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Pixel Phone Reviews: A 'Truly Great Camera' and a 'Home Run' for Google

Honestly, looks like a very nice option if you prefer Android / Google services. Nice to see some competition and improvement to 'pure' android/google.

But yesterday the reviews got real repetitive and old real fast. Seemed like all the tech sites were praising it as the second coming of Jesus. Another "iPhone killer", just like we heard for years before. Apple releases the iPhone 7, does significant improvements everywhere (OIS, waterproof, A10, P3 colour gamut with the screen & camera), with very little refinement to the design and all the tech sites seem to lose their minds that the design is stale. Yet the Pixel seems overly similar to this design (not even close to as refined as the 7, nor does it match some of these features) and they praise the hell out of it compared to an iPhone.

My opinion, but I think the iPhone in this shot looks so much better. Not sure why Google described the rear of the Pixel as "seamless design". I mean, you have a large glass window on the back, why not use it for all the antennas and at least drop the antenna lines?

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SactoGuy18 said:
Exactly. Google should have made the Pixel/Pixel available for all four of the major US cellphone carriers at physical stores right from the start, not just Verizon.

However, I believe the Pixel relies a lot of the technology pioneered by the very under-rated HTC 10, one of the more competent Android phones out there. As such, hardware-wise the Pixel will at least be a good phone.
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In other countries it is available on multiple carriers, and from day one I saw many carriers emphasize that they're letting Google control software updates. I wonder what happened in the US that they only hooked up with Verizon.
 
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sully54 said:
I think this is the first time Apple has real competition to the iPhone.

iPhone is successful because Apple is a services company. We all like to think of Apple as a software/hardware company but the real invisible force that keeps the company going are services. Until now, only hardware companies have tried to face off against the iPhone and, while they may have had good products on paper, they lacked the services to support the product.

This time it's different however. Google is also a services company—an arguably better one than Apple. And now they've built hardware. The biggest hurdle google faces is convincing andoird users who are used to buying cheap smartphones to pay a premium for the pixel.

Time will tell how this goes but google has a huge opportunity to take a large piece of the pie from Apple. Apple, on their part, can't be complacent or else they risk fading into irrelevance, just like blackberry.
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Although I don't think they face the same fate as blackberry I do agree with everything else you said. Personally I like my 6s but unless next years iPhone is something exceptional I think I might give the pixil a try, although may be diffficult as the majority of my electronics are apple and it may be a challenge to switch to a different system as much as I am invested in the apple ecosystem.
 
Google have started the process of setting themselves apart. I think their next move is to create a version of Android that's for their phone only and have another version for the rest of the manufactures to do with what they please. That's what I'd do anyway.
 
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This is Google's first phone, and for a first effort it is remarkably good. By almost every metric I can think of -- speed, power, camera, smart assistant, you name it -- it matches or exceeds the best phones available on the market today.
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This is where they lose all credibility. From all benchmarks I've seen, the Snapdragon 821 in it runs about on par with an A8. That hardly matches or exceeds an iPhone 6s much less the 7. I won't even get into the fact that the camera lacks OIS, it isn't water resistant, etc.
 
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petsk said:
You know something is seriously wrong when they change the Android GUI each time a new version is released.
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There's a certain irony in this comment because I've read over the years how some users think the UI on the iPhone is outdated.. Not saying you.. but it has definitely been a topic several times.

I don't think changing the UI indicates something is seriously wrong.
 
From the comparisons that I've seen, the Pixel camera tends to have underexposed shots with murky shadow details.
 
profets said:
Honestly, looks like a very nice option if you prefer Android / Google services. Nice to see some competition and improvement to 'pure' android/google.

But yesterday the reviews got real repetitive and old real fast. Seemed like all the tech sites were praising it as the second coming of Jesus. Another "iPhone killer", just like we heard for years before. Apple releases the iPhone 7, does significant improvements everywhere (OIS, waterproof, A10, P3 colour gamut with the screen & camera), with very little refinement to the design and all the tech sites seem to lose their minds that the design is stale. Yet the Pixel seems overly similar to this design (not even close to as refined as the 7, nor does it match some of these features) and they praise the hell out of it compared to an iPhone.

My opinion, but I think the iPhone in this shot looks so much better. Not sure why Google described the rear of the Pixel as "seamless design". I mean, you have a large glass window on the back, why not use it for all the antennas and at least drop the antenna lines?
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Rene Ritchie was spot on when he talked about the double standard here. Things the tech press have chided Apple over in the past don't matter with this phone. The tech press wanted this to be viewed as an "iPhone killer". There is absolutely no way it was going to be given anything less than stellar reviews.
 
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These phones are a joke and the reviews are paid off just like the DXO Mark (where is the 7+ review). Nexus phones from last year were cheaper and better and there is significantly better android phones out there for much cheaper.
 
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profets said:
Honestly, looks like a very nice option if you prefer Android / Google services. Nice to see some competition and improvement to 'pure' android/google.

But yesterday the reviews got real repetitive and old real fast. Seemed like all the tech sites were praising it as the second coming of Jesus. Another "iPhone killer", just like we heard for years before. Apple releases the iPhone 7, does significant improvements everywhere (OIS, waterproof, A10, P3 colour gamut with the screen & camera), with very little refinement to the design and all the tech sites seem to lose their minds that the design is stale. Yet the Pixel seems overly similar to this design (not even close to as refined as the 7, nor does it match some of these features) and they praise the hell out of it compared to an iPhone.

My opinion, but I think the iPhone in this shot looks so much better. Not sure why Google described the rear of the Pixel as "seamless design". I mean, you have a large glass window on the back, why not use it for all the antennas and at least drop the antenna lines?

<image not carried over in quote>

In other countries it is available on multiple carriers, and from day one I saw many carriers emphasize that they're letting Google control software updates. I wonder what happened in the US that they only hooked up with Verizon.
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Disclaimer: I'm a huge Android lover. I use Macs but I only use Android because I just don't like iOS on a phone. (I do use an iPad).

I agree with you 100%. Do they just have a higher bar to clear for the iPhone? I think Ruddock at Android Police and Amadeo (formerly Android Police) at ArsTechnica are more level headed in their review. Amadeo actually calls Google out on a lot of things in their supposed first design. Also Amadeo points out that Google still can't support such a premium phone with more than 2 yrs of software updates, which is ridiculous.

What Apple does to calibrate their display is something everyone should copy, yet that's exactly where many Android manufacturers skim. I also don't understand why they chose the glass window and then kept antenna lines. There's no wireless charging so what gives, I wonder.

I think what happened in the US is $$ or Google lacked courage. In all seriousness, I think Apple and Jobs were careful with first year sales of the iPhone and set realistic expectations, and it was smart. It sucked that the iPhone was only on AT&T (though I was on AT&T at the time) but those first two years allowed Apple to build out their iPhone manufacturing infrastructure and use the popularity of it as leverage in getting other carriers on board with Apple's way of doing things.

I honestly wonder if Google hopes to do the same. I highly doubt it, considering Verizon is controlling when updates drop for the phones sold through Verizon. In all honesty I don't think much has changed. This is like the Verizon Galaxy Nexus, so far. (That Nexus was famous for often getting left behind from updates).
 
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ginkobiloba said:
"I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong. I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this,"

Steve Jobs.
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“good artists borrow, great artists steal.” -borrowed or stolen from Picasso by Steve Jobs?
 
An interesting first effort by Google, but I still think the iPhone's greatest advantage is IOS.

Its not just about a great camera or waterproofing, which are certainly important, it's the "whole package" ... hardware and software.
 
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I love direct, involved competition. Hopefully Apple does too.

BlackBerry never thought they had competition.
 
Did they misplace the thumb sensor just because they could be different for no good? That's not exactly close to where you normally rest your thumb. I imagine it getting old fast.
 
Great, now have another option to the Edge 7s. I used to love Apple but they have shafted me for the last time.
 
ginkobiloba said:
"I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong. I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this,"

Steve Jobs.
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Wow, I specifically searched this quote the other day! I was on one of my Steve Jobs nostalgic marathons. Such a shame he isn't around to do that because just going by that quote it would've been way more interesting to see what he would've done, as compared to just playing it safe like Apple these days. I genuinely believe he would see the Galaxy S7 and think larger than life for the next iPhone. Not the lacklustre 7 which we got. I know there's a big redesign coming next year but he just wouldn't have stood for minor 's' like improvements for a second straight year.
 
Northgrove said:
Did they misplace the thumb sensor just because they could be different for no good? That's not exactly close to where you normally rest your thumb. I imagine it getting old fast.
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So I don't know about you but when I'm grabbing my phone at least one finger tends to rest on the back of the phone. Though you could set a thumb to work with it, the expectation is to use your first finger when you grab it.

This is hardly the first phone to do this so I wonder if you're trolling. Nexus phones last year had the sensor in the back, as do many of Huawei's phones and other manufacturers. Perhaps you're only surrounded by iPhones.
 
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kidaje said:
So NYT says it is mediocre and CNET & techcrunch that it is the best phone..

who's right?
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I read the New York Times review and was taken aback by the petulant tone. I'm all for a good critical analysis and I think the writer made some observations that had merit to them, but discussed these observations in a way that made them come across as an Apple fanboy slamming out comments on a personal blog or the comments section of a forum.

The other articles actually pointed out the same shortcomings and flaws that the NYT writer did, but in a more measured professional fashion and put their comments into a larger context, which the NYT writer failed to do.
 
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Very impressive! I like my iPhone 7+256, but I have no doubt that Google will surpass Apple, especially in AI. Google is an information company, so they would benefit by not following Apple's sleek n' sexy designs that slip out of your hand like a wet bar of soap. It's not that Apple can't beat it, it's just that Apple's track record for excelling in technology is not what it used to be. In recent years Apple seems to be more focused on social engineering and photo opts, and not so much with advancing their hardware.

While Apple has been talking about Augmented Intelligence in recent weeks, Google already has the matrix for developing contextual voice assistance based on their search model and information.

Yes, Apple is rumored to announce updated MacBooks later this month but look how long it took. Even so, they have been dumbing down their tech as evidenced by the MacBook Retina with a single USB-C port combined with a 'blast from the past' camera. They took the same approach with the Mac Mini by downgrading the processors. As for the MacPro, who knows, they may just leave Hollywood and the recording industry in the dust.
 
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Denumerable said:
I'm surprised Apple hasn't hit them with a lawsuit on this. It seriously looks just like an iPhone with a few things moved around. :p
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well its pretty tough to come up with a bunch of new designs on a 5 inch diagonal rectangle that is almost all screen on one side.
 
Sounds like a nice device all-around. Not considering to switch at this point at all but for the future it's good to have viable options.
 
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