Google's Live Cases for your phone integrate with your Pixel's wallpaper

By Julian Chokkattu Published November 17, 2016

google pixel photo contest chromecast xl shooting — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Enjoying your new Pixel smartphone? If you still haven’t gotten a case for it, Google has two new Live Cases and they go a little further than just protecting your phone.

The Google Earth Live Case uses satellite imagery from Google Earth to envelope the exterior of your Pixel with beautiful landscapes. But like the Earth View Chrome Browser extension that adds a gorgeous satellite image on the New Tab page, the Earth Live Case connects with the Wallpapers app on the Pixel to offer a new location every day “from a curated collection of images from Google Earth.”

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You will be able to tap the NFC shortcut button on the back of the case to explore the day’s location on Google Maps. Unfortunately, while the locations may seem endless for your phone’s wallpaper, the case only comes in three designs — Antartica, Ceel Dheer, and Moindou. At the moment, only Moindou is available.

google — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The second new option is the Google Trends Live Case. Case wise, it is a little more dull as you only get two gradient color choices — Sunset and Asphalt. But what is unique about the Trends case is the companion wallpaper that “charts the top trending Google searches,” on your home screen. The wallpaper visualizes these searches and you can tap the NFC button on the back of the case to get more details on what you are seeing.

At $50, both the Trends and Earth cases are $10 more than other live cases, such as the collection from Jeremy Scott or the ones you can make yourself.

You can purchase the cases from the Google Store online, or from Verizon and Best Buy in the U.S.

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Julian Chokkattu

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Julian is the mobile and wearables editor at Digital Trends, covering smartphones, fitness trackers, smartwatches, and more…

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