At the Google I/O developer conference, Google launched a new smartphone, the Pixel 6a, a mid-range device powered by the Tensor chip.
The camera has a Real Tone, representing all skin tones; Night Sight, which takes pictures in low light conditions and Magic Eraser in Google Photos, which makes distractions disappear.
Pixel 6a also has the same “highly accurate” speech recognition as the Pixel 6 Pro, including features like Recorder, Real-Time Subtitles and Real-Time Translator. The smartphone, Google promises, comes with an all-day battery that can last up to 72 hours in extreme battery saving mode. The dedicated Titan M2 security chip ensures that users’ sensitive data is safe. Pre-order is on July 21, and it hits shelves on July 28 for $ 449.
More than a billion new Android phones have been activated in the last year alone, and there are over three billion monthly active Android devices worldwide, said Sameer Samat, VP of Product, Google Play and Android.
If the phone is the most popular device – he explains – people have added more connected devices, such as TVs, cars, watches, and headphones. “For this reason, with Android 13, we are thinking about a multi-device future, and we are making updates on privacy and security,” he said.
The event, like every year, is an opportunity to take stock of the hardware and software innovations of the Mountain View company. Google explains that it has activated partnerships with TLC operators and phone manufacturers worldwide to update text messages with a new standard called Rich Communication Services (Rcs), which allows privacy protections thanks to end-to-encryption.
Then comes Google Wallet, a re-updated payment app that will store credit cards, tickets for events, and boarding passes and will debut in a few weeks. Another novelty, for now, only for the Americans, concerns the virtual credit cards that will complete the payment details with virtual numbers that replace those of the credit card.
On the hardware front, Google has also launched Pixel Buds Pro, wireless headphones with active noise cancellation “designed to work perfectly with the entire Pixel portfolio and any Android phone,” said Nidhi Rathi of Google. They also fit your ear. They can be pre-ordered on July 21 for $ 199.