Mark Pickavance looks at the latest announcements from Google, and how some mistakes the company previously made are being addressed now
It is the season for announcements. Like autumnal leaves falling, we’ve had Apple’s latest hardware, we’ll soon see Microsoft’s, and coming in the middle it’s Google’s turn to shed some foliage.
However, for whatever reason, Google isn’t as good at keeping secrets as its nemesis Apple, so almost all the new products in its September 29th presentation in San Francisco had been previously leaked.
Yet there are enough details that weren’t complete and prices we didn’t have to make this announcement still a truly interesting one. There first port of call was the Nexus phones, an area where many considered Google lost its way with the Nexus 6.
Nexus 5X And 6P
Having owned a number of the Nexus 4 phones, I’m very keen on the pure Google experience that these devices offer. The Nexus 4 and 5 were top spec devices that were highly affordable. And then along came the Nexus 6, which seemed to want to compete directly in price with the very high-end Android devices made by HTC and Samsung.
In many respects, the 5X and 6P are a return to the previous philosophy of providing high-end hardware with a pure iteration of Android at an affordable price.
The Nexus 5X starts at just £339 for the 16GB model, and another £40 buys you the more ample 32GB capacity, and it comes in Carbon, Quartz and Ice colour schemes.
The colours are nice, but what’s really likely to turn heads is the hardware specification, because the 5X is built for speed. Like LG’s new G4, this phone uses the Snapdragon 808 processor, a 1.8GHz hexa-core CPU and Adreno 418 GPU. LG makes this phone as well, unsurprisingly.
It also gave it 2GB of RAM, fast charges using a USB-C port and a dedicated chip to process sensor information. The USB-C port banishes all those failed attempts to plug the cable in upside down, as it’s reversible, but Google also claims that just ten minutes connected can get you four hours of use time.
That aspect is designed to undermine the Apple iPhone, and there are also some others in the 5X design that address Apple features directly.
The first of these is a fingerprint reader, but not placed on the front but on the middle of the back. The positioning allows the phone to be held more naturally for electronic payments and unlocking the phone for use, apparently.
The headline feature addresses one part of the phone design that Google has previously somewhat ignored: the camera. This really is something special, because in the rear facing unit it’s managed to use a sensor with enormous 1.55 micron pixels, allowing for exceptional low light performance. It might only be rated to 12.3MP, but it offers an f/2.0 aperture, IR laser-assisted autofocus and can shoot 4K video at 30 frames per second. The forward-facing camera is 5MP, with a less impressive sensor, but it achieves the same f/2.0 aperture. The big differentiation with its larger 6P sibling is the screen, because the 5X’s screen is 1080p, whereas the 6P has one even more detailed.
The Nexus 6P breaks ground in a few areas, but is also amped up in many of the same ways as the 5X. It’s made by Chinese phone maker Huawei, and it’s the company’s first Nexus device. It’s gone for a metal-clad monoblock design, mounting a 5.7” WQHD (2560 x 1440) AMOLED display that’s protected with Gorilla Glass 4. Because of the relatively narrow border and the rear placement of the fingerprint reader, Google point out that this phone is actually the same size as many 5” screen phones.
Inside, Huawei has deployed the monster Snapdragon 810 2GHz octa-core processor, Adreno 430 GPU and 3GB of RAM, and matched that with 32GB, 64GB or 128GB of storage. While the rear camera is identical to the 5X, the front facer is enhanced to 8MP and can capture 1080p video at 30fps.
The 32GB model is £449, 64GB is £499 and the whopping 128GB option is £579. Those prices make it significantly cheaper than the latest Apple devices, where the 64GB iPhone 6 Plus costs £619 and there’s no 128GB option. The entry-level 6P is £10 cheaper than the year-old iPhone 6 with just 16GB of storage, if you like a stark comparison.
A major focus for Google in both the 5X and 6P is battery life, with them both having larger batteries than the Nexus 6, and the 6P has one of the biggest ever in a smartphone at 3,450mAh.
Also, according to the presentation, both phones operate at least 30% more efficiently due to the superior power and app management that Android 6.0 Marshmallow provides.
However, the advent of this new level OS isn’t all good news for those with recent Nexus devices.
Marshmallow
A good portion of the presentation highlighted the advances that the latest Android incarnation, Marshmallow, brings to the Google ecosystem. According to Google, this release is a multi-pronged assault on critical areas in the OS to improve the general user experience.
I’ve already mentioned the power management, but there are also enhancements in how apps interact with the user, each other and also the Google cloud infrastructure.
In a subtly iconic section of the show, where the presenter worked with a collection of images of children picking apples, some of these features were showcased. It’s now possible with the photo app to send a picture collection link to another user and have them add their own images, providing a simple and immediate means to collate images from an event without using a special application or web tool.
App interaction has also been enhanced in the Android 6.0 API, allowing you to search for a restaurant based on a message mentioning the location and then even book a reservation without moving out of the conversation. Other enhancements include more control over the lockscreen, as-needed security sanctioning, better text selection and paste functionality, and enhanced security that works with the fingerprint hardware on the 5X and 6P.
Visually it’s not much changed from Lollipop, but under the interface it looks dramatically revamped and able to better exploit the more powerful hardware that phone makers are using moving forward.
Only time will tell if this version has a more dramatic takeup than Android 5.x, which is on only 1.6% of all Android devices. Currently the vast majority of Android phones and tablets use the much older KitKat (4.4) or Jelly Bean (4.1 or 4.2) versions.
Pixel C
Google has produced a number of devices under the Pixel branding that have all been very expensive Chromebooks. The new Pixel C entirely contradicts that prior history by being inherently a tablet but also using the Android platform. With more than a mild homage to the Microsoft Surface, the Pixel C is a hybrid design built around the powerful ARM-based Nvidia X1 processor.
Presentation attendees were generally very impressed with hardware, with many remarking how beautifully made it was, and how light it seemed. The two stand-out features that really wowed the Google fans were the superb 2,560 x 1,800 resolution screen that boasts 500 nits of brightness and an impressive colour gamut, and the optional magnetically attached keyboard. The flipside of the high portability of this device is that the screen is only 10.2 inches, though at 7mm thick, this is so thin it makes some of the Apple tablet devices seem stout by comparison.
The keyboard uses a similar switch mechanism to that of the earlier Pixel Chromebooks, which was very well considered, and it connects to the tablet by some powerful magnets. How strong these magnets are was covered in the presentation: once the two are attached ,you can hold the Pixel C by either keyboard or screen with equal confidence.
Android on the Pixel C can detect if the keyboard is connected and allow input through that rather than an on-screen input. The peripheral communicates via Bluetooth, and a small battery in the keyboard powers that functionality. The battery is charged by the tablet when the keyboard is folded under it using magnetic induction.
As with the Surface, Google has chosen to sell the keyboard as a separate and not inexpensive accessory, so it will be interesting to see if people buy the Pixel C with or without one.
The cost of the Pixel C in the UK hasn’t been made available yet, but the US cost of the device is $499 (£330) for the 32GB model and $599 (£396) for the 64GB one. The keyboard will cost $149 (£98), and both are expected to arrive here before Christmas.
Chromecast And Chromecast Audio
The Chromecast has been one of those inexpensive devices that many bought almost out of curiosity about what it might do.
The second generation device is more powerful, has enhanced capabilities like AC class wi-fi, and yet it costs exactly the same £30 here in the UK. When combined with Marshmallow control devices, a whole new range of capabilities open up, including the ability to stream multiplayer games with up to four people, and handle an even greater selection of streaming services. It also comes in three colours, for those who like tonal coordination for hardware that’s generally out of view.
Alongside the new and enhanced video casting device is the Chromecast Audio which, as the name suggests, is entirely designed to distribute music throughout your home. The cheeky design of this device, mimicking a vinyl record, belies some very clever technology that Google put in it. Rather than focusing on streaming from a phone or tablet, Google has designed this hardware to link directly to music services like Spotify, so once tracks are being played, the initiating hardware doesn’t need to be involved. You can still control them using an Android phone, but they’d keep the music playing even if the phone was turned off or left the location.
For £30, again, Google is offering the potential to turn any old stereo or set of speakers into the equivalent of a Sonos sound system. It’s also promising a ‘party mode’ where multiple sound systems throughout a house can be subtly time staggered to sound in sync in the near future.
Final Thoughts
Overall, there was plenty of interesting technology on show that is affordable even by those who don’t work in ‘the valley’. Or that’s the general impression, even if a few minor details didn’t quite fit like crafted jigsaw pieces.
Generally, the 5X and 6P phones look great, but as a few people noted, these are also the first since the Nexus S that don’t support wireless charging. A better camera is now a prerequisite of a decent smartphone, and from the examples so far presented, the one in these is really good.
At the price Google is asking for the Nexus 5X, a borderline premium device, I can see it shipping plenty of these. However, for those that don’t mind a larger phone with an amazing screen, the 6P’s price isn’t unreasonable either.
What was missing here was a replacement for the Nexus 7 tablet. However, the fact that Google is supporting the 2013 model with Marshmallow makes me think it really ought to keep selling them, if it can convince Asus to make some more.
Where I can accept that the Nexus 4 should probably be left on Lollipop, Nexus 10 tablet owners are unlikely to be thrilled that they’re being disavowed at the same time.
As for the Pixel C, this product poses more questions than it answers, especially in respect to where Chrome OS and Android merge or not. From those that got a hands-on experience, there was much praise for the design and the keyboard, though sales figures are yet to confirm that people really want hybrid systems as much as Microsoft, Apple and others appear to think they do. How that product pans out could entirely dictate if there is every another Nexus tablet from Google, I suspect.
The revamp of the Chromecast is very welcome, and the audio version could get some real traction especially in the USA, where they have homes big enough that sound doesn’t travel easily through them.
For those who like and use Google technology there was pretty much something for everyone, and plenty for those who are interested in their next smartphone purchase and want a change of scenery.
What was apparent was that Google is more aggressively targeting those areas that Apple has traditionally excelled in, with products that are priced to entice customers away. As Apple categorically refuses to compete on price, it may find itself challenged in a number of product lines by these developments.
What impressed this writer specifically was that within ten minutes of the presentation ending, it was possible to go to Google’s Play store and order almost every item shown, with the exception of the Pixel C, with less than a month delivery time on the phones, and just a few days on the Chromecast devices.
Google obviously mean business, should any of its competitors be in any doubt.