Google Unveils New Flagship Pixel 5 Smartphone With 5G and $699 Price Tag

Ahead of Apple's rumored October event that will see the unveiling of the new iPhone 12 lineup, Google today held a virtual event to unveil its latest flagship smartphones, the 5G-enabled Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a with 5G.

Priced starting at $699, the Pixel 5 features a 6-inch OLED display, 8GB RAM, 128GB of storage, a 4080mAh battery, an aluminum body, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chip with 5G connectivity. Google is not using the latest Qualcomm chip technology, likely in order to keep the price down.

The Pixel 5 also includes a two-lens camera setup with a 12-megapixel wide-angle lens and a 16-megapixel ultra wide-angle lens, and it supports bilateral wireless charging for charging Qi-based accessories like headphones.

The more affordable Pixel 4a with 5G is priced starting at $499. It features a 6.2-inch OLED display, the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chip, a dual-lens camera, 6GB RAM, 128GB storage, and a 3.5mm audio jack, which is missing from the Pixel 5.

Compared to the 5G Pixel 4a, the higher-priced Pixel 5 offers IPX8 water resistance, a Gorilla Glass 6 display, the aforementioned reverse wireless charging feature, larger battery, and a bump in RAM.

Pre-orders for the Pixel 5 are available now from Google's website, while the Pixel 4a 5G will be available for purchase in November.

Google today also unveiled a new Nest Audio speaker and an updated Chromecast with Google TV service. The Nest Audio is 75 percent louder than the Google Home, with 50 percent stronger bass. It features a 19mm tweeter and a 75mm mid-woofer for what Google says is "full, clear and natural" sound.

A Media EQ feature lets Nest Audio tune itself to the music that's being played, and Ambient IQ lets it adjust the volume of Assistant, news, podcasts, and more based on the background noise in the home. Google designed the fabric-covered Nest Audio with a slim profile and multiple color options.

Google's redesigned Chromecast with Google TV combines Chromecast features with the new Google TV experience. The TV service features a "For You" tab for finding content suggestions across subscriptions, and it is designed to work with the YouTube TV membership with live TV recommendations and curated content from other services.

The updated Chromecast has a thin design with 4K HDR support and a new remote to control it. It supports Dolby Vision and HDMI pass-through of Dolby Audio content. The remote has a dedicated Google Assistant button for answering queries and finding content, plus there are dedicated buttons for launching YouTube and Netflix.

The Chromecast with Google TV is available as of today for $50, as is the Nest Audio, which can pre-ordered for $100.