Google announces new Nexus phones, a new tablet and lots of updates
Google showed off a wide range of new devices and services on Tuesday in a jam-packed news conference that revealed its fall lineup of products. Here is a quick rundown of what the company announced:
Nexus 5X
The Nexus 5X is an LG-made phone that should appeal to folks who may want a phone that's a little bit smaller than some of the ever-growing flagships out there. The phone has a 5.2-inch screen and will run the newest version of Android - of course! - which is called Marshmallow. It also has Google's new branded fingerprint scanne technology, called Nexus Imprint. The Nexus 5X is compatible with Google's Project Fi service, as well as other carriers and starts at $379 for 16GB. It's available for pre-order now and will ship sometime in October.
Nexus 6P
Moving on to larger screen size, the 6P is 5.7-inch phone made in partnership with Huawei, and the first all-metal phone in the Nexus lineup. (Hey, these things matter to people.) The phone has an aluminum case and also has a fingerprint sensor and charges with USB-C. With a 64-bit processor, 12.3 MP rear-facing camera and 8 MP front-facing camera, this is a high-performance phone. And Google was happy to show off its photography prowess - claiming that it takes better lowlight photos than the Apple iPhone 6s Plus.
The phone is also compatible with Google's Project Fi service. So you can go full Google with this phone as well; it starts at $499 for a 32 GB model. It will also ship in October, according to the presentation.
Google also added slow-motion video capabilities to both phones; both can also shoot 4K video.
Pixel C
Like Microsoft's Surface or Apple's iPad Pro, Google's new tablet is designed to double as a laptop replacement, with the addition of a separately sold keyboard. But it has a few differences. For one, you can charge the keyboard inductively, and you can also store it on the back of the tablet itself through the power of magnets. The Pixel C has a 10.1-inch display and charges using USB-C as well. It also boasts some pretty impressive internals: 3 GB of RAM, plus an Nvidia X1 quad-core processor and Maxwell GPU.
Google mostly just teased its tablet, which starts at $499. The keyboard will cost $149. Google promised to reveal more about it soon, ahead of a release that should come "before the holidays."
Google Play Music and Google Photos: On the services side, Google announced that up to six people will be able to log into one account for their music for $14.99 per month. Right now it costs $9.99 per person, so that's a pretty significant deal.
On the Photos front, Google also showed off easier ways to share pictures across iOS and Android devices through cloud albums and the ability to add private labels to people who show up frequently in your photos. (So you can call your grandmother "Memaw" rather than "Ethel.") You should be able to search through your pictures using this facial recognition. That adds on Photos' existing search features, so you can run a query for something like, "Uncle Jack hiking" to get the right picture.
The other big announcement here is that you'll be able to show off Google Photos to your television, via Chromecast.
Chromecast
Speaking of Chromecast, the little streaming device you plug into your TV's HDMI port, Google's given the device a full makeover. Rather than looking like a USB drive, the new Chromecast is round, more compact and comes in a few colors. It's also still $35.
Google also announced a new product called Chromecast Audio, which plugs in to any existing speaker to stream music. So if you have some old speakers lying around and wish you could make them smart, Chromecast Audio promises to let you do that - just plug that standard audio jack into the new device - which has a round, grooved design that's a flashback to vinyl.
The Chromecast app also gets a makeover, making it more useful for content discovery rather than just a tool for setting up and managing your Chromecast. It displays content from apps that are installed on your phones. And it shows you all the apps on your phone that work with Chromecast, while also supporting voice search on Android and iOS devices.