Google
The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL become available on October 19th and can be preordered. Both phones come in 64GB or 128GB versions, in contrast to Apple's
Pixel Buds are priced at $159, and with the capability of translating in real time, they have generated a lot of excitement. The idea of being able to hold a conversation with someone who speaks another language without the help of a translator sounds like science-fiction. It remains to be seen whether Google Translate will be accurate enough to be practical for daily use. But with developments such as Pixel Buds, it seems that the technology could be ubiquitous in the near future. Pixel Buds have a cord that connects the two earbuds, contrasting with the wireless Apple AirPods.
Clips, the clip-on camera product, can be easily clipped to a backpack, pocket, or belt or simply placed on a table or shelf in your home. They are priced at $249. Clips can pick up cues from lighting, color combinations, reoccurring faces, and other stimuli and automatically captures the best photos and videos. They can also be set on a manual mode. One major downside to Clips is the short three hour battery life. It would be nice to set Clips auto-recording all day, then look back on the moments it captured. But with a three hour battery, it seems that won't be an option. Still, it's notable that products like Clips and Pixel Buds have become widely available and use advanced artificial intelligence.
Google also announced the Google Home Mini and Max smart speakers, which can be compared to Amazon's Echo Dot. The speakers use voice recognition and respond to commands to play songs, set alarms, dim lights, arm security systems, and many other functions.
The broader trend seems to be that Google's new hardware showcases cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology. Apple is still the clear leader in sleek design and aesthetics. But Apple's newest hardware hasn't changed much since the last iteration, while Google's has. Apple share prices were flat Wednesday, the day of the Google event, but then jumped about 1.0% Thursday morning and have remained steady since then. Alphabet share prices actually fell slightly on Wednesday, but have risen dramatically since the market closed on Wednesday by 2.3% as of noon on Friday. Apple's steady share price might suggest that investors believe that the new Google products are an immediate success, but without necessarily being a threat to Apple yet. It will be interesting to see whether Google's stock price will jump even more in the coming weeks as consumers discover these smart gadgets, and whether this will threaten Apple.
