Google will unveil the Pixel 4 next week, and the press conference promises to be incredibly dull to anyone familiar with all the Pixel 4 rumors and leaks so far. And the Pixel 4 phones are easily the worst kept secret ever, having appeared in even more leaks than their predecessors. That doesn’t mean Google can’t still surprise fans, though, and a brand new report says the Pixel 4 might do something that no iPhone can match.
Of the three major Pixel 4 signature features — rear-facing dual-lens camera system, 3D face unlock, and Motion Sense gestures — only the third can’t be found on an iPhone. That’s because Google is employing an in-house radar chip that’s supposed to detect hand gestures with the help of radar and turn them into actions on the screen. In practice, the feature doesn’t seem that interesting, considering what the leaks have revealed so far.
On top of that, the Pixel 4 will pack an incredibly advanced version of Google Assistant that’s unlike anything seen on Siri, or on Google Assistant on other devices.
If Nikkei Asian Review is correct, the Pixel 4 might have another feature the new iPhone doesn’t: Support for 5G.
While the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL will both be 4G-only devices, Google is also developing a 5G variant of the phone, which could be unveiled as soon as October 15th. Interestingly, the report notes that Google could possibly launch a new smartwatch and a notebook at the event. A recent report explained why Google abandoned the idea of making a Pixel Watch of its own, while also suggesting that that won’t change anytime soon.
Getting back to the 5G Pixel phone, the device is still expected to feature the same Snapdragon 855 platform that’s powering the 4G phones, as well as almost every other 5G handset out there. The 5G Pixel phone is being test produced in China, although Google would shift mass production to a different market to avoid any tariffs. Vietnam is one such solution, the report notes.
Google might delay the 5G Pixel 4 to next spring, the report notes, and launch it alongside a cheaper Pixel 4a phone. Even still, Google would beat Apple to market with a 5G phone. But the 5G Pixel 4 would have to compete against the upcoming Galaxy S11 5G and OnePlus 8 5G, devices that would sport even better hardware than Google’s handsets. Then again, a 5G phone is only useful if you have access to a 5G network.
