At this time, last year, I wrote a column entitled “If you won a Pixel 4 for Christmas, you should probably return it”. I didn’t want to write that. Since the launch of Pixel in 2016, I’ve hoped Google’s phone will be successful. No other company is in a position to bring a level of hardware / software integration similar to that of the iPhone and an unsurpassed experience on any other Android phone.
Unfortunately, Google never got it right. The parts were all there – main processor, fantastic camera, regular Android updates – but the design always left a lot to be desired, the features were ingenious and the battery was just good enough. At Pixel 4, compromises have become difficult to bear.
Michael SimonPrevious Pixel phones never had the right formula.
But things may be looking up. In 2020, Google changed its strategy with the Pixel 4a and 5, and the results were shockingly good. On the one hand, the design was fantastic, with a light bezel, fine bezels and a textured back without glass. But the most interesting moves were inside the phone: Google opted for the mid-size Snapdragon 765G instead of the 865, and the Pixel didn’t miss a step. It still looks fast, offers the purest Android experience, and still takes better photos than phones that cost hundreds of dollars more. It also opens the Pixel to a new world of possibilities.
Lower class, upper class
The Pixel may have been just a gleam in Google’s eyes when Android One launched in 2014, but both designs are made of the same fabric. The vision of Android One was to bring a pure Android experience to low-end phones, which were often full of bloatware. Pixel phones are basically state-of-the-art Android One phones. Even with better components and monitors, the focus – and the selling point – is on the software.
Michael Simon / IDGThe Pixel 5 lost the glass, but continued charging wirelessly.
This emphasis on software, however, is largely because the first Pixel phones did not have as much impact. The designs did not match the high cost, especially when compared to similarly priced devices from Apple and Samsung. That’s why the Pixel 3a and 4a did better in terms of sales: Lower prices make more sense.
With Pixel 4a, 4a 5G and 5, Google is creating a better balance between the hardware people want and the software they need. With Android One, Google was “working closely with phone and silicon chip manufacturers … to build phones that are not only great to use, but also affordable,” a mantra that has found its way to the 2020 line Pixel. It is more than just a lower price or a slower chip. For what looks like the first time on a Google phone, the Pixel 5 is a phone built exclusively to harness the power of Android, without worrying about high-end parts and high-priced competitors.
The Pixel 6 can go even further. This year’s lineup was a little confusing with the $ 499 Pixel 4a 5G and $ 699 Pixel 5, especially since the 4G 5G had a bigger screen than the 5. Google has a lot more room to grow now that it has established the Pixel as a medium-wide device.
It all starts with the processor. Although Qualcomm has not yet announced the successor to the 765G that powers the Pixel 4a and 5, it is rumored that Google is working on its own processor. Axios reported earlier this year that “Google received its first functional versions of the chip” and may be ready next year. Axios reports that the chip will “include hardware optimized for Google’s machine learning technology”, with part of the chip focused on “improving the performance and always-on features of Google Assistant”.
QualcommWe are already sure that the Pixel 6 will not be powered by the Snapdragon 888 – but it may not have a Qualcomm chip.
If Google were trying to compete with Qualcomm’s fast Snapdragon 888, I would be skeptical. But with the Android optimizations that Google already brings to its phones, a custom chip designed exclusively for the Pixel 6 can bring an experience similar to what Apple offers with the iPhone. This may be exactly what the Pixel 6 needs to stand out in 2021.
A camera that cannot be covered
If there’s one area where Pixel has always stood out, it’s the camera. While other phone makers have added three and four lenses to improve the photo-taking experience, Google has done most of its work on the processing side. Things like Night Vision, Super Res Zoom and Live HDR + make up for the lack of cutting edge hardware.
Michael Simon / IDGThe camera has always been the best feature of the Pixel.
The last two Pixel phones have reached a kind of innovation barrier. While Pixel 5 still takes some of the best photos for a smartphone at any price, there’s not much it can do that Pixel 4a can’t do for hundreds less. Granted, the Pixel 5 has an ultra-wide lens, but the overall Pixel camera experience looks set for a breakthrough in 2021.
Google has already proven that it doesn’t need high-end specs to offer a premium camera experience, and the Pixel 6 would be the perfect way to drive it home. Simple changes, like adding a telephoto lens or a better sensor to the main camera, would go a long way towards consolidating the Pixel as the smartphone’s main camera. As Google rested a little on its laurels, other phones closed the gap with improvements to night and portrait mode. A jump in camera performance in 2021, especially at a lower price, would help recover the crown.
Taking advantage of Android
Finally, there is Android itself. With timely updates, quarterly feature declines and exclusive features and “first for Pixel”, Google has positioned Pixel as the best Android experience at all price levels. The relationship will only get closer with Android 12.
Michael Simon / IDGPixel 5 (on the left) can bring the same cutting-edge experience that you get on an iPhone.
In addition to features and optimizations, I hope Google will push the Pixel’s guaranteed Android updates from three to four or even five years. After Samsung raised its promise to three years in 2020 and Qualcomm announced that it will support four years of updates with the 888 processor, the Pixel needs to differentiate itself from the group. Years of timely updates is one of Pixel’s strongest points. A level of guaranteed updates like that of the iPhone would make it the unprecedented champion.
Google’s moves to Pixel in 2020 were definitely surprising, but I don’t think that means Google is giving up on its device as an influencer in the Android universe. Quite the contrary: with some changes in 2021, the Pixel could finally become the phone it has always wanted to be.