The Verge - Google keynote: all of the news from the Pixel 2 eventhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52801/VER_Logomark_32x32..png2017-10-07T10:00:05-04:00http://www.theverge.com/rss/stream/161826832017-10-07T10:00:05-04:002017-10-07T10:00:05-04:003 best and worst features of the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/YhQTzx5zmKXRpDDV2dC2uv5Tock=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/57045387/jbareham_170921_2006_0201.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by James Bareham / The Verge</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="L2RH1T">Google on Wednesday took the wraps off its <a href="https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/10/4/16408962/new-google-pixel-2-phone-announced-price-release-date-features">new Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL phones</a>, the sequels to the first-ever Google-designed Android handsets. Both devices look sharp, minimal, and sport what the company says is one of the best mobile cameras on the market, with original Pixel buyers able to testify the device line’s prowess in the picture-taking department. </p>
<p id="hR6EGe">But perhaps you’re still on the fence. Maybe you own an Apple product, and you’re simply fed up with iOS, or have no intention of buying the iPhone 8 or shelling out for the iPhone X. Or perhaps you’ve been looking for a cleaner, simpler, and bloatware-free Android phone, but not sure you want to get something quite as premium as Pixel 2. It <em>does</em> start at $649, and can get as...</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/7/16439510/google-pixel-2-xl-features-specs-best-worst">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/7/16439510/google-pixel-2-xl-features-specs-best-worstNick Statt2017-10-05T12:23:19-04:002017-10-05T12:23:19-04:00Bluetooth won’t replace the headphone jack — walled gardens will
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KPRGSVvKn5fOE3CiwreJyr-BMxg=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/57016881/jbareham_170922_2006_0615.1507220598.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by James Bareham / The Verge</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="42xQg7">Yesterday, Google announced the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, two phones I’ve been excited about for a while now. They have big screens, a delightfully playful design sensibility, and what promises to be a fascinating upgrade to the previous Pixel’s best-in-class camera.</p>
<p id="g46SMH">They also don’t have headphone jacks.</p>
<p id="vnLlQs">Predictably, my Twitter replies exploded. Last year I <a href="https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2016/6/21/11991302/iphone-no-headphone-jack-user-hostile-stupid">wrote a piece</a> calling the removal of headphone jacks from phones “user-hostile and stupid” in the lead-up to the iPhone 7 launch. Google and Samsung certainly weren’t shy in pointing out that their phones retained the 3.5mm connector, and now it’s gone from the Pixel 2. If Google and Apple agree on something, it has to be the correct decision, right? </p>
<div class="c-float-left"><aside id="Zq7FkH"><q>If Google and Apple agree on...</q></aside></div>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/5/16426754/pixel-2-headphone-jack-bluetooth-walled-garden">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/5/16426754/pixel-2-headphone-jack-bluetooth-walled-gardenNilay Patel2017-10-05T10:00:04-04:002017-10-05T10:00:04-04:00Pixelbook vs. MacBook vs. Surface Laptop: how do the $1,000 laptops stack up?
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/SGOSmTKxq6526n3UGGeQRpM_tJA=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/57005635/jbareham_170921_2006_0285.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by James Bareham / The Verge</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="IPWBF7">Google’s Pixelbook is the revived image of a high-end Chromebook, a top-shelf version of a Google laptop running Chrome OS that’s meant to stand shoulder to shoulder with devices like Apple’s MacBook or Microsoft’s Surface Laptop.</p>
<p id="ned9og">The Pixelbook starts at $999, which isn’t exactly cheap by Chromebook standards, especially when considering that the price doesn’t include the $99 Pixelbook Pen stylus. But if you can work with Chrome OS — something that gets easier and easier with each passing day as Google’s operating system gets more and more capable — it might just be worth the price. </p>
<p id="PF4erZ">It’s too early to say whether or not the Pixelbook will reach mass-market success. But for now, we’ve compared it against the closest competition across the...</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/5/16424600/google-pixelbook-vs-apple-macbook-microsoft-surface-spec-comparison">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/5/16424600/google-pixelbook-vs-apple-macbook-microsoft-surface-spec-comparisonChaim Gartenberg2017-10-05T08:01:01-04:002017-10-05T08:01:01-04:00The Pixel's missing headphone jack proves Apple was right
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/JrFyNoSOIO0Rm2WSC6XQ1F4aDvY=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/57011663/jbareham_170921_2006_0143.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by James Bareham / The Verge</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="oHA06Y">When it launched the iPhone 7 a year ago, Apple confidently declared the headphone jack obsolete technology that we could learn to live without. I disagreed with the necessity of its removal then, and I disagree with it now, but with Google joining the ranks of jack-less phone makers, I think it’s time to accept the inevitability of the 3.5mm port’s demise. According to the two towering US giants of mobile tech, the future is wireless (or, in emergencies, dongle-shaped) and even though that will <a href="https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2016/6/21/11991302/iphone-no-headphone-jack-user-hostile-stupid">make our lives less convenient</a> and our tech less compatible, we should all just come along for the ride.</p>
<p id="bCrbjC">I’m not okay with this, but it isn’t my choice to make.</p>
<p id="wINQy2">Perhaps this is the resignation stage of grief that I’m going through. I just can’t...</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/5/16428570/google-pixel-2-no-headphone-jack-apple-wireless-future">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/5/16428570/google-pixel-2-no-headphone-jack-apple-wireless-futureVlad Savov2017-10-05T07:20:46-04:002017-10-05T07:20:46-04:00How Google’s Pixel Buds compare to Apple’s AirPods
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Oyy1q1pHbKY3krlDhqAfc5xB3Ks=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/57011647/jbareham_170922_2006_1005.0.jpg" />
</figure>
<p id="2YByVn">Yesterday, Google announced the <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/4/16405192/new-google-pixel-2-xl-phone-photos-video-hands-on">second round of its very own Pixel phones</a>, but it also expanded its small universe of “Made by Google” hardware. One of the new products under that umbrella, and a first for Google, are the Pixel Buds. They’re around-the-neck wireless earbuds (or “neckbuds”) that, in some ways, resemble Apple’s AirPods. </p>
<p id="eujnW6">Much like Apple, Google has done away with the headphone jack on its new phones, so selling a pair of its own wireless headphones makes sense. They’re even priced exactly the same as AirPods, at $159. However, there are plenty of differences between the Pixel Buds and AirPods that are worth elucidating at the outset, even if we’ve only gotten a very brief chance to try them so far, and can’t really say...</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/10/5/16414766/google-pixel-buds-vs-apple-airpods-wireless-headphones-price-specs">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/10/5/16414766/google-pixel-buds-vs-apple-airpods-wireless-headphones-price-specsSean O'Kane2017-10-04T17:07:40-04:002017-10-04T17:07:40-04:00Google is already running out of Pixel 2 stock
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/oeZRbCsxua29Xt6VyNhu1Ptx8dw=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/57004559/jbareham_170922_2006_0552.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by James Bareham / The Verge</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="tq8Ivn">It’s been only three hours since Google’s Pixel 2 event wrapped up — but if you’re planning to buy one and haven’t gotten around to it yet, you’re already late enough to be on the waiting list.</p>
<p id="MFcBsa">Many models of the Pixel 2 and every model of the Pixel 2 XL have already seen their delivery dates slip past the phone’s October 19th launch date. Here’s the current situation in <a href="https://store.google.com/us/config/pixel_2">the Google Store</a>:</p>
<h4 id="nNGWGA">Pixel 2:</h4>
<p id="9Q69C7"><strong>Black 64GB: </strong>In stock.<br><strong>Black 128GB: </strong>In stock.<br><strong>White 64GB: </strong>5-6 weeks.<br><strong>White 128GB: </strong>2-3 weeks<br><strong>Blue 64GB: </strong>6-7 weeks</p>
<h4 id="zggbYy">Pixel 2 XL:</h4>
<p id="19e8Vz"><strong>Black 64GB: </strong>2-3 weeks<br><strong>Black 128GB: </strong>2-3 weeks<br><strong>White 64GB: </strong>out of stock, waitlist<br><strong>White 128GB: </strong>out of stock, waitlist.</p>
<p id="8fw9p1">The situation isn’t great. If you want the smaller Pixel you might be fine, but anyone interested in the larger...</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/4/16426142/google-pixel-2-preorder-availability-delays-2-xl">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/4/16426142/google-pixel-2-preorder-availability-delays-2-xlJacob Kastrenakes2017-10-04T15:24:26-04:002017-10-04T15:24:26-04:00Watch the Google Pixel 2 event in 19 minutes
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/UzKwozeMK3-VRJK66G1Z92JREiA=/150x0:1770x1080/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/57002617/google_supercut_pixel.0.jpg" />
</figure>
<p id="cS6soR">The Google Pixel event has wrapped and we got a good look at a bunch of new hardware lineup this year: the second generation of Pixel smartphones, new Google Homes, a Pixelbook, and a surprise new Google camera that uses artificial intelligence to snap pictures and videos of your family. Is it as weird as it sounds?</p>
<p id="lduxVG">If you missed the keynote where Google presented everything, here’s a recap of everything Google announced in about two hours cut into a 19-minute video so you can see for yourself if these new products will make it to your shopping list this holiday season.</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/4/16418730/google-event-live-stream-video-supercut-replay-2017">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/4/16418730/google-event-live-stream-video-supercut-replay-2017Natt Garun2017-10-04T15:05:35-04:002017-10-04T15:05:35-04:00Google’s Pixel 2 phones are the first to use built-in eSIM technology
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rDFgwqUj4Li0D6rk8x0bSTnAmuI=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/57002055/jbareham_170922_2006_0522.1507143934.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by James Bareham / The Verge</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="vrlGaF">You’ll be able to use Google’s newest smartphones, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, without needing to pop in a SIM card, the <a href="https://blog.google/products/project-fi/device-setup-esim/">company announced today</a>. As long as you’re a Project Fi subscriber, Google will use the devices’ built-in eSIMs to authenticate your cellular account. Prior to today, no smartphone has ever used the eSIM standard. The relatively new technology has typically been reserved for LTE-equipped tablets, smartwatches, and other cellular wearables. </p>
<p id="0oigzy">“This means you no longer need to go to a store to get a SIM card for wireless service, wait a few days for your card to arrive in the mail, or fumble around with a bent paper clip to coax your SIM card into a tiny slot,” writes Joy Xi, a product manager for Project Fi, in Google’s...</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/4/16424740/google-pixel-2-xl-esim-technology-project-fi-first-ever">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/4/16424740/google-pixel-2-xl-esim-technology-project-fi-first-everNick Statt