Google late Monday sent invitations to members of the media for an Oct. 4 press event in San Francisco, where the Web giant is expected to unveil two new Pixel-branded smartphones.
"October is coming," Google tweeted last night alongside the hashtag "#madebygoogle" and a 30-second video showing the Google search bar morphing into the outline of a smartphone.
October is coming. #madebygoogle https://t.co/UNMr2cJXhk pic.twitter.com/LzyswaEBjh — Google (@google) September 20, 2016
PCMag will be there, so stay tuned for all the details. But for those following this space, Android Police earlier this month reported Google's plans to hold a big hardware event on Oct. 4 to announce two new Pixel-branded smartphones, a 4K Chromecast, and more details about Google Home and Daydream VR.
Google has reportedly decided to switch its smartphone brand from Nexus to Pixel. So, the Nexus handsets we heard about earlier this year—codenamed Sailfish and Marlin—will reportedly be the 5-inch Pixel and 5.5-inch Pixel XL, respectively.
More rencently, Android Police got its hands on purported images of the Pixel and Pixel XL (below) showing both handsets with a light aluminum finish. The site also recently reported that the smaller Pixel handset could start at $649 (meaning the larger one will be more expensive), with financing available.
Meanwhile, other rumors indicate that the new 4K Chromecast is also getting a name refresh — to the Chromecast Plus or Chromecast Ultra. Google is also expected to unveil an in-house Daydream VR viewer design, which might be called the Daydream View, and share full details about Google Home, a new connected home device the Web giant first announced at its I/O developer conference in May.