Google unveils new Nexus 5x and 6p handsets, Chromecast TV and hifi dongles and convertible 'supertablet' in bid to topple Apple

• Google now has over 1.4 billion Android users around the world 
• Handsets being made by LG and Huwaei with 5.2 and 6inch screens 
• 5x starts at $379 (£339), 6p $499 (£449), shipping later in October
• New version of $35 Chromecast to put apps on the TV 
• Second version can plug into hifi to stream music and works with Spotify
• Pixel C tablet has clip on keyboard to turn it into a laptop 

By Mark Prigg For Dailymail.com

Published: 10:49 EST, 29 September 2015 | Updated: 04:17 EST, 30 September 2015

Google has unveiled two new Nexus handsets designed to take on Apple's iPhone.

Called the 5x and 6p, they will go on sale later this month and run a new version of Android called Marshmallow.

It also showed off a new version of its Chromecast TV dongle, hitting out at Apple's recent TV plans by claiming 'your phone is the ultimate TV remote', and revealed a high end tablet called the Pixel C.

Scroll down for video 

The new $499 tablet called the Pixel C, $499 Nexus 6p with a 5.7inch screen, the $379 5x a 5.2inch screen. It also showed off a new version of its $35 Chromecast TV dongle and revealed audio version.

Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, revealed the firm now has 1.4 billion users of its Android platform.

'For us, the way we do technology is to invest inn large ecosystems, platform,' he said.

A year ago, we announced Android had 1 billion users - now it is 1.4 billion devices. 

'There are over 10,000 companies using Android for work, including the US Army.

'We want to push the state of the art, and to do that we build hardware.

'We've taken a very different approach tot he living room, we're betting on the phone being the interface. 

It comes as Google revealed its next version of Android will be called Marshmallow. 

Dave Burke of Google said 'Nexus is the latest, the most advanced Android technology.

'This is Android as we've designed it.

'We're announcing tweo amazing new phones, the 5x and the 6p'

The 6p has a 5.7inch screen,  the 5x a 5.2inch screen.

They both use the new USB-C port for faster charging.

The new Nexus 6p has a 5.7inch screen, the 5x a 5.2inch screen. both handset run Marshmallow, the latest version of Android.

Google shows off the new products in unveiled today

They include a new Chromecast (centre)

The 6p has stereo speakers, and a 12.3mp camera. 

Smartburst can capture 30 frames a second to create gifs.

'It outperforms all of the other phones we've tested in low light - it's an amazing camera,' said Burke.

GOOGLE'S SUPERTABLET 

 Andrew Powers of Google's Pixel division revealed a new tablet the firm is developing.

'We asked ourselves what would the ideal tablet and a keyboard - and that's the Pixel C'

With a 10.2inch screen, Google says it is designed to be easier to work on that existing tablets.

Google promises it will update the device's software every six weeks, it will cost $499 for the tablet and $149 for the keyboard. 

Strong magnets hold the tablet and keyboard together

With a 10.2inch screen, Google says it is designed to be easier to work on that existing tablets.

The keyboard can slide to become a case for the tablet or be removed entirely

The 6p also has a fingerprint sensor, which Google says will work with apps and to unlock the phone and pay for apps in the Google Play store. 

It claims a new low power chip means users can log in extremely quickly.

It has also overhauled Google Now. 

The smaller of the two new handsets, the 5X, has a 5.2inch screen, a fingerprint sensor and runs Marshmallow, the new version of Google's software.

The 6p is the first all metal Nexus handset.

It features changes that will give expanded powers to Android's personal assistant, Google Now, so it can explore the information that people call up in the mobile applications.

Previously, Google Now learned about its users' interests and daily habits by analyzing search requests and scanning information contained in emails.

Dave Burke, vice president of engineering at Google, speaks about the new Google Nexus 6P during the event.

The 6p also has a fingerprint sensor, which Google says will work with apps and to unlock the phone and pay for apps in the Google Play store.

The Marshmallow version of Android enables users to summon Google Now to scan whatever content might be on a mobile device's screen so it can present pertinent information about the topic of a text, a song, a video clip or an article.

The new Android feature, called 'Now on Tap,' will be activated by holding down the device's home button or speaking, 'OK Google,' into the microphone. 

That action will prompt Now on Tap to scan the screen in attempt to figure out how to be the most helpful. 

Or, if speaking, users can just say what they are seeking, such as 'Who sings this?'

Google also unveiled a major overhaul of its Photos service, adding shared galleries and the ability to easily send photos to a TV using Google's Chromecast. 

Google also unveiled a new version of its Chromecast TV dongle, and hit out at Apple's TV plans and touch remote.

'Chromecast allows you to bring apps to the TV by extending the apps of your phone,' said Mario Quierioz of Google.

'The phone becomes your best remote.

'Our technology allows us to go beyond the TV screen to speakers.' 

Google's new Chromecast is designed to take on the Apple TV

Andrew Powers of Google's Pixel division revealed a new tablet the firm is developing.

'We asked ourselves what would the ideal tablet and a keyboard - and that's the Pixel C'

With a 10.2inch screen, Google says it is designed to be easier to work on that existing tablets.

Rumours in May suggested that Google was working with partners Huawei and LG to produce two new Nexus phones — a 5.7-inch Huawei device, and a 5.2-inch model with LG, which the pictures, from Android Police seem to confirm.   

It also showed off a new version of its Chromecast TV dongle, hitting out at Apple's recent TV plans by claiming 'Your phone is the ultimate TV remote'.

Google's new dedicated audio Chromecast to make hifi's internet connected.

ANDROID MARSHMALLOW

Will include fingerprint recognition

Overhauled app permissions to try and allay privacy fears

Google Pay will let people use phone as a credit card 

Chrome custom tabs to make viewing web pages easier 

Will boost battery life of existing devices, doubling battery life in some cases 

At its I/O conference in San Francisco earlier this year, the firm revealed a new version of its phone software called Android Marshmallow believed to stand for Milkshake, which it claims could double the battery life of some handsets, and also includes a new built in payment system.

Android M will also include a new smart assistant. 

'Your smartphone should be smarter,' Google's Aparna Chennapragada said.

'We are working on a new capability to assist you in the moment, called now on tap.

The new system can answer questions depending on what the user is doing - for instance, if they are listening to music, they can ask 'who's in the band' and get an answer. 

The new version, codenamed Android M, will squash 'thousand of bugs' Google's Dave Burke said, and include fingerprint recognition.

It will be released in the autumn, and a developer version made available today. 

The firm has also overhauled its app permissions to try and allay privacy fears.

'In M, you can customise app permissions to control the data you care about.' 

Android has recently come under fire for a major security flaw. 

Millions of Android phones could be easily hijacked using software that was installed on them by their manufacturers, hackers have claimed.

The same 'remote support' apps loaded on phones and tablets made by HTC, LG, Samsung, and ZTE and many other manufacturers are vulnerable to the hack.

Android Police obtained these images showing the final packaging for the X and P handsets, which are set to be unveiled at a Google event in San Francisco next week.

The apps are given special access to the phone, using digital certificates, which hackers can break into and then use.

Exploiting the privileges could let people 'steal personal data, track device locations, turn on microphones to record conversations', according to Check Point, the security firm that found the hack have named it it 'Certifi-Gate'.

GOOGLE PAY - HOW IT WORKS

Google Pay will be a new app users will have to download.

With Android Pay, you can simply unlock your phone like you normally do, place it near a merchant's contactless terminal, and you're good to go.

No app needs to be open,and users also see a payment confirmation and get transaction details right on your phone.

Also, with select retailers, your loyalty programs and special offers will be automatically applied at checkout. 

To buy online, users just select 'Buy with Android Pay.'

Android Pay will soon be accepted at over 700,000 store locations from your favorite brands across the US, and in over 1000 Android apps, Google said

'And we'll be adding more every day.'

The new Google Pay system can be used in over 700,000 retailers, the firm said, and will compete directly with Apple Pay.

The Check Point mobile threat research team disclosed its findings at a briefing session at Black Hat USA 2015 in Las Vegas, and describe it as 'a previously unknown vulnerability in the architecture of popular mobile Remote Support Tools (RSTs) used by virtually every Android device manufacturer and network service provider.'

The affected companies have been notified about the hack and are pushing out fixes, according to Check Point. 

However, the problem can only be fixed with a security update. 

Check Point has made an app that will check whether phones are vulnerable to the hack and whether they have been infected.  

'The issue they've detailed pertains to customisations OEMs make to Android devices and they are providing updates which resolve the issue,' a Google spokesperson told Dailymail.com.

'Nexus devices are not affected and we haven't seen attempts to exploit this.'

'In order for a user to be affected, they'd need to install a potentially harmful application which we continually monitor for with VerifyApps and SafetyNet. 

'We strongly encourage users to install applications from a trusted source, such as Google Play.'

It comes as Google and Samsung said they will release monthly security fixes for Android phones, a growing target for hackers, after the disclosure of a bug designed to attack the world's most popular mobile operating system.

The change came after security researcher Joshua Drake unveiled what he called Stagefright, hacking software that allows attackers to send a special multimedia message to an Android phone and access sensitive content even if the message is unopened.

'We've realized we need to move faster,' Android security chief Adrian Ludwig said at this week's annual Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas.

It comes as Google and Samsung said they will release monthly security fixes for Android phones, a growing target for hackers, after the disclosure of a bug designed to attack the world's most popular mobile operating system.

Previously, Google would develop a patch and distribute it to its own Nexus phones after the discovery of security flaws.

But other manufacturers would wait until they wanted to update the software for different reasons before pushing out a fix, exposing most of the more than 1 billion Android users to potential hacks and scams until the fix.

Ludwig also said Google has made other security changes. In an interview, he told Reuters that earlier this year the team broke out incidence rates of malicious software by language. 

The rate of Russian-language Androids with potentially harmful programs had spiked suddenly to about 9 percent in late 2014, he said.

Google made its roughly weekly security scans of Russian phones more frequent and was able to reduce the problems to close to the global norm.

Ludwig said improvements to recent versions of Android would limit an attack's effectiveness in more than nine out of 10 phones, but Drake said an attacker could keep trying until the gambit worked. 

Drake said he would release code for the attack by Aug. 24, putting pressure on manufacturers to get their patches out before then.

Nexus phones are being updated with protection this week and the vast majority of major Android handset makers are following suit, Ludwig said.

Samsung Vice President Rick Segal acknowledged that his company could not force the telecommunications carriers that buy its devices in bulk to install the fixes and that some might do so only for higher-end users.

'If it's your business customers, you'll push it,' Segal said in an interview. Samsung is the largest maker of Android phones.

Ludwig said many Android security scares were overblown. He added that only about one in 200 Android phones Google can peer into have any potentially harmful applications installed at any point.

Drake noted that those figures exclude some products, including Fire products from Amazon, which use Android.

As with Apple's iPhones, the biggest security risk comes with apps that are not downloaded from the official online stores of the two companies.

Stolen files from Hacking Team, an Italian company selling eavesdropping tools to government agencies around the world, showed that a key avenue was to convince targets to download legitimate-seeming Android and iPhone apps from imposter websites.

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