Is everyone not understanding the value in the Pixels pricing?

[dpham00]

The nexus one was $20 cheaper on contract than the iPhone. Nexus s was the same price as the iPhone on contract. The Galaxy nexus was a whopping $100 MORE than the iPhone on contract . the nexus 4 was the same price as the iPhone on contract. Nexus 6 was a whopping $100 MORE than the iPhone on contract. Pixel is the same price as the iPhone on contract. The pricing is in line at least contract wise.


Nexus 5 and 6p I don't think were offered on contract. And off contract pricing varied and yes the 6p was cheaper,but the off contract nexus 6 was the same price as the iPhone off contract.

 

[EnemiesInTheEnd]

Don't forget that this phone will work with Project Fi, which can save you a bunch of money every month over other carriers.

 

[dpham00]

Don't forget that this phone will work with Project Fi, which can save you a bunch of money every month over other carriers.

Based on my peak usage, project fi for one would cost me about the average ANNUAL income in the USA....

Project fi can be advantageous for those with low data usage,but not for those with high data usage

 

[LailaAK]

Based on my peak usage, project fi for one would cost me about the average ANNUAL income in the USA....

Project fi can be advantageous for those with low data usage,but not for those with high data usage

Still waiting to see if Project Fill will offer meaningful
activation discounts on the Pixel phones. (like the
$150 discount they offered for the 5X... or even $200? )

 

[mohit9206]

I think OPs post is sarcasm because otherwise it doesn't make any sense. When you have phones like Moto G4 available for $200 which provide virtually identical day to day performance to these overpriced flagships, why would you spend 3-4 times more for overpriced flagships like Pixel or Galaxy or whatever else.
Also those justifying the $650 price, watch as it drops to $450-500 at black Friday and Christmas sales and then to $300-350 around the time Galaxy S8 comes out.
It will lose value extremely quickly because its terribly overpriced and lacking in basic features.

 

[EnemiesInTheEnd]

Still waiting to see if Project Fill will offer meaningful
activation discounts on the Pixel phones. (like the
$150 discount they offered for the 5X... or even $200? )

That would move this phone from "wait for reviews" status to "sold" status for me.

 

[EnemiesInTheEnd]

I think OPs post is sarcasm because otherwise it doesn't make any sense. When you have phones like Moto G4 available for $200 which provide virtually identical day to day performance to these overpriced flagships, why would you spend 3-4 times more for overpriced flagships like Pixel or Galaxy or whatever else.
Also those justifying the $650 price, watch as it drops to $450-500 at black Friday and Christmas sales and then to $300-350 around the time Galaxy S8 comes out.
It will lose value extremely quickly because its terribly overpriced and lacking in basic features.

It isn't lacking in basic features. A Moto G4 isn't nearly as good as the Pixel phones.

 

[TheMarcus]

I can't justify the price for myself. Just looking at the cheaper Pixel starting at $650 for only 32 GB and a 1080p screen... Phones with 1080p screens tend to be a lot cheaper and you're also being forced to pay an extra $100 just to have a reasonable amount of storage. I can't justify the cost of this phone, especially when I'd rather have the XL.

Nope. Not going to happen.

It's one distinguishing feature, aside from having a Snapdragon 821 while everyone else has the 820, is that it has Google Assistant and I probably wouldn't use it much. I think I'll be very happy giving my money to LG for the V20 this year.

 

[EnemiesInTheEnd]

I can't justify the price for myself. Just looking at the cheaper Pixel starting at $650 for only 32 GB and a 1080p screen... Phones with 1080p screens tend to be a lot cheaper and you're also being forced to pay an extra $100 just to have a reasonable amount of storage. I can't justify the cost of this phone, especially when I'd rather have the XL.

Nope. Not going to happen.

It's one distinguishing feature, aside from having a Snapdragon 821 while everyone else has the 820, is that it has Google Assistant and I probably wouldn't use it much. I think I'll be very happy giving my money to LG for the V20 this year.

That phone has more compromises than the Pixel phone does lol

 

[Da808Dragon]

I don't think people are looking past the sticker shock.
I pay AT&T $211/month for 2 lines and to finance a Iphone 6+($35/month) and a Galaxy S6 Edge ($38.13/ month sold it after the first 3 months). Although we get 15gb of data, we have never used more than 4gb in a month. So, I could get two of these phone at $27/month each and probably get by with $70/month in Project Fi service (combined) and would save $86/month. I would still be saving money after the AT&T phones are paid off. I plan to try Project Fi (hate that name) on my Nexus 6p while maintaining my AT&T coverage on a Pixel for a few weeks and see how it works out. The hardest part of my plan is to convince my wife into giving up the iPhone.
So when it comes to pricing, other than the subsidies that carriers are using to lock you into a contract, it really isn't that bad, especially if you can take advantage of Project Fi.

Exactly what I've been thinking. I started looking at Fi this past spring but I had just upgraded 2of3 line last summer so I'm stuck waiting another year before I can try a switch. For me, dropping just one line of my grandfathers Sprint unlimited everything wouldn't net that much of a savings so I need to wait for another line to free up. Sigh...

 

[robotronprime]

I honestly don't care that much about the water resistance. Most phones up until the past year or so didn't have any, unless you went with the Samsung Active line. The Pixel has some water resistance too, so I'm not terribly worried.

 

[mohit9206]

It isn't lacking in basic features. A Moto G4 isn't nearly as good as the Pixel phones.

A Moto G4 is 90% as good as it while costing 30% of it.
Also basic features means water proofing, wireless charging, removable battery, sd card slot, optical image stabilization, stereo speakers, IR blaster,etc.

 

[Harsh_Malkani]

For the premium pricing, and the stiff competition, I definitely would expect more. I will miss the front facing stereo speakers, and I have definitely been missing the IR blaster. Wireless charging was a convenience I got used to not having, but not necessary with the usb type C connections and super faster charging. I bet next version will have to be water resistant though... it's finally becoming a standard that many will expect from this point forward.
No doubt the pixel is a great phone
It's got one of the best cameras and a lot of other good features
Just felt it needed a little more with the current pricing
One more reason for that is that it's the first phone made my Google
And unlike the nexus series this one's priced a little steep
Besides I believe one plus three is way more reasonable phone for the features it comes with

 

[NexusShark]

I think OPs post is sarcasm because otherwise it doesn't make any sense. When you have phones like Moto G4 available for $200 which provide virtually identical day to day performance to these overpriced flagships, why would you spend 3-4 times more for overpriced flagships like Pixel or Galaxy or whatever else.
Also those justifying the $650 price, watch as it drops to $450-500 at black Friday and Christmas sales and then to $300-350 around the time Galaxy S8 comes out.
It will lose value extremely quickly because its terribly overpriced and lacking in basic features.

No sarcasm what so ever. I was stating the fact that everyone thinks the hardware is the main component of the cost of the phone and you turn it on and it magically works. The software sides takes endless hours of work to get things running perfectly. Based on the keynote and some reviews, it seems this phones software is so integrated and optimized for hardware it's like nothing we've ever seen. This phone doesn't seem to be marketed towards the tech enthusiast, but more the general consumer. Pixels are definitely not for everyone, but anyone I personally know with an iPhone or a Galaxy use it because the camera is great and it just works. The majority of consumers I know don't even use or know about all the features their phone has. The just turn it on and go. Spending money focusing on optimizing their system to work flawlessly I believe was Google's main objective to go against the big 2. My main point is that software can cost even more than hardware in some cases. And that's where i believe the Pixels fit in.

 

[landale]

To me one can argue that almost all flagship phones are overpriced however I do agree with the OP. Sure I would have loved the Pixels to be more affordable but I think many people are missing the point here. The Pixel is not meant to appeal just to the Nexus crowd but to regular consumers. One of the biggest complaints many people have about Android phones versus iPhone's is how poor they hold their value. Google needed to match the premium pricing starting point to be able to attempt to address this as well as show to average consumers their phone is as good as what Apple and Samsung are offering. Also keep in mind for the price you get unlimited original quality photo backups, 24/7 customer support built into the phone and if you pre-order from Google a free VR headset.

Now I do think that Google should have looked into water resistance for the Pixel as now it looks pretty bad that Samsung and Apple have it and they don't. While I don't have as much issue with the price of the regular Pixel I do think the Pixel XL should have only been an $80 upgrade given unlike the iPhone and Galaxy line the only difference is the screen size and battery size. I also hope now that Google has taken more control of the hardware they will also expand on their software support to maybe add an extra year as right now 2 years of OS (which is effectively 3 years with the latest OS since they only really push out new OS's once per year now) plus 3 years of security updates. This needs to be at least one year longer to better compete with Apple and also allow them to sell one year old 2016 Pixels next year and still support them for 3 years which is again key for regular consumers.

 

[mohit9206]

No sarcasm what so ever. I was stating the fact that everyone thinks the hardware is the main component of the cost of the phone and you turn it on and it magically works. The software sides takes endless hours of work to get things running perfectly. Based on the keynote and some reviews, it seems this phones software is so integrated and optimized for hardware it's like nothing we've ever seen. This phone doesn't seem to be marketed towards the tech enthusiast, but more the general consumer. Pixels are definitely not for everyone, but anyone I personally know with an iPhone or a Galaxy use it because the camera is great and it just works. The majority of consumers I know don't even use or know about all the features their phone has. The just turn it on and go. Spending money focusing on optimizing their system to work flawlessly I believe was Google's main objective to go against the big 2. My main point is that software can cost even more than hardware in some cases. And that's where i believe the Pixels fit in.

Funny you say software is the focus when it won't be updated beyond 2 years. If software was truly the focus they would have announced a revolutionary feature - 4 years of OS updates.

 

[clrdust]

Yes the software is amazing, but this will be available soon on all the other android phones soon. So the only thing you are missing is the camera, i think LG phones have a pretty good camera. i don't really care about 24/7 help. everything is available if you search for it. So the BEST camera and 24/7 is not worth the price tag.

 

[y2whisper]

The hard part is justifying paying the cost vs what it out there. its an excellent $1000 phone but there are other excellent $1000 phones out there that people have gotten used to using the challenge is pulling them away from those phones to buy a pixel.

Even on contract its now in that direct comparison. Which is their goal. Google doesn't want to just hang with its loyal yet small nexus base they are hoping to push the needle more.

 

[justnivek]

The Pixel is not meant to appeal just to the Nexus crowd but to regular consumers. One of the biggest complaints many people have about Android phones versus iPhone's is how poor they hold their value. Google needed to match the premium pricing starting point to be able to attempt to address this as well as show to average consumers their phone is as good as what Apple and Samsung are offering. Also keep in mind for the price you get unlimited original quality photo backups, 24/7 customer support built into the phone and if you pre-order from Google a free VR headset.

Well, I doubt it very highly that i'm gonna run into any Pixel users because you have to be in the market for one. The phone isn't that good looking, a lot of people don't even know google makes phones which = bad brand recognition.

What your saying about the value is very difficult for google to accomplish. Android phones are TERRIBLE when it comes to resale value, bumping up the price might not help in this situation. Example... I've had several "Factory unlocked" great condition android phones and tried to sell them to upgrade or just try something else and would get offered nowhere near the price I wanted... while my girlfriends old 2 gen back iPhone unlocked got 70% of the money back she paid for it around launch day. People love apple phones and thats it... I don't think raising the price will give it good resale value (especially if google does exactly like the amazon fire phone and drops the price very quickly or starts offering like $100 google play credit)

The customer support thing is very weird for me... the average person that would want a google phone (nexus or pixel) I would think know how to use an android phone... so that makes no sense to me honestly



There's a phone out there i am not sure which one but it has a QHD screen and the box is a VR headset (not a cardboard one) for I think $350/$400 so google giving away a free VR headset doesn't justify that (and only people who preorder, what if you wanna play with the phone first and test it?)

and I asked this in another post and I'll ask again... Doesn't google photo's currently back up ANY PHONE (including Apple) up to 16MP for free has much as you like.....? so basically with the Pixel your getting free 4K video back up.... I honestly don't see that as a good reason to buy this phone.

also #inb4googleassistantmakesit2otherphonesverysoon

 

[MrSlippery519]

Well, I doubt it very highly that i'm gonna run into any Pixel users because you have to be in the market for one. The phone isn't that good looking, a lot of people don't even know google makes phones which = bad brand recognition.

What your saying about the value is very difficult for google to accomplish. Android phones are TERRIBLE when it comes to resale value, bumping up the price might not help in this situation. Example... I've had several "Factory unlocked" great condition android phones and tried to sell them to upgrade or just try something else and would get offered nowhere near the price I wanted... while my girlfriends old 2 gen back iPhone unlocked got 70% of the money back she paid for it around launch day. People love apple phones and thats it... I don't think raising the price will give it good resale value (especially if google does exactly like the amazon fire phone and drops the price very quickly or starts offering like $100 google play credit)

The customer support thing is very weird for me... the average person that would want a google phone (nexus or pixel) I would think know how to use an android phone... so that makes no sense to me honestly

There's a phone out there i am not sure which one but it has a QHD screen and the box is a VR headset (not a cardboard one) for I think $350/$400 so google giving away a free VR headset doesn't justify that (and only people who preorder, what if you wanna play with the phone first and test it?)

and I asked this in another post and I'll ask again... Doesn't google photo's currently back up ANY PHONE (including Apple) up to 16MP for free has much as you like.....? so basically with the Pixel your getting free 4K video back up.... I honestly don't see that as a good reason to buy this phone.

also #inb4googleassistantmakesit2otherphonesverysoon

1. I think the Pixel is Google attempting to change that culture specific to brand recognition, Rogers in Canada has the Pixel listed right on the home page for pre-order which is certainly different than the past apple only view. I think they listed guaranteed 2 year OS updates which I would have liked to see as 3-4 years.

2. Android phones in the past have had poor resale however recently that seems to be changing, Samsung in particular have great resale value especially in the cell phone repair business side of things. Same with HTC they have been getting better but still not near Samsung at the moment. Again this is Google trying to change that with a high quality build.

3. The customer support thing I do not disagree with, its not a feature to me that really matters however for some people it may?

4. Not sure about the backup but mine (HTC M9) is limited to 15GB. I personally have 58% used up which is 99.9% pictures. I think the point of Google offering unlimited is the 4K aspect and simply people would never have to think about how much is backed up or not.

Overall still not 100% sure where the Pixel will fall but it seems to be Google moving in the right direction.