Plus: the best of the rest from Google IO, Sony's new world-beating headphones, and DJI's new drone | Google poses a Pixel puzzle | Google's new AR glasses are 'ears' for your eyes
Created for techradar.com@quicklydone.com | Web Version
Hello once again, intrepid travelers through the world of technology.
Sometimes, you get a week where very little happens, and so this newsletter becomes more of a general musing on technology’s impact on society, in which I become increasingly anxious about whether or not I’m spending too much time staring at my phone (I am, and I need to do something about it).
Other times you get a week where one of the world’s biggest tech companies unleashes surprise after surprise, and two potentially game-changing products get reviewed… and then Netflix launches an assault on our wallets.
You can probably guess which kind of week this week has been – so let’s get to it.
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Google unveiled the Pixel 6a at its IO event (Future)
I do like a live blog, because I feel like I get to talk directly to you fine readers in real time, outlining what I’m seeing before my eyes and dissecting it in a way that’s (hopefully) entertaining and understanding.
But, man alive, this year’s Google IO developer conference was a long one – two hours of straight typing meant that I managed to churn out 5,000 words… and Google saved all the huge stuff until the very, very end.
I’ll get into two of my top unveilings – the new Google Glass and the Pixel Buds Pro – below, but when it came to new Google phones, there was a conundrum.
The Pixel 6a was shown off, with Google highlighting the $449 / £399 price tag (nice and low) and the power of the cameras. The fact it comes with the same Google-made Tensor chipset as the Pixel 6 is a real win, and shows that Google is thinking like Apple in terms of creating spec parity between different price points.
Where Google differs from Apple is when it comes to telling us about things ahead of time: Google also decided to show off the design of the Pixel 7 and the Pixel Watch, both of which will launch later this year. Apple would never do such a thing, for fear of discouraging people from buying its newest device right now – but Google is clearly happy to do it, given that it probably doesn’t care as much about hardware sales as it does about getting its latest software in people’s hands by whatever means necessary.
The Pixel Watch certainly looks intriguing, with a rounded design and health-focused features that could make it a real competitor to the Apple Watch – especially as it’ll be the first product from Google to really bake in Fitbit smarts, following Google’s acquisition of fitness watch brand last year.
Google's AR glasses provide the wearer with real-time translation (Google)
Like I said, this was a very long event at two hours, and it was only towards the end that the hardware started to appear. We saw the new Pixel devices (and got a look at the new version of Android)… and then, just when it looked like things were all wrapping up, Google dropped a prototype pair of augmented-reality glasses that enable the wearer to see a live translation of what a speaker is saying in another language.
While Google Glass wasn’t mentioned, it’s clear that this is the evolution of that technology – and it looks so good. These are normal-looking glasses. The information shown inside wasn’t invasive. The speed with which they worked (a real-life translation was shown in the demo) seemed really impressive… although Google is always going to make sure that happens.
We don’t know when these glasses will go on sale – or even if they ever will – but Google has just shown that it’s very much a frontrunner in the race to bring AR specs to market, at a time when everyone assumed that Apple would be first.
The Google Pixel Buds Pro will be available to pre-order from July 21 (Google)
While you might not think upgraded earphones are a big deal, the new Pixel Buds Pro are actually a huge statement of intent from Google.
Much was made at this year’s IO about the connected nature of its devices – where previously it’s been happy to let other brands do great hardware, it’s clear that Google now wants a full suite of hero products to show how great its own smart world can be.
Great-sounding, well-fitting earbuds allow you to switch your connection seamlessly from your Pixel phone to your Chromebook without needing to head into the settings. Instant response and translation using Google Assistant. These are all things that, again, Apple is trying to do – and Google wants to show that it’s ahead of its rival.
Will they sound great though? That wasn’t really covered in much depth in the presentation (mostly because there wasn’t time, what with announcing a thousand other things), which was more about what they can do: hear your voice better, fit more snugly, cancel out more noise. But I like this. Google is, indeed, tooling up for a fight with the other big tech brands in both the hardware and software arenas.
POLL QUESTION:
Which announcement most caught your eye - or ears - at Google IO?
The Sony W1000-XM5 are TechRadar's new best-in-the-world headphones (Future)
I swear that one day I’ll break and buy a new pair of Sony XM over-ear headphones – especially as they keep getting better and better. Yes, the incremental gains might be diminishing year after year, but Sony really knows how to make good headphones.
The new W1000-XM5s are our new best headphones in the world, earning a five-star review for the XM lineup for the third year running. What makes the new models so good? They sound stellar, obviously, but they also have a natty new design, and clever AI inside (which can do things like turning off noise cancelling if you’re on a busy road).
They’re not cheap at $399 / £379, so they’re not for everyone, but if outright audio quality is important to you then these should be one of those ‘save up for’ items – they’re certainly on my wishlist.
If you're sharing someone's Netflix password it looks like you'll soon need an account of your own (Shutterstock / sitthiphong)
We all knew that it was coming, but if you’re sharing your Netflix account with your parents, then make sure they start paying you for the privilege soon (or just get their own account).
There’s also talk of an ad-supported tier finally coming, to make Netflix more cost-accessible – it’ll be interesting to see if these two things land together, as part of a strategy to entice users who might be inclined to quit the platform to stay.
Buying a drone can be a tricky proposition. First, it’s hard to know how much you need to spend. Second, depending on where you live, the laws on where you can fly your drone can be confusing, and you may have to register it. Third, unless you spend a lot of money, you can’t be sure that you’ll get good-quality photos and videos from your flying machine of choice.
The new DJI Mini 3 Pro appears to solve all those issues. It’s reasonably priced at $759 / £709 for the ‘middle’ bundle with the controller – cheaper and pricier options are available, and because many countries impose flight restrictions on craft weight over 250g, the Mini 3 Pro comes in at 249g.
And the image quality is superb – so if you’re thinking that you want to get into drone photography, this is the one to go for. You can spend even more and get DJI’s fancy new controller with a built-in screen (our own Lance Ulanoff loves it), although you’ll get on just fine without it.
I’ve never wanted a drone before, but after reading this review I do… and that tells me it’s going to hit the sweet spot for many others too.
The supermassive black hole dubbed Sagittarius A* (Event Horizon Telescope collaboration)
I often have to admit that I’m easily underwhelmed by science stories, as I belong to a generation of smartphone users that demand to be stunned, wowed and overwhelmed by every click… and it takes a lot to impress us.
I felt that way when viewing the above image of a black hole in the center of the Milky Way – it’s a blurry, bright mess, and not the time-and-light-bending picture I want to see.
But then I saw this image, which shows how tiny such a black hole is in the vastness of the galaxy, and then I read the piece in full and learned how the Earth’s atmosphere makes it nearly impossible to photograph black holes (it filters out the radiation that’s needed in order to see a black hole’s shape)… and I now understand how monumental an achievement just getting this picture is.
This is from the editor
I’m still suffering from a typing hangover after my marathon session during Google IO earlier this week, but it’s awesome when a tech company really does go all-out to change direction and give us loads to dissect – it’s what the job’s all about.
I get the feeling that we’ll be feeling the reverberations from Google’s plan to recharge the Pixel lineup and bring back Google Glass (even if it’s not calling it that) for a while yet – so you’ll want to sign up to this newsletter, if you haven’t already, to get our latest insights.
And, as always, do email me with your thoughts, remembering to include 'NEWSLETTER' in the subject line – I love reading your tech takes, and I’ll feature the best ones here.
For instance, after reading last week about Rhys Wood’s struggle to get an old CRT TV to work with his PS1, Paul sent me this: “When my 84-year-old Mum lost the remote for her treasured CRT/VCR combo, I spent a solid, weary, wretched month looking for a replacement. No dice.
“No matter what eBay and Amazon tell you, you just can’t get certain things any longer. I got her a new TV, but she never figured out how to use the new remote, no matter how hard I tried.
“I feel Rhys Wood’s pain. Every ounce of it.”
And I feel your pain too Paul. The issue with buying things online is that you can never be sure they’ll work until you get them… and sometimes you experience that horrible moment when the excitement of unboxing is punctured by the realization that you’ve just bought a worthless piece of tech.
If you’ve got a similar story, do get in touch. Until next week, tech pals!
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