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Boy, oh boy, the week has been loaded for Google.
The Big G launched last Tuesday a series of new unique models for its two flagship product lines: Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL on the phone side, then Pixel Slate for Chrome OS. A new Home Hub Control Center has also debuted, and an updated Chromecast has even been hinted at in the picture.
All this is certainly going very well – damn it, some of them might even warrant a good exercise in opening the wallet to the old – but you know what? None of this is especially so exciting.
I do not say it badly either; it's just the nature of mobile technical equipment nowadays. Pixel phones are more related to software than any other software, and these new devices are primarily incremental updates to preserve the material atmosphere. The Pixel Slate, on the other hand, is actually only an alternative version of the Pixelbook – with a detachable keyboard instead of a swivel hinge (and everything that is said about turning Google Chrome into Chrome OS in an Android-type platform is definitely something, but it's nothing new for those of us who have paid attention).
Regarding the Home Hub? Well, this is just the version made by Google and slightly different from the smart displays announced earlier this year and already published by other manufacturers. And the Chromecast – well, to be honest, I do not think so no matter who know very well how this new model is really different from the previous one, apart from some subtle visual adjustments that you will never see once the thing is hidden behind your TV.
In other words, these are all the expected and necessary improvements – and products that many people will certainly appreciate – but they are by no means truly transformational or impressive. Only one device from this week's event fits this bill, and it's a device that would forgive you for forgetting.
I'm talking about Google's wireless Pixel Stand Charge – an accessory at $ 79 easy to scratch money without wanting it. Who cares about accessories, after all? They are usually the parallel show and are worth little more than just a glance.
Pixel support, however, is not your usual accessory. And his a lot more important than it appears on the surface.
Sounds crazy? May be. But let me explain.
Blurred lines
Pixel Support is not just a place to set up your phone for charging. Of course, it provides power to your phone, but its real purpose is far more ambitious.
When you place a Pixel 3 on a Pixel medium, the phone effectively transforms into a fixed interface to interact with the Google Assistant – not only from the point of view of voice commands, but also in a visual and touch-centered model. When a phone comes in contact with pixel support, you see that the device automatically launches into a new custom wizard mode.
GoogleAnd it is really designed to be an optimal wizard interface for any environment: a phone on the Pixel stand can display contextual information according to the time of day, thus providing insight visual of your agenda, weather and personalized traffic information. in the morning, then using shortcuts for recipes and alarm settings later in the day. It can display images from your Google Photos gallery and even display smart home data, such as a video source of a Nest video doorbell, whenever it becomes relevant.
And of course, the Assistant Pixel-Stand-Clad Assistant always listens to your voice commands and responds audibly. and with tactile information on his screen.
In other words, this little gizmo with a simple appearance turns your phone into a full-fledged Smart Display, using only a screen and a series of microphones that you already have on you instead of forcing yourself to own another device. And it also introduces new tricks in the process – like the ability to wake up with a progression of light on the screen of the sunrise on the screen, if you use the stand near your bed, and the possibility of differentiate multiple Pixel Stands to adjust its behavior accordingly.
This last part is particularly noteworthy – and it's a really interesting technological feat: Google has apparently found a way to let the Pixel Stand support communicate with phones. via the wireless charging signal. This allows the phone to detect the pixel support to which it is connected and then react with the appropriate environment.
So, if you had a pixel stand near your bed, it might be helpful to show photos of your family but avoid bothering you with your work schedule. If you had a second booth in your office, it could display your agenda as well as photos of nature. And if you set up your phone on a random wireless charger in a friend's house or in a public room, it would not do anything (besides charging, you know).
The other side of the story
Aside from public services, it's important to think about the implications from this point of view from Google's point of view. In fact, from a global perspective, we appreciate so much that in these comfortable neighborhoods, this angle is incredibly significant. Google, remember, is everything on get people to use Wizard these days. That's why I've dubbed this the post-OS era: more than any application, operating system or platform, the Google of today You want to invest in Assistant. All of these other things just serve more and more to direct you to the (virtual) waiting arms of the wizard.
The company's chief administrator, Rick Osterloh, has clearly described his main mission: to find a way to "put Google Assistant at your fingertips and build a sustainable business around it" (paraphrased words from a profile earlier this year).
As I have already indicated, the underlying logic seems to be that the future depends less on the typing in the traditional search field of a page than the interaction with it. 39, electronics that surround you. And if Google Assistant is the genius inside These electronic devices (whether it's your phone, your computer, your TV or the screen you touch and talk with at different times of the day) are fine, at the end of the day, Google customers. And that means Google always has the connection with you that allows it to serve targeted ads based on your interests on the Internet.
To this end, Google has strived to get Assistant wherever he could. But do you know what is easier than getting people to buy standalone gadgets to interact with wizard in different parts of their home and office? Yes, you guessed it: create a simple medium that is already spinning the gadget at in an optimal assistant interface.
With the Pixel Stand, Google has managed to turn its latest phone into a much more device than a mobile device. It is essentially a modern version of the old (and never particularly compelling) concept of anchoring phone input into a laptop – a concept that fits more closely to current computer models and which more effectively meets Google's current needs.
The lines, they are a blurrin '. And all thanks to a simple accessory of $ 79 appearance.
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[Android Intelligence videos at Computerworld]
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