Google finally unveiled its much reported/leaked smartphone - the Google Pixel. Being one of the most ambitious projects by Google to make a debut in the field of smartphone manufacturing. We are calling it a debut because this is the first smartphone that has been entirely designed by Google with a little guidance from HTC. Pixel is the new Nexus by Google. The search engine giant has ended its Nexus lineup and will now be launching devices under "Pixel." Let's take a look at what Pixel smartphones are offering.
There are two Pixel phones - A 5-inch Pixel and 5.5-inch Pixel XL. Being the first "Made by Google" smartphones, they will enjoy the privilege of getting updates on priority, just like previous Nexus devices. For India, Google is going to launch these devices via Flipkart, Reliance Digital, and Croma, and other smaller retailers. Regarding pricing, the starting price of Google Pixel would be Rs. 57,000. The pre-ordering will start on October 13.
For the US, Google Pixel 32GB variant has been launched at $649 (approx. Rs. 43,000); 128GB variant at $749 (approx. Rs. 50,000) while the 32GB Pixel XL is priced at $769 (approx Rs. 51,000) and 128GB variant at $869 (approx. Rs. 58,000). Google has not yet revealed whether it will bring the 128GB variants of Pixel and Pixel XL to India.
The specifications of the Pixel smartphone had already been leaked by the US carriers, a few days ago. Sadly, Google failed to keep a secret or maybe it was a deliberate attempt for publicity (Sherlock wheel churning). Whatever may have been the case, we did know what was in store for us, before the official launch.
There is not much difference between Pixel and Pixel XL, except for the battery and display size. The Google Pixel features a 5-inch full-HD AMOLED display of 1920 x 1080p resolution with Gorilla Glass 4 protection and 2,770 mAh battery with Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 providing 7 hours of battery life in just 15 minutes. On the other hand, the Pixel XL comes with a 5.5-inch Quad HD display with a resolution of 2560×1440 pixels and 3,450mAh battery with Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0.
Both the Pixel phones are powered by a 2.15GHz 64-bit quad-core Snapdragon 821 processor and 4GB of RAM. There are two non-expandable storage variants - 32GB and 128GB. Both the devices will be available in Quite Black, Really Blue (limited edition), and Very Silver color options. Sadly, the Really Blue colour variant will not launch in India. Google has used Aluminum and Glass for the design of Pixel phones, the rear panel of the devices is made up of Glass.
In the imaging department, both the smartphones feature a 12.3-megapixel rear camera coupled with Sony IMX378 sensor, PDAF, f/2.0 aperture, and 1.55-micron pixels along with an 8-megapixel front camera with a Sony IMX179 sensor, f/2.4 aperture, and 1.4-micron pixels. Google claims that the camera rating website DxOMark has awarded the devices with a score of 89, which is pretty good when compared to other leading flagships like Galaxy S7 and iPhone 7.
For connectivity, the Google Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones support Single-SIM, 4G LTE, Google Cast, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, dual-band Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, and USB 3.1 Type-C port. Thankfully, Google decided to keep the good old 3.5 mm headphone jack (In one of the introductory videos of Pixel, Google has smartly mocked Apple on 3.5 mm jack). Another cool feature is that Google will offer a 24-hour remote support to Pixel smartphones. In India, Pixel users will get a toll-free phone support accompanied by 54 walk-in service centres in over 30 cities.
What else? Well, Pixel phone come deeply integrated with Google Allo and Google Duo apps. One can easily access Google's personal assistant app - Allo by "OK Google" voice command or by long pressing the Home button. At the Pixel event, Google also launched the Daydream VR headset, Chromecast Ultra with 4K HDR, and Google Wi-Fi. Oh, and the Pixel phones are obviously compatible with the Daydream VR headset.
Google has also detailed a step by step guide for switching from iPhone to Google Pixel. It is more like an open challenge to Apple. We can now expect a raging reply from Tim Cook.
Phew, we had to churn out a lot of words to explain what Pixel is all about! What's your take on the Google Pixel? Would you be interested in switching over to Pixel? Scroll down to the comment section below to share your amazing views.
