After months of Made By Google Event on Wednesday, October 16th at 1am AEDT.
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2019/10/how-to-watch-google-pixel-4-australia-made-by-google/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/google-pixel-4-410×231.png” title=”How To Watch Google’s Pixel 4 Launch In Australia” excerpt=”After watching the Google Pixel 4 leak for months we’re finally approaching the finish line. The 2019 Made By Google Event is happening this week and this is how you can watch all the action unfold live.”]
Thanks to Google absorbing the Nest brand earlier this year, Google looks poised to announce a new wave of smart home products including a Google Nest Mini and a Google Nest Wifi. Leaks also suggest that Google is planning on launching a follow up to its flagship Chromebook”the Pixelbook“which was released back in 2017.
And like every other big tech company this year, it seems Google may wade into the true wireless earbuds game with the Pixel Buds 2. Also, even with all the leaks and rumours, Google usually manages to have some last-minute surprises in store too. Here’s everything we’re expecting to see at Made by Google 2019, but don’t be surprised if there might be a little more.
Pixel 4 Hardware
Well, since there seems to be some interest, here you go! Wait ’til you see what it can do. #Pixel4 pic.twitter.com/RnpTNZXEI1
— Made by Google (@madebygoogle) June 12, 2019
Earlier this summer, Google released an official picture of the Pixel 4, which shed light on a number of new features including the presence of dual rear cameras (a first for any Pixel phone) and the lack of a rear fingerprint reader, which implies the Pixel 4 will feature an in-display finger sensor of some kind similar to what you get on phones like the Galaxy S10 and OnePlus 7 Pro.
Then, a month and a half later, Google went even further when it released a teaser video showing the Pixel 4 using facial recognition to unlock the phone while also showing off the Pixel 4’s Motion Sense gesture controls, which uses tiny radar chips to track the movement of your hands to do things like skip songs, snooze alarms, and silence phone calls.
As for the Pixel 4’s guts, according to a leaked spec sheet obtained by 9to5Google, we’re looking at a 5.7-inch full HD+ screen for the standard Pixel 4 and a 6.3-inch QHD+ screen for Pixel 4 XL, with both models featuring displays with 90Hz refresh rates for extra smoothness.
Both models will also come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor and something Google is calling the Pixel Neural Core, which will almost certainly assist with tasks related to AI and machine learning. The Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL will also feature 6GB of RAM, 64GB or 128GB of storage, stereo speakers, and a USB-C port. This leaked spec sheet also lists the Pixel 4’s rear cameras as having a 12-MP main sensor and a 16-MP sensor for its 2x telephoto cam.
All told these are solid, though not exactly mindblowing specs. Though as previous Pixel phones haven proven before, you don’t need tons of RAM or giant screens to make a good phone.
Pixel 4 Camera Features
One thing that’s even more important than the Pixel 4’s components is its software, particularly when it comes to the Pixel’s camera. Previous camera modes from Google like Night Sight, Super Res Zoom, and the Timelapse mode demonstrated the potential of computational photography, and with the Pixel 4, Google looks like it has even more camera tricks in store.
Based on a source who spoke to 9to5Google, the Pixel 4 will have a new Motion Mode designed to help people capture fast-moving subjects while making sure the image looks sharp and in focus.
Next, by analysing new code in version 6.3 of the Google Camera app, a member of the XDA developers community discovered clues pointing to modes such as Live HDR (for brighter, more colourful video), Audio Zoom (which allows the phone to adjust noise isolation based on what you zoom in on), and an improved selfie mode that uses a new algorithm to correct for wide-angle distortion.
Night Sight also seems to be getting some general speed and quality improvements and maybe even the ability to do some astrophotography thanks to a new mode that will help “take photos of the starry sky.”
Google Nest Mini and Google Nest Wifi
It’s been two years since the Google Home Mini was first released, and with the Nest family of devices having been folded into Google’s lineup of devices, Google now looks to be using this event to refresh some of its most important smart home products.
For the new Google Nest Mini, a source who spoke to 9to5Google claims that while the new device will have a similar shape and size to the current Home Mini, it will get a few upgrades including a built-in 3.5mm jack, better speakers with deeper bass, some sort of wall mount, and new proximity awareness sensors. But in the end, the Nest Mini’s main purpose will still be to serve as a cheap and easy way of enabling voice search and commands via the Google Assistant.
Meanwhile, the Nest Wifi will get a new design featuring “beacons” that help add range to your mesh wifi network while also doubling as Google Assistant speakers. Adding Google Assistant integration will allow users to do things like suspend internet service in specific rooms using voice commands. It should also support Wifi 6 which offers improved latency, bandwidth, and faster wireless speeds.
Pixelbook Go
With Google having sworn off making tablets earlier this year, the Pixelbook Go looks to be a more traditional Chrome OS laptop with a clamshell design. It was first spied way back in July under the codename “Atlas” before more details leaked earlier this month. With its name suggesting a clear focus on portability, the Pixelbook Go looks to be a pretty simple device featuring a 13.3-inch screen (with 1080 or 4K resolution options), 8GB or 16GB of RAM, up to 256GB of storage, and a range of Intel m3, i5, and i7 CPUs.
The Pixelbook Go also reportedly has powerful stereo speakers, but the most interesting thing about the Pixelbook may end up being its wavy bottom, which just this week, was shown off by 9to5Google who managed to get a functioning pre-production sample of Google’s upcoming laptop.
Pixel Buds 2
Finally, while very little has been leaked about the Pixel Buds 2, a lot of rumours and whispers say that Google is preparing to announce a second-gen model of the original Pixel Buds. Like everything else Google makes, we expect the Pixel Buds 2 to feature Google Assistant integration in addition to an improved version of its live translate feature from the previous model. We just hope the Pixel Buds 2 won’t have a cord running between the two earbuds, as that would essentially doom the device now that Samsung, Amazon, and Microsoft have joined Apple, Jabra, and others with their own take on true wireless earbuds.
OK, so what else?
There’s always a chance Google could announce expanded support for Duplex or something wacky like a version of the Google Clips. But if you’ve been waiting to see the long-rumoured Pixel Watch, things are a lot more uncertain. At first, it seemed like there was no chance a Pixel Watch would be ready this fall, but recently, a report from the Nikkei Asian Review claims Google could show off a 5G version of the Pixel 4 and the Pixel Watch at its upcoming product launch.