Google’s big Launch Night In event Wednesday was the latest in a flurry of September tech announcements. The virtual event, which saw the unveiling of the Pixel 5 and Google’s first entry into the 5G space, followed its unveiling of the Pixel 4A budget phone in August. That event confirmed the existence of Google’s next flagship phone, the Pixel 5, and the Pixel 4A 5G. Both new phones were launched at Google’s September event, along with a new Chromecast and a new Nest-branded smart speaker, the Nest Audio. There were few surprises, however, other than the Hold for Me phone feature, which puts those awful you’re-on-hold-forever calls in Google Assistant’s hands.
The Pixel 5 announcement, as with Google’s previous flagship phones, has been leakier than ancient plumbing (or perhaps, as CNET’s Lynn La suspects, the “leaks” are part of Google’s marketing strategy).
Watch this: Everything just announced at Google’s Pixel 5 event
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Google’s latest flagship adds 5G support to Google’s rota, and it went live on Google’s store before the announcement. It starts at $699 (£599, AU$999). The camera adds Portrait LIght and Night Sight in portrait to the camera. And with the new phone, Google’s added a big bundle of services called Google One, a la Apple One.
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The $50 (£60, AU$99) updated Chromecast has a new remote with an Assistant button, plus dedicated buttons for high-profile streaming services. “A more helpful TV” is Google’s tagline for Google TV, which seems to be Android TV: The Next Generation. It updates the recommendation engine and delivers better search results, plus aggregates your streaming subscriptions.
Watch this: Chromecast with Google TV wants to help you find what…
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Screenshot by CNET
More bass, value and skinniness seem to be the hallmark changes to the Nest smart speaker. It’ll run you $100 (£90, AU$149). Read our Nest Audio first take.
