Under the Nexus moniker, Google has sold Android phones of its own since 2010. But the new phone it’s announcing at its San Francisco event has a new-to-phones brand: Pixel. And the company seems to be newly serious about phone hardware being a core competency rather than a hobby.
Here are some of the details:
• The Pixel is the first phone to ship with Android Nougat and the first to support Google Assistant, the new, AI-infused version of the company’s voice assistant and Daydream VR, its new VR platform.
• The camera, which received the highest rating ever for a smartphone camera from DxOMark, is optimized for zero lag, tricky lighting situations, and action photos.
• Google includes cloud storage for photos and videos at original quality.
• The phone offers seven hours of battery life after 15 minutes of charging.
• There will be 5″ and 5.5″ models, available in “quite black,” “very silver,” and “really blue,” starting at $649.
• The Pixel will be available from Verizon and as an unlocked phone from Google’s own online store.