Google unveils latest cheaper Pixel phone, rolls out new TV service

Google will try to make a bigger splash in the smartphone market with a cheaper high-end model while it also aims to expand its presence on bigger screens with a new TV service.

The products unveiled Wednesday focus on two areas where Google has struggled to make significant inroads. Google also used a half-hour showcase streamed online to introduce a $99 speaker that is says has better acoustics for playing music than the cheaper ones that it has been selling primarily as a command center for its voice-activated assistant.

Google’s latest smartphone represents the fifth generation of a device that was supposed to prove the Mountain View, California, company can make hardware as well as it does software after the brand made its 2016 debut.