In short: Today’s the day. It’s Pixel 3 day. Google is expected to launch the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL today, alongside a number of other hardware products that are “made by Google”. Typically, Google unveils a number of new hardware products. Last year we got the two phones, as well as the Google Home Mini, Home Max, Pixel Buds, Pixelbook and much more. So this is likely going to be a pretty busy event by Google, even though the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL have leaked so much already – and there’s virtually nothing left to know about the devices – Google does still have some other products up its sleeve.
Background: Google started doing its #MadeByGoogle event in October of 2016, when it first debuted the Pixel-branded smartphone – ditching the Nexus brand for something that was truly made by Google. The first event in 2016 was mostly just the Pixel and Pixel XL. There were a few other hardware products announced there, like the Google Home (technically announced at Google I/O a few months earlier, but officially available after this event), as well as new Google WiFi and more. This is a hardware event where Google is able to show off all of its hardware products that the team has been working on all year.
Impact: The Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL have leaked out quite a bit already, so there’s not a lot left to the imagination. But it also looks like Google is going to be showcasing a new Pixel Slate which is a tablet running on Chrome OS. As well as a refreshed Chromecast, a refreshed Pixel Buds (though this year, these appear to be USB-C headphones instead of Bluetooth), as well as the Google Home Hub which appears to be Google’s answer to the Echo Show, and its own Lenovo Smart Display that it worked with Lenovo to debut earlier this year. Now one thing that you should not expect to be released at today’s event, is a Pixel-branded smartwatch. Google confirmed at IFA that it is not looking at building a Pixel smartwatch.
The Google event is set to kick off at 11AM EDT today, which is 8AM PDT over on the west coast. You can watch the entire live stream at the link down below. The keynote should only last about an hour, maybe an hour and a half.