Unlike the rest of the tech industry, which has largely been on time, if not a little late this year, it looks like Google is holding its annual hardware event a little early. The company announced a livestream hardware event for September 30 at 11 a.m. PT. Usually, Google holds its Pixel hardware events in mid-October.
Google isn’t leaving much up to the imagination either. Its invitation spells out that the event will be where we learn more about the “new Chromecast, our latest smart speaker and our new Pixel phones.” Of course, we pretty much knew what was coming anyway — most of the new hardware has leaked ahead of time, and Google even announced that the Pixel 5 was on the way, along with a few press images, when it launched the Pixel 4a.
As is the trend this year, the event will be a livestream rather than held in person, and Google is embracing the theme. The event is being marketed with the tagline “Launch Night In” and will likely be streamed from the Made by Google YouTube channel.
The Pixel 5 is likely to be the star of the show, as it usually is. This year, we’re expecting the Pixel 5 to somewhat correct the Pixel line’s course, considering the Pixel 4 received mixed reviews. While the phone offered the clean software that customers know and love, it did look a little dated in a world of edge-to-edge displays. The Pixel 5 will have an edge-to-edge display with a hole-punch cutout for the front-facing camera and is expected to offer 5G connectivity. Last but not least, the phone will likely offer a 90Hz refresh rate, like the Pixel 4.
Some rumors indicate that the phone will forego the flagship processor, instead offering a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765. Hopefully, that will mean that the phone is relatively inexpensive — which will be a breath of fresh air considering the rising prices of high-end smartphones.
The event will also include the new Nest Home smart speaker, which will offer a longer, flatter design, and will be taller than the original Google Home. Hopefully, the larger design will mean deeper, more full-bodied audio. Other features are yet to be seen, but the speaker is expected to cost around $120, at least according to leaker Roland Quandt.
