The removal of Soli also means the Pixel 5 has a fingerprint sensor and a notch-less design, with a clean pinhole punchout adorning the phone’s 6-inch, 2,340 x 1,080 display. Thankfully, the screen still includes the 90Hz refresh rate of last year’s model. Anyone who has had to put with woeful battery life on the Pixel 3 and Pixel 4 will also be happy to learn the Pixel 5 comes with a larger 4,000mAh capacity battery.  

Some other notable tweaks include a rejigged primary camera system made up of 12-megapixel and 16-megapixel sensors capturing photos from wide and ultra-wide lenses. It wouldn’t be a Pixel launch without new software features for those cameras and Google didn’t disappoint. One new feature is a panning tool that there’s to help you capture smooth video. Rounding out the Pixel 5’s spec list is support for Qi wireless charging, a water-resistant design, 128GB of storage and a price tag that starts at $699.

Pixel 4a 5G

Google

Pixel fans will notice we didn’t mention an XL model above. That’s because there’s isn’t one this year. Instead, Google plans to release a more premium version of the Pixel 4a — or a more affordable take on the Pixel 5, if that’s how you want to look at things. The $499 Pixel 4a 5G surprisingly has many of the same marquee features as its more expensive sibling. Both phones feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G processor. They also have the same front and rear camera arrays. What you won’t get with the Pixel 4a 5G is support for Qi wireless charging, waterproofing and a 90Hz display. But it does come with a headphone jack. 

Chromecast

Google

Google’s new Chromecast comes with a remote. Yes, Google has finally listened to its customers, but there’s a lot more to its latest streaming puck than merely a new way to control things. Google has gone with an updated design that borrows from both the Chromecast Ultra and its colorful Nest Mini speakers. Inside, the puck features a new processor that allows it to play 4K HDR content at up to 60 frames per second. Additionally, there’s support for Dolby Vision and surround sound.  

As for that remote, it has a built-in microphone for quick and easy Assistant access. In terms of buttons, there are Back, Home, Mute, Power and Input keys, as well as a dedicated volume rocker. It also comes with shortcuts for YouTube and Netflix. Handy that. 

Where things get somewhat confusing is that the new Chromecast runs Google TV. The platform runs on top of Android TV and adds a new interface to the mix that borrows features from Google’s Play Movies and TV app. 

You can grab the Chromecast starting today for $50. 

Nest Audio

Google

Lastly, Google announced a new smart speaker called Nest Audio. Like the Nest Mini, the Nest Audio is covered in fabric. Google outfitted it with a 19mm tweeter and 75mm mid-woofer. The company says those components allow the Nest Audio to get 75 percent louder than the Google Home. It also produces 50 percent more bass than that speaker. 

On the device, you’ll find LED lights that turn on when you speak to Assistant. But there’s also a mute switch on the back of the speaker if you don’t want the digital helper turning on by accident. It also comes with a Media EQ feature that Google says will automatically tune your Nest Audio depending on what you’re listening to, and there’s support for multi-room audio.

You can also pair two Nest Audios to get stereo imaging, which will be tempting since a single speaker only costs $100.

Google’s Pixel 5 event is finally here. The “Launch Night In” starts at 2PM ET/11AM PT, and you can watch it with us below. Alongside the company’s stream, we’ll offer our commentary on all the news in real time. We know that Google will announce a new Pixel phone, Chromecast and smart speaker, and several leaks have already provided additional details on those products. It’ll be interesting to see what’s left to announce.

When Google launched the Pixel 4a in August, it promised that 5G-ready versions of the Pixel 4a and Pixel 5 would arrive this fall. We know the 5G devices will start at $499. Thanks to leaks, we also know that they’ll come with OLED displays and be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G processor. They’ll support 18W fast charging, too.

Google is planning to reveal its new Chromecast at a big hardware event on September 30th. Thanks to one insider, we’ve already learned what the new dongle will look like. Now, thanks to another leak, we know what the remote will look like too. 9to5Google shared images, obtained by WinFuture, of the remote.

The remote has a D-Pad at the top and a volume rocker on the side, as well as buttons for back, Assistant, home and mute. Most notably, the remote has dedicated YouTube and Netflix buttons.

“We took the time to build Philo Connect to expand our experience to support synchronized viewing on all your devices, not just Chromecast,” said Devon Ray Williams, Philo’s head of product. “Today’s launch has laid the groundwork for us to support social viewing and watch parties between multiple users, no matter where they are.”

Update 7/31/2020 12:45PM ET: Philo clarified that while its Android app is now Chromecast enabled, the feature won’t be available to users immediately. It should roll out in the upcoming weeks.

NBC previously announced that Peacock will be available across Apple devices and on Microsoft’s Xbox devices. It makes sense that NBC would want to bring Peacock to Android and Chromecast devices, too.

“Given Google’s extensive customer reach, millions of people will be able to start streaming Peacock on their preferred platform or device this July,” Peacock President Maggie McLean Suniewick said in a statement. “We’ve made Peacock free to our distribution partners, including Google, because we want people everywhere to stream Peacock.”

The platform will soon be the exclusive streaming home of The Office and Parks and Rec, and it will host the now-postponed Tokyo Olympics. Its full lineup includes a mix of shows from the NBCUniversal empire, new original content and select movies ranging from the Despicable Me franchises to Knocked Up. All of this means that there’s another TV streaming service that consumers will have to consider.

If the only thing holding you back from enjoying Quibi’s mobile-first video platform has been its lack of support for big-screen viewing, then we have good news. After adding Apple’s AirPlay tech two weeks ago, it has followed up with Chromecast support in the latest versions of its app for iOS and Android devices.

Richard Lawler / Engadget

Just like the AirPlay implementation, watching the service’s “quick bite” videos on the big screen means only viewing them in horizontal orientation, with no option to go back and forth for different layouts. We’ll see if Quibi follows up with built-in smart TV apps or if it continues with its mobile focus that, so far, has resulted in disappointing subscriber numbers.

The controller is said to look like a cross between the remotes for the defunct Daydream View and the Apple TV, complete with a mic and a Google Assistant button for voice control. It might have already surfaced, in fact — Protocol‘s Janko Roettgers noticed an FCC filing for a “Google Remote” whose basic profile matches the description. Google has issued developer devices with similar functionality, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to make a more home-oriented equivalent.

It’s not certain when the new Chromecast Ultra might arrive. It might have launched alongside the Pixel 4a at Google I/O, but that event has been cancelled. This would be a big move for Google if and when the revamped Ultra shipped, however. While Amazon has been delivering full-featured Fire TV dongles for a while, Google hasn’t had an Android media hub since the Nexus Player. This could help it compete more directly with the likes of Amazon, Apple and Roku, not to mention put Google Assistant in more living rooms than it could with Nest speakers.

As The Verge notes, Peloton bike and treadmill owners can cast to supported devices with Miracast, but this feature’s addition gives iOS subscribers an alternative if they don’t have any of the company’s exercise equipment. Like any other app that supports Chromecast, users only need to tap the Chromecast icon to sync with a bigger display.

The company seems to be on a mission to make its videos more accessible on larger screens. In December, it also launched an application for Fire TVs, which focuses on strength training, yoga and other complementary exercises.

The benefit of the feature was that guests didn’t need to be connected to the same WiFi network as the speaker — all they needed was a four digit PIN code. When Google first introduced the feature, it paired with devices using ultrasonic frequencies that could actually be heard by pets or people with good hearing.

Not only is the mode apparently disabled, but the the option to turn it on has disappeared from Home and Nest speaker device settings, as have the support pages for it. The instructions to make it work are still available on a cached page, however.

The feature is still available on Chromecast devices, so it’ll still be easy to hook up that friend with the Netflix account. It’s not clear why Google disabled it for Google Home, however, or exactly when the feature was disabled.

“Hulu subscribers can now ask their Google Assistant to play thousands of hit TV shows and movies from their basic subscription catalog on their Chromecasts, Chromecast built-in devices, and smart displays like Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max,” a spokesperson for Google told Android Police.

You can can link Assistant with Hulu by launching the Google Home app on your phone Tap the “Settings” cog icon toward the top of the interface, scroll down until you find the “Google Assistant services” section, and then tap on “TV & video” menu item. Confusingly, the title at the top of the window that opens up will say you’re in the “Videos and Photos” section. Inconsistent UI design aside, you’re in the right place. At this point, tap on the Hulu icon and input your login information when promoted. Just keep in mind that Google is currently rolling out this functionality, so you may not have the ability to add Hulu right away.

In case you didn’t know about Assistant’s ability to integrate with video streaming services, you can use this opportunity to link it with some of the other services you subscribe to. Some of the other platforms that support Assistant voice control include Netflix, CBS All Access and HBO Now.