I am going to preface this by saying I like utilizing Pixels; I change between a number of dozen telephones a 12 months, however after I’m performed with all of the opinions and wish a day by day driver, I inevitably choose up a Pixel. The choice comes down to 2 issues: clear software program and constant cameras. Whereas most Android skins have respectable interfaces nowadays, there’s nonetheless lots of overt styling, and I want what Google does on this space with Materials You.
And whereas Google would not have the outright lead in cameras nowadays — the Discover X7 Extremely, Vivo X100 Extremely, and Xiaomi 14 Extremely take higher photographs and movies — the Pixel 8 Professional takes probably the most constant photographs, and it does an important job with portrait photographs and transferring objects.
Hardwired
In Hardwired, AC Senior Editor Harish Jonnalagadda delves into all issues {hardware}, together with telephones, audio merchandise, storage servers, and routers.
That stated, Google’s telephones aren’t with out points. I’ve had a litany of issues with Pixels through the years; the panel on the Pixel 2 XL had washed-out colours, it did not take a lot to interrupt the Pixel 3 XL (I did it twice in two months), the oleophobic coat on my Pixel 4 XL wore out in underneath three months of use, and the quantity rocker on the Pixel 7 Professional indifferent randomly sooner or later. Final 12 months, the Pixel 8 Professional determined to cost sporadically, and the USB-C port was accountable — this was a difficulty on the Pixel 6 Professional as properly.
Look, most telephones have some problem or the opposite, however the share of hardware-related issues I’ve had with Pixels is considerably increased than some other model. With Google now guaranteeing seven years of updates, it must do higher on this space, and if the messaging round higher sturdiness is any indication, it appears just like the model is taking this critically.
Whereas that is undoubtedly good, Google for some motive simply can not seem to nail the fundamentals. A few of that is right down to the selection of {hardware}; Google used Samsung’s Exynos 2400 as the inspiration for the Tensor G4, and apart from newer cores, it’s practically indistinguishable to the Tensor G3.
Google made it clear that it would not need to chase efficiency numbers, and the model as a substitute chooses to concentrate on the TPU that powers all of the AI options on its units. That is fantastic by me; I do not use the Pixel 8 Professional as a result of it’s the quickest, however as a result of it has a great general expertise. However what’s annoying is that Google would not do any significant thermal administration — even on the Pixel 9 technology — and that makes these units susceptible to throttling and overheating.
Then there’s the arbitrary characteristic gating; most international fashions of the Pixel 9, 9 Professional, and 9 Professional XL embrace a Wi-Fi 7 modem, however the telephones bought in India use an older Wi-Fi 6 modem. All different flagships bought within the nation have Wi-Fi 7 as commonplace, however Google determined to not trouble.
Even on the worldwide model, Google randomly determined to not embrace options like 8K video and Evening Sight video on the usual mannequin, limiting these to the Professional variants. In the same vein, the bottom fashions nonetheless include 128GB of storage, and that is ridiculous in 2024; even mid-range telephones now begin at 256GB, and at this level, Google is simply nickel-and-diming prospects on this regard.
Hilariously, the bottom fashions of the Pixel 9 and 9 Professional XL have an pointless 16GB of RAM and woefully insufficient 128GB of storage, and there is not one other model that provides this configuration. It is clear that Google is attempting to emulate Apple, and is utilizing the same pricing technique to upsell storage variants.
There’s additionally the query of pricing; the Pixel 9 Professional begins at $999 and the 9 Professional XL at $1,099, and that is for telephones with 128GB of storage; you will have to pay one other $100 to get 256GB fashions of those units, and Google would not have anyplace as beneficiant trade-in provides as Samsung.
Granted, these are minor irritants, however they matter on a flagship. There actually is not a lot to tell apart most flagships nowadays — not less than on the {hardware} entrance — so each misstep is amplified. Google says its units are one of the best at AI — and they’re — and so it is asking a premium. Once more, that is justified; finally, it is right down to the model to dictate what its telephones price.
However Google wants to grasp that if it needs to cost its telephones in keeping with Apple and Samsung, it must ship equal options; I am simply unsure it’s doing that.