It’s been a busy week, with lots of things to talk about. In order not to make this note too long though, I’ll therefore limit myself to Google’s hardware announcements.

At Google I/O this year, Google announced a number of products they planned for this year. And while the main applications (Android 7, Allo, and Duo)¹ had their turn earlier, last week it was time for the hardware. Which included some new things as well. I’m not going to give a big review of any of these, there are people far more suited for that, but I do want to give some first impressions colored by various discussions with friends.

Google Home

Google Home, there isn’t much to say about this as this wasn’t a surprise in any way. It’s basically the Amazon Echo, but without the many integrations that has to offer. For the moment it’s mostly limited to Google services and a couple of selected partners. Hardly the open infrastructure that the Echo offers, but that might change once Google opens up the API in a couple of months.

Of course, there are advantages of this over the Echo as well. First is that it looks a bit better, and you can change the look². This might not sound like an important thing, but for something that will feature in your living room it can be quite important. And secondly, but more importantly, it uses Google’s AI systems. Considering how often I’ve mentioned Google’s AI it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I see this as a major advantage over any other player in this market.

Of course, for both of these devices my knowledge is mostly theoretical. While I’ve seen the Echo in use several times at IoT demonstrations from AWS neither of these is available here. And if they are, I have my doubts they’ll be able to handle my peculiar accent³ very well. That said, if either company wants to test that I wouldn’t say no to being a test case…

Google wifi

Google wifi is a mesh wifi network. The first of these that I heard of was Eero, and the Google version is very similar. Part of the latest trend in better routers, Google wifi makes it easy to both have a wifi signal everywhere by allowing you to place several small connected routers throughout your house and offering a more user friendly interface. As I’ve had wifi issues since I moved into my new house a couple months ago⁴ I really like the solution something like this offers. Of course, premium devices come with a premium price so if you have no need for it something like this isn’t very useful.

Pixel phone

Speaking of premium devices. Google has abandoned its more developer focused/reference design Nexus line in favor of a high-end device. The Google Pixel (and it’s larger Pixel XL version) is aimed to go head-to-head with the high-end of the phone market. Considering the issues Samsung is having⁵, this is actually a good time for Google to jump in here. A lot of people who might have considered the Note 7 can now look at the Pixel XL as a good replacement.

First, a note about the presentation of the phone. While I personally don’t like it when a strong entry feels the need to take digs at another company, there are apparently plenty of people who thought that the comparisons to the iPhone (no camera bump because it’s wedge shaped instead and a headphone jack) were funny. Fair enough, but I feel like it puts the Pixel in an unnecessary position of weakness (we’re not as good as Apple, so we make fun of them). From all accounts the Pixel is a good phone and doesn’t need that kind of thing.

Now, the phone itself. It looks very similar to every other premium phone in the market⁶, and comes in two colors (and one that was only available briefly). But seriously, I don’t care too much what the phones look like. If you don’t like what it looks like that’s what cases are for. Instead, it’s the inside that counts and I have to say that the Pixel does quite well there.

Apparently it has the best camera⁷, a fast processor, lots of memory, etc. But those are the standard insides. Again, not the most interesting part. No, what stands out here is everything else that Google brings to the table. Apparently the department that creates the Pixel gets the same treatment from the Android team as other vendors, but of course that’s not the only thing that Google produces. So, just like Google Home, the Pixel has Google Assistant built in. Something that is potentially extremely useful and hard to copy for other vendors⁸.

More interesting from a casual user perspective however, is probably the free unlimited Google Photos storage you get with the phone. As a 4K camera produces big files, it’s nice if you don’t have to keep it all on your phone as that will eat into your storage space there, which is not extendable. Not to mention that it gives you backups.

There are two other things I want to briefly mention that caught my attention. First is the fast charging with a fifteen minute charge giving you about 7 hours of usage⁹, but the other thing is more fun. The phone comes with an adapter that lets you link an iPhone to the Pixel, and which will then suck in all of the data (messages etc.) and put it on the Pixel. It’s possible this is a reaction to the Android app that Apple released to do the reverse thing, and personally I think it’s a great idea. In a perfect world there shouldn’t be any barriers stopping you from moving to one phone to another, and this is something I’d love to see on other (premium) phones as well. I don’t think it will increase the switching rate to Android by much, but it’s good to have it be easier.

Daydream

Related to the Pixel, although it might work with other phones, is Daydream. Daydream is a holder for your phone to use it as a VR device, complete with controls. It looks quite nice, and unlike most VR headsets the fabric makes it look a lot more comfortable. I have no idea how well it works, but if the reviews are even mildly positive (and it works with my phone) it definitely sounds like something I’d love to try out. Compared to something like the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, this is both a lot cheaper and doesn’t need a computer I’d also need to buy.