Author Archives: Brian Rakowski

Pixel 4 is here to help

With a camera that captures detail that others can't, a new way to use your phone without touching it, a new Google Assistant, and a fast and responsive display, Pixel 4 packs new technology into a new design. Best of all, Pixel includes the latest version of Android, which gets better with each update.

Get the perfect photo with Pixel 4

Pixel 4 brings our largest camera upgrade yet. There are now two cameras on the back of the phone, including a new telephoto lens. When you combine this new hardware feature with our Super Res Zoom software, it gives you exceptional image quality—even from a distance.  

Night Sight already takes beautiful photos in full darkness, and now you can use Night Sight for shots of the night sky, the stars, and even the Milky Way (when you find a clear night). Pixel 3 and 3a will also get a version of this capability with the latest camera app update.

Starting with the original device, all Pixel phones have HDR+ (High Dynamic Range) which delivers outstanding photo quality. With Pixel 4, you can fine-tune the brightness and amount of detail in the shadows, helping with difficult shots like sunset portraits. Pixel 4 also has Live HDR+ in the viewfinder so you know exactly what your photo will look like, even when you're using the new controls in tricky lighting.

Night Sight photo.jpg

Actual Night Sight photograph with the new astrophotography capability.

A new Google Assistant

Thanks to a deeper integration into Pixel 4, the Google Assistant is now a faster way to get more things done. Breakthroughs in speech processing mean that more requests can happen right on your phone, without always sending your request to the cloud. 

We redesigned the Assistant so it doesn’t take up too much room on your screen, letting you better multitask across other apps. It can quickly open apps, search your phone, share what's on your screen, and more. It also considers the context of your query to do a better job answering. For example, you can ask the Assistant to “show my photos from New York” and then say “the ones in Central Park.” Then, you can share a picture by saying “send it to Mom.” We’ll continue improving the technology that powers the new Assistant over time.

A phone that senses what you want it to do

Pixel 4’s Motion Sense feature uses a miniature radar sensor to detect movement around your phone. It can sense when you’re reaching for the phone and will initiate face unlock, or turn off your screen when you’re not around. New Quick Gestures let you skip songs when you don’t want to pick up your phone. Just wave your hand to snooze alarms, dismiss timers, or silence your phone ringer. Motion Sense is enabled everywhere Pixel 4 is sold, except in Japan where it's coming soon.

A gif showing someone skipping songs using Motion Sense

New built-in apps

Pixel 4’s new Recorder app records meetings, lectures, jam sessions—anything you want to save and listen to later—and simultaneously transcribes speech and identifies sounds like music and applause. You can easily search within your recordings to quickly find a specific word or sound. All of this happens on-device. We're starting with English for transcription and search, with more languages coming soon.

An example of how the recorder app works

Pixel 4 also comes with a new Personal Safety app that can automatically call 911 if it detects that you've been in a car accident. Car crash detection will be available in English in the U.S.

Built for performance and security

With 6GB RAM, a 90hz display, and Pixel Neural Core, Pixel 4 is fast and powerful. Pixel Neural Core is the engine for on-device processing, always-on computing, and machine learning, meaning more tasks are done on the device for performance and privacy. 

Pixel 4 also includes Google’s custom-built Titan M security chip to protect your most sensitive data and ensure the integrity of the operating system. Combined with the latest version of Android 10, monthly security updates for 3 years, and access to Google’s advanced security services, Pixel 4 is designed to keep your data secure.

Pricing and availability 

We’re expanding our carrier partner lineup and will be selling Pixel through all the major U.S. carriers for the first time, including AT&T, C Spire, Cellcom, Google Fi, Spectrum Mobile (Charter), Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Verizon, Visible and Xfinity Mobile (Comcast). 

Beginning today, you can pre-order a Pixel 4 for $799 and Pixel 4 XL for $899, and phones will ship on October 24, globally. Pixel 4 comes in three colors, including Clearly White, Just Black, and a limited edition, Oh So Orange. 

More from this Collection

Made by Google, made to help

Pixel 4, Pixel Buds, Pixelbook Go, Nest Mini and Nest Wifi are part of our vision to create a consistent, helpful Google for you.

View all 9 articles

Introducing Pixel, our new phone made by Google

Today, we announced for the first time a family of products that brings people the best of Google through hardware and software made by Google. We're excited that the lineup features the first phone made by Google inside and out — Pixel.

For those of you who have followed Google closely, that name may sound familiar to you because we've used the Pixel name in the past for consumer hardware products that represented an overall premium Google experience. Many of you may also be familiar with the Nexus program. Since 2010, we’ve partnered closely with mobile handset partners around the world to bring you the best of Android. Through Nexus, the goal was to work with these various partners to push the boundaries of what’s possible with a smartphone. We’ve now decided to take the next step and provide our take on the best Google experience, by bringing hardware and software design together under one roof.

Pixel, Phone by Google

With Pixel, we obsessed over every detail, from the industrial design to the user experience. We carefully sculpted the surfaces of the phone, and rounded the edges to make it easy to grip. We used 2.5D Corning® Gorilla® Glass 4 on the front display and back glass to accent the aerospace grade aluminum body. The glass on the back also features Pixel Imprint, our fingerprint sensor, which is placed on the back of the phone where your finger expects it. You can even swipe it to access your notifications. And no matter what you’re using your phone for, you’ll need a battery that lasts all day and charges fast — up to seven hours in 15 minutes.

Pixel Phone Colors.jpg

Meet your Google Assistant

Pixel is the first phone with the Google Assistant built in. With your Assistant, you can have a natural conversation with Google to find answers or get things done on the go. Say "Ok Google" or touch and hold the Home button and your Assistant is ready to help. Ask it for a brief update on your day or to play a video on YouTube. Look up traffic on the way home from work or when the nearest pharmacy closes. You can even say “show me my camping photos with Andrew” and it'll instantly display the photos you're looking for. Your Assistant can also offer help with what’s on-screen in any app. So if your friend texts you to meet up at a new restaurant, you can just say “navigate there”.

The best smartphone camera. Ever.

The Pixel camera is not only the best smartphone camera we’ve ever made, it’s the highest rated smartphone camera anyone has ever made. Our DxOMark Mobile score of 89 is a great example of what’s possible when great hardware meets great software. Pixel puts cutting-edge computational photography in an ultra-fast and easy-to-use camera.

Pixel has a 12.3MP camera, featuring an f/2.0 aperture and big 1.55 micron pixels to capture lots and lots of light. Our team of photography gurus and image processing experts have spent the last year designing and tirelessly optimizing our entire camera stack.

Pixel’s camera lets you take stunning photos in low light, bright light or any light. Catch action shots as they happen with Smartburst, which takes a rapid-fire sequence of shots and automatically selects the best one. Use Lens Blur to achieve shallow depth of field and bokeh effects, making your subject pop. You can capture dramatic landscapes or make faces glow with new exposure controls.

And as a special bonus for Pixel owners, we’re including free unlimited storage for original quality photos and videos at full resolution in Google Photos.

More to love

Pixel ships with the newest Android operating system, Android 7.1 Nougat. Phones will get software and security updates as soon as they’re available, directly from Google. We’ve also made the update process easier. When a new update is available, it can download and install in the background — no more waiting around for your phone to update.

The Pixel also comes with Google Duo and Allo pre-installed so you can video call and text with all your friends, whether they’re on Android or iOS.

Make it yours

Pixel comes in two sizes, 5” or 5.5”, and three colors: Very Silver, Quite Black and our limited edition for the U.S. only, Really Blue. And whatever you choose, we’ve got cases to match. In addition to customizing Live Cases with your favorite photos and places, we’re introducing a new Artworks collection that features exclusive designs from artists like Justin Maller, and photographers like Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield. We’re also excited to offer a new collection of silicone and clear cases.

Pixel is available for pre-order today starting at $649 in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Germany and Australia. Pre-orders in India will begin October 13. In the U.S., we’re teaming up exclusively with Verizon to make Pixel available nationwide at all Verizon retail outlets, including Best Buy stores. We’re also offering Pixel unlocked on the Google Store and, for you Project Fi fans out there, you'll be happy to know that Pixel is the latest device to work on the Fi network.

Personally, I’m rocking the 5.5” Quite Black with a Live Case centered on 1060 W Addison. Go Cubs!

Source: Android