What is Google's goal here?

[flan]

They're selling a phone that on first appearances looks to be iPhone-like in terms of hardware quality. That's great, it looks like a fabulous phone. But Google doesn't have the cult following among smartphone buyers that Apple does. Yes, there are a ton of Android fans out there that would buy an Android phone over an iPhone no matter what. But their brand loyalty isn't to Google hardware. They're buying Samsungs, HTCs, Sonies, and LGs right now. They've probably owned a Galaxy phone for 5-6 years now. If anything, their loyalty is to another manufacturer, as Google hasn't really sold a ton of Nexii to the general public over the years.

Google's not selling these phones in retail stores (except Verizon), so they won't get a ton of purchases from people headed to their T-Mobile, AT&T, or Sprint stores who haven't made up their mind what they want before they step into the store. They're not going to cannibalize sales of those phones with their exceptional online price, because the price is anything but exceptional.

So who do they think is going to buy these phones? I know they've pre-sold a lot of these guys already, but besides the hard-core fans they already had, I don't see how they plan on making a dent sales-wise. Unless they don't really care about that. Which leads to my question. What's their goal here?

 

[tunic330]

You're right. Can't see who else other than hard-core Nexus fans who'd buy this phone. This is unless the price drops like crazy, which is what I'm hoping for. If all the models went down with $200 I think they would have a much better chance making these phones a success. Stupid move not to offer the ability to check and purchase the phone in a retail store.

 

[raqball]

Google Phone - The Verge

*Snip from article:

Osterloh knows that "We certainly aren’t going to have enormous volumes out of this product. This is very first innings for us." Google’s metric of success for Pixel won’t be whether it picks up significant market share, but whether it can garner customer satisfaction and form retail and carrier partnerships that Google can leverage for years to come.

 

[Ry]

They're selling a phone that on first appearances looks to be iPhone-like in terms of hardware quality. That's great, it looks like a fabulous phone. But Google doesn't have the cult following among smartphone buyers that Apple does. Yes, there are a ton of Android fans out there that would buy an Android phone over an iPhone no matter what. But their brand loyalty isn't to Google hardware. They're buying Samsungs, HTCs, Sonies, and LGs right now. They've probably owned a Galaxy phone for 5-6 years now. If anything, their loyalty is to another manufacturer, as Google hasn't really sold a ton of Nexii to the general public over the years.

Google's not selling these phones in retail stores (except Verizon), so they won't get a ton of purchases from people headed to their T-Mobile, AT&T, or Sprint stores who haven't made up their mind what they want before they step into the store. They're not going to cannibalize sales of those phones with their exceptional online price, because the price is anything but exceptional.

So who do they think is going to buy these phones? I know they've pre-sold a lot of these guys already, but besides the hard-core fans they already had, I don't see how they plan on making a dent sales-wise. Unless they don't really care about that. Which leads to my question. What's their goal here?

The goal is Google Assistant.

 

[Wiley_11]

Google Phone - The Verge

*Snip from article:

Sure hope Rick does better with launch of Pixel than he did with the Moto 360!.........

 

[Wiley_11]

What is Google's goal here?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejwrxGs_Y_I

 

[VitaminA]

Seems to me the goal is to show they can make a top-notch phone, get good expert and user reviews, and iterate from there. They can't expect the huge Samsung and Apple numbers in the first iteration, and as raqball pointed out, they don't. Also as Ry said, they're moving to the "AI driven" experience. Probably wouldn't have been the best idea to try to tout the abilities of Google Assistant in a mid-range phone.

 

[anthonium]

To kill the Nexus line and start over with a pure Google phone. Let's see how that fares. I fear this phone may not be as successful as the nexus line considering the majority of unimpressed people in the forums. I for one would love to give this phone a try.

 

[tdizzel]

To kill the Nexus line and start over with a pure Google phone. Let's see how that fares. I fear this phone may not be as successful as the nexus line considering the majority of unimpressed people in the forums. I for one would love to give this phone a try.

There is zero correlation between what is said in this forum and how successful a phone is going to be. 99% of people have no idea this forum even exists. You can't at all look at it as predictor of a phone's success. At all.

 

[apeksha_p]

The goal is to show the world that Google has the capability to make a better phone than Apple.

 

[tdizzel]

You're right. Can't see who else other than hard-core Nexus fans who'd buy this phone.

I've never owned a Nexus. Never even held one. I ordered this phone the second day of presales. The only reason i didn't order it the first day is because i was torn on which version to buy.
And according to reports, Google and Verizon are investing some serious marketing dollars, so I'm guessing they think more than hard core Nexus users will buy it.

 

[Ry]

There is zero correlation between what is said in this forum and how successful a phone is going to be. 99% of people have no idea this forum even exists. You can't at all look at it as predictor of a phone's success. At all.

This is quite true.

 

[Ry]

To kill the Nexus line and start over with a pure Google phone. Let's see how that fares. I fear this phone may not be as successful as the nexus line considering the majority of unimpressed people in the forums. I for one would love to give this phone a try.

How would you measure success of the Nexus line?

 

[ray689]

The goal is Google Assistant.

Wouldn't it be easier, less costly and get more reach much quicker to just add the assistant to android and force it to be pre-loaded as they do with their other offerings?

 

[Tyresian]

I have a hard time thinking what they are doing as well. But I guess it is simply the most obvious. They are trying to compete directly with the iPhone and selling a device that is as similar as can be with different services available to it and offering a "grass is greener" impression.

On Friday I talked to 2 people who have been iPhone users for years and have ordered Pixel XLs. I still can't stomach the price, but after we see some reviews and I can actually try someone's, we will see how it fairs. To me if the battery can last for 7+ hours screen on time, that would be a buy. I'm pretty sure that won't happen and the battery life of the iPhone (Plus) is a huge deal. I'm still looking at the OnePlus 3, and the dash charge does not make up for poor battery life, but it sounds like it should be pretty similar to my 5X in that aspect anyway.

 

[Cant Miss]

Like the first Android phone, this is the first Google phone. First one they have had total control over (supposedly). Was it their absolute best effort? Probably not... compromises are always needed to be made. But this is exciting in the sense that Google now wants to be in complete control of the phones they offer.

Is this the best phone Google could have built? No. Is it the best phone out there? As a Google Fi customer, yes. For those that aren't, maybe not.

Will this phone sell bigtime? I doubt it. Does Google expect it to? No. But the brand and the initial pricing means Google can design their phones without having to be shackled by other OEM's practices. Is the first Pixel "it"? I doubt it. Take apart an iPhone 7 and compare it to an HTC 10: one looks like it was built by robots, the other high school kids. But it is the start of something big (provided Goggle doesn't punt on it a year or two down the road).

 

[arthurhkt]

1) Push Google device to consumer market, not just the geeks.

2) Built a fully and purest Google phones.

3) Indirectly telling other OEM that Pure Android without too much customization can be a beast too.

 

[TavisB]

Pre-ordered right after the announcement. This is also my first Google phone. Previously owned iphones, HTC, and Samsung. Wanted to try Fi and this is the best phone for Fi.

 

[osubeavs728]

And according to reports, Google and Verizon are investing some serious marketing dollars, so I'm guessing they think more than hard core Nexus users will buy it.

According to my eye balls as well. I see at least 7-8 Pixel commercials a day across many different television networks.

 

[Aquila]

How would you measure success of the Nexus line?

Whether or not people were able to try Google's vision of software on the hardware of their OEM partner. ?