Google debuts new Pixel, latest try in smartphone fight
Video presentation of Google's new flagship smartphone, the Pixel 6, which includes sophisticated hardware and a custom chip that tap into the internet giant's other offerings.
Google has finally launched its flagship Pixel 6 smartphones as it aims to beat competitors on camera and performance while undercutting them on price.
Previewed by Google, the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are the Android-maker’s attempt to compete with Apple and Samsung at the high end of the market after disappointing results with its previous mid-range entries.
Both phones have a distinctive design made from recycled aluminum with a large camera bar across the back.
Pixel phones have been seen as a way for Google to showcase the capabilities of its free Android mobile operating system, but its share of the global smartphone market has been meager.
Analyst Brad Akyuz explained "Pixel's mediocre penetration performance" by citing tech glitches and US mobile service providers subsidizing other brands in offers to customers.
"The one area where the Pixel has excelled at is software, but it has not been enough to differentiate much," he added.
The new handsets take a page from Apple's playbook with sophisticated hardware and a custom chip that tap into the internet giant's other offerings.
Samsung uses Google-backed Android software to power phones, pricing many handsets within reach of people on lean budgets.
Apple has consistently aimed iPhones at the high-end of the market, controlling the hardware and software so tightly it has raised antitrust concerns.
Pixel 6 models, with superfast 5G wireless capability, debut Google's own Tensor chip crafted along the lines of processors it made for data centers to enable computers to think more like people do.
