[UPDATE 10/4/16] It is official! Pixel and Pixel XL (formerly Nexus 2016)

[Zaap]

Yup that is what I read as well. It was pretty much built and released quickly to get something out there by holiday season.

Unfortunately, it really shows. Like I joked from day 1, like HTC had a blank, years old prototype laying around and Google said "just use that!"

It's a shame. If next go round they actually *design* a phone I might be interested in Pixel 2.

 

[beginner99]

So it has huge ugly bezels, it performs below what the hardware actually could while having worse battery life than same or similar hardware and lastly LTE reception sucks? I don't know why anyone would buy this for the current price. I could get a $300-$400 phone and have less issues.

 

[Crono]

So it has huge ugly bezels, it performs below what the hardware actually could while having worse battery life than same or similar hardware and lastly LTE reception sucks? I don't know why anyone would buy this for the current price. I could get a $300-$400 phone and have less issues.

Yeah, I was really disappointed with the pricing and design the Pixel. Given that they partnered with HTC, they could have made a variant of the HTC 10 with vanilla Android and I would have bought it.

What's odd is how in love with the Pixel reviewers seemed to be, with most of them acknowledging the mediocre design and yet saying how awesome the Pixel is because it was more than the sum of it's parts, or it's Google's iPhone so we have to love it because of that. Thankfully more thorough reviews like the AnandTech review of the Pixel XL are a little more balanced and accurate than the rushed day one reviews.

The truth is Google doesn't need to compete with Apple, and it's a mistake to try and be Apple. They already have partners making very good phones, just make a better Nexus for developers and enthusiasts, not some overpriced, overmarketed, and unexciting slab.

 

[MarkizSchnitzel]

It would have been nice had they talked at all about the software on a phone coming from a software company.

They did. They are confused how google managed to make the new hardware slower than the old with it's "optimizations" (other than UI tweaks).

 

[beginner99]

Yeah, I was really disappointed with the pricing and design the Pixel. Given that they partnered with HTC, they could have made a variant of the HTC 10 with vanilla Android and I would have bought it.

And it would have been better. I actually forgot the XL is $749 in US. It's not available here (EU) but will for sure not be cheaper. I bought an S7 Edge for under $600 and it has an sd-card slot...

 

[Yuriman]

Today my Not-Quite-Black Pixel arrived, and I have it side by side with my S7 (work phone).


Some hardware impressions:

-From pictures, the bottom bezel didn't seem too bad. However with the phone in front of me my first impression was, "dang that bezel is huge". I'm starting to get used to it, but on the Moto X the bottom bezel was much smaller than the top to balance out the on-screen buttons, which resulted in pleasing proportions, which the Pixel doesn't have. I agree with criticisms here.

-People have called the Pixel plain. I can see where they're coming from, but to me it's not an unattractive phone. If it had smaller bezels I might even give it praise. It's nowhere near perfect, but I like the minimalist slant.

-Even though the Pixel is smaller in the 2 dimensions that matter most to usability, and lighter, the S7 has the illusion of being a smaller phone (for me) due to it's smaller height. That said, I do slightly prefer the size and shape of the pixel in-hand.

-I like the fingerprint scanner's location on the S7 better. The Pixel's isn't in a location where my finger rests naturally so I'm probably not going to use it.

-The Pixel's buttons are a bit more clicky than the S7's. They don't feel "cheap" exactly, but the S7 gives more of an impression of solidity.

-The aluminum back on the Pixel is much colder when you live in the great white north. However, I generally prefer the aluminum and would've been fine had the whole back of the phone been metal.

-I'm left-handed and prefer the Pixel's navigation button layout.

-The screens on both phones look about the same to me, both in color reproduction and crispness. I dunno why Samsung put so many pixels in a 5.1" screen, I'm sure a 1080P screen would have resulted in better battery life and performance (all else being equal).

-Both phones have very nice cameras. I have no complaints about either, and neither is clearly better or worse than the other without scrutiny.

-The speakers on both are in similar places (opposite sides) and sound similar.

-The Type-C connector feels a lot more solid than microUSB. I just need to update my cable collection.


Software impressions:

-Vanilla 7.1 definitely wins vs TW 6.0.1 for me. As with the hardware, the software seems more minimalist, with less visual clutter, without losing any functionality I care about.

-The Pixel is fast. It's noticeably faster than the S7 in just about everything.

-I like the Pixel's launcher a lot more than Samsung's stock launcher. I know this can easily be changed, but I'm using the stock launcher on both phones.

-As silly as it sounds, I like Google's collection of random noises, notifications and ringtones much better than Samsung's. This can be changed too, of course.

-Google Assistant is pretty slick. This might be the first phone I actually use the voice commands with.

-The main reason I got the Pixel was for Google Fi, which has also been really slick so far. I live near the Canadian border and most phones have terrible service around here even when they're on US towers. Fi's multiple networks are exactly what I needed, and there is no Samsung option for that (yet).

At the end of day one, I like the Pixel better. If I were given both an S7 and Pixel with freedom to choose any network on either, I'd still take the Pixel as my DD.

 

[ControlD]

Thanks Yuriman!

 

[agent00f]

Yeah, I was really disappointed with the pricing and design the Pixel. Given that they partnered with HTC, they could have made a variant of the HTC 10 with vanilla Android and I would have bought it.

What's odd is how in love with the Pixel reviewers seemed to be, with most of them acknowledging the mediocre design and yet saying how awesome the Pixel is because it was more than the sum of it's parts, or it's Google's iPhone so we have to love it because of that. Thankfully more thorough reviews like the AnandTech review of the Pixel XL are a little more balanced and accurate than the rushed day one reviews.

The truth is Google doesn't need to compete with Apple, and it's a mistake to try and be Apple. They already have partners making very good phones, just make a better Nexus for developers and enthusiasts, not some overpriced, overmarketed, and unexciting slab.

Android is already killing apple in every segment except flagship, notably due to lack of competition. They have something like 90% marketshare worldwide.

Seems correct from the broader perspective to go for the jugular given that's the only thing left. Unfortunately they simply lack the technical ability to create a compelling alternative. The SoC is too slow, the OS is buggy and lags, the support sucks, and they can't even come up with more than a completely derivative design on their big splash. What exactly are they offering over the chinese OEMs other than the branding?

Is a year enough for them to address all that? Somewhat doubtful. IMO better to try to get close enough and undercut enough on price than risk trashing the project. For now at least.

 

[Commodus]

Android is already killing apple in every segment except flagship, notably due to lack of competition. They have something like 90% marketshare worldwide.

Seems correct from the broader perspective to go for the jugular given that's the only thing left. Unfortunately they simply lack the technical ability to create a compelling alternative. The SoC is too slow, the OS is buggy and lags, the support sucks, and they can't even come up with more than a completely derivative design on their big splash. What exactly are they offering over the chinese OEMs other than the branding?

Is a year enough for them to address all that? Somewhat doubtful. IMO better to try to get close enough and undercut enough on price than risk trashing the project. For now at least.

It seems like we're in an accelerated replay of what happened with computers. Android takes the majority because it creates that space for the "race to the bottom," where price beats quality. Just like with PCs, though, it effectively cedes the high-end to Apple because it's both one of the few committed to the space and the only one with a truly different experience.

That's not to say that the Pixel isn't good or can't claim a significant chunk of the high-end market. It's just that Google has to set its goals accordingly: just make it the best Android phone, and don't worry so much about having the best overall device (not that being the best overall is impossible).

 

[agent00f]

It seems like we're in an accelerated replay of what happened with computers. Android takes the majority because it creates that space for the "race to the bottom," where price beats quality. Just like with PCs, though, it effectively cedes the high-end to Apple because it's both one of the few committed to the space and the only one with a truly different experience.

That's not to say that the Pixel isn't good or can't claim a significant chunk of the high-end market. It's just that Google has to set its goals accordingly: just make it the best Android phone, and don't worry so much about having the best overall device (not that being the best overall is impossible).

The thing is there's a very desirable consumer segment who want the "best" and are willing to pay for it. That's apple's bread and butter, and the reason why they're so profitable.

Samsung's successfully penetrated some of this with its flagships, with hw the equal of apple, but frankly their sw is mediocre.

The promise of google is what their legion of sw engineers are capable of, but still can't manage the attention to details or hw or integration yet. It'll be a real hard road to climb even if their sight are set right.

 

[Kazukian]

Got a pixel XL, I'm impressed, it's fast, OS is fluid, design is a little odd, but I could live with it pretty easily.

Not a fan of the fingerprint reader on the back.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Got my Pixel XL yesterday. The pre-order period ended on 10/19. I ordered mine on 10/21(only time it was in stock that I could ordered it) so I didn't qualify for the free Daydream VR kit. Kind of lame when they're charging so much for the phone. Not sure if I'm going to keep it, the battery life and the photos are great but having to change the camera to HDR+ every time I launch it may be a deal breaker.

Pros:
Fast
Great Battery Life so far
Fast ability to transfer data from my 6P with the included cables
Takes great photos

Cons:
Launcher(less real estate on the home screen due to Date Stamp)
Camera always launches into Auto HDR+ when I want to leave it on HDR+ by default (huge deal breaker for me)
Lower bezel - I didn't think it would bother me but it's huge

 

[sze5003]

Got my Pixel XL yesterday. The pre-order period ended on 10/19. I ordered mine on 10/21(only time it was in stock that I could ordered it) so I didn't qualify for the free Daydream VR kit. Kind of lame when they're charging so much for the phone. Not sure if I'm going to keep it, the battery life and the photos are great but having to change the camera to HDR+ every time I launch it may be a deal breaker.

Pros:
Fast
Great Battery Life so far
Fast ability to transfer data from my 6P with the included cables
Takes great photos

Cons:
Launcher(less real estate on the home screen due to Date Stamp)
Camera always launches into Auto HDR+ when I want to leave it on HDR+ by default (huge deal breaker for me)
Lower bezel - I didn't think it would bother me but it's huge

For the UI you can use nova launcher to configure it the way you want if you don't like pixel launcher.

 

[Oyeve]

It seems like we're in an accelerated replay of what happened with computers. Android takes the majority because it creates that space for the "race to the bottom," where price beats quality. Just like with PCs, though, it effectively cedes the high-end to Apple because it's both one of the few committed to the space and the only one with a truly different experience.

That's not to say that the Pixel isn't good or can't claim a significant chunk of the high-end market. It's just that Google has to set its goals accordingly: just make it the best Android phone, and don't worry so much about having the best overall device (not that being the best overall is impossible).

Cedes to Apple in the high-end? How so? To me an iphone is the most vanilla of all phones.

 

[Commodus]

Cedes to Apple in the high-end? How so? To me an iphone is the most vanilla of all phones.

A few ways.

First: from a purely cynical point of view, Apple is seen as a prestige brand, particularly in China and other countries where its products are just affordable enough that an ascendant middle-class person can buy them. It's a sign that you've 'made it.' You can't say that for Samsung, Lenovo or other big rivals -- they'll gladly sell you a $100 phone or a $300 laptop. However good that phone or PC may be, it defines your experience with the brand as one with budget hardware... maybe low-quality, too, depending on the manufacturer.

Also, you may have inadvertently hinted at why Apple has the high end by calling it the "most vanilla." It's the standard, the default, what people think of when they picture high-end smartphones. It's at that Coca-Cola level of association. Have you had a moment where someone asked if you had "an iPhone or a Galaxy," even when you were carrying something as unusual as the LG V10? That shows you how much of a cultural foothold Apple has.

And when it comes to differentiation, it's simple: no matter how much Huawei or Samsung goes out of its way to stand out, it's still an Android vendor. That gives it a baseline similarity to most of the market, and sometimes makes it interchangeable. If you don't like a given Android device, you can sometimes get something "close enough" -- just ask Note 7 buyers. But if you get an iPhone... well, it's an iPhone. Ecosystem lock-in is part of how it keeps people onboard, but it's also the only major smartphone platform that isn't Android these days. If you don't like how Android or a specific device works, it's the most obvious and sometimes only place to turn to.

 

[rh71]

^ congrats on the marketing slant - just because lots of people fall for it - doesn't make it better or true.

You speak of China - I'm asian - I know exactly how materialistic they can be. Over practicality.

Honestly, I don't care what someone thinks of my Android if they're holding an iPhone. If only they knew what I thought of them... see? It's a lot like religion.

 

[Topweasel]

They did. They are confused how google managed to make the new hardware slower than the old with it's "optimizations" (other than UI tweaks).

But the problem and Vista fell victim to to this. Just because it allows apps to run quicker doesn't matter if everything else makes the system seem slower. Hell they might be limiting max CPU usage and Memory usage like and Xboxone did to keep reserve for the Kinect just to keep the system running smooth. Because in reality that is what matters. No one is going to care that candy crush loads 5 seconds quicker on another device, as long as when they press the Candy Crush icon it actually seems like it is going to do its job. No one is going to care if loading the 100MB PPT would go 10 seconds quicker, as long as when scroll through the pages it doesn't just jam up in the middle, or when editing a paragraph it doesn't pause for 2 seconds making you wonder if what you typed is actually going to show up. There is a secret sauce beyond just Nougat that makes this the fastest reacting mobile interface I have seen yet. That is perceptible. Most of those tests aren't and even if it would be noticeable, the IU basically gives out a placebo that tells everyone that any loading or processing time is because of something other than the phone because it's lightning quick.

 

[gus6464]

So google is not doing a bf/cm deal on the Pixel directly? Only stupid Verizon?

 

[vi edit]

I picked up a Pixel late last week. Was using a Nexus 5x on Google Fi. My 5x was rebooting once or twice a day just sitting on a desk. I'd get a call on my desk phone asking why I wasn't answering my cell only to check the screen and see that it was on the initial boot unlock. Plus is was getting very buggy when calling. Sometimes I'd have to dial a number 3-4 times before it would actually make an outgoing call. Not sure if it was the phone or the Fi service. Either way...I was getting annoyed with it. Plus I was constantly hitting the 32 gig storage limits.

My wife is on Verizon and Verizon finally had a baked in Wifi calling into the Pixel phone which was huge for me. In fact it was the key reason I went to Fi. I work in a cellular dead zone and have to rely on wifi for text and calling. I can put the Pixel into airplane mode and enable wifi and it will flip to wifi calling which is great. We were able to get 10 gigs of data, two phones and my Pixel payment ($15 a month) for $93 + taxes which is actually less than we were paying individually with her 3 gig plan and my 1 gig Fi plan + 5x device payment.

I went with the 5" version in black (more like dark grey, ok) and 128 gig. There were no XL's to be found. I took the only 128 gig the store had.

Directly comparing the the Pixel to the 5x...

Pixel is shorter, and a touch narrower. It's a touch heavier but feels more awkward to hold for a number of reasons. It's slippery as hell. For as much as the 5x was panned for it's build it's an easy to hold phone and the back was durable. I never cased it. Ever. And the back is in decent shape. I was never scared to set it down. I've had the Pixel for less than a week and the back is already scratched while I wait for a case to ship. I find it's harder to use one handed than the 5x even though it's actually smaller. Will see if that improves with a case that gives a bit more grip. But right now I miss the 5x and it's one handed operation. The 5x also actually has a more functional screen size. It's wider and needs less scrolling on websites than the Pixel. They both have fingerprint scanners on the back so I'm used to both. Pixel one feels "faster", but I think the 5x has slowed down over a year. I think it felt this fast when I first got it.

Screen wise the Pixel definitely has more of the AMOLED pop when it comes to colors and the blacks are definitely are better. But white pages are not really white and the 5x screen is actually more crisp to me when reading black text on white backgrounds. I actually thought the 5x was a very good screen for the price of the device. Great blacks for an LCD and it punched above it's weight for cost and being a non-premium device.

Camera quality is no contest. Pixel is an absolute monster. It is the fastest camera I have ever used on a cell phone. It snaps open fast and the shutter is virtually instantaneous. Low light response is amazing and it just does an incredible job. Very impressed with the camera on this phone.

Audio wise the 5x was a dud. Output from the headphone jack was very flat and limited volume. The Pixel is considerably hotter coming out of the headphone jack. Pixel gets knocked down a peg because the headphone jack is on the top. Boo. I've been converted to a bottom jack placement person. Thanks Apple.

Overall speed wise the Pixel is FAST. Very fast. Where the 5x would stutter and lag, the Pixel just snaps right open. Web pages scroll without effort. Apps pop open in a hurry. Menus respond immediately. Ect. It's a night and day difference in response and speed between the two.

I haven't had enough "normal" use of the Pixel to directly compare battery life. My screen time has been very high and I've been fiddling with it a lot, so it's not easy to tell how well a "normal" day of battery life is going to be.

***Overall Summary***
It's as close to an iPhone as Android has. They basically took the best things from an S7 and stripped out the bloat. Launcher is clean and fast. There's not as many gimmicky features and functions. Everything works well. It looks and feels like an iPhone. It's priced like an iPhone. It's definitely a "premium" experience over the old 5x I had. Which it should for the 2x price premium it commands. There's no way I would have paid the $750 they wanted for the 128 gig 5" version. It's just not worth that to me. But for $15 a month ($360 total), sure. I'm game.

 

[Rubycon]

Problem with the camera is its mic cannot capture loud sounds at low frequencies. It absolutely sounds like rubbish if you record live music. This is where Apple has triumphed for generations. And if you're gonna record audio separately might as well have a proper (video) camera.

But for me, having any buttons on the back is a deal breaker. I'll be glad when phones have no buttons at all, anywhere, period!

 

[Red Storm]

Problem with the camera is its mic cannot capture loud sounds at low frequencies. It absolutely sounds like rubbish if you record live music. This is where Apple has triumphed for generations. And if you're gonna record audio separately might as well have a proper (video) camera.

But for me, having any buttons on the back is a deal breaker. I'll be glad when phones have no buttons at all, anywhere, period!

It doesn't have any buttons on the back, it's just a fingerprint sensor.

I completely agree with you on less buttons = better. It's one of the things I really don't like about the iPhone, too many buttons.

 

[Zaap]

Just like with PCs, though, it effectively cedes the high-end to Apple

Apple doesn't even compete in the true high end of the PC world. They've all but abandoned pro users.
Even the latest MacBook is getting killed in reviews for poor battery life and so much obvious 'form before function' shortcomings. And for desktop computers? High end? Let's have a laugh shall we.

I'm not even going to get into if the iPhone is 'high end' or not, but its far from the best of smartphones.

 

[Rubycon]

It doesn't have any buttons on the back, it's just a fingerprint sensor.

I completely agree with you on less buttons = better. It's one of the things I really don't like about the iPhone, too many buttons.

Yes it was LG that started that craze. The fingerprint sensor on the back is nuts though. To unlock the phone sitting on a table means you have to pick it up. Every time. That is annoying!

 

[Red Storm]

Yes it was LG that started that craze. The fingerprint sensor on the back is nuts though. To unlock the phone sitting on a table means you have to pick it up. Every time. That is annoying!

Well you don't have to pick it up, you can unlock via pin/pattern as well. It's faster for all other cases though, especially with the phone in your pocket, no buttons to press is nice.

Seems like the next wave of flagships are building the fingerprint sensor into the display itself, so this should be a thing of the past fairly soon anyway.

 

[Commodus]

Apple doesn't even compete in the true high end of the PC world. They've all but abandoned pro users.
Even the latest MacBook is getting killed in reviews for poor battery life and so much obvious 'form before function' shortcomings. And for desktop computers? High end? Let's have a laugh shall we.

I'm not even going to get into if the iPhone is 'high end' or not, but its far from the best of smartphones.

Well, it is and it isn't. The new 15-inch MacBook Pro can hook up to two 5K displays, which is pretty impressive, and having multiple Thunderbolt 3 ports is nothing to sneeze at. With that said: I really think they should have found a way to keep the SD slot. And battery life isn't so much terrible as inconsistent. It sounds like this might be software or firmware, because there are tests where it lasts just as long as promised.

I'd say the iMac is high-end in that it uses very, very nice displays (its 5K screen is still the gold standard), has a good industrial design and uses reasonably quick components. Look at it this way: unless you absolutely need pen input, it's a bargain next to the Surface Studio.

On the subject of smartphones, I do think the iPhone 7 is up there among the best. You don't get a quad HD screen, and you can point out where the Pixels or GS7 family can take better photos, but there are clearly areas where it does very well: it's faster than any Android phone in most categories, even the smaller model has solid battery life, and it has benchmark features like stereo speakers and water resistance. The main obstacles: the screen resolution, the absence of a built-in headphone jack and, of course, whether or not you're okay with iOS.

To get back on track, I'd say Google was right to aim at the iPhone as a general target. Not to replicate things one-for-one, but to focus on making a good overall phone rather than obsessing over the feature checklist (i.e. Samsung's schtick) or introducing novelty features (like LG and Motorola). Now if only the Pixel had water resistance and a less polarizing design...