Google Pixel launched

[Neoprod]

^, same as the HTC 10...good phone, bad pricing.

Don't get the point of this phone, tbh.

 

[Swa]

I also don't get what the fuss is about. Tech sites are raving about it but something about it doesn't make it feel to me like a flagship.

The price

 

[OrbitalDawn]

^, same as the HTC 10...good phone, bad pricing.

Don't get the point of this phone, tbh.

It's Google being "more opinionated" on smartphones in general. I'm cool with that, and by all accounts this is a premium device, including the camera, where Android phones usually slack off (bar Samsung).

Not entirely sold on the design myself (empty chin and weird block of glass on the back), and it's pricey. But then so are all the devices in this bracket.

 

[Neoprod]

^, sure, I get that but it's launched at a higher price than the S7 and S7 Edge which are better (subjective but I think they're better phones). And Samsung will release upgraded versions of the S-phones in a few months which will leave the Pixel in an even odder position.

More to the point, why did Google want to launch a premium Android handset at all? I'd be interested to see the reasoning behind that...are they trying to get Apple users to come over (as in they, Google, believe other OEM's haven't been doing a good job of putting together premium Android handsets)? Cannibalising sales from existing OEM's doesn't seem to make any kind of sense but that's what I think this device is going to do (if it does anything).

I think they're going to find the same thing the other OEM's have discovered...Apple people like Apple stuff. It's just how it is.

 

[OrbitalDawn]

^, sure, I get that but it's launched at a higher price than the S7 and S7 Edge which are better (subjective but I think they're better phones). And Samsung will release upgraded versions of the S-phones in a few months which will leave the Pixel in an even odder position.

More to the point, why did Google want to launch a premium Android handset at all? I'd be interested to see the reasoning behind that...are they trying to get Apple users to come over (as in they, Google, believe other OEM's haven't been doing a good job of putting together premium Android handsets)? Cannibalising sales from existing OEM's doesn't seem to make any kind of sense but that's what I think this device is going to do (if it does anything).

I think they're going to find the same thing the other OEM's have discovered...Apple people like Apple stuff. It's just how it is.

Are they cheaper? According to this they're priced the same.

And how are they better, in your estimation? The camera was the only thing that made the Nexus phones lag behind, imo, and they've changed that. Maybe they suspect there's quite an appetite for skin-less Android phones that they can capture. I'm certainly in that camp.

Regarding overall strategy and motivations, here's some views on that:

http://www.theverge.com/a/google-pixel-phone-new-hardware-interview-2016
http://www.theverge.com/2016/10/4/13160442/google-phone-hardware-event-pixel-2016

Whether it'll work, who knows. But I suppose they felt they were stuck in limbo a bit and had to choose a road to go down. They've been heading towards a more hardware oriented strategy for a while (home automation, wifi router, Google Assistant on these devices etc.), so a premium phone slots in nicely.

I'm sure they're aware of Apple's brand loyalty, but they've got the opportunity to do something none of the other Android OEMs could do - build on the synergy between software and hardware and offer it as a complete tech. solution. If they only had a by-the-way phone on offer as part of their overall approach it would weaken that effort, imo.

 

[Neoprod]

^, S7 is half a year older so pricing has come down....the 32Gb is <$550 on Amazon.

Add in availability of an SD slot, actual water-proofing (which is a clue to build quality \ tolerances), higher res screen. Also a bigger battery but that should be a moot point (given the chipset is slightly more power-hungry and the higher number of pixels to display). It also definitely looks better...subjective but the general consensus (and I'm in that camp) is that the Pixel looks boring and un-premium.

The software I can see differences in favour of the Pixel but the other Android OEM's will catch up in the next cycle when they release their Nougat hardware.

I guess we'll see...if I had to get a premium phone right now, it wouldn't be a Pixel

 

[OrbitalDawn]

That's cool about the S7's pricing.

Don't care about the SD slot, water-proofing is a fair point. Don't care about higher res screen, both the Pixel and the Pixel XL have a proper res for the phone size, imo. Higher than either just drains battery life for no real benefit.

In terms of software if they have skins they won't have caught up, imo. Added on their delay with updates. A vanilla Android S7 would be near the best Android we can get, though.

 

[calypso]

And the Pixel has prices on Zeek.
http://www.zeekonline.co.za/search?type=product&q=google+pixel

 

[Ecco]

Entry level is R12k, now to decide if i should get one or not. My nexus 5 is on its last legs 3 years later.

 

[JimboBob]

I assume Orange is going to have it at about the R10k-R11k mark then....hmm...

 

[Neoprod]

Entry level is R12k, now to decide if i should get one or not. My nexus 5 is on its last legs 3 years later.

12k is pretty impressive pricing, relatively-speaking...I was expecting it to be around 2k more than the equivalent S7 (it's around 1k more).

Prices of the S7 haven't come down here like they have overseas, I guess.

 

[Kolmogorov]

Entry level is R12k, now to decide if i should get one or not. My nexus 5 is on its last legs 3 years later.

Same thing here, sort of. Phone is still very usable, but the camera quality is really getting to me now.

But 12k is a lot to stomach knowing a 5X is R5,500 and a 6P R7,700 (Orange prices). Hard to justify the difference.

 

[calypso]

You guys are doing well. My Nexus 5 is very tired. Tons of wakelocks and the battery isnt close to lasting a day.

 

[mith]

One thing to keep in mind is that Zeek sells the USA Version of the pixel while Orange will probably sell the ROW version.
The USA version does not support Band 40 LTE which is used by Telkom Mobile while the ROW version does support it.

https://madeby.google.com/phone/specs/

 

[Ecco]

One thing to keep in mind is that Zeek sells the USA Version of the pixel while Orange will probably sell the ROW version.
The USA version does not support Band 40 LTE which is used by Telkom Mobile while the ROW version does support it.

https://madeby.google.com/phone/specs/

Thanks for the useful information. I am keen on a phone which will work across all bands - you never know when a deal comes up that you would like to port to.

 

[calypso]

Thanks for the useful information. I am keen on a phone which will work across all bands - you never know when a deal comes up that you would like to port to.

Surprised that Orange store is so quiet with the Pixel. Been released in Europe so thought that they would also have place holders on the store about now. I need to buy a couple of these for the office.

 

[Swa]

Surprised that Orange store is so quiet with the Pixel. Been released in Europe so thought that they would also have place holders on the store about now. I need to buy a couple of these for the office.

They still don't have the Pixel C and that's been available for almost a year. Don't think they're getting Google devices anymore.

 

[JimboBob]

I think they're trying to dump the old Google stock first...

 

[calypso]

And the Pixels are go on Zeek. That was quicker than expected.

 

[calypso]

The pixels have landed.