Is everyone not understanding the value in the Pixels pricing?

[Failure2Comply]

After 8 years of Flagship android devices, the Nexus 6P was the best device I had ever had to that point. I wanted to stay on the nexus line forever. When google nixed the nexus line, I was bummed. I was interested in the Pixel because it seemed to be the successor to the nexus 6P. However, the price point was horrible for what if brought to the table

If I am going to drop as much as they wanted, I'd rather spend $100 more and get a tried and true device - the iPhone 7 plus 256GB.

I jumped ship, and couldn't be happier. The iPhone 7 plus out performs every android device I've ever used. Super content.

Please pass the Kool-Aid...

 

[nucks26]

What amazes me is that so many people are ready to drop just as much money on a less powerful iPhone and never blink an eye. The Pixel has screamer specs and as mentioned the camera is fantastic. Why is it that if Google has it's name on it the phone should be cheap?

I wouldn't say it's more powerful then an iPhone. Apple has been making the iPhone for years, so therefore they've been making their own hardware to go with their software for years. They've never needed over the top processing specs to produce a speedy iPhone.

 

[KillerQ]

I wouldn't say it's more powerful then an iPhone. Apple has been making the iPhone for years, so
therefore they've been making their own hardware to go with their software for years. They've never needed over the top processing specs to produce a speedy iPhone.

Whatever works.

 

[KillerQ]

Then why are you here?

Because I have a Pixel that sits on a table as well. I just don't think it's living up to the hype.

One of the best android handsets to date? Yes. For me at the moment? Not so much.

 

[fragologist]

I think the OP makes valid points but I still think it's over priced. But I'm also a bit of a hypocrite since I just placed an order for the pixel xl 128gb. I've been using Samsung phones for years and loved it (currently using note 4). The main I got the pixel is for the updates. As much as I love Samsung phones their update process is abysmal. Waiting 4 to 6 months for an update is just wrong especially if the last update broke something. I'm currently having battery issues with my note 4 that started 4 months ago and I've been told (for several months) that an update will fix it. Chances are since the note 7 fiasco and the ramping up for the s8 and note 8 development I'm sure my Note 4 update is all but forgotten.

 

[Morty2264]

OP, you are right. The phone may be pricey but there is a reason why it is that way. Google has done a lot to make its next iteration of phones great, and we can easily see that just by looking at the Pixel and the Pixel XL.

 

[Jeremy8000]

After 8 years of Flagship android devices, the Nexus 6P was the best device I had ever had to that point. I wanted to stay on the nexus line forever. When google nixed the nexus line, I was bummed. I was interested in the Pixel because it seemed to be the successor to the nexus 6P. However, the price point was horrible for what if brought to the table

If I am going to drop as much as they wanted, I'd rather spend $100 more and get a tried and true device - the iPhone 7 plus 256GB.

I jumped ship, and couldn't be happier. The iPhone 7 plus out performs every android device I've ever used. Super content.

Glad to hear you found a device that suits your preferences. Just curious - knowing that you feel that the iPhone 7 Plus outperforms the Nexus 6P, which you feel outperforms all other Android handsets you've used, did you give the Pixel XL (which I'm pretty confident you'd have found to outperform the Nexus 6P as well) a shot?

 

[Almeuit]

No water proofing, no wireless charging, no expandable storage. Doesn't sound like a very valuable flagship to me.

Times have changed -- I never thought I would see water resistance, wireless charging, and an SD card become the "must have" for a flagship .

 

[Jeremy8000]

Times have changed -- I never thought I would see water resistance, wireless charging, and an SD card become the "must have" for a flagship .

And to date, they still aren't.

There is no "the must have," only "my," "your," "his," and "her" must have. A lot of people have it in their minds that if more than one manufacturer decides to put a feature on their flagship, or if it's a particularly important feature to them, that any manufacturer that doesn't integrate it has failed for everyone. Which is funny, because if that's the case then every manufacturer has failed by that criteria.

 

[miyanc]

Look I am sure price is "A" determining factor. But if you are online obsessing about smartphones and platforms then odds are you spend more then most on tech. This or that, you make a decision to support what you feel meet you needs. I am grateful that companies continue to set the bar in as many categories as possible. Apple does there thing and others do theirs. Anyone sitting here (typing where ever and posting) can have there own set of pluses and minuses as to what puts them to bed at night. And as such we should all make our own choices as such.

I guess the difference for me is I am not on the imore or various other sites complaining about apple being a big pile of eat my %^&* and tell me how good it tastes. I say jump, you say. setting the table for continued control over there Koolaid drinking sheep. Look I get it. I wont say they make bad products. Just not anything I will EVER buy and I have my reasons. I just don't feel the need to run over everywhere and throw that in peoples opinionated faces.

So as a 44 yo tech geek ( one who just got excited because I bought a new webOS device last night, and mad at the world for not supporting the better platform) I was set with options before purchasing my n7. But at $36 a month I was sold on it being worth the extra 9 dollars a month for 24 months. So when I went thru all that stuff I was set back to a decision. Chose pixel xl 128.

Why because i felt like it was going to give me a special device. No better then the n7 but special in its own way. So I could have dropped down to a s7, or s7e, pixel or pixel xl 32 and saved something like 4-9 dollars a month. Isnt that what we are talking about. a couple of trips to starbucks to drink something in 2 minutes or a phone enhanced to support our lives in a great many ways.

How much a month would it cost to house all the free pictures I am taking at full resolution and or in slow motion? Lets see, 2 hours of my daughter trick or treating in a Belle dress, I bet I will get to see that again. Oh right I could have bought the s7e and used the 256g card, because those are forever and when I had my lgg4 and it decided to do a factory reset with the card inside and I lost all those pictures or when my 32 g card failed and I lost that too?

No phone option is worth the money, unless it has the options you are willing to pay for. That is why I could care less which option you think is way to much money, because in that argument you are right... for you.

 

[nucks26]

Times have changed -- I never thought I would see water resistance, wireless charging, and an SD card become the "must have" for a flagship .

When other flagships have those features at the same price point, it becomes a must have at THAT price point. Im totally cool owning a phone without those features, but then drop the price. If I can get a phone with all of those great features for the same price, it's a no brainer.

 

[Jeremy8000]

When other flagships have those features at the same price point, it becomes a must have at THAT price point. Im totally cool owning a phone without those features, but then drop the price. If I can get a phone with all of those great features for the same price, it's a no brainer.

If we follow that logic, then the following statements must be true:

(A) Both Google's Pixel and Apple's iPhones guarantee OS updates. No others do, so no other phones in their price range are flagships.
(B) Both Samsung's S7 and LG's V20 offer Micro SD. So the only two phones that could be flagships from argument (A) cannot be flagships.

Therefore there are no flagships.

 

[Almeuit]

When other flagships have those features at the same price point, it becomes a must have at THAT price point. Im totally cool owning a phone without those features, but then drop the price. If I can get a phone with all of those great features for the same price, it's a no brainer.

That is where we differ. I am fine paying for the XL without those features. I don't store too much on my phone so 128 GB is way more than I need. Wireless charging is cool and convenient and I enjoyed it when I had it but it won't sway my purchase - not that useful. As for the water resistant it's the same as wireless charging for me.. Nice to have but not a must have.

 

[Topweasel]

I am with you on that. I went a large size to remove any worry but in the past 32GB was basically a once a year clean up of being manageable. Between older devices dropping cards randomly, corrupting the file system, or just not being fast enough, the ones I have had that allowed me to use an SD I almost never used it. Water protection and Wireless charging (which I am using now) is would be cool, but not the end all be all (I have not in 15 years of using phones had them die to water (or die period)) and these phones charge so much so quickly I doubt that I need to keep it topped off like Nexus 6.

Premium features that make it worth it to me.
1. Well built.
2. Fast core specs (memory and CPU perf)
3. Stable
4. Fluid
5. No bloat.
6. Consistent and quick updates.

I have been on Android for the most part since I got my Droid X years ago. Working with Verizon, Moto, and Android since then has had me looking for the Unicorn. First I needed something faster. I got a Razr Maxx after that. Then I went WP7 (Lumia 920) because I wanted something stable and fluid (and used enough MS stuff like Zune). Then I went Nexus 6 because I wanted freedom. I didn't need a phablet, I didn't want to spend $700 on a phone. I was thinking about getting I think it was a Turbo 2 at the time with its 4000mah battery. But it was still on Kitkat with no Lollipop update in sight and god only knew when it was going to get Marshmellow. I ran into that enough on the X and Razr. The Nexus 6 was almost perfect. But it was just missing stability and Fluidity. I think the Pixel because Google can take ASOP and kneed it into a more device specific build using the powers that create the OS I can't help but have high hopes. But even if it isn't perfect it's seems to be the closest on the cusp of giving me exactly what I want. Why wouldn't that be worth a premium.

 

[wordfool]

Erm, I don't fully understand the value in the Pixel's pricing.

OK, so it's in the same price bracket as an unlocked iPhone and S7, but it offers fewer features and a rather bland, if functional and not-unattractive, design. The argument that we're paying in part for Google AI research is bogus -- that sort of research at Google is amortized across all Google products, not just one phone. The 24-hour support is also somewhat meaningless, especially when compared to the ability to walk into an Apple store for a solution or an exchange. Fast updates from Google? Every cheap Nexus has had those. Unlimited storage of photos? I, and a lot of people I know, already have more Google Drive capacity than they know what to do with, and there are plenty of downsides to storing all your photos in the cloud (privacy, data charges/access etc.).

So ultimately, I see all those as sweeteners that essentially cost Google nothing yet are helping inflate the price of the hardware. For less than a 32GB Pixel I could buy a 32GB unlocked S7 that's slightly smaller, has a bigger and better screen, arguably looks nicer, and has more features that are of practical use (IP68, wireless charging, and SD support in particular). I see only two things the Pixel has going for it -- Instant updates (like every Nexus phone before it) and arguably the best camera out there.