Pixel ‘Phone by Google’ Announced

Following an absolute deluge of pre-event leaks and revelations, Google's new Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones are now finally official. Differentiated primarily by the size and resolution of their screens — 5-inch 1080p display on the Pixel and 5.5-inch Quad HD panel on the XL — these two devices are built by HTC, but Google takes full credit for their design and makes this explicit with its "phone by Google" branding. Both Pixel models are powered by the latest Snapdragon 821 processor and run a specialized version of Google's Android software, which includes support for the Daydream virtual reality platform that was announced at Google I/O in the summer.

               

The Pixel name, says Rick Osterloh, Google's recently hired hardware chief, "has always represented the best in hardware and software, designed and built by Google, together." He highlights five key points for the new Pixel phones:

- Google Assistant. Pixel is the first phone with the new Google Assistant built in. When you touch and hold the home button or say the "hot word," the Assistant "jumps into action." In Google's event demo, the Assistant is used to bring up photos from a particular time or place from the past, and also plays whatever music you ask it to play, choosing your favorite music app by default. Similarly, it integrates the Google Now on Tap functionality, allowing the user to swipe up with information on the screen, such as a restaurant name, and provides further information, such as reviews and the restaurant's address. Also, like a bot, the Google Assistant will take your reservation for that same restaurant using only voice prompts.

- Camera experience. The Pixel and Pixel XL rear camera scores an 89 in DxOMark, the highest rating ever. That benchmark isn't the most consistent measure of good performance, but at least it's an indicator of the sensor's potential in the new Pixel phones. It has a 12.3-megapixel resolution with large 1.55-micron pixels and an f/2.0 aperture. Google claims that its new camera has "the shortest capture time on any mobile camera ever." There's also very intricate, gyroscope-based video stabilization on board, however there's no optical image stabilization for stills. Google isn't shy in presenting this as the best smartphone ever.

- Endless cloud storage. Google will allow free unlimited storage for full-resolution images and videos shot with the Pixel. That's much like the standard Google Photos backup ability, but takes off the size limit and compression, even on 4K video shot with the new phone.

- Connectivity and communications. Pixel users will be getting the latest Android updates directly from Google as soon as they become available. This is one of the biggest pain points with Android, and Google is stressing its lead in this category. The company has also paid close attention to the Pixel's endurance on the move, adding fast charging that gets you up to 7 hours of power in 15 minutes of charging. Google has also built in 24-hour live phone support right into the Pixel's software, so that a tech support operator can see exactly what's on your screen and thus help you better. And yes, the Pixel comes with Google Duo preinstalled, if you've been hankering for the company's video chat app.

- Made for mobile virtual reality. The Pixel is the first Daydream-compatible phone and Google today also announced the $79 Daydream View headset to accommodate the Pixel for VR use. The Daydream View comes bundled with a tiny motion controller that is so precise, claims Google, that you can even draw with it. When you're done using it, the controller tucks inside the Daydream View itself for safe storage.

On the hardware front, the Pixel phones are both made out of aluminum with a big glass window at the back, surrounding the camera, flash, and the fingerprint sensor (now dubbed Pixel Imprint). The Pixel XL has a 3,450mAh battery and the Pixel has a 2,770mAh battery. Both displays are AMOLED, both devices have 4GB of RAM, USB-C, a choice of 32GB or 128GB of storage, Bluetooth 4.2, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Yes, Google felt the need to advertise that last one. Google is also bringing back the Live Cases it introduced with last year's Nexus devices.

Pricing starts at $649 for the smaller 5-inch Pixel with 32GB of storage, available for preorder today. That number scales up to $749 with 128GB of onboard storage, $769 for the larger Pixel XL with 32GB, or $869 for the XL with 128GB. Google gives a choice between black or silver for color, with an exclusive "really blue" option with Verizon in the US, though the latter is limited to just 32GB of storage.

The Pixel Phone Shows How Google is Becoming a bit more like Apple

For all its talk of making the world a better place, there is no place where the competitive ideals of American capitalism are more evident than in cut-throat Silicon Valley.

Almost every move by Apple, Google or Facebook is seen through the lens of offence or defence, either against each other or towards a nimbler startup trying to turn them into yesterday’s news.

But as well as competing directly, these clashes between titans have manifested themselves collaterally into a series of ideological arguments. Take the battle between privacy and progress: Apple, for example, has taken a strict line on using customers’ information, while others are more relaxed, partly because their use of data has allowed them to make great strides in areas such as artificial intelligence.

Another one of these religious splits has been in the idea of “open” against “closed” systems. The first is the idea that technology should be infinitely tweakable and free of bias. It is the libertarian foundation of the world wide web: democratic rather than dictatorial. Closed means that the technology is less flexible, that decisions are taken by those who know better, rather than letting the user run amok. It is authoritarian, if largely benevolent.

Those that worship at the altar of open include Wikipedia and Mozilla, which develops the Firefox web browser. At the other end of the spectrum are Nintendo, which has tightly controlled both its video game software and hardware, and Facebook, which rigorously controls how its users experience the social network.

But it is the two biggest tech companies that best represent this divide. In the open corner is Google, which was born on and is dependent on the web, and dreams of indexing the entire world’s information for everyone. On the closed side is Apple, which is obsessively devoted to simplicity and as a result shields its users from having too many choices.

Google’s Android mobile software, which runs on thousands of smartphones, is free and massively customisable. iOS, Apple’s operating system, runs on one mobile - the iPhone - and uniform across devices. One is open, one is closed, and that is how it has been since both existed.

Until last week, at least. For on Wednesday, Google took a leap into the unknown by unveiling its first phone. The Google Pixel is intended to be a direct competitor to the iPhone (as the frequency of Google’s potshots at Apple during its presentation showed). At its heart is the Google Assistant, an artificial intelligence designed to respond to millions of voice queries and demonstrate the power of the company’s smarts.

It is a rare foray into hardware for Google, which has traditionally left the job of making Android phones to other manufacturers such as Samsung, LG and HTC. This has served it fairly well, with Android accounting for four in five phones sold globally, so why do it, especially in 2016, as growth in smartphone sales peters out and innovation seemingly dries up?

Partially, at least, the answer lies in frustration at the state of the equipment manufacturers that Android relies on. HTC is in dire financial straits, and others such as Sony are losing market share. Samsung also appeared to be in trouble a year ago, and although has enjoyed a rebound in sales recently, Google had made the decision to sell its own handsets by then (now that the Korean group has been thrown into turmoil by defective handsets, the decision looks tremendously prescient).

The fastest growing phone makers are in China, where Android has no Google services due to the company’s blackout of the country.

Google has also been frustrated at the endless tampering with Android by manufacturers, who have often promoted their own apps and relegating Google’s. It is partly why the company requires that its search engine and web browser be installed on any Android phone that wants to use the Google Play app store, a directive that has landed it in hot water with EU competition regulators.

The new Google Assistant software that features in the Pixel is a crucial element of the company’s future: computing is moving away from the web searches that make the majority of the company’s money and towards artificial intelligence that can talk and answer questions, so naturally Google is desperate to control this new channel.

So ask yourself: if you were Google, and needed Assistant to be a success at this crucial juncture, would you leave it to unreliable third parties or take things into your own hands? Suddenly, being a little less open and (whisper it quietly), a little bit more like Apple, starts to look attractive. Control both the hardware and the software, and you can be sure that customers are getting what you intend them to.

Googl's ambitions go beyond the phone: the internet giant is also set to release the Google Home, a voice-controlled smart speaker that also puts the company’s AI at its heart. The two products will work together as well as with the Chromecast, its internet TV device. Gradually, it is building an “ecosystem” of products, seamlessly tied together with its software: another strategy that Apple’s iPhone, iPad and Mac have used to great effect.

While it will protest that it has not abandoned its open ideals, Google has taken a big leaf out of the Apple playbook.