An American multinational technology company, Google LLC, is focused on Internet-related services and products, including online advertising technologies, a search engine, cloud computing, and software. Its products and services also include hardware. Google is headquartered in Mountain View, California. According to Forbes, with Amazon, Apple, Meta (Facebook), and Microsoft, it is regarded as one of the Big Five businesses in the United States’ information technology sector.
Stanford University Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin co-founded Google on September 4, 1998, while still in their first year of graduate school at Stanford. As a group, they possess around 14 percent of the company’s publicly traded shares and control 56 percent of the shareholder voting power via particular voting stock. Initial public offering (IPO) was how the firm went public in 2004. Google was reformed in 2015 to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google. Search engine giant Google is Alphabet’s main business, and it also serves as a holding company for the corporation’s Internet-related holdings and interests. Sundar Pichai was named CEO of Google on October 24, 2015, taking over for Larry Page, who had been promoted to the CEO of Alphabet at the time. On December 3, 2019, Pichai was promoted to the CEO of Alphabet. The Alphabet Workers Union, mostly made of Google workers, was established in 2021.
Since its founding, Google has seen fast expansion, resulting in new products, acquisitions, and collaborations that are distinct from its core search engine (Google Search). In addition to work and productivity tools such as document editing and collaboration (Gmail), scheduling and time management (Google Calendar), cloud storage (Google Drive), instant messaging, and video conferencing services (Google Duo, Google Chat, and Google Meet), mapping and navigation (Google Maps, Waze, and Street View) as well as podcast hosting (Google Podcasts), video sharing (YouTube), and blog publishing (Blogger), it also offers a variety of other services (Google Photos). Among its many products are:
- The Android mobile operating system.
- The Google Chrome web browser.
- The Chrome OS (Chromebook Operating System) (a lightweight, proprietary operating system based on the free and open-source Chromium OS operating system).
The company has been expanding its hardware offerings; from 2010 to 2015, it collaborated with major electronics manufacturers to produce its Google Nexus devices, and it released many hardware products in 2016, including the Google Pixel line of smartphones, the Google Home smart speaker, and the Google Wifi meshes wireless router. Google has also experimented with the possibility of becoming an Internet service provider (Google Fiber and Google Fi).
Google.com is the most frequently viewed website on the internet. Several different Google-owned websites, such as YouTube and Blogger, appear on the list of the most popular websites, as do several other notable websites. Google is rated second by Forbes and fourth by Interbrand on the list of the most valuable brands in the world. However, significant criticism has been leveled at the company on privacy concerns, tax evasion, censorship, search neutrality, antitrust, and the misuse of its dominant position.
Google May Release a Budget Pixel 6
The Google I/O developers’ conference would take place around the same time as the epidemic, and a new version of their lower-cost A-series smartphone would be introduced around the same time. Using the Pixel 6a, Google may revert to its previously announced launch schedule, which would include the highly anticipated Pixel Watch and a more affordable HD version of its Chromecast with Google TV dongle, according to a report from Bloomberg. It might be released with the highly anticipated Pixel Watch and a low-cost Chromecast that works with Google TV. According to leaker Max Jambor, Google’s low-cost Pixel 6a smartphone will be unveiled in May. Typically, Google organizes its annual developer’s conference over this period, which is expected to occur this year, either virtually or in person. However, Google has not yet issued an official declaration about this matter.
The Pixel 6a has already sparked speculation, with reports claiming that it would feature a 6.2-inch display, which will be somewhat smaller than the one seen on the current Pixel 5a. In addition, as opposed to the previously reported 120Hz refresh rate, the screen is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate. However, a lower refresh rate may be beneficial for battery life. When combined with the Pixel 6a’s anticipated 4,800 mAh battery, the phone would be able to compete with more entry-level releases from manufacturers like Motorola, which tend to sacrifice crucial characteristics such as processing power in favor of longer battery life.
The Google Pixel 6a, on the other hand, might be equipped with a Tensor chip manufactured in-house, similar to its flagship cousin. Even while it’s unknown how much processing power the processor will have, it’s expected to be tuned such that the Pixel 6a can make use of some of the Pixel 6’s most unique capabilities, such as the device’s outstanding on-device language processing. The Tensor chip would also aid in developing camera intelligence, which is another reason why many like the A-series over other middle-of-the-road Android sharing handsets. According to rumors, the Pixel 6a is expected to come with a 12.2-megapixel primary camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera, and an 8-megapixel selfie camera. In addition, expect the smartphone to appear similar to its flagship brothers in terms of design since the angular design and the multiple camera array on the back will be brought over from Google’s flagship range.
Google is expected to launch a new smartphone in the spring, which will most likely be accompanied by the Pixel Watch, which we’ve been hearing about for what feels like an eternity now. Last month, Jon Prosser shared renderings of the Android wristwatch of our dreams, which has piqued our interest as we anticipate a significant hardware release from Google shortly. Another Chromecast dongle featuring Google TV is also expected to be introduced to the hardware lineup shortly. Initially reported by 9to5Google as an improvement to the existing Chromecast, Protocol later clarified that the dongle, codenamed Boreal, will be promoted as a low-cost entry point into Google’s streaming ecosystem rather than an upgrade to the current Chromecast.
According to leaks, the Chromecast will be powered by an Amlogic S805X2 processor and a Mali-G31 graphics processor. What’s especially notable about this component is that it supports AV1 decoding, which Google has been promoting aggressively recently. It is a royalty-free open-source video codec that is efficient for low-bandwidth networks and is available for download from the Internet. In addition, it’s the technology that Google utilizes for its Duo video chat service. Likely, the new Chromecast will only stream at a resolution of 1080p/60 frames per second, which could make it competitively priced against entry-level Google TV devices from Walmart, which can be purchased for as little as $20, as well as rival Amazon and Roku devices that use the exact AV1 decoding. Additionally, it would expand Google’s first-party hardware selection by including a cheaper streaming device.