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Google Pixel 2 & Pixel 2 XL Launched, Price Starts at $649: Event Highlights

Google Pixel 2 & Pixel 2 XL Launched, Price Starts at $649: Event Highlights

By Gadgets 360 Staff | Updated: 4 October 2017 23:17 IST

Google CEO Sundar Pichai on How AI Can Help Improve Healthcare in Rural India

2017-10-04T23:17:20+0530

Google's Sundar Pichai Says Aadhaar Requires Checks and Balances

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Google Home Mini, Home Max Smart Speakers Launched Alongside New Features

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Google Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL Launched With Snapdragon 835 SoC: Price, Specifications

2017-10-04T23:16:21+0530

That's it for the event. But lots more to come from our end, stay tuned for our coverage. Thanks for following the live blog.

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Osterloh is back on stage and now we're seeing a photo of all Google products together. They've made their big ecosystem play today, now we'll see whether people take to it or not.

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It costs $249!

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Machine learning happens on Google Clips itself. It appears to be an always-on camera.

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It's a tiny camera, that looks for moments for you to take pictures. It's very light, very small and is a hands-free camera.

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Google Clips is a new type of camera, also being showcased at this event.

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Google Pixel Buds come in a pocket-sized charging case for five hours of battery life. Available in November for $159, and can be pre-ordered today.

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It supports 40 languages, including Hindi and Bengali.

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Google Pixel Buds are translating Swedish to English in realtime.

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This is a cool demo of realtime translation.

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Pixel Buds can offer real-time translation, powered by machine learning.

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They're also launching wireless headphones called Google Pixel Buds.

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Daydream View is available at $99.

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More than 250 VR experiences. New IMAX 3D movies available for Pixel owners for free.

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That's not all. Google Daydream View - VR headset is also getting an upgrade.

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Including a Google Home Mini for free with Pixel 2, and Pixel 2 XL in some countries, but not in India.

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They're also selling cases, which you can personalise.

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Pixel 2 costs $649 and can be pre-ordered today. Pixel 2 XL starts at $849. Australia, Canada, Germany, India, UK, and US are countries where it's initially available.

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Free unlimited storage on Google Photos for Pixel users for photos and 4K videos too.

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As expected, all sample shots look great.

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Now a promotional video where some famous photographers captured lots of videos with just the Pixel 2, no tripods or attachments.

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OIS and EIS are both active at the same time in the Pixel 2 smartphones.

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This can blur the background and give a bokeh effect to photos. Portrait selfies are also possible on both Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL.

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They've introduced a portrait mode to Pixel 2. They're doing it via machine learning instead of using two cameras.

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They're showing a DXOMark benchmark score for Google Pixel 2's camera. The score is 98 this time around.

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Mario Queiroz is back on stage to talk about Google Pixel 2's cameras.

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The overarching theme here has been machine learning and Google Assistant. They've spent a lot of time talking up the Assistant and the focus is more on software and AI than hardware in this event. Google clearly believes that the age of hardware advancements has gone by.

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She's talking about Google Lens and how it works with Google Assistant.

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Aparna Chennapragada from Google's Pixel team is now on stage to talk about the phone.

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Pixel 2 will launch with Android Oreo.

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A new features called active edge lets you squeeze the phone to trigger Google Assistant.

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This feature basically keeps most of the screen dark when the phone is locked, except for the few features mentioned in the previous update. This is a nice way to get information quickly.

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It has an Always-On display. This can show the time and notifications without turning on the full display. If a song is playing in the background, the device will show this on the display, without turning on the full display.

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He took a potshot at the iPhone - We don't set aside better features for the bigger phone.

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Pixel XL 2 has a 6-inch display and a near edge-to-edge display. It looks a bit like the Samsung Galaxy S8 from the front.

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Kinda Blue, Just Black, and Clearly White are the three colours.

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Full HD OLED display on the Pixel 2.

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Pixel 2's fingerprint scanner is the fastest in the industry, he claims. It doesn't have a headphone jack.

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The Google Pixel 2 it is. A 5-inch display on Pixel 2 and a 6-inch display on Pixel XL 2.

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Mario Queiroz is on stage to talk about Google Pixel phones.

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Pixelbook starts at $999 and the Pixelbook Pen starts at $99. Will be available in US and Canada initially, pre-orders begin today and in stores on October 31.

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The Snap team is working with Google to bring Snapchat to the Pixelbook. Some other popular apps are available on it.

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He's now demoing Google Assistant. There's a Google Assistant key on the keyboard. It has a stylus called the Google Pixelbook Pen.

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This is the first laptop with Google Assistant built in.

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It provides 10 hours of battery life, and has something like Apple's Instant Hotspot feature. Can pair with your phone's hotspot instantly when there is no Wi-Fi.

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12.3-inch touchscreen display at 235 ppi. The keyboard is backlit and has soft keys.

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It's a convertible laptop, has a touchscreen and the keyboard can be flipped to make it a tablet.

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10mm thick and 1kg in weight.

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Google Pixelbook it is.

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He's now talking about changing the laptop experience.

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Google's Matt Vokoun is now on stage.

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This looks like a rival to Apple HomePod. Google Home Music costs $399 and will be available in December initially in the US. 12 months YouTube Red membership free with the device.

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Google Assistant is built in to Google Home Max.

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YouTube Music and Spotify, apart from other music services are supported.

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It has a new feature called Smart Sound, which adjusts to where you place the speaker in your home.

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It's called the Google Home Max. The biggest and best sounding Google Home yet, Chandra says.

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Looks like there's one more Google Home device.

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The Actions on Google platform is now open to developers to create their experiences. Family experiences will be rolling out to Google Home devices later this month.

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There's a new Family Link app, for people to connect their kids with Google Home. Chandra says Google Assistant has been optimised to understand children better.

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Rishi Chandra is back on stage.

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She's talking about Nest products such as the video doorbell and the camera. These products are integrated with Google Home, so it will tell you who is at the door if it recognises who's there. If not, you can ask Google Home to show you the door.

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Google and Nest are working together to reimagine the smartphone. Yoky Matsuoka, CTO of Nest is on stage to talk about this.

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A new feature lets you find your Android phone, which will ring. For iPhone, the Google Home will give a call. This will help you find your phone if you don't remember where you kept it.

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This year's big focus is on Google's Voice Match tech, which recognises each person's voice and responds based on who is talking to the Google Home.

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Rishi Chandra is back on stage.

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Mini is going to all seven Google Home countries, India is not one of them.

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Available in three colours. Priced at $49, pre-orders begin today and will be available in the US from October 19.

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Four LED lights are there under the fabric. You can tap it once to talk to the assistant, adjust the volume, among other things.

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Almost the entire device is made of fabric.

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Google Home Mini it is. A much smaller version of Google Home.

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Isabelle Olsson, lead designer for Google Home hardware is on stage to talk about the device.

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Google Home now has hands-free calling, and it can figure out which business you want to contact, etc.

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Voice Match - how Google Home can now recognise your voice. This way the Google Assistant can bring personal help to each member of your home.

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Google Home first. Rishi Chandra, head of Google Home team, is on stage.

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Here comes the next generation of Google hardware.

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The next big innovation will happen at the intersection of AI, software, and hardware.

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Osterloh says the smartphone market is levelling off.

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Osterloh says Google Assistant now has over 100 million new answers. Google Pixel had a great year he says, while acknowledging that it had some supply issues.

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The video ends with someone saying, Okay Google, what's next.

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A promotional video is playing now. News clips about Google's event and hardware products the company makes.

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He mentioned Google's part acquisition of HTC just now.

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More on that later, but now Rick Osterloh, Google's hardware lead is on stage.

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He's talking about two kids who play baseball who were talking to each other using Google Translate.

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Pichai is talking about how Google's machine learning program has progressed and is more efficient in terms of using resources.

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In an AI first world, we can learn and adapt and do privacy and security better for our users, Pichai says.

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Computing is going to evolve beyond the phone, be there in many screens around you, when you need it.

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I believe computers should adapt to people, instead of the other way round, he says.

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He's moved on to Google Translate and how it has improved over the years. Google once again talks about its motto - shifting from mobile first to an AI first world.

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In 5 months with machine learning, they were able to map 5,000 km of roads in Lagos, Nigeria.

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Pichai is talking about his visit to Nigeria and says it's a very exciting place unless you're a part of Google Maps team and have to map the city. It's a challenging task, he says.

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Pichai is talking about his visit to Nigeria and says it's a very exciting place unless you're a part of Google Maps team and have to map the city. It's a challenging task, he says.

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He's talking about Google's work for hurricane relief in the USA.

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Google CEO Sundar Pichai is now on stage.

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The Google Pixel 2 event begins at 9.30 pm IST on October 4, stay tuned.

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The Google Pixel 2 event begins at 9.30 pm IST on October 4, stay tuned.

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We're at the event in San Francisco and will bring you live updates right here.

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Google is expected to launch the Pixel 2, Pixel XL 2, Google Home Mini smart speaker, and Pixelbook laptop.

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Welcome to Gadgets 360's live blog of the Google Pixel 2 event.

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Google Pixel 2 launch event – perhaps the last big smartphone launch of year – commenced, with Google CEO Sundar Pichai taking the stage. The company reserved the two phones till the end, with the unveiling of the new Google Home Max & Home Mini smart speakers and the Pixelbook convertible laptop in the first hour. The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL were received with cheers from the audience at the event, with the company announcing a host of new features of the second-generation Pixel smartphones. The two phones will take on the likes of iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, and LG V30, among others.

Google Pixel 2 specifications, price, launch date

First up, the Pixel 2 specifications include a 5-inch full-HD OLED display, no 3.5mm headphone jack, and a fingerprint sensor that the company says is the fastest in the industry. As for the Pixel 2 XL, the handset has a 6-inch near edge-to-edge display with QHD resolution, as rumoured. There is also a new feature called Active Edge that lets you squeeze the phone to trigger Google Assistant, similar to the squeezable display of HTC U11. Both the phones have Always-On display, and Android Oreo out-of-the-box, with support for minimum 3 years of OS and security updates.

Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will come with octa-core Snapdragon 835 processor (four 2.35GHz cores + four 1.9GHz cores), with 4GB RAM. Storage options include 64GB and 128GB capacities, with unlimited online storage for photos and videos. The two phones have 12.2-megapixel rear camera and 8-megapixel front camera with portrait selfies, bokeh effect, OIS and EIS, as well as Motion Photos (similar to iPhone's Live Photos). The former will come in Just Black, Clearly White and Kinda Blue colours, while the latter in Just Black and Black & White colours. There's USB Type-C port, Bluetooth 5.0 + LE, stereo speakers, dual-band Wi-Fi, GPS, GLONASS, and NFC. Pixel 2 battery capacity is 2700mAh, and 3520mAh for Pixel 2 XL.

The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will be available at $649 and $849, respectively, and will be launched in Australia, Canada, Germany, India, the UK, and the US in the first wave of release. Google has also announced a new Pixel Bud wireless earphones, which can translate languages (including Hindi and Bengali) seamlessly. The headphones have 5-hour battery life, and will come at $159, with pre-orders starting today.

Google Home Max, Home Mini, and more

Pichai started the event by talking about the importance of machine learning and the AI-first world, along with the need to make interaction between AI and humans more natural. Rick Osterloh, Google's hardware lead took the stage after Pichai and started off with a mention of the recent HTC acquisition. He said the distinguishing feature of smartphones in the coming generation will be at a conjunction of software, hardware and AI.

The Google Home Mini, a smaller smart speaker has also been unveiled at the event. It is made almost entirely out of fabric, and can pause or play music with just a tap on the speaker. Priced at $49 in the US, the Google Home Mini will be available for pre-orders tonight and go on sale on October 19. It will be available in Australia, Germany, Japan, the UK, France and Canada as well. To recall, Google Home Mini had been leaked earlier.

Another new product at the Google Pixel 2 launch event was the Google Home Max, with Assistant baked in. The new smart speaker is 20 times more powerful than the original Google Home, and can work with Spotify, YouTube Music, apart from other music services. It has a new feature called Smart Sound that adjusts the sound to where you place the speaker in your home. Google Home Max will launch at $399 and will be released in December in the US, and will come with 12-month YouTube Red membership free.

Google Home is getting a new feature called Voice Match that allows Google Assistant to recognise your voice to provide personalised help to each member of the family. Voice Match will be released for the seven markets in which Google Home is available. The smart speaker is also getting hands-free calling. The speaker can control over 1,000 connected devices as well. Nest and Google are also collaborating to reimagine the smart home, to make more in tune with the needs of the user - with the Google Assistant at the centre of it all. There is also a new Family Link that allows parents to manage accounts they create for children under the age of 13. Assistant can understand the way kids speak as well now. Disney and Google are also partnering for content for kids as well, as part of the family-centric approach of the company.

The next hardware product unveiled at the Pixel 2 launch event is Pixelbook, a high-performance Chromebook. It is 10mm thick and weighs roughly 1 kilogram, and can be used as a tablet or in tent mode courtesy its 360-degree hinge. Google Pixelbook has a 12.3-inch display with Quad HD resolution and 235ppi pixel density, and supports up to 16GB RAM and up to 512GB SSD; buyers can choose between Core i5 and Core i7 processor options. It has a 10-hour battery, and uses USB Type-C charger; its Instant Tethering feature allows the Chromebook to automatically connect with the Internet connection of the user's Pixel phone in the absence of a Wi-Fi connection.

Pixelbook is also the first laptop is the first laptop with Google Assistant built-in, and supports the new Pixelbook Pen that uses machine learning to understand the user. It will fully support Google Play Android app marketplace so all popular apps will be available on the convertible laptop. A custom Snapchat experience for the larger screen of the laptop is being developed. The laptop will be available in three configurations and price starts at $999, while the Pixelbook Pen price is $99. Pre-orders begin tonight, and shipping begins on October 31.

Google Clips, a tiny hands-free camera that looks for moments for you to capture photos, was also unveiled at the event. It is a $249 device that uses machine learning to sort photos and appears to be always-on.

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