ThePixel 4 is coming soon: Google has sent members of the press an invitation to an October 15 “Made by Google” event at which it’s expected to unveil the new smartphone.
“Made by Google” events are typically the forums at which Google shows off its new products. At last year’s event, Google rolled out the Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, the Home Hub and a new Chromebook.
The Pixel 4 has been the subject of numerous leaks. In fact it was leaked so often that Google confirmed in June what the phone will look like.
Google’s images showed a phone with a large, square camera bump on the back of the device and no fingerprint reader. Google also announced a variety of features for the Pixel 4 this summer, including motion sensing technology and the ability to unlock the phone with a users’ face, similar to Apple’s Face ID feature.
The camera is arguably the most important design change: The Pixel phones have consistently featured the top-rated smartphone cameras, thanks in large part to Google’s artificial intelligence software. Despite practically all other high-end smartphones sporting two, three and in some cases four rear cameras, Google had with its previous Pixels stuck with one.
The Pixel 4, though, is rumored to have a second camera, a telephoto lens capable of zooming in on subjects. The main camera will reportedly be able to take fast-action pictures and will have an improved “Night Sight” feature, which adds brightness to very low light scenes.
The new Pixel is expected to have 6 GB of RAM, up from 4 GB in the Pixel 3. Customers complained about the lack of RAM in earlier Pixel phones leading to slower phone speeds and for the phone to need to automatically quit programs in the background.
Early glimpses at the Pixel 4’s software have suggested the phone will not have an in-screen fingerprint reader either, making face-unlock the only way to get into the phone other than a password.
The other big, new feature is expected to be hands-free gestures to control the phone. They’ll most likely be powered by the phone’s motion sensors that Google described in a blog post in July. The extra sensors appear to create a very thick (by 2019 standards) top bezel, even as most high-end smartphones are featuring edge-to-edge screens.
The Pixel 4 is expected to come in black, white and coral.
Pixel phones are currently the only Android devices that feature Android 10. The company has said that the operating system version will roll out to other devices later this year.
