TORONTO – Google is adding two new smartphones to the growing number of iPhone alternatives scheduled to hit shelves before the start of the busy holiday shopping season.
Both the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P were unveiled by Google on Tuesday, with the technology giant saying they are the first smartphones to use “Marshmallow,” Android’s Android’s latest update of its operating system.
The phones, which will be available before the end of October, come amid a highly competitive year in the Canadian wireless industry.
In July, the CRTC eliminated cancellation fees for wireless contracts after two years, effectively releasing a large number Canadians from three-year phone contracts and giving them the ability to move to other telecommunications providers.
The rule change could give the Nexus phones an advantage against competitors because all of the models are unlocked devices, which means they’re not tethered to one specific wireless carrier.
“The competitiveness and nature of this market continues to evolve every day,” said Darren Seefriend, head of Android Partnerships at Google Canada.
The Nexus 5X starts at $499 Canadian for a 16GB phone without a contract, while the Nexus 6P starts at $699 for a 32GB device.
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But they’ve going to be facing some formidable competition from a raft of other smartphone makers.
On Monday, Apple Inc. reported that first weekend sales for its latest smartphone set new records for the company. Apple sold more than 13 million iPhone 6s and 6s Plus phones in the first three days after the launch, it said.
That was well above the 10 million iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models that flew off shelves last year, though this year China was included in the sales numbers for the first time.
Samsung headed off the competition by launching its larger-screened Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge+ in August.
BlackBerry (TSX:BB) is also expected to jump into the fray later this year with the release the BlackBerry Priv, its first phone to runs on Google’s Android operating system.
Google Marshmallow
Android Marshmallow will make Google’s voice assistant “Google Now” more intuitive, by allowing Google Now to scan whatever content might be on a mobile device’s screen to deliver additional information about the topic of a text, a song, a video clip or an article.
The new OS will also be compatible with fingerprint scanners so device users can verify their identities by pressing a button instead of entering a passcode.
Android Marshmallow will include an alternative to the mobile payment system that Apple introduced last fall. Google’s response, called Android Pay, will replace Google Wallet for making mobile purchases in stores and applications. Google Wallet, which came out in 2011, will still work for sending payments from one person to another.
– With files from Global News’ Nicole Bogart
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