Tomorrow, October 4th, Google will hold their big event in Mountain View, California where they’ll unveil a bunch of new hardware and possibly new software. Since there’s so much to talk about regarding this keynote, some may be wondering exactly what the search giant plans on announcing. Therefore, here’s what to expect from Google’s next event.
Best Chance
These are the announcements we’re almost certain Google will make tomorrow:
Pixel & Pixel XL smartphones: Google’s Nexus lineup of phones is dead, and to replace it is the next generation titled Pixel. Two handsets are set to make appearances at this event, with the standard Pixel featuring a 5-inch 1080p display, possibly a Snapdragon 820 or 821 chipset, 4GB of RAM, (at least) 32GB of storage, 12MP rear and 8MP front cameras, a 2770mAh battery, a USB-C port, and a fingerprint scanner, while the upgraded Pixel XL comes with a larger 5.5-inch QHD display, 3450mAh battery, and (possibly) more storage in the base line model. Both handsets are set to be built by HTC and run Android 7.1 Nougat with the Pixel Launcher on top, several exclusive software features, and come with the Google Assistant built in.
Design wise, an aluminum body is reportedly going to contain all of these specs, while a glass pane on the back will give way to the various radios built into the handsets in order for them to receive signal. At this time, there’s not much more we can share as that’s basically everything we know, so we’ll have to wait 24 hours to learn more about what these new phones from Google will feature.
4K Chromecast ‘Ultra’: If you own a Chromecast or just know about it, you know that unfortunately, it doesn’t support 4K video output. Why this is so is unclear, however this year Google’s reported to unveil a 4K-enabled version of their media streaming platform called the Chromecast Ultra. It’s unclear whether this device will feature anything else the standard Chromecast doesn’t other than 4K video output, but it is said that this model will cost about $69, double that of the standard Cast. While no other details about this device are known at this time, at least we don’t have very much longer to wait until we see this thing in person.
Google Home: At I/O 2016, Google unveiled to the public their take on a home assistant platform they call Google Home. It’s powered by the Google Assistant and can be used to check the weather, Google stuff (obviously), play music in different parts of your home via the Chromecast Audio, control your smart home, and more. It’s expected that Google will announce when we can expect this puppy to hit the market at tomorrow’s keynote, while a price of $129 is what’s been reported to accompany this piece of hardware. Additional details on Home are unknown right now, so we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to learn more.
Android 7.1 Nougat: As previously mentioned, the Pixel and Pixel XL are reported to launch with Android 7.1 Nougat. So in that case, why wouldn’t Google talk about what’s new in this update? Right now, one of the only things we’re expecting from this new software is the launch of the Google Assistant. We saw this feature first in Google Allo, however it’s currently in preview stages. Whether it’ll be ready as a full-fledged release or not by the time 7.1 begins rolling out is beyond me, but we nevertheless believe this will be a focus point of the new software the company will probably spend plenty of time on.
Slight tweaks, improved security and stability, and under-the-hood improvements are all expected from Android 7.1, but user-facing changes at this time remain unknown. Therefore, we’ll have to wait to hear more about what’s in this updated OS.
Good Chance
Here’s everything that’s got a good chance of being announced tomorrow:
Daydream VR headset: Back at I/O 2016, Google introduced their VR platform entitled Daydream. This virtual reality solution was promised to feature low latency, great performance on lower-definition display, and good speed from even slower chipsets that can’t handle VR content as well as higher-end internals. Alongside this, an in-house built VR headset was also scheduled to be released by Google which would be the official headset of the Daydream platform. However, we still have yet to see said piece of hardware, so it’s speculated that the company will introduce us to this device tomorrow that’ll become purchasable in the near future. Of course, this rumor is rather sketchy, so that’s why it falls into the “Good Chance” category.
Google Andromeda: For some time now, it’s been rumored that Google has begun development of an operating system called Andromeda. Basically, this OS is supposedly a hybrid between Android and Chrome OS that’ll offer all the functionality of the former and all the productivity capabilities of the latter. Just last week, a report came out stating that Google was testing this software on the Nexus 9 tablet, while a second article was released which claimed a 2-in-1 laptop/tablet was being readied by the company for release in Q3 2017 that would become the first device to ship with this software on board. It’s been said that this 2-in-1 may make an initial appearance or mention at tomorrow’s event, however it’s highly more likely that Andromeda itself will debut as a preview at October 4th’s keynote. Obviously, we’re pretty low on reports about this software at this point, so we’re not really sure whether this is in the cards for tomorrow’s event, hence it’s fallen into the category it’s in.
Maybe?
This is a couple of wild cards that may or may not make it to the stage at Google’s next keynote:
Huawei-built 7-inch Pixel tablet: At the beginning of last month, a leak surfaced claiming that a 7-inch tablet possibly in Google’s Pixel family was being readied for a launch at the end of this year. It’s reported that Huawei is building this piece of hardware, while an unveiling is said to take place at tomorrow’s event. However, since we’ve only seen evidence of this machine once, it’s extremely unclear whether it’ll even make it to tomorrow’s stage. Therefore, this new tablet is rather insignificant at this point and could possibly not even exist. So if you want to see an upgraded Nexus 7 with 4GB of RAM tomorrow, cross your fingers and say a prayer as that’s your only options at this point.
Google WiFi: A report recently surfaced which claimed that a new Wi-Fi router from Google would arrive at tomorrow’s event called (you guessed it!) Google WiFi. It’s said that this router will be relatively small in size, be able to connect to other units in order to create a bigger wireless internet signal throughout, say, a home, learn what kinds of bands are available in various devices and optimized connection speeds to best suite them, and probably cost not that much. At this point, additional details are pretty obsolete as only one report has come out about this device, so its rather iffy as to whether this new hardware is in Google’s plans for tomorrow. Nevertheless, there’s definitely a chance we’ll see it’s debut in 24 hours. I just don’t know how big of a chance that is.
While there’s a good chance a majority of these speculations will be officially announced tomorrow, we’re unable to promise everything listed here, especially that Huawei tablet. Nevertheless, that’s what you can expect from tomorrow’s Google keynote. What’s your thoughts on it so far? Will it be worth watching? Let us know in the comments!
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