Google Unveils Pixel 2 Smartphone, Pixelbook, and Two New Google Home Speakers

[Analog Kid]

Does not really matter what Samsung thinks, that ship has sailed, unless Samsung thinks they can do what Microsoft, Blackberry, and Nokia Tried and failed to do.

Which it will remain, partners can do what they want, they are not being forced to do anything.

How so? they have 3 real options, stop making phones, make their own OS, or license iOS.

Not much they are able to do besides filing a lawsuit against Google which would be more or less pointless.

You started by saying the problem was too much fragmentation and that Google was providing leadership. Now you seem to be saying nobody had to listen anyone and Google is a force all their own. ie. more fragmentation and a new behemoth in the hardware market.

That "nothing they can do but deal with it" attitude is not what these OEMs signed up for in adopting Android. Saying it doesn't matter what your lead customer thinks is foolish. OEMs are are almost certainly discussing the fact that they aren't being forced to do anything more than their current license agreements require yet.

Blackberry failed because iOS ate their lunch as a closed architecture. Does Google care enough about this space to win it? Microsoft failed because Android already filled the open architecture slot on mobiles, there wasn't need for another. If Google shakes confidence in Android's open future, do you think OEMs won't reconsider that decision? Samsung has the resources to get a Linux build out on mobile hardware with a workable UI in 5 years or less. Can Google get to the market share they need to in that time to maintain their business model?

I'm not saying it's all going to fall apart, but tensions are certainly ratcheting up and it's naive to think these companies are looking at billions of dollars of business and thinking "well, that ship has sailed..."

 

[oplix]

pretty big failure of an announcement by all accounts.

 

[AustinIllini]

pretty big failure of an announcement by all accounts.

Based on what, exactly?

 

[Superhappytree]

I’d likely never switch from iOS, but I was interested to see what Google came out with here. Overall, not too impressed with the specs, not very good water resistance, no wireless charging, a bunch of Apple copied camera tricks (although the camera looks pretty good), a camera bump, no headphone jack, huge chins and bezels, and off the shelf parts like everyone else. I guess I don’t see what the sell is for people that prefer Android. I mean, isn’t a lot of this stuff what people have disliked about iPhones? Just sorta worse? I think Google is making the right call with mimicking Apple, but I just expected more.

You’re just talking about hardware which only matters so much. The main reason the Pixel is loved is because of the software. Last year the Pixel was widely praised for how smooth the experience was and that was because of the software alone. That used to be iPhone but not anymore. iOS has lagged since iOS 7 and pure Android has since surpassed iOS with their lag free software experience. While the S8 is a pretty slab of glass the main reason many stray away from it is due to the poor software optimisation i.e. ‘lagwiz’, which isn’t the case with the Pixel and stock Android. I’m really close to ordering one myself and was much more interested and excited with what they had to offer in their keynote than any of Apples keynotes from the past few years.

 

[Analog Kid]

To imply that publications would give favorable reviews to Google because of ad revenue or data is an absurd premise. It's far more plausible that Google might get more favorable reviews because they are simply not held to the same standard as Apple. Apple tends to be the gold standard despite sometimes not actually being one. That's their blessing and curse.

Agreed on all points. Thanks for filling in the detail.

 

[pika2000]

More like dual camera is overrated as I initially said.

Just because everybody is doing it. That doesn’t make it more useful.

For anyone with dual camera (including myself, iPhone 7 Plus since launch), what percentage of your pics are taken with the second lens including portrait. For me it’s been less than 1%

More people would use their phone’s dual camera system than HTC’s squeeze feature, yet Google opted for the latter. It means they are just using whatever HTC has, not really designing anything new.

 

[dazz87]

Based on what, exactly?

base on him being an isheep.....

 

[AustinIllini]

base on him being an isheep.....

Meh, no need for that. I'm an Apple guy, but this phone legitimately excites me.

 

[Rum_Becker]

If Google shakes confidence in Android's open future, do you think OEMs won't reconsider that decision? Samsung has the resources to get a Linux build out on mobile hardware with a workable UI in 5 years or less. Can Google get to the market share they need to in that time to maintain their business model?

I'm not saying it's all going to fall apart, but tensions are certainly ratcheting up and it's naive to think these companies are looking at billions of dollars of business and thinking "well, that ship has sailed..."

If Samsung pulls the plug, Google and Android would be just as strong. HTC, LG, Lenovo and all the other manufacturers would love to see this happen. Google does not need Samsung, the only way for Samsung to make an OS that has a chance in hell to compete would be if iOS or android goes under.

 

[flat five]

base on him being an isheep.....

it's your responsibility as a public forum user to try, at least a little, to improve the quality of conversation.
everybody benefits.
even you.
thx

 

[Analog Kid]

If Samsung pulls the plug, Google and Android would be just as strong. HTC, LG, Lenovo and all the other manufacturers would love to see this happen. Google does not need Samsung, the only way for Samsung to make an OS that has a chance in hell to compete would be if iOS or android goes under.

Samsung is the world leader in Android sales and accounts for half of Android sales world wide. Why do you think Google doesn't need them? Do you think Google makes their insane profits from hardware sales, or from ad sales?

Android is a vehicle for Google, not a profit center in and of itself. For Samsung, half the point is to defray some of the fab costs for their component business.

Most Samsung sales are cheap phones in emerging markets. SamsungOS would suit those devices fine and would cut their costs a bit at the same time. It might take a few generations to get the user experience on the high end devices up to Android levels, but they've got the hardware specs to help them weather that transition.

And why do you think the Huawei's, LG's and Lenovo's of the world aren't equally concerned about Google cutting into their marketshare? They've got more to lose than Samsung does from this kind of shakeup. For most of these Android companies, their profit comes from their top tier export products and that's the only place the Pixel competes with them. How many low margin only manufacturers are going to last in this space?

 

[DNichter]

You’re just talking about hardware which only matters so much. The main reason the Pixel is loved is because of the software. Last year the Pixel was widely praised for how smooth the experience was and that was because of the software alone. That used to be iPhone but not anymore. iOS has lagged since iOS 7 and pure Android has since surpassed iOS with their lag free software experience. While the S8 is a pretty slab of glass the main reason many stray away from it is due to the poor software optimisation i.e. ‘lagwiz’, which isn’t the case with the Pixel and stock Android. I’m really close to ordering one myself and was much more interested and excited with what they had to offer in their keynote than any of Apples keynotes from the past few years.

Oh yea not knocking that aspect. Not even the phone itself really, Google just seems very Apple like in their approach, no? I have said before that a pixel is probably the only Android phone I would consider due to the software, updates, ecosystem and such. A lot of what I like about iOS. I disagree about iPhones lagging though. My 7 Plus has been pretty flawless in every way. No reason both options can’t be great though. I’d trust Google more in their approach to android than Samsung any day. My main point was just that Im surprised Android fans like it as the whole package is very Apple like. I mean that as a good thing.

 

[Glockworkorange]

They have lost most of their credibility in my eyes. Google had the most boring keynote I have watched all year and some of the presenters had terrible English.

But were the presenters diverse enough? That is the truly important question.

 

[Karma*Police]

You're Complaining about the lack of a dual camera? The Pixel camera has a high rating as it is. It's the quality of the photograph results that matters in the end. Not what it does or doesn't have, nor does it need to be compareD to every other competitor.

Well, partly correct. Since the hardware is the limiting factor, if Apple wanted to, they could continue to tweak their algorithms to get better pictures out of the superior hardware whereas Google’s upside is limited.

Besides, DxOmark is not the be all end all... many in the camera industry have argued for years that they’re unreliable and have accused them of being biased; not unlike research companies that favor companies that spend a lot of money buying their reports. Some, including Android publications, have even argued that their scores are meaningless, as have some professional photographers.

 

[FelixDerKater]

That Mini looks inconspicuous enough.

 

[Rum_Becker]

Samsung is the world leader in Android sales and accounts for half of Android sales world wide. Why do you think Google doesn't need them? Do you think Google makes their insane profits from hardware sales, or from ad sales?

They don't care because there are enough other companies that could easily and almost seamlessly replace Samsung overnight. It may take a quarter or 2, but that would be significantly faster than Samsung could ever pull an OS out of their ass.

Android is a vehicle for Google, not a profit center in and of itself. For Samsung, half the point is to defray some of the fab costs for their component business.

Samsung makes the vast majority of their profits from Phones sales, without sales they would go under fast, they would not be able to invest in hardware R&D and would completely destroy the company, they would become like Kodac

Most Samsung sales are cheap phones in emerging markets. SamsungOS would suit those devices fine and would cut their costs a bit at the same time. It might take a few generations to get the user experience on the high end devices up to Android levels, but they've got the hardware specs to help them weather that transition.

How would they save money, android is free, anyways without the money from phones sale they would die.

And why do you think the Huawei's, LG's and Lenovo's of the world aren't equally concerned about Google cutting into their market share? They've got more to lose than Samsung does from this kind of shakeup. For most of these Android companies, their profit comes from their top tier export products and that's the only place the Pixel competes with them. How many low margin only manufacturers are going to last in this space?

They are concerned but would also be grateful for being given almost 100% of the android market share. Unless Google prevents them from using Android, the partners should all be fine. I'm pretty sure the agreement for them to use Android would protect them from this ever happening and if that failed there would be huge antitrust consequences that could risk a breakup of google.

Partners are probably concerned, but they have not other options, they fear being Nokia even more. If they ditch android they will fail. Nokia was so close to releasing their new OS when they made the mistake of going into bed with microsoft. For partners to succeed, all they have to do is make better products than the Pixel team.

The only one who needs to be worried about Pixel is Apple and Apple fanboys. If Pixel becomes a hit and eats into Apple market share, all the other partners will make Pixel clones and take an even bigger bight into the Apple.

 

[840quadra]

Well, actually Apple TOS is almost identical to that of Google so their policies are not that different. Apple does like to use some vague terms (like differential privacy) to pretend to be different but they are not.

TOS was the wrong term for me to use, my post should have mentioned their privacy policy, and data use. With that, there are vast differences between the two companies, what data they collect, and how they use it.

Again, not overly worried.

 

[Blaze4G]

Well, partly correct. Since the hardware is the limiting factor, if Apple wanted to, they could continue to tweak their algorithms to get better pictures out of the superior hardware whereas Google’s upside is limited.

Besides, DxOmark is not the be all end all... many in the camera industry have argued for years that they’re unreliable and have accused them of being biased; not unlike research companies that favor companies that spend a lot of money buying their reports. Some, including Android publications, have even argued that their scores are meaningless, as have some professional photographers.

Superior hardware? Says who? Because Apple has 2 cameras make if superior? If the Pixel had 3 cameras that would make it superior? I'm confused.

 

[B.A.T]

Google is already running out of Pixel 2 stock

PIXEL 2:
Black 64GB: In stock.
Black 128GB: In stock.
White 64GB: 5-6 weeks.
White 128GB: 2-3 weeks
Blue 64GB: 6-7 weeks

PIXEL 2 XL:
Black 64GB: 2-3 weeks
Black 128GB: 2-3 weeks
White 64GB: out of stock, waitlist
White 128GB: out of stock, waitlist.

 

[Fanaticalism]

Fixed...and now i agree.

Or Equifax?

Was that too soon ?

 

[pat500000]

Google is already running out of Pixel 2 stock

PIXEL 2:
Black 64GB: In stock.
Black 128GB: In stock.
White 64GB: 5-6 weeks.
White 128GB: 2-3 weeks
Blue 64GB: 6-7 weeks

PIXEL 2 XL:
Black 64GB: 2-3 weeks
Black 128GB: 2-3 weeks
White 64GB: out of stock, waitlist
White 128GB: out of stock, waitlist.

You have a link? MY goodness....crazy!
I think it's the single len 2 dual pixel thing and pixel ear bud.....IMO.
I'm not surprised.

 

[EM2013]

Samsung seems to be the only company that knows how to properly make a bezel-less phone.

 

[Analog Kid]

They don't care because there are enough other companies that could easily and almost seamlessly replace Samsung overnight. It may take a quarter or 2, but that would be significantly faster than Samsung could ever pull an OS out of their ass.

Did you even look at the graph I linked to? Easily and seamlessly replace Samsung in a quarter or 2? Not only does Samsung dominate Android sales globally, they have almost the entire market in the developed world. That's not a channel you build in 3 months...

Samsung makes the vast majority of their profits from Phones sales, without sales they would go under fast, they would not be able to invest in hardware R&D and would completely destroy the company, they would become like Kodac

They make the vast majority of their profits from their display and device business.

How would they save money, android is free, anyways without the money from phones sale they would die.

It's not expensive, but it's not free, and it carries with it a list of requirements that an OEM may not want to follow:
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/23/how-google-controls-androids-open-source

They are concerned but would also be grateful for being given almost 100% of the android market share. Unless Google prevents them from using Android, the partners should all be fine. I'm pretty sure the agreement for them to use Android would protect them from this ever happening and if that failed there would be huge antitrust consequences that could risk a breakup of google.

Again, the GMS license lets them pick and choose who uses Android. They have access to Android as long as Google finds them useful to Google's interests.

For partners to succeed, all they have to do is make better products than the Pixel team.

That's not the concern. The concern is that they need a better hardware/software package than Pixel, and their competitor controls half of that equation. That's where this whole conversation started from...

The only one who needs to be worried about Pixel is Apple and Apple fanboys.

Next time, can you just lead off with the fact you have a fanboy-centric view of the world? It would have saved me a half dozen posts of taking this conversation seriously...

 

[Rum_Becker]

Did you even look at the graph I linked to? Easily and seamlessly replace Samsung in a quarter or 2? Not only does Samsung dominate Android sales globally, they have almost the entire market in the developed world.

Yes and china could easily take up the slack

They make the vast majority of their profits from their display and device business.

And do you know how they get those numbers? Since samsung has half the Android market, they sell the parts to themselves is all accounting magic. They are their own biggest customer most of the component profits are fromt he sale of their phones. As soon as LG ramps up, their display unit profits will reduce dramatically from external sources as well.

It's not expensive, but it's not free, and it carries with it a list of requirements that an OEM may not want to follow:

It does cost money but it would not be cheaper than financing the entire OS

Next time, can you just lead off with the fact you have a fanboy-centric view of the world? It would have saved me a half dozen posts of taking this conversation seriously...

I'm not a fanboy, I want to see a strong apple and google so there is no stagnations. You on the other hand would like to see android become fragmented to the point where Apple gets 100% of the market.

 

[flat five]

They don't care because there are enough other companies that could easily and almost seamlessly replace Samsung overnight. It may take a quarter or 2, but that would be significantly faster than Samsung could ever pull an OS out of their ass.

heh, if Samsung went away, i don't think any company could ever replace it.. it's too nuts to do from scratch anymore..

(unless, maybe, you're only talking about Samsung phones.. in which case, probably.. but definitely not within 2 quarters.. much longer than that.. nobody is equipped to make as many phones as Samsung is and getting that type of infrastructure set up and producing would take a lot longer than 6 months.. not easy by a long shot.. not seamlessly in any sense of the word)