All the news you need to know from Google’s 2020 Pixel 5 launch event

Google kept this year’s event short and sweet with a host of A-listers like Mark Ronson and Selena Gomez explaining about how much they love music.

All this was a fitting intro to the new Nest Audio Speaker, a replacement for the Google Home (2016) finding a place somewhere between the Nest Home Max and Nest Mini.

Next up is the Google Chromecast with Google TV built-in which spells the end of the Google Play and TV App, but you do get a neat remote controller and it no longer requires a smartphone since Google TV brings a dedicated operating system.

And it wouldn’t be a Google event without news of the much revered Pixels, which were saved until the end of the presentation introducing the much-anticipated Pixel 5 5G and the suspiciously similar Pixel 4a 5G. Let’s start there…

Pixel 5 comes with 5G and some new camera tricks

The Pixel 5 comprises of a 6in screen with an FHD+ flexible OLED display and an IP68 rating, so it’s fully protected against dust and a rain shower needn’t be a worry.

While it’s not trying to compete with the most powerful blowers running on Snapdragon 765G, the 8GB RAM should assist with speed.

It’s the first time Google introduce 5G to the Pixel line-up, which promises rewards such as downloading movies in a mere few seconds.

It also claims to last for up to 48-hours. It manages this by pausing the apps that aren’t in use to conserve as much juice as possible.

Famed for its camera software, the Pixel 5 and 4a respectively, rock the new ultrawide lens and bring low-light processing to Portrait Mode, meaning subjects should be well-lit even in the trickiest of scenarios.

Video sees a big boost with three new stabilisation modes including Cinematic Pan, so you can make donning your face mask and going to the supermarket to purchase a single banana look like a Hollywood movie trailer.

Available October 15 at £599 in either black or a pale green, or ‘sorta sage’ if you will.

The Pixel 4a 5G is essentially a Pixel 4a XL

Coming in a little larger than the Pixel 5 at 6.2in with the same display as the Pixel 5, it even features a 3.5 mm headphone jack and crucially is also 5G ready.

With the same innards as the Pixel 5 (Snapdragon 765G, 8GB of RAM), plus an identical camera set up, it’s hard to tell them apart on paper.

There’s no water resistance and factoring in that larger display, it might have a negative effect on battery life, plus it’s only available in Black.

Available on 29 November, it’ll cost £499.

The £89 Google Nest Audio speaker is one fine mesh

Taking up a lot less room on the bookshelf than the Google Home Max, the slimmer, 17.5 cm tall Google Nest Audio looks like a soft furnishing covered in a single piece of mesh, available in either black or white.

Inside is a 75mm bass driver and 19mm tweeter which should deliver more base, volume and clarity. There are three microphones used for picking up voices when barking orders at Google Assistant, and these can be disabled at the slide of a button.

You can also group Nest Audio with other Nest devices, including Nest Mini, Nest Hub Max.

On sale 15 October for a wallet-friendly £89.

The Google Chrome Cast comes with its own remote control

If the new remote control isn’t doing it for you, maybe the new entertainment suite, Google TV will.

Another win for the little puck is that you no longer need to use a smartphone as it runs its own dedicated OS. It’ll plug into your TV’s HDMI port, much like an Amazon Fire TV stick or Roku stick.

Simply press and hold the button on the remote to kick Google Assistant into action and ask to show you sci-fi tv shows or hit the lights and increase the temperature, only if you’re house is smart enough.

Google Photos is our favourite app for backing up photos of momentous events, pictures of strangers’ dogs and dank memes, and now you can enjoy a slideshow and select the photos you want to see stright on your Google box.

Available for £59 and available in white, pink or blue on 15 October.

Anything else?

When you purchase Pixel 4a (5G) or Pixel 5, you’ll get a Stadia and YouTube Premium trial for 3 months, 100 GB of storage with Google One for 3 months, and Google Play Pass and Play Points for 3 months.

Google is also adding group watch to Duo Video chats, so you can easily share screen with whoever you’re chatting with and even watch a film together, which given recent travel restrictions, might come in very handy.

About

A camera obsessive, Natalya spends all her time running around town looking for interesting things to photograph. As a part-time fitness fan and a full-time foodie, she's also fond of running, smartwatches and fancy coffee machines.