Chart Events
Performance Outlook
| Previous Close | 32.05 |
| Open | 31.95 |
| Bid | 31.25 x 0 |
| Ask | 31.30 x 0 |
| Day's Range | 31.10 - 32.20 |
| 52 Week Range | 25.40 - 40.70 |
| Volume | 11,917,000 |
| Avg. Volume | 4,830,334 |
| Market Cap | 25.624B |
| Beta (5Y Monthly) | 0.98 |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | N/A |
| EPS (TTM) | -8.86 |
| Earnings Date | Nov 10, 2020 |
| Forward Dividend & Yield | N/A (N/A) |
| Ex-Dividend Date | Aug 19, 2019 |
| 1y Target Est | 56.50 |
- Bloomberg
Google’s Pixel 5 Is Made of Recycled Aluminum and Ideas: Review
(Bloomberg) -- In 2010, Google released its first smartphone, the Nexus One built by HTC Corp., which was intended not as a multimillion-unit-selling iPhone rival but as a modest example of what a good Android phone could and should be. A decade later with the Pixel 5, designed by the HTC team that Google since acquired, the Alphabet Inc. unit seems to be returning to its original philosophy.The Pixel 5 is an assembly of established technologies topped off with 5G wireless connectivity and an important reduction in price to $699. Bowing out of the premium-tier race with Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. after four Pixel generations, Google also did away with its XL model and refocused on the strengths of its devices: good cameras, utilitarian design and reliable software updates.Settling on a 6-inch display as its only size option, Google runs against the grain of bigger-is-better that pervades the mobile industry, with even Apple recently launching its biggest iPhone yet with a 6.7-inch Max model. The search giant takes two other steps back in time: it brought back the fingerprint sensor on the Pixel 5’s rear and moved to an aluminum enclosure amid a sea of all-glass smartphones. In testing, however, the Pixel 5 proved each of those to be an upgrade in daily use.Being smaller than the typical Android device, the Pixel is easier to handle and fit into a pocket. Its textured rear finish provides more grip and durability than glass and, in the “Sorta Sage” color, is entirely averse to finger smudging. Google has managed to retain wireless charging on this phone even with the return to a metal casing and it has also significantly upgraded its battery size. Though unlikely to have been a coronavirus-inspired design choice, the replacement of face authentication as the biometric ID standard also fixes one of the pain points of using mobile phones in the era of face masks.Google has adopted an iPhone-like strategy in picking the particular specs it cares to emphasize with its device -- but its choices haven’t all been for the better. The Pixel 5 doesn’t have Qualcomm Inc.’s top-tier processor, which manifests itself in occasional slowdowns when activating the camera or reviewing photos. Google has also removed its dedicated image-processing silicon in the new phone, adding some small delay to processing times.The addition of 5G may prove meaningful when those networks, and services that take advantage of them, are built out. But faster wireless coverage is for now spotty at best all over the world.Read more: World’s First 5G Networks Still More Patchy Than PowerfulPervasive Pixel issues remain. Bluetooth connectivity problems showed up in testing, Google still lags the competition in terms of camera hardware -- it added an ultrawide lens this year, but took away the telephoto zoom lens it adopted last year -- and its display technology isn’t pushing any boundaries. Its former key advantage of unequaled camera performance was quashed by last year’s iPhone 11.Google guarantees Android updates for the Pixel 5 through October 2023. That three-year pledge -- uncommon among Android vendors --- is augmented by Google supporting its older devices with features from new ones where it can.The premise underpinning Google’s Pixel 5 appears to be one of good-enough technology. The phone delivers no great surprises or disappointments and doesn’t pretend to challenge the mobile industry paradigm. Taken together with this year’s Pixel 4a duo, Google’s most affordable entries in the range, it signals a company more concerned with price and everyday utility than performance accolades and tech novelties.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
Former HTC Boss Plots Return To Spotlight With 5G VR Headset
(Bloomberg) -- Peter Chou, the man who led HTC Corp. through its most prosperous years as an Android phone maker, is returning to consumer electronics with the unveiling of a new virtual reality headset, platform and company.Called XRSpace, the project has been in the works for three years and its centerpiece is a mobile VR headset equipped with fifth-generation wireless networking and over three hours of battery life. Partnering with Deutsche Telekom AG and Chunghwa Telecom Co., XRSpace is also building the VR platform on which services, games and social activities can be accessed and experienced.Priced at $599, the XRSpace headset has a high cost of entry, but the company envisions bundling it with carriers’ 5G service packages or in other forms for educational institutions. After its home market of Taiwan, it’ll look to expand to the U.S. and Europe, Chou said in an interview with Bloomberg News, with the rest of Asia to follow.Chou’s headset is the latest in a long line of devices like Facebook Inc.’s Oculus Rift, which have tried to bring VR into the mainstream without much success so far. The XRSpace gadget is still months away from store shelves and few have had a chance to test or even view it. But the entrepreneur says he’s already signed up 40 to 50 apps for his VR platform.XRSpace’s ambition is to come up with uses for the 5G networks that carriers are rolling out globally.“5G is coming. It feels like 2002, when we first had 2.5G data networks and the first smartphones like the O2 XDA started coming out,” Chou said. “Today, the smartphone experience of togetherness is primitive” because it fails to capture the full range of human expression. XRSpace’s headset uses cameras to pick up hand gestures and track the wearer’s motions, and it creates a lifelike avatar from a selfie. Chou promised it’ll let users perform real-world actions like shaking hands or shooting a basketball in a natural way.The XRSpace founder quit HTC after the popularity of its smartphones waned, but now he’s hoping VR will help a comeback.To build its virtual world, XRSpace has been designing public and private spaces for users to inhabit and even creating virtual stadiums where sports fans can gather together for a shared viewing of a ballgame. The coronavirus outbreak has triggered an uptick in interest in shared remote experiences, as signaled by rapper Travis Scott’s virtual concert in the game Fortnite and Sony Corp.’s Chief Executive Officer Kenichiro Yoshida expressing interest in streaming live concerts to the company’s PlayStation VR headset.Read more: Fortnite, Rappers and the Billion-Dollar Pandemic Gaming BoomThe pandemic was initially an obstacle for XRSpace, whose launch had been planned for Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February, one of the first global events to be canceled by the spread of the virus. Chou said that manufacturing was set back by roughly two months because of it, and the XRSpace headset is now expected to launch in the third quarter of this year, starting with Taiwan where the company has the most partnerships lined up.But the upside for XRSpace, according to Head of Content Kurt Liu, is that many more interested parties -- such as educational institutions asking about distance learning and collaboration tools -- have been reaching out. Liu’s team has been working with hundreds of developers since last year and already has more than 40 apps embedded in the platform, he said. Those include games as well as wellness and relaxation applications, for which the company has recruited health care experts with decades of experience.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
Apple Acquires Startup NextVR that Broadcasts VR Content
(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. confirmed it acquired NextVR, a startup that provides sports and other content for virtual-reality headsets.The acquisition may help Apple’s development of VR and AR headsets with accompanying software and content. NextVR supplies content to several existing VR headsets, including Facebook Inc.’s Oculus and devices from Sony Corp., HTC Corp. and Lenovo.NextVR has deals with sports leagues including the National Basketball Association and entertainment networks such as Fox Sports. The startup also has expertise in live streaming in virtual reality, which could also be useful for live concerts and games.The Newport Beach, California-based startup officially shut down this week, saying on its website that it is “heading in a new direction.” Apple said it buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and generally does not discuss its purpose or plans. It didn’t disclose a purchase price, but website 9to5Mac reported in April that Apple was in talks to buy NextVR for about $100 million.The deal is at least the third for Apple this year, following the purchase of Voysis, an Irish startup that focuses on voice technology, and Dark Sky, a popular weather app.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
