This is the Pixel's chance

agree but lets not pretend that people wont buy this at all. even a 5000 sales from Note 7 users is a sale.

not to mention the vacuum samsung has created on all future Note sales

Thought I made that clear by saying "most" people not "all" people.
 
do you think the pixel will be physically stronger then the all glass S7? this all glass stuff concerns me as I have a S4 which I've dropped countless time over the years without issue ( phone is in a Samsung case). I want to upgrade but know it will be dropped.
 
Gorilla Glass 5 is softer than 4, slightly, so it's less likely to crack and shatter but slightly easier to scratch. The back of the Pixel obviously isn't going to crack under normal conditions.
 
My daughter had ordered a N7 just before it all started to blow up (pardon the pun). Cancelled the order to see what happened with the replacements. Fast forward to now and she is bummed. Really wanted the N7. So now the Pixel is a contender for her although she's not happy about no SD slot and no physical home button. That said she's also considering the V20 and 7 Edge. So this definitely impacted the phone she'll be getting.

Tell her to get the 7Edge if she was dead set on the Note. Closest thing. Great phone.
 
This article corroborates your thoughts,

Samsung's snafu is Google's golden opportunity - The Verge

I would agree, this is a golden chance for Google to place it well but it missed some points!

Imagine if google offered everything Note 7 offered, wireless quick charging, OIS..maybe all the careers would jump on board bcoz of Samsung's Snafu and this would have allowed Google to dominate!

So close Google, so close!