The Morning After: Google has new phones, speakers and a laptop

It's Thursday, October 05, 2017. Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. All Google everything. You name it, and Google launched it. Phones, headphones, VR, speakers, camera, laptop -- and all with AI in one form or another. It’s Thursday. Two sizes, almost the same phone. Google introduces the Pixel 2 series -- and it’s really proud of the camera   After all those leaks, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are now a reality, and both ditch the headphone jack. They’re both (a little) squeezable, which will coax the phones to launch Google Assistant for your questions and search queries, while also packing water resistance and a camera that’s apparently better than last year’s well-regarded Pixel phone. Google was keen to sidestep the tech spec nitty-gritty and talk about the AI smarts it’s stitching into its phones. You might recall Google’s Lens visual search from earlier in the year -- well that’s coming to these phones before the end of 2017. The phones also have a redesigned UI, because people can’t leave things alone, and both are possibly the purest Android devices we’ve ever seen. ‘This one’s just right.’   A Google Home for every… home   Similar to Amazon blitzing us with Echo speakers in a bunch of form factors, Google’s showcase revealed the Home Mini and the Home Max. Those self-explanatory names do half my job for me, and while the Mini goes with a cheaper price and a more subtle design, the Home Max centers on audio quality. Oh and a price tag that will pit it again Apple’s HomePod speaker when it arrives. Naturally, we spent time with both of them. Oh, and they also play music or whatever.   Google’s Pixel Buds are a real-life Babel Fish   Now that the Pixel 2 dropped its headphone jack, Google is preparing a pair of wireless buds to go with it, AirPod-style. When paired with a Pixel 2, they gain the power to do real-time translation between 40 different languages. Just say “Help me speak (language)” and talk, then your phone will output the words in that language. Then when the other person replies, you’ll hear their words in your own language, right in your ear. The $160 Buds will ship in November. How much will you pay to run ChromeOS?   Google introduces its $1,000 Pixelbook   After a couple of years off, Google is back with another premium laptop, and this one is impressive. The Pixelbook is thin and light, measuring at 2.2 pounds with a 12.3-inch screen, and it’s powerful, with options for Core i5 or i7 processors, plus options for 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM. It can flip around for use as a tablet, there’s a pen and it can automatically tether with your Android phone. Oh, and don’t forget support for Android apps, and news that partners like Snapchat are reworking their apps to better support ChromeOS. The only potentially bad news is its price, which starts at a very MacBook- and Surface-like $1,000. It’s also the photographer.   Google Clips is a tiny AI-powered camera   For some reason, Google decided to cram some of its imaging smarts into a tiny square-ish camera. It doesn’t have a screen, and Google wants you to let the camera take the photos itself. Somehow, it manages to take notable shots and clips all through AI-powered image processing, focusing on people and animals it thinks you’d like to see photos of. Will it be a hit? Maybe not. But that probably doesn’t matter. But wait, there's more... 1. Hands-on with Sonos One: 'The Smart Speaker for Music Lovers' 2. HP's Spectre x360 13 hides your screen at a push of a button 3. Plex makes its adaptive streaming tech available to all 4. Apple watchOS update addresses LTE vs. captive WiFi problems The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you'll miss if you don't subscribe. Craving even more? Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. Have a suggestion on how we can improve The Morning After? Send us a note. Copyright © 2016 Aol Inc. All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: AOL 770 Broadway #4 New York, NY 10003 You are receiving this email because you opted in at engadget.com. Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe from this newsletter.

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ECT News Network Weekly Newsletter: Wednesday -- October 4, 2017

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The Morning After: That Yahoo hack is back

It's Wednesday, October 04, 2017. Hey, good morning! We’re just a few hours away from meeting Google’s new Pixels -- check the liveblog here at 12 PM ET / 9 AM PT. Until then, catch up on all the other news, including Tesla’s big-rig leak, and the bad news about Yahoo’s 2013 security breach. And ‘Halo Recruit’ is coming to mixed reality.   Samsung shows off its Windows Mixed Reality headset   Microsoft had big news to reveal about its “mixed reality” efforts, including Samsung’s $499 HMD Odyssey headset, which comes with high-quality headphones and an impressive AMOLED screen. To make the most of that picture quality when the next Windows update arrives, gamers may want to check out Halo Recruit. It’s a new arcade experience built just for VR and yes, we tried it. Gotta start somewhere.   How Google’s smartphones have evolved since 2007   Before we see the new Google smartphones, let’s take a look back at what came before. Chris Velazco recaps the company’s mobile history, from Sooner to G1 to Nexus and everything in between. Remember when phones had trackballs?   Quick update.   Yahoo’s 2013 hack impacted all three billion accounts   Remember last year, when Yahoo announced that in 2013 hackers stole a ton of info from one billion user accounts? Verizon announced that after further investigation it has revised that number -- turns out hackers snagged info from all three billion accounts that existed at the time.   Can TouchID read a green thumb?   The Grow planter is the ultimate no-fuss gardening kit   For $200, Grow is offering a connected planter, soil and even seeds. This system is meant to be outdoors and should make growing your own salads easy, by letting its app and sensors monitor water levels, light, humidity and temperature, so you know just what to do.   RIP Former Intel CEO Paul Otellini has passed away at 66   Paul Otellini, Intel’s previous CEO, died in his sleep on Monday. Otellini served as Intel’s fifth chief executive from 2005 through 2013 and leaves behind a legacy of the company’s dominance in x86 processors.   The dog ate it.   Former Equifax CEO blames breach on one IT employee   Now-former Equifax CEO Richard Smith spoke to the House Energy and Commerce Committee and explained how his company leaked all that info. A technician didn’t apply a patch, and an automated scan missed the vulnerability. And now the social security numbers for 145 million people are out there forever.   But wait, there's more... 1. Tesla's electric big rig spotted in the wild 2. 'Overwatch' Halloween bash begins on October 10th 3. North Korea now has a second internet link through Russia 4. A hyperloop route may zip between Kansas City and St. Louis The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you'll miss if you don't subscribe. Craving even more? Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. Have a suggestion on how we can improve The Morning After? Send us a note. Copyright © 2016 Aol Inc. All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: AOL 770 Broadway #4 New York, NY 10003 You are receiving this email because you opted in at engadget.com. Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe from this newsletter.