Google's Nexus event is done. We got an early look at two new smartphones — the Nexus 5X and 6P — along with a couple new Chromecast devices. Plus, a big surprise: Google brought an Android-based Pixel tablet to show off. Catch up with the news, reports, and everything else from today right here.
Sep 29, 2015
The nine most important things from Google's Nexus event
Read Article >There weren't many surprises in Google's event today — everything from detailed phone specs to news of a Spotify Chromecast deal leaked in the past few weeks. But the company announced a hard date for its Android Marshmallow release, and it offered some much-needed hardware refreshes, including two new Nexus phones, an updated Chromecast, and an all-new Chromecast for streaming music. There wasn't a lot of experimentation here — with a few exceptions, like a new fingerprint sensor for the Nexus line — but that also means we got a lot of welcome news about Google's more practical products.
Sep 29, 2015
Hands-on with Google's new Nexus 6P smartphone
Last year's Nexus 6 smartphone from Google and Motorola lived up to its name: With its 6-inch display, it outsized almost all other phablets in fashion at the time, including the new iPhone 6 Plus and the Samsung Galaxy Note 4.
Read Article >Read next: The Nexus 6P review.
Sep 29, 2015
Hands-on: the Pixel C is a great Android tablet that costs a great deal of money
The big surprise at today's Google announcement was the Pixel C, an Android tablet developed by the team behind the Pixel Chromebooks. The Chromebook Pixels have powerhouses of speed and wonders of design — and they definitely had the prices to match those outsized ambitions. The same thing applies to the Pixel C. It starts at $499, but you're also going to want to pony up for the keyboard, which costs $149. That's pretty-good laptop territory, so does the Pixel C actually compete with a pretty-good laptop?
Read Article >Well, sort of. It's technically impressive. The hardware is brushed metal and the whole thing feels solid, if a little thick. Google has opted for an Nvidia Tegra X1 processor and a powerful graphics card to go with it. So in terms of raw power, there should be enough here to do what you need. The question is whether or not Android in tablet form can claim the same. It's possible, but we'll need to see the software ecosystem for full-fledged tablet class Android apps get a bit bigger before we'll believe.
Sep 29, 2015
Here's how Google's new Nexus phones compare to the competition
Read Article >Google revealed a pair of new Nexus smartphones today: the mid-range Nexus 5X and the high-spec Nexus 6P. It's the first time the company has brought out two Nexus handsets in one year, and, as ever, it's positioning the devices as the archetypal Android smartphones, with both running the latest version of its mobile OS, Android Marshmallow. Big features for Marshmallow include longer battery life thanks to Doze (which basically tells apps to go to sleep when the phone hasn't been used in a while), and Now on Tap, which lets users tap and hold the home button to bring up contextual information via Google Now based on whatever is currently on their screens — be it song lyrics or restaurant reviews. Read next: The Nexus 6P review and Nexus 5X review.
Sep 29, 2015
The Nexus 5X might be the smaller, pure Android phone we've been waiting for
There's probably no other Android phone in recent memory that elicits as much affection as 2013's Nexus 5. The wide phone found a place in many people's hearts thanks to a rock-bottom price paired with good performance and a plastic design that grew on you. Of course, the fact that it ran an unadulterated version of Android that was true to Google's own vision for the OS didn't hurt.
Read Article >Read next: The Google Nexus 5X review.
Sep 29, 2015
Android Marshmallow's best security measure is a simple date
Android security has always faced a daunting challenge — scrambling to get users, manufacturers, and carriers in sync — but the new Marshmallow operating system has a small feature that could make a big difference in that fight. You'll find it in the Settings menu, a header titled "Android security patch level," followed by a date. As of that day, your device is protected with all known Android patches.
Read Article >Read next: The Android 6.0 Marshmallow review.
Sep 29, 2015
Google adds universal voice search to the Chromecast app
Google just announced two new versions of its popular streaming stick, Chromecast, but it also showed off a few impressive new features coming to the Chromecast app. And the biggest by far is universal voice search.
Read Article >When the update rolls out to Android and iOS devices, you'll no longer have to go hunting through all your other apps to find the things you want to watch. Instead of digging through the Netflix, Google Play, or Hulu apps to see who has the newest episode of, say, Rick & Morty, you can just open the Chromecast app and speak (or type) your search there. The app will tell you which services have the show you're looking for, and will even direct you to apps that you don't have if the show or movie can be found there.
Sep 29, 2015
Google unveils Android-based Pixel C tablet
Google's high-end Pixel range just expanded. At today's Nexus Event, Sundar Pichai announced the new Pixel C, a 10.2-inch tablet with USB-C that starts at $499. And instead of running Chrome OS, this Pixel runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
Read Article >Read next: The Android 6.0 Marshmallow review.
Sep 29, 2015
Google Chromecast now supports Spotify
During its Nexus event today, Google announced that its Chromecast has finally been updated with support for Spotify, confirming a report by 9to5Google from last week. The streaming service with over 75 million users has been one of the few music holdouts that didn't work with Google's Chromecast, instead focusing on its Spotify Connect to play music in your home.
Read Article >If you pick up Google's new Chromecast Audio, it will let you take your music from Spotify (Premium members only) and send it to any speaker or amplifier with a 3.5mm audio port. The $35 dongle will be receiving multi-room support later this year as well (each speaker or amplifier will need a separate Chromecast Audio) which could make for a pretty cheap home audio setup.
Sep 29, 2015
Chromecast adds support for Showtime today, Sling TV in the next few weeks
Chromecast users, now over 20 million strong, you can soon use that little dongle to watch The Affair. At its major fall event, the company announced that Showtime will be adding Chromecast support starting today. Going further, services like Sling TV, NBA, and NHL will all support casting soon as well — "in the next few weeks" in the case of Sling.
Read Article >Google today also announced a revamped, more colorful Chromecast (that now thankfully supports 5GHz Wi-Fi) in addition to a dedicated Chromecast audio dongle, both of which cost $35 apiece.
Sep 29, 2015
Chromecast Audio enables wireless music streaming for your old-school speakers
The Chromecast catalog is expanding. Google's new Chromecast Audio does for home speakers what the standard Chromecast does for TV sets: creates a bridge between old tech and modern streaming services.
Read Article >The new Chromecast Audio device looks nearly identical to the new disc-shaped Chromecast, except instead of HDMI, there's a standard 3.5mm audio port that plugs directly into the back of a speaker or receiver. It also supports RCA or optical audio outputs.
Sep 29, 2015
Google announces family plan for Play Music
Google today officially announced that its Play Music service will soon offer a family plan option. Currently, a single subscriber for Play Music costs $9.99 per month, but the new plan will offer up to six subscribers for $14.99 per month.
Read Article >Google's new plan is a clear answer to Apple Music's family plan, which many view as the most valuable part of that service. Spotify and Rdio also offer family plan options, but both are more expensive than Google's or Apple's.
Sep 29, 2015
Google Photos is adding Chromecast support, name labels, and easier album sharing
In May, Google introduced a brand-new version of its Photos service that we called the best in the world. From the ashes of Google+ had come a full-featured service for storing, organizing, rediscovering, and more easily sharing all the photos in your life. It stripped out the social features that had constrained its growth and built a service that adopted privacy as a design principle. It offered unlimited uploads at a relatively high resolution. And it used machine learning to understand the content of your photos, allowing you to search for them via keywords.
Read Article >Since its launch, it's been a top 10 iOS app, and has been installed on Android devices more than 100 million times. And Google has added a rediscovery feature into the app, surfacing old photos on their anniversaries in the manner of Timehop. But today it's getting its first major update, adding Chromecast support and the ability to add name labels to Google's photo collections of your friends and loved ones. The company also announced that a feature for letting friends join and contribute to your albums, a la Apple's shared photo streams, will arrive later this year.
Sep 29, 2015
Google's Nexus 6P and 5X work on Project Fi
Google just announced onstage at its event in Mountain View that the two newest phones — the Nexus 5X and the Nexus 6P — will be compatible with Project Fi, the company's own mobile network. These will be the first phones outside of the Nexus 6 that work with Project Fi when they go on sale in October.
Read Article >Project Fi works by combining Wi-Fi calling with a cellular network connection (Fi is compatible with and can alternate between Sprint and T-Mobile). The phone always picks the fastest available network from one of three sources all while simplifying the payment structure of your cell phone bill. For $20 per month, users get the same things they've come to expect from any carrier, like talk, text, Wi-Fi tethering, and international coverage, along with a flat cost of $10 per GB per month for cellular data (both in the U.S. and abroad). Users also get credited for any unused data during each month.
Sep 29, 2015
Google's new phones will come with 'Nexus Imprint,' a powerful fingerprint reader
Google's latest hardware offerings will come with a new option for authentication. On stage at an official event, Google engineering chief Dave Burke today announced a new fingerprint reader, dubbed Nexus Imprint and available on both the 6P and 5X. Burke described Imprint as a "seamless way of authenticating with your fingerprint," requiring less than 600 milliseconds to recognize a fingerprint, and improving with each use. The new sensor is open to the entire ecosystem, allowing easy verification within third-party apps.
Read Article >Sep 29, 2015
Google Nexus 6P with 5.7-inch display announced starting at $499
Google's biggest phone just got a bit smaller. On stage in San Francisco this morning, Google unveiled the Nexus 6P, a new version of its Nexus 6 smartphone with a slightly smaller 5.7-inch display and a completely new design. The phone is only 7.3mm thick and is supposed to be about the same overall size as the iPhone 6 Plus — that means it's fitting a slightly bigger screen into a body of about the same size. That screen, a WQHD AMOLED display, actually makes up nearly three quarters of the front of the device. Google used the event to announced the Nexus 5X, too.
Read Article >Read next: The Nexus 6P review.
Sep 29, 2015
Nexus 5X announced with Android Marshmallow and Nexus Imprint
Read next: The Nexus 5X review.
Read Article >Two years after their successful collaboration on the Nexus 5, LG and Google are back with a new flagship Android smartphone: the 5.2-inch Nexus 5X. Along with the Nexus 6P from Huawei, also announced today, this new smartphone will debut in October and showcase Google's latest Android OS, Marshmallow.
Sep 29, 2015
Android is now used by 1.4 billion people
Read Article >Android just keeps on getting bigger. Last year, Google announced that its mobile operating system had over a billion active users, and at this year's Nexus event, the company revealed that this figure has now topped 1.4 billion actives over the last 30 days. "The scale at which everything is working is pretty breathtaking to see," said Google CEO Sundar Pichai, emphasizing that the company is always investing "in large, open ecosystems, platforms." Google Play is one of those, with Pichai announcing the platform now has over 1 billion active users. He also mentioned that over 20 million Chromecasts have been sold to date.
Sep 29, 2015
Google Nexus event: start time, live blog, and streaming for today’s announcement
Read Article >As summer turns to autumn, the annual dance of the smartphone announcements distracts us from the menial midday hours at the office. Samsung and Apple and Sony and Motorola: each has entertained lovers of smartphones with their own spin on similar routines. With the leaves just beginning to turn outside our windows, the final act is set to begin. Google will take the stage to introduce its slate of new Nexus phones — and a few other gizmos, too.