They all got leaked, so you probably knew everything going in, but today, Google unveiled its new Nexus phones, two new Chromecasts, and the Pixel C. The Nexus 5X is built by LG and really looks and feels like a Nexus 5 successor (sadly not available in the colour of my Nexus 5: orange-red-I-still-don’t-know-oh-my-god-my-eyes-are-burning). Its bigger sister, the Nexus 6P, features an all-metal construction, a larger display with far more pixels, and a better camera – in fact, this could very well be the first Nexus with a camera that doesn’t suck.
They both sport fingerprint sensors, big batteries, and, of course, run Android 6.0 Marshmallow (Android 6.0 will be released for other Nexus devices over the coming weeks). The 16GB Nexus 5X is available for $379, while the 32GB Nexus 6P starts at $499. You can opt for more storage, too, if you wish. They’ll be available in October.
The Pixel C was a bit of a surprise to me, but apparently, it was also leaked, so the rest of the world wasn’t as surprised as I was. It’s a really premium 10.2″ Android tablet, with a magnetically detachable keyboard – yes, my friends, after Apple, this is Google’s stab at a Surface clone. Thanks to the clever keyboard, this is, actually, the Android ‘PC’ I’ve always wanted – I know there are tons of Android laptops and convertibles out there, but I refuse to buy non-Nexus for obvious reasons.
Sadly, though, it doesn’t seem like there’s any special software work being done on Android to facilitate the more laptop-like design of the Pixel C. While Apple made sure to copy Metro’s multiwindow implementation verbatim for its own Surface clone, Google doesn’t seem to have done so for the Pixel C. There’s no side-by-side stuff, no multiple windows, nothing. Some groundwork for multiwindow was laid in Marshmallow, but it was nowhere near final state and probably won’t make it to Android until a future release.
Speaking of future releases: the Pixel C will be getting updates every six weeks. Yes. An Android device with updates every six weeks. It’ll set you back $499 for just the tablet, and the Bluetooth, magnetic keyboard, which is charged inductively via the tablet itself and can run on a single charge for two months, will set you back another $149. It’ll be available later this year.
It looks like the Pixel-C keyboard has the same problem as my Nexus 9; there’s no Esc key! I’d use the tablet all the time if I could actually use vi when connected to a machine via ssh, but ^-[ is awkward, so I just use something with a better keyboard.
Was hoping they’d fix that oversight with the next device. No such luck.
As a “Vim for everything” user, I find myself more often using “Ctrl-C” than “Esc” because it’s easier to reach. …Yes, I know the technical difference between the two, but in 99% of my usage Ctrl-C has the same effect.
Also, I agree that not having the Esc key is lame.
I am also quite curious about the lack of the back/escape key and no function/media keys on the keyboard.
Why are all these keyboards so expensive? You have $25 bluetooth rechargeable keyboards. Especially when this keyboard won’t click or charge with any other tablet or phone.
This one? Probably because it’s got a built-in magnetic stand for the screen. Because it’s got inductive charging via from the tablet. Because it’s an exciting new form factor.
And because they can: it is, after all, what sets this tablet apart from all the others.
This is what Chromebooks should have been since day one.
I still find the Surface a better option, though.
The pixel C is Google admitting that the limited benefits of ChromeOS can easily be fulfilled by their more popular and versatile OS/Stake Android.
Give it a year and the “real” Pixel Laptops will be using Android. Then the 3rd party chromebooks will switch too.
Edited 2015-09-30 08:57 UTC
Maybe I’m wrong, but I think they’ll just combine them for the larger devices.
Android support in Chromebooks is already available as a beta:
http://www.zdnet.com/article/google-sets-android-apps-free-to-run-o…
I think that is to slowly move current chromebook users to android rather than a combination. Doing a bit hit switch would lose them to much reputation enterprise side (where they have built a strong niche).
I don’t know, that is the opposite of what Ars seems to think. Android on tablets doesn’t have many apps for the form factor. But Chromebooks only have apps for the form factor.
Really, I have 50 apps currently installed on my Android tablet, all of them are tablet optimized and work flawlessly. These comments about lack of optimized apps are just blown out of proportion. Sure, if you compare the number of tablet apps available to iOS, but Android does have most of the good apps that people want. I have never felt that I was missing something. In fact the app selection is a little overwhelming at times.
How did you get all of that from the Pixel C, because it shares the same name as their ChromeBook. Believe it or no but Chrome OS is actually a popular OS and isn’t going anywhere soon, especially in the next 4 years. What will happen though is Chrome OS will start getting better support for Android app. You can already install quite a few Android apps which will only increase in size. I have a Pixel 2, it’s fantastic laptop and frankly I don’t miss using installed apps, I have everything I need in the cloud, including my music creation with http://auditions.com and office apps with MS Office online. I watch movies, I program using just fantastic online IDE’s, the possibilities are endless. People don’t see this because their not using these types of apps, so all they see when looking at a ChromeBook is a browser and than they think about pornography. It’s that whole guy thinks about sex every 5 minutes thing. I’m also definitely getting one of these, fantastic build quality, Nvidia X1, where do I sign. Much better than a Samsung S2 9’7 at the same price.
So the Pixel C will be $499 for the 32GB version and $599 for the 64GB model. Can we PLEASE stop rationing storage for price differentiation? Not having laptop-like storage in a laptop-like device is inexcusable.
Lets say I had a speaker with BT Audio as well as line-in.
I wonder if using this “Chromecast Audio” will deliver better audio than regular bluetooth.
Its my understanding that most BT audio on Android is not that good because of the codecs supported and that Apple’s products are superior.
Which kinda sucks because I already skipped two generations already: Nexus5 because I didn’t feel the need to upgrade so soon from the Nexus4, and Nexus6 because it was huge and expensive.
This new gen doesn’t seem to be cheap either. Yes, the 5x was announced to be released for something like $370, yet Google Play is listing it on my country for ^a‘not479 (and that would be the cheaper 16GB model).
I haven’t checked the 5p, but I assume it’ll probably go close to ^a‘not700.
I’m also not too happy with the protruding cameras. Do we really need our phones to be that thin no matter what? How about making them as thick as necessary to pack all the hardware, and using the extra space for bigger batteries?
Just buy a cheap ZTE prepaid with vanilla Android and replace it every 12-18 months.
I’ve never tried a ZTE, but something like the Moto G looks good enough and certainly not expensive.