Google announce Pixel 5, 4a 5G and new Chromecast

September has been a busy month in the tech world, with Apple Watch and iPad Air announcements, next-gen Xbox and PlayStation preorders, and now, rounding out the month with a massive drop overnight, Google has announced the Pixel 5, 4a 5G, and new Chromecast with Google TV.

Let’s take a look at everything the tech giant announced last night.

As it turns out, Pixel 5 leaks from early September were pretty bang on the money both in terms of pricing and design. We estimated the RRP at around $1,021, and Google has confirmed Australian pricing at $999. As expected, it appears Google is continuing the downward trend of flagship Pixel prices (for reference, the Pixel 3 retailed at $1,199 and the Pixel 4 for $1,049).

Leaked renders were also shockingly close to the real deal, featuring the reintroduced rear fingerprint scanner and dual rear cameras (one 12.2MP and one 16MP ultrawide). As we also expected, the Pixel 5 comes in two colours: black and sage.

The Pixel 5 also supports wireless fast charging, is water-resistant, comes with ultra-tough Corning Gorilla Glass 6, a Snapdragon 765G Octa-Core processor, 8GB RAM and 12GB storage.

So far, the best preorder deal we’ve seen comes from Telstra. Not only will you get your Pixel 5 at RRP (repayable over 12 or 24 months) but you’ll also score a free Google Nest Hub Max, valued at $349. Otherwise, you can preorder Pixel 5 outright from the Google Store. You won’t have long to wait, either, with release slated for 15 October.

Take a look at some of the most popular Google Pixel 5 plans below.

We were big fans of the Pixel 4a, so if the 5G version is simply a faster, higher-tech iteration, we think it’ll be hard to beat.

Looking at the specs alone, the Pixel 4a 5G has a slightly larger 6.2-inch display (compared to the 4a’s 5.8-inch and the 5’s 6-inch), a larger battery (3885 mAh vs the 4a’s 3140 mAh), an upgraded processor (Snapdragon 765G Octa-Core vs the 4a’s Snapdragon 630G), an extra 16MP ultrawide rear lens and a few more camera features.

Design-wise, it looks more like the big brother of the Pixel 5 rather than the Pixel 4a, thanks to its identical rear camera setup. However, unlike the 5, the Pixel 4a 5G only comes in black.

At an RRP of $799, it’s $200 less than the Pixel 5 and $200 more than the 4a, but at this early stage, we think it looks like the best value. At the time of writing, you can preorder Pixel 4a 5G through the Google Store only and launches on 13 October.

This is something we’ve been looking forward to for a while now - a Chromecast with a proper OS and a remote, putting it squarely in competition with the likes of Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV.

Designed to organise all the content from your favourite streaming services into one screen, the Chromecast with Google TV will show you where you can stream certain movies and TV shows and even give you personal recommendations. And yes, it can stream 4K content, too.

It’s the first Chromecast that comes with a remote, including dedicated buttons for YouTube and Netflix, as well as a Google Assistant button, enabling you to control your entertainment with your voice. The Chromecast with Google TV comes in three colours: white, sunrise and sky.

You can preorder Chromecast with Google TV for the very budget-friendly price of $99 through The Good Guys, JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman and the Google Store.