The 11 coolest announcements Google made at its biggest product event of the year

Google's "Group Selfie Cam" in the Pixel 3 lets you capture more of your selfies by simply zooming out. Google says you can capture 184% more of your selfies with the Pixel 3.

Given how much people love selfies, this could very well be a game-changer. This was easily one of the cooler announcements to come out of the event.

This is a really clever touch that will probably result in more fun and natural-looking photos.

You can also point your camera at things you want to buy. So let's say you see someone wearing a beautiful-looking jacket: Just point your Pixel 3 camera at them — try not to be creepy — and your phone will surface similar-looking jackets you can buy online.

Portrait Mode on the Pixel 3 lets you adjust several different settings after the photo is already taken.

You can edit the depth of field, like you can in the new iPhone XS, but you can also make colors pop by muting other colors, or change the focal subject of the photo — something tech companies have been trying to accomplish since the Lytro Camera.

The number of new portrait-mode features, and the level of control you get for each one, shows why Google's smartphone cameras are best in class.

Here's Google's Brian Rakowski describing the feature:

"Anyone who’s tried to take a photo at a concert knows that phone cameras take terrible zoom. Instead of shooting a grainy photo, Pixel 3 shoots a burst of photos, each a bit different, taking advantage of the natural tiny movements of your hand. We run the variations through a merging algorithm to create a beautiful zoomed-in shot.

"This technique of merging slightly different photos for higher resolution has been used in advanced astronomy research to image the surface of Mars. Pixel 3 puts this technology into a device you can hold in your hand."

So basically, Google is using the same technique astronomers use to map out planetary surfaces, but for your smartphone, so you can get better zoomed-in photos. How cool is that? Amazingly cool is the correct answer.

Every smartphone should have this feature.

With Call Screen, if you don't know who's calling you, or if you think it's a telemarketer, you can have your Google Assistant answer the call. It will tell the caller that it is, in fact, an assistant responding on your behalf, and ask what it's about. At that point, the entire conversation will be transcribed on your lock screen, in real time, so you can choose to either answer the call, or hang up.

When you dock your Pixel 3 to the Pixel Stand, it basically becomes a little Google Home Hub, another product Google unveiled on Tuesday that can show you visual information at a glance. With the Pixel Stand, you can use your Pixel 3 as an alarm clock — where your phone's screen gets increasingly bright until your alarm finally goes off — or just to check the weather.

The Pixel 3 can also become a digital photo frame when it's attached to the Stand, and not busy with other tasks. It will automatically scan your Google Photos, being careful to remove blurry or "bad" photos, to make sure your phone is only displaying your best pictures.

One of the biggest issues with current smart-home devices is that they all have their own apps and interfaces. With Google Home Hub, all of those connected devices can be controlled from a single place, making operating your smart lights and thermostats a whole lot easier. You’ll also be able to access this same Home View from your Android phone.

Google unveiled the Pixel Slate tablet at its big hardware event, but an accessory for that device stole the thunder. Google made a new keyboard where you can push the Pixel Slate down into it, and it will click in — and once you hear that click, just start typing.

You don’t have to worry about recharging the keyboard, or syncing it up with the tablet; it all just works. The keyboard also comes with a full trackpad, and quiet, backlit keys. It's pretty to look at, but it also sounds comfortable and easy to use.