, I have collector Mac models up to a ‘15 MacBook Pro. I support both systems in a career capacity, and enjoy both ecosystems.

More on topic, I really like the Pixel line, and am really looking forward to having one with the feature upgrades announced today. Just not sure how often I will want to squeeze my phone .

To tie the subject with off-topic: Oh okay. The reason that I was asking is that I was curious how androids stuff like Pixel 2/xl could be synced with Mac computers. Ex: pushbullet to replace imessages (sorry, kind of off topic).

 

[NinjaHERO]

The Pixelbook looks nice. Seems like a decent machine. Not enough to get me to give up on Apple, but still a cool competitor. I hope it pushes Apple to up their game. I wasn't impressed with the touchbar pro. Hoping the next gen is something better.

 

[Rum_Becker]

The question though is whether Samsung thinks they need Google's leadership...

Does not really matter what Samsung thinks, that ship has sailed, unless Samsung thinks they can do what Microsoft, Blackberry, and Nokia Tried and failed to do.

Fragmentation is kind of the point of Android from the user and OEM perspective. That's the "free and open" alternative to the iOS "walled garden". The complaints about iOS usually center on Apple having too much control and the benefits of Android are usually that it can be modified much more easily.

Which it will remain, partners can do what they want, they are not being forced to do anything.

And that's where the tension is. OEMs want that data for themselves and they want that revenue for themselves. AI assistants are a critical area of innovation these days, and being forced to make Google the face of your brand is going to be frustrating. But as they break ranks, Google's whole Android business model is threatened.

How so? they have 3 real options, stop making phones, make their own OS, or license iOS.

A house divided. It'll be interesting to see if it stands...

Not much they are able to do besides filing a lawsuit against Google which would be more or less pointless.

 

[flat five]

Otoh, I've always looked forward to a real mid-blue color, more of the sparkling, metallicky variety.

here's a metallicky blue iPhone rendering i did a couple of years ago

 

[samcraig]

It’s a keynote. It’s meant to make the products look great. If you get past the hyperbole, it’s Google basically saying, we want to be Apple. It’s natural for people to deride copycats. It’s also natural for people to root for the underdog.

If the media thinks iPhone 8 is an unremarkable upgrade, it’d be interesting to see what they say about the Pixel2 which is as uninspiring on the outside as it is on the inside, coupled with Oreo, quite possibly the most boring Android update to date. Yet, I’m betting the media will give it glowing reviews simply because it’s from Google, an underdog and media favorite, because they depend on them for traffic and they’re both in the business of data mining and selling ads.

So much wrong with your post lol

 

[FelixDerKater]

Last year’s blue would be more enjoyable.

 

[Rum_Becker]

It’s funny and eerie how Google and Amazon did copy HomePod’s fabric skin style in their speakers

Are you talking about the fabric skin that the original Google home has? The one that was released before home pod was even announced? When I come to think of it, all my speakers have fabric skin, and they are over 30 years old.

 

[Analog Kid]

So much wrong with your post lol

And that's two from you that imply but don't present any new information. What's wrong with the post? What are the devices capable of?

 

[samcraig]

And that's two from you that imply but don't present any new information. What's wrong with the post? What are the devices capable of?

To imply that publications would give favorable reviews to Google because of ad revenue or data is an absurd premise. It's far more plausible that Google might get more favorable reviews because they are simply not held to the same standard as Apple. Apple tends to be the gold standard despite sometimes not actually being one. That's their blessing and curse.

 

[840quadra]

To tie the subject with off-topic: Oh okay. The reason that I was asking is that I was curious how androids stuff like Pixel 2/xl could be synced with Mac computers. Ex: pushbullet to replace imessages (sorry, kind of off topic).

I haven’t connected to my Mac with either phone more than a handful of times as both have really good cloud services, and don’t require a computer to operate.

Since I always have access to an iOS device, I don’t need to replace iMessage since my watch or other device lets me receive and send messages. I do need to explore the Mac connections more though, as I tend to only connect my Android devices to my Gaming PC when I need to copy files or other items back and forth.

In both cases, my cameras see more direct (or wireless) connections to my devices.

 

[macs4nw]

here's a metallicky blue iPhone rendering i did a couple of years ago
View attachment 723509

Very sharp, but the white antenna lines and buttons are too prominent for my taste..... could be a slightly different shade of blue perhaps, like the Apple logo in your renderings, and then maybe black front bezels?

 

[xitongzou]

No, kind of like the iPod Touch, with AMOLED and a edge to edge screen and LTE capabilities. in other words, a small + thin phone.

Like this? iPhone SE OLED edition

 

[falainber]

Both are dumb without their cloud back end. Part of the IQ of Google Assistant comes from how much data it captures from it’s users. Despite being a fan of Google, the TOS, and other disclosures of what data they gather is starting to become alarming. I am nowhere near adorning my wardrobe with tinfoil (I just ordered a Pixel 2), but I am a touch concerned with what info I offer up to google.

Honestly, what Apple can do with Siri given it’s data privacy policy, is quite impressive.

Well, actually Apple TOS is almost identical to that of Google so their policies are not that different. Apple does like to use some vague terms (like differential privacy) to pretend to be different but they are not.

 

[Rum_Becker]

Like this? iPhone SE OLED edition

The SE X is one sexy phone!! I would buy that.

 

[flat five]

Very sharp, but the white antenna lines and buttons are too prominent for my taste.....

heh, yeah.. i've posted that here before and somewhere else.. nobody liked the white accents..
i still like them though

could be a slightly different shade of blue perhaps, like the Apple logo in your renderings, and then maybe black front bezels?

that sounds sweet.

-----
i'm not really in the mood to mess around with rendering this model anymore but if someone wants the .3dm (Rhino), i'll send it over.



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[EDIT]

could be a slightly different shade of blue perhaps,

one more that has a different blue...
4 guys at the shop were on their phones one day all at once.. which led to this invention

it's a time clock for employers to use at their place of business..
employees put their phone in when they get to work which clocks them in.. if they pull it out and start texting/instagramming/etc, they're off the clock and you won't be paying them for their social networking skillz.

subsequent features are that it charges the phones as well as joins the network and clusters for processing if needed.. for a little security, the touchID on the side ejects only the individual's phone.
​

 

[Somesayimhandsome]

macOS has a range of super-powerful desktop software such as Adobe Creative Suite. Chrome has none of it.

Trying to sell a $1600 Chromebook with 16GB RAM and an i7 processor is laughable. There is literally not a single piece of software that will even begin to come close to taking advantage of all that computer.

windows will. so its pretty good to have the best of both worlds. I like Macs but I also like the pixel book. I do not have a closed mind

 

[44267547]

No dual camera!.

You're Complaining about the lack of a dual camera? The Pixel camera has a high rating as it is. It's the quality of the photograph results that matters in the end. Not what it does or doesn't have, nor does it need to be compareD to every other competitor.