I wrote this the other day after the announcement. I planned to polish it but honestly not going to bother. I also know that despite my intentions, I won't be able to talk sense into some people.
This is a brilliant marketing move by Google (whether or not it works is another discussion entirely), and I think those of us complaining are simply spoiled by the idea that google can do it better, and cheaper than the competition, which is kind of what it's felt like with the Nexus line (despite it being hit or miss with every device). Keep in mind Google is no longer one company, and that while search and other services may be extremely lucrative for Google, it does not make sense for the phone division to constantly leach on its sister companies.
Lets break this down a little bit:
Lets start by addressing something, let me say it again, we’re a niche group. Theres a serious false sense of knowledge when it comes to the general population. How many people in the world own cell phones? Id say a good majority of people these days, and as time goes on, people are more tech savvy, but how many people REALLY go as deep as we do? How many would ever be able to tell you who actually makes the Apple iPhone? How many could tell you the differences between the 800 SoC and the 810 and the 820 and now 821? How many could tell you the actual difference between a 12MP camera with a 1.55 micron pixel and a 16MP with a 1.12 micron pixel, and how the 12MP is better? Most would assume 16MP is. How many people understand the effects of display size and technology on battery life? Go outside and walk down the street, unless you live in a booming tech area, id say you’re probably the only one. Yes, thats a large assumption on my part, but like many I work in IT for a living, I deal with all sorts of people, and even a lot of tech specialists are not phone experts, and could barely tell you themselves. Most everyone who uses a smartphone relies heavily on it, and could probably tell you anything and everything about using the phone they use, but I doubt many of them actually know the technicalities behind it all.
1. The name Pixel - Ask any non tech user what phone they prefer, and you will almost never hear Just Android vs iPhone. You will hear things like Galaxy SX, HTC X, LG X, Nexus X, iPhone X. To the mass market, Android has fallen in the background, and I honestly think Google has become accepting of this, were not in a world of Android vs iPhone, while at its core they may all be the same, most major Android phones feel vastly different, and because of this its simply a battle of the brands with the same underlying OS. Apple doesn't have that problem, and while Samsung has come close to completely cornering the Android market, I think Google has had enough and wants to be the shining face of its creation. Google's idea here is that when someone asks you what phone you use, “Its a Pixel” and with their marketing and deals with big red, they are on the path to make it a household name. It won’t happen quickly, and it won’t be easy, but I think Google can do it if they REALLY want to.
2. Google’s deal with the Devil.. Verizon - I hear many people talk about how they loathe big red, their premium data prices, shady fees etc, and that no one is going to buy this phone from Verizon. Again, check yourself, because you’re a niche user. Verizon, in many places is still one of the best networks in terms of quality coverage. Do you know how many people constantly complain about verizon, and yet stay tied to them to this day because of that. Verizon isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Now ask yourself, what can one of the nation's largest carriers do for a phone? Mobile providers are not just the float that carries consumers thru the digital universe. Carriers are a huge marketing tool for phone manufacturers. They provide a storefront, they provide (sometimes) knowledgeable staff, they provide a the experience of instant gratification. Tell me, whats better than walking into a store and walking out with exactly what you wanted, we all love shopping online, but no one likes waiting. I don’t know much about google's plan, but if I had to guess the exclusivity with verizon was not done blindly, i’ll bet there is some big money behind it from both google and verizon to push this thing. We’ll see in the coming weeks.
3. The Price - Everyone is complaining about the price. Do you know what other phones people in the sub $400 category complain about? The Galaxy, The iPhone, the HTC. We're spoiled at the idea of small Chinese manufactures making premium headsets without the overhead on their part. We all have an idea of what these phones actually cost to make, and have an idea of what they should cost, but welcome to capitalism, enjoy your stay. You guys are beating a dead horse that's been getting beaten for almost a decade now. Hell, I remember people complaining about the price of the Moto RAZR. People are funny creatures, while not everyone is so gullible, how many people scoff at a $350 dollar phone because they feel that there is no way it can compete with their $700 dollar whatever it is they have now. How many people go into a store, and having to choose between two phones that do the same thing, choose the more expensive one because it has some fancy words on the marketing material while they think about value for money, even when it the end they will never use those features. People generally associate price with quality, its how a majority of the world works. Look at the iPhone 5C, it was a major flop, despite being nearly identical in day to day use minus the fingerprint scanner, many people just paid for the 5S, they wanted the best of the best. There are many reasons the price of the phone is high, people need to not look at Google as a whole. Google is segmented into many different areas, and it would be silly for google to take a loss on a phone while leaching off of its sister companies just to break into the market. They made this very clear in their presentation that Pixel while “Made by google” is complete separate from its android department, Search etc.. Google’s Hardware segment is its own entity. Let us also not forget the price of storage, while cheap in the grand scheme of things, offering unlimited full resolution storage is a HUGE deal. Also look at support, Google has some of the best support that I've dealt with personally and professionally, and good support doesn't come cheap. Lastly, Google Assistant, I'm a sucker for technology that makes my life easier despite how invasive it can be, and while sure Google could have offered this for free to the whole world, to put a piece of technology like this in the hands of everyone, but theyre building a brand with their Pixel line, and offering the assistant to only the Pixel will help push that.
This phone was not meant to appease the nexus fan base, the niche of users who look for the sub $400 dollar phones that try to compete with the “big boys” this phone is a push by Google to breath life to a brand. Google did not make this phone for the long time nexus user, google loving pure android fanboy, they made this to appeal to the masses, and I’m betting it will.
Google is moving away from the model of showing “what android should be” and instead making it into the android they want it to be, that appeals to the masses.
This is a brilliant marketing move by Google (whether or not it works is another discussion entirely), and I think those of us complaining are simply spoiled by the idea that google can do it better, and cheaper than the competition, which is kind of what it's felt like with the Nexus line (despite it being hit or miss with every device). Keep in mind Google is no longer one company, and that while search and other services may be extremely lucrative for Google, it does not make sense for the phone division to constantly leach on its sister companies.
Lets break this down a little bit:
Lets start by addressing something, let me say it again, we’re a niche group. Theres a serious false sense of knowledge when it comes to the general population. How many people in the world own cell phones? Id say a good majority of people these days, and as time goes on, people are more tech savvy, but how many people REALLY go as deep as we do? How many would ever be able to tell you who actually makes the Apple iPhone? How many could tell you the differences between the 800 SoC and the 810 and the 820 and now 821? How many could tell you the actual difference between a 12MP camera with a 1.55 micron pixel and a 16MP with a 1.12 micron pixel, and how the 12MP is better? Most would assume 16MP is. How many people understand the effects of display size and technology on battery life? Go outside and walk down the street, unless you live in a booming tech area, id say you’re probably the only one. Yes, thats a large assumption on my part, but like many I work in IT for a living, I deal with all sorts of people, and even a lot of tech specialists are not phone experts, and could barely tell you themselves. Most everyone who uses a smartphone relies heavily on it, and could probably tell you anything and everything about using the phone they use, but I doubt many of them actually know the technicalities behind it all.
1. The name Pixel - Ask any non tech user what phone they prefer, and you will almost never hear Just Android vs iPhone. You will hear things like Galaxy SX, HTC X, LG X, Nexus X, iPhone X. To the mass market, Android has fallen in the background, and I honestly think Google has become accepting of this, were not in a world of Android vs iPhone, while at its core they may all be the same, most major Android phones feel vastly different, and because of this its simply a battle of the brands with the same underlying OS. Apple doesn't have that problem, and while Samsung has come close to completely cornering the Android market, I think Google has had enough and wants to be the shining face of its creation. Google's idea here is that when someone asks you what phone you use, “Its a Pixel” and with their marketing and deals with big red, they are on the path to make it a household name. It won’t happen quickly, and it won’t be easy, but I think Google can do it if they REALLY want to.
2. Google’s deal with the Devil.. Verizon - I hear many people talk about how they loathe big red, their premium data prices, shady fees etc, and that no one is going to buy this phone from Verizon. Again, check yourself, because you’re a niche user. Verizon, in many places is still one of the best networks in terms of quality coverage. Do you know how many people constantly complain about verizon, and yet stay tied to them to this day because of that. Verizon isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Now ask yourself, what can one of the nation's largest carriers do for a phone? Mobile providers are not just the float that carries consumers thru the digital universe. Carriers are a huge marketing tool for phone manufacturers. They provide a storefront, they provide (sometimes) knowledgeable staff, they provide a the experience of instant gratification. Tell me, whats better than walking into a store and walking out with exactly what you wanted, we all love shopping online, but no one likes waiting. I don’t know much about google's plan, but if I had to guess the exclusivity with verizon was not done blindly, i’ll bet there is some big money behind it from both google and verizon to push this thing. We’ll see in the coming weeks.
3. The Price - Everyone is complaining about the price. Do you know what other phones people in the sub $400 category complain about? The Galaxy, The iPhone, the HTC. We're spoiled at the idea of small Chinese manufactures making premium headsets without the overhead on their part. We all have an idea of what these phones actually cost to make, and have an idea of what they should cost, but welcome to capitalism, enjoy your stay. You guys are beating a dead horse that's been getting beaten for almost a decade now. Hell, I remember people complaining about the price of the Moto RAZR. People are funny creatures, while not everyone is so gullible, how many people scoff at a $350 dollar phone because they feel that there is no way it can compete with their $700 dollar whatever it is they have now. How many people go into a store, and having to choose between two phones that do the same thing, choose the more expensive one because it has some fancy words on the marketing material while they think about value for money, even when it the end they will never use those features. People generally associate price with quality, its how a majority of the world works. Look at the iPhone 5C, it was a major flop, despite being nearly identical in day to day use minus the fingerprint scanner, many people just paid for the 5S, they wanted the best of the best. There are many reasons the price of the phone is high, people need to not look at Google as a whole. Google is segmented into many different areas, and it would be silly for google to take a loss on a phone while leaching off of its sister companies just to break into the market. They made this very clear in their presentation that Pixel while “Made by google” is complete separate from its android department, Search etc.. Google’s Hardware segment is its own entity. Let us also not forget the price of storage, while cheap in the grand scheme of things, offering unlimited full resolution storage is a HUGE deal. Also look at support, Google has some of the best support that I've dealt with personally and professionally, and good support doesn't come cheap. Lastly, Google Assistant, I'm a sucker for technology that makes my life easier despite how invasive it can be, and while sure Google could have offered this for free to the whole world, to put a piece of technology like this in the hands of everyone, but theyre building a brand with their Pixel line, and offering the assistant to only the Pixel will help push that.
This phone was not meant to appease the nexus fan base, the niche of users who look for the sub $400 dollar phones that try to compete with the “big boys” this phone is a push by Google to breath life to a brand. Google did not make this phone for the long time nexus user, google loving pure android fanboy, they made this to appeal to the masses, and I’m betting it will.
Google is moving away from the model of showing “what android should be” and instead making it into the android they want it to be, that appeals to the masses.
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