Google is hosting an event Oct. 4, most likely to unveil its latest gadgets and phones in time for the end-of-year holiday shopping season. The company released a teaser video last month, asking a bunch of questions about the limitations of the average smartphone, presumably in preparation for releasing the next iteration of the Google Pixel phone.
Here’s a quick rundown of what’s expected:
Pixel 2
Several images have leaked purporting to be the next version of Google’s smartphone, which apparently has a similar design to the original Pixel, but with a smaller piece of glass on the back, and a larger screen.
It’s likely that the phone will again come in two sizes like last year (a regular, and a larger “XL” model), and it’s reportedly built around similar technology to the HTC U11—the latest smartphone from the phone manufacturing division of HTC, which Google recently acquired. The U11’s most unusual feature is that you can squeeze the phone to activate certain functions.
The new models will reportedly include faster processors, a larger battery, and a sharper, more durable screen.
A new Google Home
Google introduced its answer to the Amazon Echo last year, and it’s expected to get an upgrade this week. Amazon just unveiled an armada of Echo devices, and it seems that Google will also be releasing new devices containing its voice-assistant technology. Google will reportedly offer a version called Google Home Mini, which is smaller and shaped like a tiny football.
There are also rumors that Google will introduce a larger, higher-end speaker (potentially called the Home Max) to compete with Apple’s HomePod. It would feature stereo speakers
A Pixel laptop
Google is apparently going to unveil a new laptop with a stylus on Oct. 4, called the Google Pixelbook—not to be confused with the Chromebook Pixel it launched four years ago. It’ll feature design stylings similar to the white-and-grey version of the Pixel phone. It will reportedly cost over $1,000, making it a competitor to Apple’s MacBooks and Microsoft’s Surface Book laptop.
VR updates
An updated version of the mobile VR headset that Google launched last year, the Daydream, is expected. It’s not yet clear how it will be different from last year’s model, other than it’s expected to cost slightly more, and it comes in a fetching shade of pink.
Other possibilities
Google could pull an Apple and unveil “one more thing,” especially considering how much has leaked about all the other products it’s expected to announce. But other than updates to its Chromecast streaming devices, or new wifi routers, it’s not clear what else Google could have up its sleeve.
Stay tuned.