Google has started sending out invites for its fall hardware event, which is set to take place on Thursday, October 6th, at 10AM ET. The event will launch the upcoming Pixel 7 phones, as well as the Pixel Watch — the company showed off both devices at its I/O event earlier this year, announcing they’re coming in the fall. Google also says it’ll use the event to announce new additions to the Nest smart home portfolio.
Google’s announcement comes just one day before Apple’s Far Out event, where it will reveal the iPhone 14 — you can follow all the news about those announcements here. Since Google’s last event, purported leaks have revealed even more about the devices, with both the Watch and phones seemingly making their way into people’s hands. As 9to5Google points out, the company itself is now revealing a little more information about the devices, with the Pixel 7’s product page saying that it’ll be powered by a next-gen chip called the Tensor G2.
The leaks haven’t revealed much about the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro that we didn’t already know, such as the fact that it has an aluminum camera bar with two cutouts on the rear for the Pro model. Someone managed to unbox and boot up the phone, but given that Android 13 has already started to roll out on other devices, that’s not really a novelty. Earlier this year, though, a Redditor got a hold of a prototype Pixel Watch (allegedly, it was left at a restaurant). While it wouldn’t boot, their pictures did give us a better sense of the Watch’s size, as well as how it’ll actually look on the wrist.
The Pixel 7 seems like it’ll be a pretty straightforward continuation of the previous generation of phones, but there’s a bit of pressure with the Watch as the “first smartwatch built by Google, inside and out,” as its product page on Google’s online store says. Google’s competitors (namely Samsung and Apple) have been making wearables for years, so the company’s entry has to be competent and at least somewhat competitive right out of the gate. So far, details about it are scant — we don’t even know what chip it’ll use — but we should get a clearer picture come October 6th.
Several Nest smart home devices are currently rumored or have been previously teased by Google. As noted by 9to5Google, these include a basic version of the Chromecast HD, a new Nest WiFi with 6E and Thread support, and a second generation Nest Doorbell with round-the-clock recording.
Update September 7th, 3:35AM ET: Added the information that the Pixel 7’s chip will be called the Tensor G2 and mention of new Nest devices.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/6/23339303/pixel-7-pro-pixel-watch-made-by-google-hardware-event-october-6th