After months of anticipation and unending leaks, the Google Pixel event happened today in San Francisco and other cities around the world. The Pixel and Pixel XL have the distinction of being the very first Made by Google phones. Meaning that, for the first time, Google has declared themselves to be in the smartphone hardware business. Neither of the two phones have ANY HTC branding, though both were built by the, once industry-leading, smartphone company. These are Google all the way with HTC playing more the role of Foxconn to Apple.
The Pixel and Pixel XL were revealed by Rick Osterloh, head of the hardware division (that tells us that they’re serious) and the standout feature of both (according to Osterloh) is that they are the first phones with Google assistant built in. “We’re building hardware with the Google Assistant at its core,” says Osterloh. “This is a natural step, and we’re in it for the long run,” he said. So, this is supposed to be an all new blending of hardware and software. We’ll see, once the phone is in hand.
The Pixel is 5 inches with a full HD display, while the XL is 5.5 inches with a QHD panel. Other than that, they have matching specs listed below:
Google Pixel Specifications
- Quad-core CPU with two cores running at 2.15GHz and two low-power cores running at 1.6GHz
- Adreno 530 GPU
- 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM
- 12.3-megapixel rear-camera with f2.0 aperture, 1.55-micron pixels, and gyroscope-based video stabilization
- 8-megapixel front-facing camera
- 32GB or 128GB storage
- USB-C connector
- Headphone jack
- Bluetooth 4.2
- Fingerprint sensor
- 2,770 or 3,450 mAh battery (depending on screen size)
- Fast-charge (7 hours of battery life for a 15-minute charge)
- VR ready
- Android Nougat 7.1
- Three finishes: Quite Black, Very Silver and limited edition Really Blue
And, oh yeah, A 3.5mm headphone jack (they made SURE to point that out).
Base price for the Pixel is $649 with the 128GB version at $749. The Pixel XL starts at $769 with the 128GB version at $869. So, Google has finally put itself into direct competition with Apple and Samsung and priced accordingly. Pre-Orders are up now for the US, Germany, the UK and Canada with India following on October 13th. The official US carrier partner is Verizon, but you can purchase unlocked from the Google Store and Best Buy. It appears that US consumers will start receiving them from October 26th on.
Will Google be successful with the new phones and other hardware? As always, time will tell. Once we all get them into our hands, we’ll be able to make definitive (and subjective) judgments. Plan on getting a Pixel? Sounds off in the comments below!
Google Pixel Purchase Links
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Source | Google
Began writing for Bane-Tech August 2014, due to an ever-growing passion for mobile and Android in particular.
Computer programmer 1981 to 2015. Currently retired. Active You Tuber (Mobile Geezer:
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Sax player and singer in various bands (rock and R&R) since the mid 60's. Avid motorcycle rider (Gold Wing), bicyclist and exercise enthusiast. Extreme lover of driving and biking (motorcycle). The more thousand miles the trip, the happier I am as the driver.
Dedicated, Bible-believing Christian who makes no judgments on others .
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