Google unveils Pixel smartphone
Google has launched its first own-brand smartphone at an event in the East End of London attended by hundreds of people. The main launch event was held in California but was live-streamed through to the attendees in London.
The handset is known as the Pixel and the company claims that the phone’s camera is the ‘best in its class’.
There are two sizes of the handset available – a five-inch handset and a five and a half inch version. The work that Google has carried out into Artificial Intelligence has influenced the design of the new smartphone.
Features include a voice-activated Google Assistant that is similar to the Siri app on Apple’s handsets. The camera is a 12MP unit and Google claims the Exomark rating of 89 is the highest for a smartphone. The camera has features that are designed to balance out the light and reduce blurring and it is claimed there is no time delay when taking a photo. The camera is also capable of capturing 4K video.
The Google Pixel’s battery provides up to seven hours of battery life on just a 15-minute charge and a fast charger unit comes in the box. The phone runs on Nougat, the latest operating system from Google. There is a 3.5 mm headphone jack on the unit.
The only operator in the UK to be promoting the new handset is EE and customers can purchase the phone in silver, blue or black. It is now available to pre-order and prices start at £599 for a handset that has 32GB storage. Handsets are available with up to 128GB storage. The smartphone goes on general sale on October 20th.