Google has announced its all-new, self-built smartphone!

The phone is called the Google Pixel and it is built by Google from ground up contrary to early rumors that the new Google phone will be built by HTC.

The new Pixel smartphone has Google Assistant - Google's Siri and Alexa competitor - built into the software. Assistant is designed to understand context and help with tasks.

At the launch event, Google even took shots as Apple by displaying a a "storage full" message from an iPhone, something it said will not happen with the Pixel. It will make this possible through unlimited full resolution backups of photos and videos using Google Photo's cloud storage.

But the shots did not end there. Google also went on to claim that the Pixel houses the "best smartphone camera ever made" (Apple and , una dey hear?) and the first device built to work on Google's new Daydream Virtual Reality platform.

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If you buy a Google Pixel phone, you will also be able to access the Assistant AI prgram from any screen on the device, and the program will be able to understand context.

According to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, the Pixel marked the beginning of a new era in smartphone computing. I think this is very possible but we will have to wait and see. The Pixel will retail for $649.

"We've always had big shifts in computing in every 10 years or so. It began in the 1980s with personal computers. In the 90s the web arrived and it was the biggest platform shift ever.

"10 years later in the mid-2000s, we had the smartphone revolution. Now the shift continues. We are evolving from a mobile first to AI first world," said Pichai.

Google also announced a suite of new hardware at the same event: a new VR headset for its Daydream platform called Daydream View, a new Chromecast with 4K support in mobile phones, Google Home - its answer to Amazon's Echo smart home device, and Google WiFi - a new system of small WIFi receivers which can be placed around the home to improve signal.

Pulse Tech will give you updates on the even, the devices that were launched and all you need to know about Google's new Pixel smartphone.