Pixel Party

Uncanny Valley | WIRED

WIRED

Technology

4.1 • 570 Ratings

🗓️ 20 August 2021

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

By now, Google has gotten the hang of making solid affordable phones. Its new Pixel 5A has just about all the features most people need in a phone, and the company is selling the handsets for the decent price of $450. But Google isn't stopping at functional. It's also betting big on fancy. Later this year, the company will release the Pixel 6, a much more expensive phone with a cutting-edge design and an advanced set of software features. Inside of this new flagship phone is a custom processor called Tensor that could spell some changes for the Android operating system.

This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED reviews editor Julian Chokkattu joins us to talk about the new Pixel phones and Google's plans for the future.

Show Notes:

Read Julian’s review of the Pixel 5A. His video walkthrough of the phone is here. Read our story about Google’s new custom Tensor chips. And check out our picks for the best cheap phones. And f**k everything, we’re doing five blades.

Recommendations:

Julian recommends the film The Green Knight. Mike recommends Gilad Edelman’s WIRED story “It's Time to Bring Back Cargo Pants.” Lauren recommends donating to the International Women’s Media Foundation to support women journalists reporting in Afghanistan.

Julian Chokkattu can be found on Twitter @JulianChokkattu. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.

If you have feedback about the show, or just want to enter to win a $50 gift card, take our brief listener survey here.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Mike.
0:01.0	Hi, Lauren.
0:02.0	Hi, Mike.
0:03.0	So I know that you are a Google Pixel phone user, but you also like to hold on to your devices
0:09.8	for a while like I do, right?
0:11.0	Extend the lifespan of your gadgets.
0:14.0	What is the one thing that would make you absolutely have to upgrade to the latest pixel?
0:20.0	Um, if Google stopped supporting it with security updates. you absolutely have to upgrade to the latest pixel.
0:24.7	If Google stopped supporting it with security updates.
0:33.7	Oh, okay. So it's not a specific feature such as a crazy screw it. We're doing five blades camera or a new chip.
0:38.5	No, I mean, what I have right now works fine. And when I'm ready for a new one,
0:42.4	I'll get all those features. And that's also fine. Well, we're going to talk about some new pixels today. And let's see if it's enough to make you want to upgrade. Or maybe not.
0:59.1	Hey, everyone. It's time for Gadget Lab. I'm Lauren Good. I'm a senior writer at Wired.
1:06.8	And I am Michael Kallori, a senior editor at Wired. And we're also joined by Wired Reviews editor, Julian Chikato, who joins us from New York. Hey, Julian?
1:07.2	Hello.
1:12.2	So today we're talking about Google smartphones in case our little intro there didn't tip you off.
1:13.1	Google has a couple of new pixel phones coming out this year.
1:16.6	There's the Pixel 5A, which actually just released today.
1:19.7	And then there's the Pixel 6, which is coming later this fall.
1:23.5	And the Pixel 6 is big news in the phone world, not just because it's got this crazy redesign,
1:28.4	but because Google is making custom mobile chips for it.
1:31.7	So we're going to talk more about that phone, the Pixel 6, later in the show.
	...

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