Hardware innovations? Nope. Instead, Google is emphasising software improvements - particularly for images - with its newest Pixel smartphones.
Business
Standard : Apple and Samsung typically show off glitzy
hardware innovations — dual-lens cameras; bigger screens — to
mesmerize millions into buying their new smartphones. Google
has taken a different approach: It wants to sell people on better
software.
That
was abundantly clear with the Pixel
3, the search giant’s latest smartphone, with software features
powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning. When you
take a blurry photo, for example, the Pixel’s camera software can
capture a series of alternate images and look for a clearer shot.
When you get a call from an unknown number, you can use a screening
tool to determine if it is a robocall. (I recommend using this
feature with caution — more on that later.)
“The
phone is powered by A.I. so that we let Pixel do really useful,
delightful things,” said Mario Queiroz, Google’s vice president
of Pixel hardware. “The phone doesn’t get in the way. Things just
happen for you.”
The
Pixel 3, which will be available on Thursday, is a modest piece of
hardware otherwise. It comes in two screen sizes — 5.5 inches and
6.3 inches — that are slightly smaller than phones from Apple and
Samsung. The smaller Pixel costs $799; the larger one is $899.
The
screen technology is OLED, which offers better color accuracy and
contrast than its predecessor, LCD. The rear camera has a single
lens, because Google felt its A.I.-powered camera software was so
good that it didn’t need to add a second one. Like other high-end
phones, the Pixel 3 is water-resistant, and its body is composed of
glass to support wireless power charging, a feature that I have found
marginally useful.
After
testing the Pixel 3 for four days, I’m convinced that Google did
the right thing by emphasizing its software. The Pixel 3 is a
superior Android phone to Samsung’s top-rated Galaxy devices thanks
largely to Google’s clever camera and intuitive interface.
But
I wouldn’t say that the new Pixel has the all-around best camera —
I prefer the iPhone camera’s more lifelike colors. Still, the Pixel
3’s software smarts offer some advantages, like the ability to take
superior photos with the bokeh effect, which puts the picture’s
main subject in sharp focus while gently blurring the background.
Here’s
what I found about the Pixel 3’s most important features.
Top
Shot
Let’s
say you take a photo of a group of people and one person blinks.
Using Google’s new photo-optimization tool, Top Shot, there’s a
chance you can salvage that photo by choosing a better shot with that
person’s eyes open.
To
use Top Shot, you turn on a feature called Motion Photos, which are
essentially three-second videos capturing the moments just before and
after you take a shot. When you snap a picture, Google’s camera
software can analyze those before-and-after moments for a better
image to recommend... Read
More
No comments:
Post a Comment