Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 10-10-2018

Google has launched its new Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL smartphones, with upgrades including edge-to-edge screens that offer more display space without increasing the size of the handset.

The new phones feature improved camera systems and is powered by Snapdragon 845 processors, with the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL sporting 4GB of RAM and up to 128GB of internal storage and will ship with Android 9.0 installed.

The 5.5 inch Pixel 3 will sell from $799 and the 6.3 inch Pixel 3 XL from $899.

Google also launched a new version of its connected speaker, with a touchscreen display designed to be a hub for smart home devices, but left out a camera for privacy reasons.

AFP reports the Google Home Hub, competing against Amazon’s Echo Show as a smart speaker powered by artificial intelligence, was unveiled at a New York media event where the tech giant also announced a new tablet computer dubbed Pixel Slate.

The new speaker, to be sold for $149, is powered by Google’s smart digital assistant and is designed “to get the state of the entire home” by connecting to other smart devices.

Google vice president of product management Diya Jolly says the Home Hub, with a seven-inch screen, will allow users to access a “dashboard” that can be used to control any of several thousand internet-connected devices or appliances.

“You can turn down the temperature in the bedroom and turn up the music in your living room” using the screen.

According to Google senior vice president Rick Osterloh, the new Pixel Slate offers “the power and productivity of a desktop to a gorgeous tablet.”

Osterloh says the new devices were designed to take advantage of Google’s development of artificial intelligence.

“The big breakthroughs come at the intersection of AI, software and hardware, working together. This approach is what makes the Google hardware experience so unique, and it unlocks all kinds of helpful benefits.”

According to surveys While Google has been ramping up its hardware efforts, its smartphones have captured less than three percent of the global market.

However, Google appears to be catching up with Amazon in the race for connected speakers with one One survey showing the Google Mini to be the top-selling speaker in the second quarter of 2018.

Twitter: @FaizelPatel143