Googles hard road of hardware

Being the hardware increases your chances of being the software

Liza Ma, product manager at Google, discusses the new Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL smartphones. Pic: Getty

Google really wants you to know how much it has done for you, the mortal. It loves you, it respects you, but it demands your love and devotion for the great gifts it has bestowed upon you. Well, kinda. That and repeated ‘well kinda’ moments defined a genuinely interesting rollout of new consumer devices from the tech giant on Tuesday.

Start off with the companies it clearly wants to be compared to but ...