Pixel phone specs, release date, price: Google unveils home-grown devices

All the key information on Google's first foray into hardware

Google has finally taken the wraps of its new Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones.

The devices mark the first time the firm has made its own smartphone hardware and will likely see Google emerge as a major hardware rival to Apple in the mobile market.

Below is round-up of the key information on the devices. We'll be updating this page regularly as more information comes to light post-launch.

Release date
The Google Pixel and Pixel XL are available to pre-order from Google Play, and delivery is promised within "two to three weeks". The handsets will be available in the shops from 20 October.

The devices

Google has unveiled two phones, the Pixel and Pixel XL, similar to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus from rival Apple.

The Pixel has a 5in phone screen size, larger than the iPhone 7's 4.7in screen, while the Pixel XL has a 5.5in screen, the same as the iPhone 7 Plus.

Both handsets run an un-bloated version of Android 7.1 Nougat, equipping them with features including a new split-screen mode, tougher security measures like file-based encryption, support for the Vulkan API, enhanced notifications and Data Saver and Night modes.

The Pixel and Pixel XL are also the first smartphones to come with Google's Siri-rivalling Assistant service.

Users can press the Home button to fire up the human-like assistant, and can ask questions such as 'Show me upcoming events at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley' or 'Play me music by The Lumineers.'

A USB-C connector sits on the bottom of the handsets providing seven hours of juice after just 15 minutes on charge, but Google has decided against 'doing an Apple' by ditching the headphone jack and there's a 3.5mm port on the top of the smartphones.

The Google Pixel and Pixel XL have 5in Full HD and 5.5in QHD displays respectively, and both are powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 821 processor which the chipmaker claims is 10 per cent faster than the Snapdragon 820 chip in the LG V20.

This is paired with a decent 4GB of RAM and a choice of 32GB or 128GB of storage. A microSD slot allows this to be increased by up to 256GB.

Google claimed that the DxOMark rating of 89 makes the 12.3MP camera on the rear of the smartphone the "best ever". It comes with HDR+ switched on by default, a shorter capture time than any smartphone camera the firm has tested, and video stabilisation. There's also an 8MP camera on the front.

The Google Pixel and Pixel XL will be available in three colours named Quite Black, Very Silver and Really Blue.

Price
The 32GB Google Pixel is available from £599 at Google Play, while the 128GB version is £699. The Pixel XL is, unsurprisingly, more expensive at £719 and £819 respectively, making it the same price as the iPhone 7 Plus.

EE has kicked off pre-orders for both smartphones. The Google Pixel is available from £45.99 with a £99 upfront cost on a tariff that comes with 5GB of monthly data. This increases to £50.99 per month for the bigger Google Pixel XL.