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Google's Humorous New Pixel Ads Argue the iPhone Has Plateaued

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Google today launched a humorous "BestPhonesForever" ad campaign that pits the latest Pixel smartphones against the iPhone, painting the iPhone as an old, outdated phone that was once great, but can no longer keep up with the younger smartphones (via 9to5Google).


There are a series of five ads. In "Plateau," the iPhone laments being 14 years old and unable to keep up with Pixel features like 30x zoom, astrophotography, and AI. The Pixel smartphone comforts the iPhone by mentioning the iPhone's blue bubbles.

"The bubbles! The bubbles! Is all I have to show for all my years on earth the color of a bubble? I mean, millions of people have waited in line for me," bemoans the iPhone. Eventually, the iPhone runs out of battery, and the Pixel phone is left calling for a charger. "Ah quick! Somebody get a Lightning charger!"


In another ad, the two smartphones are star gazing and the iPhone is lamenting that it isn't able to see the stars like the Pixel can with its astrophotography mode, while a third ad makes fun of Apple's privacy stance on public WiFi.

"I'm freaking out! Quick, get off the public Wi-Fi," says the iPhone dramatically. "There are... hackers, in this place." The Pixel smartphone reassures the iPhone that the Pixel has a built-in VPN that keeps it safe, a function not available on the iPhone.




In a fourth spot, the pixel smartphone suggests shooting some videos before noticing that the iPhone has a dead battery. The Pixel uses Qi-based charging to charge up the iPhone on the fly. A final video sees the iPhone jealously recounting all of the Pixel's features. The Pixel shows off its latest feature, folding technology, and the iPhone faints in shock. "What year is it? Do we have flying cars yet?" asks the iPhone.


Google is using the "BestPhonesForever" tag with the new campaign, which is highlighting the Pixel Fold. Google came out with the Pixel Fold back in May, with the smartphone priced at $1,800. Apple has not yet come out with a foldable smartphone and there is no word on when the company plans to do so.

Article Link: Google's Humorous New Pixel Ads Argue the iPhone Has Plateaued
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/06/21/google-pixel-anti-iphone-ad-series/
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What a dumb series of ads, but then again that's my reaction to pretty much all ads.

The iPhone has become a bit stale though and, at least on the software side, has delivered very few things I was or am genuinely excited about. I also can't think of anything in particular over the last five years or so that has meaningfully improved my user experience.

So yeah, I do think it has plateaued. At a high level for sure, but plateaued nonetheless.
 
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Reactions: philrock, TracesOfArsenic, nycjdc and 16 others
I was excited about the astrophotography mode, thinking they temporarily flip the the AA (anti-alias or low pass) filter off the sensor. But NooOOo...it's just fancy long exposure with AI hanky-panky.😒

Misleading ad claiming the iPhone is old. The original iPhone is old, the iPhone 14 is the 13th generation iPhone. Ugh.😩
 
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To be fair to Google, Apple have been coasting the regular model for years now. Features like VRR and telephoto cameras are not ‘Pro’ features by any margin. They deliberately nickel and dime the regular model just to up sell.

It’s not just about features of course but it’s difficult for Apple to justify why the regular model doesn’t have a 90hz display or 3 cameras.

This is even more galling when Samsung offer everything on their base S23 and then spoil their customers with the Ultra model.

I and everyone else here wants a top end iPhone that constantly pushes the envelope and treats the customer but that’s not what we have.
 
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As someone who daily drives an iPhone 14 Pro Max and an S23 Ultra, I always felt like these ads are made by people who actually havent used the competitor's phone.

If Google really wanted to advertise against the iPhone there are plenty of useful features which can get one to switch instead of the above video which reads like a specs sheet.

1) Universal Back button on either side of the screen. This feature single handedly makes me love Android. The ability to go back without stretching my thumb on a large phone is so obvious yet Apple still requires me to go to the top left of the screen and tap on back or stretch my thumb all the way to the left of the screen. I dearly miss this when I use the iPhone

2) A proper file manager. Using an Android feels right at home if you have used a computer. I am asked which folder I want to download anything and I can connect to my PC without bloatware like iTunes and essentially turn the device into a portable storage.

3) Number key on top of keyboard.

4) Automations. On my S23 Ultra, I can schedule the phone to open app pairs like Spotify and Chrome based on my location automatically. I can tell the phone to only charge until 85% and a hour before I go to work charge the remaning 100%.

5) System-wide adblocking and third party web browsers which actually run on their native engine.

6) Ability to theme my phone and make it look completely different if I ever get bored with a launcher

7) A settings app which is located inside the app itself and doesn't make me exit and go into settings like on iPhone.

8) Ability to choose between buttons and gesture navigation.

I could go on and on but this ad isn't going to make anyone switch as they are not focusing on the right stuff
 
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7thson said:
Wow. Good job Google. It’s like you’re actually trying to sell these now. However they are actually competing with Samsung. That’s the user base most likely to give a Pixel a shot.
Click to expand...
Samsung users are power users of Android. OneUI has heavy customisation which is something Pixel lacks so its highly unlikely Samsung owners would go for Pixel. The ad is correct in that only an iPhone user has the potential to like a Pixel because of its simplicity.
 
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Reactions: Ludatyk and flobach
Wow. It's like the "I'm a Mac" ads, except Apple is on the receiving end this time.

Honestly, the biggest surprise is that it took Google (or anyone else) this long to make a funny series of attack ads against the iPhone.

Maybe Samsung never tried because they already have more marketshare than Apple so attack ads don't work well, and most of the rest of the manufacturers lack the budget for such an ad campaign?
 
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Reactions: Elohim369, philrock, AirunJae and 10 others
It’s interesting how Google is trying to present themselves as a “new” phone maker when the T-Mobile G1 launched only 15 months after the iPhone, and the first Google branded phone launched in January 2010.
Also, *all* Smart phones have plateaued. All of them.
Even the foldable phones do the exact same thing as a regular phone, just in a slightly different way.
The majority of phones released today are fast enough, have fine enough screens, and do the same thing as all the others just about as well.
 
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