Google is holding its gadget event on Tuesday, part of its continuing push to embed its digital services and Android software more deeply into peoples’ lives.
Hardware is a small part of Google’s business, but Android and Google Assistant are crucial to the future of Alphabet, Google’s parent company.
Google is expected to debut a new Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL phone, more Google Home devices (perhaps a speaker with a screen) and showcase its plans for mobile and voice software.
The event threatens to be overshadowed by other Google news. On Monday, the company shuttered its long ailing social network Google+ for consumer use after it reportedly failed to disclose a security bug.
Google shutting down social network Google+ after security bug disclosed
The new Pixel-branded phones will anchor the event in New York. Google launched its line of high-end phones two years ago to better compete against Apple, Samsung and other device makers. That includes many that rely on free software and apps such as the free Android operating system, which powers most of the world’s mobile devices, as well as Google’s search engine, Google Maps and YouTube.
Google is also likely to roll out several other gadgets, including new version of its “smart” Home speaker, a rumored tablet with a detachable keyboard and an update to its Chromecast streaming device, based on media leaks.
The latest Pixel phones are likely to attract the most attention, even though the first two generations have so far barely made a dent in the market. Google has sold an estimated 7 million Pixels over the past two years, almost imperceptible next to the 3.6 billion phones shipped during that time, according to the research firm International Data Corp.
Google doesn’t disclose its phone shipments, unlike Apple, which has sold about 388 million iPhones since the first Pixel came out in October 2016.
“If you have a Google tattoo on you, then these are the phones for you,” IDC analyst Ramon Llamas said of the Pixel’s limited appeal so far.
Google has been somewhat restrained in its distribution and marketing the Pixel phone, Llamas said, because it doesn’t want to alienate Samsung and hundreds of other device makers who feature Android in their own phones. Because Android highlights Google services, it’s key to Google’s business of selling ads through its search engine and other mobile apps.
The iPhone also features Google’s search engine, but Google may be paying Apple as much as $9 billion annually for that privilege, based on the estimates of Goldman Sachs analyst Rod Hall.
The new Pixel phones are expected to follow the trend of expanding the phone screen nearly to the edges of the device. Apple, for instance, just released its biggest iPhone yet, the XS Max, which sells for as much as $1,450. Google hasn’t yet discussed prices for its Pixel phones.
Analysts are also expecting Google to add higher resolution and more cameras to the Pixel, whose first two generations attracted rave reviews for its high-quality pictures.
