What is Google's goal here?

[PhiPsi32]

Reference JH's statement, this is what auto manufacturers do.

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

Reference JH's statement, this is what auto manufacturers do.

Yup. And it works the same way.

the hardest part of selling any luxury item is getting noticed. If Apple, or Google, or Samsung or anyone can get your attention and get you to pick up the phone they are making, they got exactly what they wanted to from the design.

Like gearheads (guilty here) Phone enthusiasts will buy something they think isn't particularity attractive if it has a another feature that's "the best". If a phone has the best screen, it's worth buying even if something else isn't appealing. Best camera, best processor, the list continue until you run out of things to be the best.

This is also why I loved my Maverick Grabber when I was in high school. It looked like a cheap family coupe, but it had a bored 347 ci stroker V8 under the hood. And it was Champange and brown with vinyl seats and the original 1973 AM ford radio — and i didn't care.

 

[FaTROBoT97]

I think Google is listening to some of its audience and dipping a toe in to see what the reaction is. The one complaint I get everyday about android phones are lag, slowdown, and battery life. The last one can be anything but mostly Android has always had an image issue with lag and slowdown.

If this is the 1st phone to defeat that notion of lag and slowdown that in itself will be a win. The other wild card is the 24/7 support. Coming from Verizon employee perspective we troubleshoot about 50% of the customers that come in the store. The rest either pay there bills or look to purchase.

If the support works - and it works well, there are a lot of reps who will sell this phone on that point only and will be a something that no other android phone maker is doing. It is very rare that people call our Tech Support on 1st or 2nd time issues. They are looking for fast fix so they come into the store. If that works and is anywhere close to Amazon's own experience with there Kindle line of tablets it will be great for the consumer.

I find this phone interesting and is why I'm getting one personally. I know the iPhone 7 Plus is super fast and the S7 Edge is great but sometimes I want something different and that appeals to me. If its a bad buying decision then it can go on top of the heap of other bad buying decisions I've made. Yes Palm Pre, I'm looking at you.

 

[LookArpTheStars]

As several others in this thread have mentioned, I too think that Google is trying to jump on the 'premium phones' bandwagon.

We as people enthusiastic about tech, of course see the good in Nexus - good specs, fast updates directly from Google, and all of that for a cheap price. But in my experience of owning two Nexus before, usually when people ask me phone I have and when I explain to them, even if the experience is smooth and fluid, the most they'll say is "Wow, great phone!" and then never even consider it in their next phone purchase - simply because the brand isnt well known to public and simply does not feel 'premium'.

At first I was confused with Google's move as well, but then I realise Samsung's Galaxy and iPhones are all priced pretty high, and they are the ones that are pretty much conquering the mainstream public now. So in order to appeal to more people (those who do not follow tech news that often), it has to make people think that it is premium, and one of the more obvious ways to achieve that is to slap a 'premium' pricetag on it.

Of course, all of us here know that even with a great camera and solid build, Google couldve made the price tag lower and still make profit. But that's not how the mainstream public think, and Google's intention here is very clear - releasing a phone that is appealing to a wider audience (proved also by the aggressive marketing going on rn), not just by making a good phone, but making a phone that people would associate with being premium, one that would let people queue in line for hours and be able to come out the store bragging about the newly purchased phone.

Needless to say it is still at an early stage and what has been said can only be assumed, so how about let's just sit around and see how all this turns out.