With Apple’s awful iPhone announcement behind us, we can turn our attention to more interesting devices. Including the handsets that I’m most eagerly awaiting, the new generation Google Pixels.
And today, we finally have some concrete news about the timing of these devices. Google will formally announce its new Pixel family on October 4, exactly one year after it unveiled the first generation Pixel and Pixel XL.
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We know this because Google has erected an empty new website for the devices, and is teasing the launch on YouTube.
The teaser video provides a few vague clues about what we can expect from the Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 (as I’ll call them until we have the official names):
And we also learned today—in my case from Android Police—that the Pixel XL 2 has achieved FCC certification ahead of launch. The FCC filing comfirms that LG is building the device for Google as rumored. But nothing else.
I am cautiously optimistic about the new Pixels.
As you may know, I’m switching to Android this week, and will be using my current Pixel XL for the short term. I have a rough history with this device, which I find to be derivative, design-wise of the iPhone, with bland styling. And the performance falls apart over time; I know people take exception to my ongoing comments about this. Tough. It keeps happening. And it just happened again. So I’ll be blowing it away and doing a clean install (again) within the week.
(Full disclosure. Yes, I did test each Android 8.0 Oreo pre-release build in succession this year, and I agree that this may have impacted the performance of the device. But this isn’t new. This has been happening to the Pixel since I got it.)
Anyway, the Pixel XL 2 is my first choice for my next handset. I don’t care too much about the rumors, per se, but I need the camera to be at least as good as what I have with the Pixel XL today. Looking back at what I wrote about how Google should improve the next Pixel, I’ll note that only the following are top of mind today (though I agree with the full list):
Bigger display. The current Pixel XL has a 5.5-inch QHD AMOLED that is gorgeous to look at but seems small, somehow, compared to the similarly-sized iPhone 7 Plus. But what I really want is 6-ish inches, and preferably in a tall aspect ratio like we see on the Samsung Galaxy S8+ (which is still a contender, frankly) and the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 (also a contender). If this is yet another Frankenstein-bezeled throwback, I will be hugely disappointed.
Camera. As noted, meeting the performance and quality of the current camera is the minimum. Better? Dual lenses. And Optical zoom.
Stereo speakers. I cannot explain how Google delivered a single mono speaker on its flagship handset in 2016. They cannot do so this year.
And I’m a realist, but I’d love to see Google (re)embrace the pricing structure that (sometimes) made its previous Nexus lineup so great. That is, it should not just price its phones inline with Apple and Samsung. It should instead undercut them by at least $100-$200 per phone. And you know I’m right, because no one is buying these phones. They need to get smart about this.
Anyway, I can’t wait to see what they do announce. Because that day will be the day that I decide which phone I’ll use next. Whether it’s a Pixel XL 2 or not.
Bats
<p>The reason for one speaker on the 2016 Pixel is because Huawei wanted their name somewhere on the phone and Google refused. As a result, they went to the HTC who could develop and manufacture the Pixel in the specific timeframe Google needed.</p><p><br></p><p>As for the performance issues…lol….let's face it, Paul doesn't know how to use Android. With newer technologies such as Doze, I have no problem going almost 36 hours without a battery charge. In addition, all my apps are legit, and only update via a wifi and power plugged-in connection. I don't know how many apps I have on my phone, but they are all legit apps and I don't have most of them running in the background. Android is so OPEN, unlike iPhone, it can be customized to do anything including battery life preservation and performance consistency.</p><p><br></p><p>The fact, that Paul is a "new" Android user and has criticized the Pixel with very little knowledge of how Android works is unfair and unprofessional. After all, this is a guy who highly endorsed Arrow Launcher calling it the best launcher for Android and then goes around and talks about the benefits of the pure Google experience. Huh? This is a self admitted FULL TIME iPhone user, who criticized Pixel with a "First Impressions" review and a "Morning After" review….lol. Huh? As a full time iPhone user, he admits that the Pixel has a superior camera and thus, with Project Fi, brings it with him to his European trip. Without knowing how the Android phone works and putting it to the test is like a business performing upgrading to Windows 10 from Windows 7 during a mission critical project. Huh? Huh?</p><p><br></p><p>LOL…talk about iPhone performance issues…one study reported that the iPhone users have experienced the inability touch screen to be less responsive or completely unresponsive. In addition to performance issues, it's been reported that iPhone also had headphone, overheating issues, and crashing apps. People this information is not hard to find. Just go to the Apple Support site and read all of this. LOL….and Paul wants us to believe that his iPhone experience has *quote-unquote* performance consistency? LOL..that's the truth, and if anyone has a problem *coughPaulcough* with that,….Tough.</p>