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What Lies in the Past?
I’ve been an Android loyalist since 2016. And I suppose I’ve been a OnePlus loyalist since then as well. They first lured me to Android when they released the OnePlus 3, which was a brilliant phone. I never had any issues with it. Super sleek software, insanely fast back in it’s day and most importantly it was unbelievably good value. I’ve since used the OnePlus 6 and currently use the OnePlus 8. Both have given me an overall good Android experience.
It’s no secret that OnePlus has had a bit of an identity crisis since they created a much closer relationship with their parent company Oppo. I had initially thought that it wasn’t going to bother me and that not much would change but it’s clear to see that the company is moving in a different direction than the one they started off in. And that’s fine, I’m no brand loyalist. My OnePlus 8 has seen better days. It’s got a crack in the top corner of the screen, the battery is meh, and the software is slowly wearing me down with odd bugs. I’ve been slowly losing the battle against the urge to get a new phone.
Google has had my interest with their Pixel phones since before they were even a Pixel. Back in the Nexus days the promise of bloat free Android with high end specs was a tempting proposition ,but OnePlus just pipped them to the post when it came to value. I’ve always kept my eye on the Pixel’s though waiting for them to lure me over.
Lured by Promises
I’ll be honest, Google’s promise of 7 years of software updates is hugely attractive and anyone that doesn’t see why is clearly deranged. The only other company in the mobile phone sector that offers that kind of software support is Apple, and you can clearly see how well that level of support works for the company. iPhone users, although always tempted by the new shiny iPhone can always rely on Apple keeping their old phone up to date. So even if they don’t buy the newest shiniest iPhone, they still get the closest to a peak Apple experience that they can possibly get. That’s good for the user, as their phone stays fresh, up to date and secure and that’s good for Apple as their users are never tempted to move over to Android for a cheaper newer phone.
So Google’s 7 years of software support are either a horrible lie that company will reveal in a few years time or a very smart business move for the Pixel line that should keep them in people’s hands for much longer. And the more people that have a Pixel, the better it looks for the brand.
Like I said, I’ve been tempted by Google before. The phones they offer are essentially the better advertised, more flagship version of the Nexus line from back in the day. Their software has always been the highlight, even with the generally pretty impressive hardware that they put in them. But good hardware really doesn’t get you as far as it used to. OnePlus still offers top tier hardware specs (in the flagship lineup), albeit with a higher price tag than they used to. But there’s still phones out there like RealMe that offer high specs for a lower price. But unfortunately, although performance does technically come from high end hardware, it’s what you do with it that counts. And Google has really picked just the right battles when it comes to making use of that hardware.
The AI Buzzword
It came as a shock to absolutely nobody when Google started throwing AI around at their hardware event. It’s an easy way to interest the average consumer when you mention a phone that uses AI, and watch that uses AI and earphones that use AI. It’s just such a popular area these days that it made sense for Google to use it everywhere when realistically they’ve probably been using it just as much as they were previously except this time they’re making more of a song and dance about it as it’s the song and dance that everyone wants to see.
I’ve tried the magic eraser. It’s impressive, and Google bard is also pretty cool, but like with powerful hardware, it’s not about how powerful it is, it’s about what you do with it. And this is what Google is finally doing. They’re putting it to use. The same way that Microsoft is integrating ChatGPT into Windows applications, Google is integrating Bard with Google assistant (sort of). They’re making use of their fancy new chip to allow you to literally swap faces, and move objects around in pictures and change the sky to look like some sort of fantasy. They’ve finally started just making AI do some work. They’re finally making it less of a neat trick and more of an actual tool and I thing it’s been long overdue. Right now, a lot of the AI stuff still feels sort of separate to the core experience but I think in the years to come it will slowly integrate it’s way into many areas of the smartphone experience.
Mega-Pixels
Google’s always made a brilliant camera setup on their phones. Again they’ve leveraged there skills in software, which has put them right up beside the heavy hitters like Samsung and Apple when it comes to making smartphone photography as impressive as it is today. They’ve not actually done much in terms of hardware with the Pixel camera setup. But software can only take you so far and I think Google has finally hit the limit with it’s current camera hardware. So the new Pixel’s have some new sensors (in some places).
It seems like light is the name of the game. Any idiot can get good pictures in brightly lit scenes, it’s the imperfectly lit places that really separate the men from boys when it comes to smartphone camera’s. Google first took aim at this target with it’s night sight mode, which I have to say can be very impressive. But again, it’s just a software trick, and if Google want’s more light they’re going to need a sensor that can provide it. Which is why almost every one of their lenses now advertises “X Percent More Light”.
You know Google is taking photography seriously when they finally add pro controls to their camera app. Although for some reason only on the Pixel 8 Pro and not the standard 8, which I guess is what the extra £300 gets you. It does seem a bit cheap of Google to just omit certain software features from their cheaprer devices but I suppose it does incentivise people to buy the Pro if they want the Pro photography experience.
Hey Google – How Much Did I Spend on a New Phone
The Pixel lineup has never been cheap per say. But it wasn’t quite hitting the price highs of the iPhones or the Galaxy’s of the world. But they do appear to be inching their way towards that price bracket. Although to be fair to them they have been adding features year on year. Like for instance they added a temperature sensor this year that around 3 people in the entire world might actually use. They really are becoming a serious competitor now and they’ve got a price to match. Let’s just hope that as with many other Google products, they don’t lose interest and kill off the Pixel unceremoniously.
Now I’m a value guy. It’s why I picked OnePlus over the Pixel up until now. But what changed my mind. The Pixel is still expensive, it even got more expensive compared to the last generation.
It’s simple. I have a new job, so have a bit more free cash on hand. Plus, the Pixel pre-order deal includes a Pixel Watch 2 when you buy the Pro and I also got a sweet discount through Very.com as a family member used to work there. So I didn’t quite hit the £999 price tag that Google set for the Pro model, closer to £800 is what I’m spending and to sweeten the pot I’m getting a free watch, which I was already in the market for. So seems like a good deal to me.
So this is Google’s chance to impress a new customer with their gradually growing ecosystem. Let’s just hope they can keep their promises.
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