Ben Sage

The Pixel Launcher has been around for a while now and is expected to be the default on Google's upcoming phones Pixel and Pixel XL which are going to be announced at an event on 4th October 2016. My initial thought was how much bigger the icons are in this version. At first I was a bit taken back by this but after a while I began to like the larger size of the icons. The top of your home screen has to be taken up with the fixed Google G logo and date which, given the customisation Android is famous for, is a tad odd that their is no flexibility in the size or look of these 'widgets'. My favourite thing about the launcher is that the app drawer still exists in the form of swiping up from the bottom four icons. There are rumours every now-and-then that the app drawer will be disappearing from Android completely and this has already happened on the the LG G5. Overall this launcher has a lot of potential to be a great option as a launcher but I still prefer N...

According to Android Police, Google Home will be priced at $129 (UK = approx. £99) the same as the Google WiFi speaker and the Chromecast Ultra which has 4k support will cost $69 (UK = approx. £53), double that of the old the Chromecast! Google Home will undercut the Amazon Echo by $40 which for me, someone who is already in deep use of Google's services, is fantastic news. I was worried that this product was going to be pitched at a premium price point due to its modern and classy look. Very little is known about Chromecast Ultra at the moment apart from 4k support and rumoured HDR support. These two products are expected to be announced along with their price points at the Google Event on 4th October 2016. Sources: http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/09/23/exclusive-google-home-will-cost-129-chromecast-ultra-will-cost-69/

Today has finally seen the long awaited release of Google Allo, a new messaging app previously announced at Google I/O 2016. This follows the release of Google Duo earlier in the summer. The main feature that differentiates Allo from it's fast amount of competitors is the integration of Google's new Google Assistant. The Assistant answers any queries and responds to commands such as "What is the weather?" and "Find me the nearest Thai restaurant." For me this is a major factor in whether deciding whether to replace my previous apps with Allo as the Assistant allows me to integrate my Google services such as YouTube and Calendar. One of my favourite things about Google Assistant is the subscriptions in which you set different news and weather that you want Google Assistant to send you at set times everyday. This is particular useful in the mornings as you can quickly check news, weather and sports scores in one glance without having to go throug...