Google Unveils Pixel 2 Smartphone, Pixelbook, and Two New Google Home Speakers

Google this morning held an event in San Francisco, California, where the company unveiled several new hardware products, including the Pixel 2, the Google Pixelbook, and two new versions of the Google Home smart speaker.

The Pixel 2 comes in 5 and 6-inch screen sizes, with the XL model featuring slimmer bezels. It features what Google says is a bolder look with an aluminum body with a soft sculpted back and premium coating, a glass top, and buttons with a pop of color. There's a fingerprint sensor on the back of the device, no headphone jack, and IP67 water resistance.

pixel2
Active Edge lets users squeeze the side of the Pixel 2 to activate Google Assistant and do things like silence phone calls, and the OLED display is always-on to display notifications and the time (the 6-inch version uses a P-OLED display). A fast charging feature allows for 7 hours of charge in 15 minutes. The Pixel 2 supports the Google Lens feature, which lets the Pixel camera identify objects in the world, and it includes AR stickers.

googlepixel2
There are camera improvements, including support for Portrait Mode, a feature similar to the Portrait Mode in the latest iPhones. Portrait Mode on Pixel 2 requires just one camera and is available for both the front and rear cameras. Google says DxO has given the camera a score of 98. For comparison, the iPhone 8 Plus received a 94.

Pricing on the Pixel 2 starts at $649 for 64GB storage. The Pixel 2 XL starts at $849 for 64GB of storage. Pre-orders are available starting today. Google is releasing new wireless Google Pixel Buds alongside the Pixel 2. While these connect to Pixel 2 over Bluetooth, they have a wire between the left and right earbuds, unlike the AirPods. Pixel Buds feature real time language translation and are priced at $159.

googlepixelbuds
Google Home Mini features a sleek, smooth design. It's small enough that it fits anywhere in the home. The enclosure is made of a special fabric created by Google to let through light and sound. It comes in three colors: coral, chalk, and charcoal, aka a red, a gray, and a black color.

googlehomemini
Four LED lights under the fabric let users know that the Google Home Mini is listening, and it responds to touch. The circular shape of the device projects 360 degree sound, for sound that Google says is "amazing." The speaker costs $49 and can be pre-ordered starting today ahead of an October 19 launch date.

Google Home Max is the "biggest and best sounding" Google Home ever, and Google says it's 20 times more powerful than the existing Google Home. The speaker features dual 4.5-inch high-excursion woofers, 0.7-inch tweeters, and an "acoustically transparent fabric" that comes in chalk and charcoal.

googlehomemax
Like Apple's upcoming HomePod, Max features Smart Sound that's able to adapt to the ambient environment in the home, adjusting the sound to its location. It costs $399 and will be available in December. The price point includes 12 months of free YouTube Red service.

Google also announced Broadcast, a feature that lets a message from one Google Home be sent to other Google Home speakers, and new learning experiences for children.

As for laptops, Google introduced the high-end Google Pixelbook, its thinnest and lightest laptop yet. Pixelbook is 10mm thick and weighs a kilogram, and it can convert from a laptop to a tablet. It has a 12.3-inch touchscreen, Core i5/Corei7 chips, 16GB RAM, up to 512GB storage, built-in Google Assistant, and 10 hours of battery life.

googlepixelbook
It supports a new Pixelbook Pen for writing on the touchscreen and interacting with Google Assistant. Pixelbook is priced starting at $999, while the pen is priced at $99. Both are available for pre-order starting today ahead of an October 31 launch.

Tag: Google

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
macbook pro blue green

When Will Apple Release the M5 MacBook Pro?

Wednesday March 26, 2025 4:53 pm PDT by
Apple regularly refreshes the MacBook Pro models, and a new version that uses M5 series chips is in the works. Apple just finished refreshing most of the Mac lineup with M4 chips, and now it's time for the M5. Rumors suggest that we could see the first M5 MacBook Pro models this fall. Design There have been no rumors of a design update for the M5 MacBook Pro models that are coming this...
Apple Lumon Terminal Pro

Apple's Mac Site Features Fictional 'Lumon Terminal Pro'

Wednesday March 26, 2025 12:19 pm PDT by
Apple is going all out with promotions for the popular Severance Apple TV+ show today, and as of right now, you'll find a new "Lumon Terminal Pro" listed on Apple's Mac site. The Lumon Terminal Pro is designed to look similar to the machines that Severance employees like Mark S. and Helly R. use for macrodata refinement. The Terminal features a blue keyboard, a small display with wide...
Facebook Feature

Facebook's New iPhone App Feature Turns the Clock Back to 2007

Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out. That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook. Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Generic iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Soon With These New Features for Your iPhone

Tuesday March 25, 2025 6:45 am PDT by
Apple is expected to release iOS 18.4 to the general public as soon as next week, following more than a month of beta testing. Apple's website says some iOS 18.4 features will be released in "early April," so the update should be out as early as Tuesday, April 1. Apple this week seeded the iOS 18.4 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, barring the discovery of any...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Supports 8K Video Recording, Suggests Leaker [Updated]

Wednesday March 26, 2025 4:06 am PDT by
Update 7:25 pm: Based on comments from our forums, it appears the original Weibo post may have been mistranslated and "8K" actually refers to the high price of the device rather than 8K video recording capabilities. The iPhone 16 Pro currently starts at 7,999 yuan in China. Our original article follows below. Apple's forthcoming iPhone 17 Pro models are capable of shooting 8K video, up...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

'iPhone Fold' to Feature Metallic Glass Hinge That Resists Deformation

Thursday March 27, 2025 4:21 am PDT by
Last week, we covered a report claiming that Apple's book-style foldable iPhone (or "iPhone Fold," as we are provisionally calling it here) will use liquid metal hinges to improve durability and help minimize screen creasing. Today, a Chinese leaker provided more details on the properties of this hinge material that help to clarify why Apple chose it for its first foldable device. According...
iOS 18 4 Ambient Music Control Center

How to Use iOS 18.4's New Ambient Music Feature in Control Center

Thursday March 27, 2025 7:45 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 18.4 update for the iPhone adds an Ambient Music feature to Control Center. Below, we take a closer look at how it works. iOS 18.4 is currently in beta, so the Ambient Music feature is not widely available yet. The update will likely be released to the general public next week. To use the feature on iOS 18.4, open Control Center and tap on the plus sign in the top-left...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock

Gurman: Jon Prosser's iOS 19 Mockups 'Aren't Representative' of Redesign

Tuesday March 25, 2025 4:47 pm PDT by
The iOS 19 mockup images that leaker Jon Prosser shared today are not representative of the actual iOS 19 design, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on social media. According to Gurman, the images that are "floating around" are based on "very old builds" or "vague descriptions," and are lacking key features. Gurman says that we can "expect more from Apple in June." Gurman made the same comment ...

Top Rated Comments

farewelwilliams Avatar
98 months ago
iPhone removes headphone jack
"AHAHAHH WTF ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"
Pixel 2 removes headphone jack
"Makes sense"

Airpods 2 $159
"$159?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA" ( https://twitter.com/MKBHD/status/773594097323872259 )
Google Pixel Buds $159
"Cool!"

iPhone Rose Gold
"Ugly AF"
Pixel 2 Kinda Blue
"Ohhhh nice!"
Score: 137 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fairuz Avatar
98 months ago
For the money, why wouldn't I just buy the real iPhone?

Edit: Other than the live translation, if there's a use for that and it works well.
Score: 59 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sunapple Avatar
98 months ago
Wow. In one keynote Google has DESTROYED Apple’s product line. Best smartphone, best Bluetooth earphones, best notebook AND tablet, best speakers.

Wow. You can imagine the crying going on at Apple’s supposedly legendary industrial design studio.

No gimmicks like Face ID, 3D Touch, Touch Bar, W1 chip, A11 Bullcrap chip, seamless and continuous industrial design between glass and metal, iWork and iLife bloatware crap, HomePod sound separation crap. Just beautiful technology perfectly married to beautiful design to make objects of modern art.
You have absolutely made no argument at all.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sunapple Avatar
98 months ago
Nice job on mocking the lack of a headphone jack on the iPhone 7 with the Pixel last year, eliminating it this year with the Pixel 2. It has a protruding camera too doesn't it?
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
keysofanxiety Avatar
98 months ago
No headphone jack? Didn't take them long to swing.

Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
v0lume4 Avatar
98 months ago
Such a fun event to watch. Really impressive showing today by Google.

I already see a couple of people complaining about the lack of a dual camera? Guys, the camera has a DxOmark rating of 98. Come on now.

The Google Assistant features showed today are insane.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)