Google Moves Decisively to Avoid a Pixelgate (Premium)

Facing a number of issues in its Pixel 2 smartphones, Google this week has revealed how it will handle the mounting PR nightmare. And it has clearly learned from Microsoft’s mistakes in this regard with products such as Surface and Windows 10: It is being transparent and clear, and it is addressing the problems head-on.

As I noted previously in Google, We Have a Pixel Problem (Premium), the mounting problems with the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL handsets is a personal concern: I’ve ordered a Pixel 2 XL at great cost, and I’ve watched in horror as more and more problems have been uncovered by early customers.

But this isn’t just a personal problem.

The Pixel 2 XL reportedly suffers from several major issues, including a display that is, in turn, overly blue-tinted, lackluster from a color reproduction perspective, and is quickly succumbing to image burn-in, a problem we haven’t seen en masse since plasma TVs roamed the earth. The smaller and less enticing Pixel 2, meanwhile, has a few problems of its own, including weird clicking and high-pitched sounds that may or may not be related to NFC. Or perhaps require an exorcism.

Well, Google is addressing all of these issues. All of them.

First, the search giant is upgrading all Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL warranties from one year to two.

“We’re very confident that the Pixel 2 delivers an exceptional smartphone experience, and to give users peace of mind, every Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will now come with a 2-year warranty worldwide,” Google vice president Mario Queiroz notes in an official Google forum. (Rather than, say, an individual’s Twitter account, which is the Microsoft approach.)

OK, so that might help with the peace of mind. But my hand is still hovering over the “Cancel my order” button on the Google Store. What about the specifics?

Oh. We get specifics.

In the above-mentioned forum post and a separate, even more detailed post, Google goes into great detail about its investigations into the issues that users have complained about.

“We take every report seriously because we want to ensure that the experience on our phones has not been compromised, Google’s Seang Chau writes in a moment of clarity that Microsoft should never stop copying. “Our investigation so far has given us confidence that our displays are as great as we hoped they would be, though we’re also taking steps to address the concerns we’ve heard.”

Regarding complaints of a blue-tint in the Pixel XL display, Google notes that this is by design (and is, according to several users, no different from the tint on the original generation Pixel devices.)

“The Pixel 2 XL … display is calibrated to … the color of the average midday light in Northern Europe, so the Pixel display errs ever so slightly on the blue side (users generally perceive the screen more ‘fresh’ this way, probably because in the real world a yellow hue often indicates something has aged),” Chau explains.

The solution? There is no solution. It’s blue-tinted by design. Deal with it.

As to the lackluster color reproduction—many users prefer a far more vibrant color display, as is common these days on OLED-type screens on PCs and other devices—Google notes that it configured the Pixel 2 XL to be “less vibrant … for aesthetic reasons.” In other words, the Pixel 2 XL display is color accurate not overly-saturated.

However, Google is going to address this one because, as it notes, some people prefer more saturated colors rather than more accurate colors.

“Through a software update to Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, we will soon be adding a new ‘saturated’ color mode,” Chau notes. “The saturated mode puts the display into an unmanaged configuration, similar to how the Pixel 1 operates. The colors will be more saturated and vibrant, but less accurate … we [will] give consumers the option to choose the color saturation.”

Two for two. So what about that burn-in issue? There are several examples of photographic images available online showing that the Pixel 2 XL is somehow already experiencing burn-in issues after less than a week of use. Surely that is concerning.

This one gets off to a bad start. Emulating Steve Jobs’ bullshit Antennagate excuse that “all phones experience attenuation to some degree,” Chau says that “all OLED screens exhibit a degree of image retention (short-term) or burn-in (permanent) over their lifetime, starting the moment they are first powered on.”

Maybe. But I have never heard of a brand new flagship smartphone exhibiting this behavior just days after shipping publicly. What’s next? “You’re looking at it wrong?”

Not exactly. Instead, Google insists that there is nothing amiss. Many words ensue. But there is an interesting accusation, up front, that online complainers are somehow doing something unusual to overly-accentuate this problem and are thus, perhaps, kind of inventing an issue where there is none.

“Extensive testing of the Pixel 2 XL display show that its decay characteristics are comparable to OLED panels used in other premium smartphones,” Chau explains. “The differential aging should not affect the user experience of the phone, as it’s not visible under normal use of your Pixel 2 XL. We understand, however, that it can be concerning to see evidence of aging when using a specialized display test app.”

(The emphasis above is mine. –Paul)

In other words, this is happening only during abnormal use and/or by using a specialized display test app that no normal user would even know about. Hm.

Interestingly, Google expects to offer a software fix for this (non?) problem too.

“We’re currently testing a software update that further enhances protections against this issue by adding a new fade-out of the navigation bar buttons at the bottom of the Pixel screen after a short period of inactivity,” Chau says. “In addition, we’re working with more apps to use a light navigation bar to match their app’s color scheme. The update will also reduce the maximum brightness of the Pixel 2 XL by a virtually imperceptible 50 cd/m2 (nits), thereby significantly reducing load on the screen with an almost undetectable change in the observed brightness.”

That’s a lot of fix for a non-issue, no?

As for the weird clicking and high-pitched sounds that some Pixel 2 (and even fewer Pixel 2 XL) users are experiencing, we previously learned of an interesting workaround that suggests what may be the cause of this issue: If you turn off NFC, the ghostly sounds stop happening. Since NFC is a nicety at best, this isn’t really a huge inconvenience.

But Google is also offering a solution to this problem.

“We are validating a software update to address faint clicking sounds on some Pixel 2 devices,” a Google community manager identified only as Orrin explains in another Google forum. “The update will be made available in the coming weeks. The clicking noise being reported does not affect the performance of your device.” He then explains the workaround.

I’m not happy that these issues have all popped up so quickly in the wake of the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL releases. And I don’t buy into the compliant and supplicant responses I’ve seen by many Google-focused bloggers, who seem to be stumbling over each other to explain to the world that all consumer electronics devices have problems.

That’s bullshit, too. I can’t recall any that have had this number of problems, and so quickly. Not on devices that are this expensive, compared to the competition. Not on flagship smartphones that are meant to lure people away from far more reliable devices like the 2017-era Samsung and Apple handsets. This is a farce, and it shows how immature Google’s hardware efforts are despite years of experience working with designs from more established hardware partners.

And yet. The other side of the coin here is very interesting too.

Here’s Google, facing a litany of problems with its new devices. And instead of being silent, like Microsoft was for far too long during Surfacegate, it is being public and transparent. And actually fixing each problem. Really fixing them. In days. Not in many long months.

Here’s Google, going to the exact right place to communicate to users who are complaining, and explaining what they’re going to do. Unlike say, one person—like Joe Belfiore, who has done this repeatedly—responding to single person’s tweet to explain corporate strategy and direction. Hiding, in effect, what’s happening from those who might report it to others.

Google’s responses to these issues are clear, direct, and mature. More important, they are correct. This is exactly how I expect the makers of the products I use—and pay dearly for—to act and behave. It is the type of maturity and clarity that we simply do not see from Microsoft these days.

So, I’ll move my hand away from that “Cancel my order” button on the Google Store. I’ll allow my preordered Pixel 2 XL to happen, and we’ll see how it goes. With double the normal warranty, explanations that I believe, and the promise of various fixes for all of the reported problems, this no longer seems like a huge risk to me. Suddenly, I feel rather settled.

Now, Google. Can we talk about your pricing structure? Because you’re still screwing that up badly.