Google enters premium smartphone game with Pixel and Pixel XL

Text and photos by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Google is now a player in the smartphone game. While the company did dabble in creating specific devices with hardware partners during its now defunct Nexus phase, it left the building of the hardware to OEMs. Nexus is all but dead and there are valid reasons for that. Google is looking forward to a future where they make the whole widget in order to ensure the best experience. 

The 5-inch Pixel and the 5.5-inch Pixel XL represent the most cohesive idea of a Google Phone since the first Android device shipped eight years ago. The Pixel devices are flagship phones (they start at $899) that boast top-tier specs, camera performance that Google says will beat any smartphone as well as a bevy of intelligent assistant features powered by Google services. 

Specs include a 5 or 5.5-inch AMOLED display, a SnapDragon 821  Quad-Core processor running 2.15 GHz + 1.6 GHz, 4GB of RAM, turbo-charging capability giving 7 hours on a 15 minute charge, 32GB and 128GB storage capacities, a 12 megapixel rear camera, an 8 megapixel front-facing camera and a rear fingerprint sensor which doubles as a trackpad for navigation.

What is clearly evident is that the design of the Pixel and the Pixel XL is based off of Apple's iPhone 6. there's really no mistaking the deliberate attempt to grab the look of the most popular smartphone  design around (now in three generations of Apple phones), and take that familiar look and feel, move some elements around and put the Android OS secret sauce on it.

Google clearly believes that referencing a known and popular smartphone design will increase its chances of success in the marketplace. The premium pricing of the Pixel devices (Canadians can expect to pay $899 for the 32GB Pixel and $1049 for the 32Gb Pixel XL, puts them right in iPhone 7 and Samsung Galaxy territory. The issue here is that both Apple and Samsung have very mature products that have been developed and evolved through time and the Pixel is the first generation of a new product category for Google.

I had some time with the Pixel and the Pixel XL and while they seemed impressive at first blush, I wasn't getting excited by the form factor or the design which, quite frankly, feels like it was from two years ago. I did notice that these devices exhibited high build quality that few Nexus devices could match and the software felt quite snappy. I really need a few days to put the hardware and the software through its paces to really determine if it is as good as Google promises.

What do you think about the Google Pixel and Pixel XL, is Google going the right direction by getting into the expensive smartphone game to highlight its newest software features?