Google October 4th event

[quikah]

350$ is way too low. Seriously, the Pixel is a high-end phone. Even the OP3 is 400$, and the Axon 7 is 480$ on Amazon. The Pixel has a much better camera than both, probably a better screen, a slightly better processor, better updates, probably better repair service etc. I don't see how they could've priced it lower than 400$.

Axon 7 is $399.

$500 is a reasonable price IMO. No OIS is a big fail to me.

 

[gus6464]

No waterproofing at all is a huge deal. All S7's and iphone 7's have this. No OIS which once again the other two have. S7's are shockproof rated as well. The main one is no IP6x rating of any kind.

 

[sze5003]

I will agree though skimping out on the waterproofing while the rest have it does suck but I never was so careless with my devices.

 

[jpiniero]

Price makes it a huge fail.

 

[Megatomic]

Price makes it a huge fail.

Why should the Pixel devices cost less? Because you want it to? How much do you think it should cost and why do you believe that?

 

[ChronoReverse]

The only thing that matters is really how much the carriers (in this case, carrier singular) push this.

The regular person gets put on a plan and subsidized phone. If the carriers push it or normal people request it (e.g., heard that the Pixel is a well-executed phone) then it can succeed.

That's really all it will take. Good buzz (not silly marketing stunts) and carrier enthusiasm.


Google will need to actually spend marketing dollars to achieve this. Historically they have never done this so we'll see if they'll half-heart the Pixel.

 

[jackstar7]

Strongly considering moving from 5X to Pixel on my Fi account. But would definitely like to see some hands-on reviews.

 

[Roland00Address]

Axon 7 is $399.

$500 is a reasonable price IMO. No OIS is a big fail to me.

They spent some time at the event talking up that the device has EIS (electronic image stabilization, aka the computer did it) for the video (I have not watched the video just read the liveblog until later tonight, I do not know if this will use EIS for photos). No OIS is a downer but I am not casting judgement until we get final devices with people doing compare and contrast with phones with OIS vs just doing computationally.

 

[senseamp]

If you like the 5" version, wait until it flops and is cleared out for $350 by Feb/March. Otherwise you may feel like a total idiot.
Also, at that time frame, millions of refurbished Note 7s with replacement batteries will be getting cleared in the $400 price range. You don't want to be sitting with your inferior in pretty much every way $800+ Pixel XL when that happens.

 

[antihelten]

Why should the Pixel devices cost less? Because you want it to? How much do you think it should cost and why do you believe that?

I personally don't think the Pixel should necessarily cost less than the other Android flagships (although I wouldn't mind if it did). I think it compares quite decently with phones like the Galaxy S7, HTC 10, LG G5 and Xperia XZ. Sure it falls flat in some areas (waterproofing, SD card support and removable battery), but pulls ahead in others (no skin/bloat, timely updates, slightly better SoC, allegedly best camera, USB 3.1 type C).

Problem is that whilst the above mentioned phones did launch at $650 or thereabouts, they have all fallen in price since then (except the Xperia XZ), and can now be had for $500-550.

So whilst I don't think it should cost less, it certainly shouldn't cost more either, and currently it's overpriced by about $100-150.

 

[cronos]

I blame HTC for the price hike more than anything. The 6p was less expensive because Huawei was not a very big company and they have recently been picking up. Anything HTC that has come out has always had higher prices.

Oh come on. You can't really blame a company that is not even mentioned once by Google, because it's supposed to be the first 'Google Phone. This is Google's decision. There's a reason why it's not called Nexus, one of which is so people won't expect mid-range and cheaper price. This is meant to be a true flagship.

 

[mxnerd]

Nexus 5X and 6P removed from Google Store, NVIDIA Shield and VR headsets gone too

 

[StinkyPinky]

Only two years of updates is really poor. This is something Apple/Microsoft have over Android in general. You're spending $650-750 on a phone and it only has software support for two years?!

Also the 32 to 128 gb jump is very annoying and very Apple like.

 

[gus6464]

Huawei would've waterproofed it.

 

[ControlD]

Only two years of updates is really poor. This is something Apple/Microsoft have over Android in general. You're spending $650-750 on a phone and it only has software support for two years?!

Also the 32 to 128 gb jump is very annoying and very Apple like.

Software support and OS updates are two different things in Google's world though. I believe most Nexus devices will still get updates (security patches, etc.) just not the newest version of the operating system. While Apple is certainly better in this department, it isn't unusual for older idevices to get a partial update as well. It's just that Apple updates are pretty much always a full OS image of some type while Google handles much of this through patches.

I am curious to see if Google still adopts the Nexus philosophy of allowing the bootloader to be easily unlocked. This isn't a Nexus device anymore, so I don't know if they will still treat this area like in the past. One nice thing you get with a Nexus, and something I believe all phones should have, is the ability to flash an updated image once the official OS updates have ended.

I'll echo one of the earlier complaints as well. If you are going to market the camera as the best one out there, OIS should be included. A slightly better f-stop would have been nice as well.

 

[SharpHawk]

Man, this is the first thing you see when you look at the phone on the Google Store:

https://store.google.com/product/pixel_phone

White font on a picture with numerous lights. The phone's even out of focus. This is followed by phones that look pretty terrible one, particularly the blue one on the left which looks like a child's toy. Ugh.

Everything that needs to be said about this phone has already been said, no point in repeating it. tl;dr: I held off on buying an HTC 10 for this? Very disappointed. On the bright side, the 10 is now discounted an extra $50 and is now offered in red as well.

What isn't premium about the Pixel or Pixel XL?

Off the top of my head: lack of SD card, only 32 GB at $650 (or at $750 in the bigger version!), no waterproofing, ugly design (glass ruins unibody look), large bezels, no OIS.

 

[senseamp]

Don't forget no physical buttons, so effectively you get more bezel on top of already big bezel.

 

[Insomniator]

Uh, glad I didn't wait on getting an S7.

1080p, No SD, no IP67/68, no OIS -- $649? Are they kidding? All of those mentioned features sound like a <$400 phone to me. Touchwiz isn't that bad anymore, I'm sorry but Stock Android isn't worth $200 extra at the cost of many other specs.

 

[stlc8tr]

The Nexus advantage isn't OS updates for perpetuity, it is that you get updates quickly and if you prefer directly from Google.

The two year OS update thing is that you will get new versions of Android for those two years. After those two years you will still get security patches, just not new versions of Android.

This isn't new either. This has been Google's stance since the Nexus 6 (if not earlier).

For patches, it's either 3 years from device introduction or 18 months since the device was removed from the Play Store. Whichever is longer.

 

[Commodus]

The pricing is on par with what the Galaxy S7 and other Android flagships have sold for, so I wouldn't accuse Google of strictly emulating Apple (although the Apple envy was definitely on display).

However, I think this is sort of a rude awakening. You want Google to be a serious hardware company, and score deals with big US carriers like Verizon? You can't just expect it to sell phones slightly above cost. The question is whether or not the current Pixel line merits the price. I think it does, but only just. It's the fastest Android phone, it should have one of the best cameras on the market, and the fingerprint reader even has that clever notification trick.

 

[Kazukian]

Support has always been a problem, short, poor quality, outsourced. Google can obviously do it right, but honestly, I'm going midrange after the iPhone 7.

 

[linkgoron]

The pricing is on par with what the Galaxy S7 and other Android flagships have sold for, so I wouldn't accuse Google of strictly emulating Apple (although the Apple envy was definitely on display).

It's 100$ more than the S7, and 65$ more than the HTC 10.

I'm going midrange after the iPhone 7.

We'll see...

 

[Kazukian]

It's 100$ more than the S7, and 65$ more than the HTC 10.


We'll see...

It's exactly what Apple charges.

Heh, I know, already want the 8.

 

[Commodus]

It's 100$ more than the S7, and 65$ more than the HTC 10.

Outside of discounts, I regularly see the S7 costing more. How well the Pixel competes may depend on how much Google is willing to bend to match sales from carriers and rival OEMs.

 

[Anon_lawyer]

The only thing that matters is really how much the carriers (in this case, carrier singular) push this.

The regular person gets put on a plan and subsidized phone. If the carriers push it or normal people request it (e.g., heard that the Pixel is a well-executed phone) then it can succeed.

That's really all it will take. Good buzz (not silly marketing stunts) and carrier enthusiasm.


Google will need to actually spend marketing dollars to achieve this. Historically they have never done this so we'll see if they'll half-heart the Pixel.

Verizon is already pushing it with a $300 credit for trading in most recent flagship phones. Not sure how many people that will convince; it's noticeably less generous than the Iphone 7 deals a few weeks ago which was $650 trade in credit for 5/6 series Iphones.