NEW PIXELS: From left, the Google Pixel Fold, the Google Pixel Tablet and the Google Pixel 7a
Google has announced three new devices at its annual I/O developers’ conference — two smartphones with NFC and a tablet with ultra wideband.
The Google Pixel 7a is a sub-US$500 mid-range Android smartphone which offers NFC, Bluetooth 5.3 and LE, and what Google terms in its spec sheet “BT Diversity” — likely to refer to Bluetooth antenna diversity, which offers a stronger link in adverse environments at the potential cost of some latency.
The Google Pixel Fold is a US$1,800 flagship Android smartphone with a large folding screen. It offers NFC, ultra wideband (UWB) and Bluetooth 5.2.
The Google Pixel Tablet is a capable 11-inch Android-based tablet which offers Bluetooth 5.2 and UWB “for accurate ranging” — but not NFC. This could represent a missed opportunity for Google as NFC-based softpos solutions are now starting to take off worldwide but it would appear that the Pixel Tablet cannot be used in a point-of-sale context without adding an external contactless reader.
The Google Pixel Tablet is set to retail at US$500.
All three devices also include a Titan M2 security coprocessor, Google’s equivalent of Apple’s Secure Enclave chip.
• Find details of current and upcoming NFC phones in our comprehensive NFC devices list.
Google adds new Pixel devices with NFC and UWB was written by Mike Clark and published by NFCW.