If you haven't heard about it already, Google announced their first in-house developed smartphone: the Google Pixel (and Pixel XL). There have been other phones that were branded as "Google-made phones" (most notable the now defunct Nexus line), but in reality, those were phones created by other companies like HTC and Huawei.
Notably the brains and brawn behind Android, this is the first noteworthy phone to have the hardware and software made by the same company since the iPhone. I think this is a pretty big deal, and the implications of this have me excited for what the future has in store. So in this post, let's delve into the five reasons the Google Pixel excites me.
1. The kingmakers of software are now making their own hardware. I mentioned this in the intro, but I think it's worth delving into more. The only other major player I'm aware of doing this is Apple, and historically, it's been interesting to see how this has played out. For years, companies like Samsung have put top-of-the-line processors in their phones, but despite this, the iPhone's seemingly lesser processors still dominate in performance. I think it's reasonable to think that because, as hardware AND software makers, Apple learned how to squeeze the best performance out of their own software. At the time this post goes live, we still don't know quite how well the Pixel's performance will be, but I have a hunch that it will be pretty dang good.
2. Google is taking their design as serious as their specs. And FINALLY. Not that Samsung or the former Nexus phones had ugly designs, but there was always some glaring design flaw with those phones. Specifically...
WHY MUST THE NAME BE PRINTED ON THE PHONE SO BIG??
It might seem like a small thing to you, but I just cannot overlook Samsung's ugly logo sitting front and center at the top of all their phones. Let the design speak for the phone itself. If you take the logo off an iPhone 7 or Google Pixel, I can still tell you what phone it is. I personally love the design of the Google Pixel and am glad to see that Google is taking design seriously.
3. Google is a company more prone to take risks than Apple. That's been evident with their software and extraneous projects like the Google Car. Granted, the Google Pixel played it relatively safe. Unless you count Google Assistant (which I don't since it's a software feature), there is nothing in particular that makes this phone stand out. I personally think Google is just getting their feet wet with this first release, so I'll be interested to see how it evolves over time.
4. The Google Pixel may solve the Android fragmentation issue. One of the biggest problems with Android-based smartphones is that they don't typically get the latest and greatest update right away, and sometimes they may not get it at all. Granted, some will cite things like rooting to get the latest software, but that's really a power user solution only. For the average consumer, that's not a viable solution. Like Apple, Google could start pushing out their newest Android updates immediately, effectively solving the fragmentation problem for ALL consumers.
5. The Pixel may be a high-end phone, but it could signal "top-of-the-line" quality lower-end phones produced by Google in the future. If there's one thing Google has been pushing the past few years, it has been making technology available to everybody, especially under-developed countries. This has been evident with things like Project Loon and Android One. The Google Pixel is obviously a higher-end phone, but it would make perfect sense if they did things similar to Tesla. Tesla has been building higher end cars, and as they've learned to refine their technology and process, they are now working on lower-end cars. If Google seeks to continue their push for technology in underdeveloped countries, high-quality lower-end phones would fall right in line with their business plan.
The Google Pixel highlights an exciting future, but if I'm going to be really honest... I don't see myself switching from Apple any time soon, and we'll explore that in the next post.
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