cloud — allowing users to make commands and
dictate text messages more quickly.
The Pixel 4 will have better facial recognition
for unlocking the phone with a glance. Unlike
the existing “trusted face” feature on Android
phones, the new Face Unlock is intended to be
more secure and easier to use, matching what
Apple and Samsung already offer.
The new phone gets a second camera lens,
for better zooming, even as some Apple and
Samsung devices are getting a third lens, for
wider-angle shots. True to Google’s focus on AI,
the Pixel’s new camera will recognize people
you have taken many photos of before and
automatically focus on them in new shots.
And the new phone comes with motion-sensing
technology that allows people to do simple
hand-waving gestures to skip songs or switch
apps without touching the phone.
The Pixel 4 will carry a starting price tag of $799
— $100 more than the entry-level iPhone 11 —
and will go on sale Oct. 24. The larger XL version
will cost $899.
Google’s phones have been well reviewed,
but have yet to make much of a splash in the
market dominated by Apple, Huawei and
Samsung. In fact, Google’s hardware products
have never been big moneymakers. Rather,
they offer a way for Google to showcase its
money-making services.
Google introduced a less expensive version
of its phone, the Pixel 3a, to positive reviews
in May, a trend that is sweeping across the
smartphone market as consumers hold on to
phones longer rather than buy new, expensive