SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Latest on Google’s new-product showcase (all times local): 11:15 a.m. Google is introducing a hands-free camera that will automatically take photos and video for people looking to catch candid moments of their family, friends and
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Latest on Google’s new-product showcase (all times local):
11:15 a.m.
Google is introducing a hands-free camera that will automatically take photos and video for people looking to catch candid moments of their family, friends and pet.
The small, square device, called Google Clips, can be attached to something stationary so it can capture images of everything within its range of view. It will rely on artificially intelligence to know the best times to snap a photo or record video.
Google is promising that privacy controls built into Clips will give the camera’s users complete control over which images they want to transfer to another device or share with someone else.
Clips will sell for almost $250 and will be available in stores in December.
———
10:45 a.m.
Google is introducing wireless headphones as its new line of Pixel smartphones joins the shift away from a headphone jack.
Although they will connect wirelessly, the company’s Pixel Buds will come with a short cord so you can drape them around your neck.
Google removed the headphone jack from the second generation of its Pixel phones to make them thinner and waterproof. The new phones also feature built-in stereo speakers.
Besides playing music, the Pixel buds work with translation software built in the new phones to make it easier to converse in different languages. The translation feature will also be made available in an update to Pixel models released last year.
The Pixel buds will sell for almost $160 and ship next month.
———
10:30 a.m.
Google is borrowing from Apple’s playbook as it takes on its rival in high end of the smartphone market.
The second generation of Google’s Pixel phones unveiled Wednesday feature larger, brighter screens that take up more of the phone’s front, changes that Apple is also making with its iPhone X scheduled to be released next month.
Both the Pixel XL and the 5-inch Pixel will also get rid of the headphone jack, something Apple did with the iPhone last year.
Google also souped up the already highly rated camera on the Pixel, boasting that it will take even better photos than the iPhone.
The smaller Pixel will sell for almost $650, $50 less than the iPhone 8. The Pixel XL will sell for almost $850, or $50 more than the iPhone 8 Plus. Prices for the iPhone X start at $1,000.
———
10 a.m.
Google is introducing different sizes of its internet-connected speaker to compete against similar devices from Amazon and Apple.
The Google Home Mini unveiled Wednesday is a button-sized speaker covered in fabric. It includes the same features featured in a cylindrical speaker that Google rolled out last year in response to Amazon’s Echo.
The Mini will cost almost $50, roughly the small price as Amazon’s smaller speaker, the Echo Dot. The standard Google Home speaker costs almost $130.
The Google Home Max is a rectangular speaker with superior acoustics for playing music, mimicking Apple’s HomePod.
Google is selling the Home Max for almost $400, $50 more than the HomePod. Both speakers are due in December.
Google’s voice-activated digital assistant will serves as the brains for all the speakers.
