Last year's form factors, next year's prices. The 23% price increase for the small Pixel in particular was a kick in the groin. Screens, RAM and storage are average. Build quality...Well, considering most phones sold in the US are Apple and Samsung, which have some of the best build quality in the industry, it would be generous to assume average build quality. Some other flagships do more with video.
Taking all of that into account...I placed my preorder for the basic black Pixel 3 on day one as soon as my butt hit the desk chair.


Seriously, as I pointed out in another thread, Pixel hardware isn't the main selling point of the phones. It's about the getting the latest Android updates unadulterated by cheesy bloatware and seamless integration with all those great Google apps and services. It's about getting the best still photos available on a smartphone and being first in line to get whatever wacky new experiments Google is working on.
The hardware isn't really the best in the business, but the Android experience clearly is, and sometimes you need newer hardware to take advantage of the latest software. That's why I send Google money every year or two for the latest offering.