Google debuts 5G Pixel phones ahead of Apple’s iPhone launch

Google launched a pair of new 5G Android smartphones: Pixel 5, its flagship model, and the Pixel 4a 5G, an entry-level device with faster cellular network speeds.

While the Pixel 5's display is in line with the latest high-end phones from Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Changes in its features and the lower price put the phone in more direct competition with lower-end phones from those companies.

Google began introducing its smartphones too much fanfare in 2016, after years of collaborating with device makers on the Nexus line specifically designed to showcase the best Android operating system. Progress has been slow. While IDC data shows Pixel shipments jumped 52% to 7.2 million units last year, Apple, Samsung, and Huawei Technologies Co. are selling. More than 100 million phones a year.

Pixel 5 is moving to a front screen that is almost the entire screen. Both of these new phones have slower processors, fewer camera sensors, and are more affordable than their competitors' flagship phones. Alphabet Inc. also removed the facial recognition camera and motion sensor from the Pixel 4 phone last year, adding a hole the size of a hole for the camera and fingerprint sensor on the back instead. Pixel 5 starts at $ 699, $ 100 less than last year, and the same price as the entry-level iPhone 11.

The latest deals from Apple and Samsung cost more than $ 1,000. Rick Osterloh, Google's director of Devices, said the company had removed expensive components because it did not want to sell a $ 1,000 phone that would push many consumers off the market in the event of an economic downturn.

The flagship phone that was unveiled on Wednesday for the new 5G, or 5G networks, now comes in a 6-inch model, replacing last year's 5.7-inch and 6.3-inch Pixel 4 displays. It comes in black and green. The phone also adds the ability to charge headphones on the back of the phone and a new low-power mode to extend battery life.

Pixel devices have captured some customers with capable cameras and photo-related software. But Apple and other manufacturers caught up with this and one of Google's top camera tech experts, Mark Levoy, left earlier this year.

The Pixel 5 adds an ultra-wide camera, which replaces the telephoto lens from last year's model. The latter setting helps users photograph more of the surroundings, while the telephoto lens has more magnification. Google makes up for the lack of optical zoom with software. Apple and Samsung offer three separate cameras on the back of their more expensive Tier 1 phones.

The front camera on the Pixel 5 is 8MP, like the Pixel 4, but the new phone has more memory and a bigger battery. The phone also adds a feature to use portrait mode in new and dark modes to improve video stability.

The Pixel 4a 5G is similar to the Pixel 4a that was announced in August but adds a 6.2-inch screen, improved cameras, and a faster processor. This phone costs $ 499, which is way more than the smaller non-5G variant. Google said both phones are scheduled to launch on October 15.

Apple plans to launch four new iPhones in October, with faster chipsets, improved cameras, larger and smaller screen options, and an updated design, Bloomberg News reported.

Google introduced other device products on Wednesday, including the new Nest Audio speaker and an updated Chromecast TV streaming device.

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