The Latest: Google's new Pixel phones take on Apple

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The Latest on Google's new-product showcase (all times local):

10:30 a.m.

Google is borrowing from Apple's playbook as it takes on its rival in high end of the smartphone market.

The second generation of Google's Pixel phones unveiled Wednesday feature larger, brighter screens that take up more of the phone's front, changes that Apple is also making with its iPhone X scheduled to be released next month.

Both the Pixel XL and the 5-inch Pixel will also get rid of the headphone jack, something Apple did with the iPhone last year.

Google also souped up the already highly rated camera on the Pixel, boasting that it will take even better photos than the iPhone.

The smaller Pixel will sell for almost $650, $50 less than the iPhone 8. The Pixel XL will sell for almost $850, or $50 more than the iPhone 8 Plus. Prices for the iPhone X start at $1,000.

___

10 a.m.

Google is introducing different sizes of its internet-connected speaker to compete against similar devices from Amazon and Apple.

The Google Home Mini unveiled Wednesday is a button-sized speaker covered in fabric. It includes the same features featured in a cylindrical speaker that Google rolled out last year in response to Amazon's Echo.

The Mini will cost almost $50, roughly the small price as Amazon's smaller speaker, the Echo Dot. The standard Google Home speaker costs almost $130.

The Google Home Max is a rectangular speaker with superior acoustics for playing music, mimicking Apple's HomePod.

Google is selling the Home Max for almost $400, $50 more than the HomePod. Both speakers are due in December.

Google's voice-activated digital assistant will serves as the brains for all the speakers.