KPH tech blog

Supposedly wiping away any memory of the Nexus line of devices, Google has released the new Pixel and Pixel XL phones, and as I did with the release of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, here are my thoughts on the Pixel and Pixel XL:

While it’s great to see an Android phone on the market with Google’s logo on it, we mustn’t forget the contribution of HTC who manufactured the phones, and that these two phones are supposed to be premium devices to rival Apple’s lineup.

In fact, Android Authority have just gone to press with a report that suggests HTC’s involvement with the production of the phones is hidden in the code for the Pixel XL.

The article, published online yesterday by Android Authority reporter Edgar Cervantes, claims that although HTC is the original design manufacturer, the ‘Made my Google’ statement on the back of the two devices (a certain nod to the ‘Designed by Apple in California’ statement on iPhones) is Google’s rather adamant way of saying the whole design and manufacturing process was done in-house by them.

It’s also believed that HTC had more of an involvement with the development of the Pixel phone software than many initially thought, as it’s usually Google who deal with phone software when phones run on Android. In the article, it seems Google have been removing elements within lines of code which HTC may have created, such as the ‘htc_cerberus’ element seen below which, according to Jon Sawyer, is a “standard HTC bootchain with some hardening/changes.”

The purpose of this seems to be to have a true Google phone, rather than a Google phone made by a contractor – in this case, HTC. This was a trait that was true of all Nexus phones, including the ‘LG’ Nexus 5X and ‘Huawei’ Nexus 6P.

For those who don’t really know why this is a big deal for Google, a ‘HTC’ Pixel would almost be like Apple releasing a ‘Foxconn’ iPhone – it would still be a phone ‘Designed’ by Apple in California and made and manufactured by Foxconn, but Foxconn would get the credit where credit’s due. You wouldn’t be buying an ‘Apple’ iPhone 7, you’d be buying a ‘Foxconn’ iPhone 7. That’s why the new Pixel phones only have the Google ‘G’ on the back of them, with no signs of any HTC branding on the outside – and Google wants to keep it that way.

In the same article by Cervantes, Google’s chief of Hardware Vision, Rick Osterloh, is quoted as saying to Bloomberg of the Pixel, “It’s ours,” and that Google will “never say the Pixel is co-engineered with anyone else.”

What this means is that, far from wiping away the vision of all the previous Google Nexus devices before it, the image that Google is presenting is merely a marketing illusion, and I suppose the issue I then have, with the new Pixel phones, is the price point and just who Google are aiming their new phones at with the new premium prices.

I got to hold the Pixel myself:

To investigate for myself, I was lucky to have the chance to see and hold a black/grey version of Pixel the other day when popping into my local EE retail store while in town – a chalk board in their doorway had claimed ‘Google Pixel here today’, and for a tech geek like myself, it was too good an opportunity to miss.

Ignoring my prior knowledge about the Pixel, I knew just from holding it that it was a HTC-made device – the chamfered edge design and overall build quality looked and felt much the same as the HTC 10. It retained a premium feel, while also being small enough to perform various on-screen tasks without needing to perform any ‘finger gymnastics’ needed on many of today’s bigger phones.

Also, the new Android 7 Nougat Launcher seemed brilliant. It was simple and easy to use, and didn’t require much fiddling around to get things done. That’s probably the point of the Pixel – because of who it’s aimed at. Let me explain…

Who are Google aiming at with the Pixel and Pixel XL, and is Pixel just a rebrand of the Nexus phone moniker?

Samsung have long poised themselves as Apple’s biggest rival, both in terms of phone specs and operating system. But they’ve never really credited Android at any of their product launches, which seems ironic given that all their Galaxy S phones have run on the Android OS.

Also ironic on Samsung’s part is the death of both the Galaxy Note 7 as well as the Galaxy Note branding. With the iPhone 7 Plus being Apple’s offering in the phablet world, the Pixel XL really has only one main competitor – and, seemingly not dissuaded by Samsung’s size or dominance of the Android scene, Google has finally joined the manufacturer party. Sort of.

Although Huawei were the first company lined up to manufacture the new Google phones, it’s been suggested that they weren’t happy about the new phones being branded with Google’s logo and slogan and not Huawei’s – the Pixel and Pixel XL sport only the Google ‘G’ with no physical signs of any HTC branding, save from possibly the battery. Huawei, being a company that needs exposure as they break into the markets of the western world, thought this would have a negative impact on their sales. For instance, who would know that the new devices were made by Huawei, apart from those ‘in the know’ such as the media?

Also, in terms of Android history, the fact that HTC are manufacturing the new Pixels isn’t necessarily a bad thing – remember, HTC made the very first Nexus device, seen below (in the original tweet by Evan Blass) in a side-by-side view with the new HTC/Google Pixel.

With the Pixel and Pixel XL, we’re basically getting two new Nexus devices that can step up Google’s game and rival Apple themselves rather than through a contractor and without the Nexus moniker.

All the Nexus phones were, and still are, on the friendlier side of cost compared to Apple’s device lineup. The LG Nexus 5X, for example, is currently retailing here in the UK at £329.99 at Carphone Warehouse, whereas the Pixel and Pixel XL are currently listed with the premium prices of £599 for the Pixel, and £719 for the Pixel XL. That’s a rather steep starting price for a phone that many consider as simply a rebranded Nexus phone.

The Premium Pixel Price Tag – what were Google thinking?

It’s also been said that the Pixel and Pixel XL aren’t as developer friendly as the Nexus devices. That’s almost a kick in the groin for those that have dedicated a lot of time and effort towards making the Nexus phones as good as they can be.

It doesn’t take a genius to work out that Google is targeting Android converts with the Pixel and Pixel XL – you know, those people who have had iPhones or Windows Phones or Blackberry’s in the past or have been, up until now, loyal to those brands. Google are now also targeting those that are upset that the new iPhone doesn’t have a headphone port, as guess what – the Pixels do!

It also doesn’t take a genius to realise the limited customisation is aimed at those who want to simply get things done, rather than fiddle about and make the phone personal to them. This is in direct contrast to the whole point of Android – being able to adjust icon sizes and location as well as custom themes and designs.

Android Authority reporter Jayce went into detail about the difference between phone geeks and phone civilians in a YouTube video (see below), and I think the argument very much applies here. He likened the Android vs iOS debate to scissors and knives: a knife geek will have some super-duper knife that he/she uses to open letters, whereas we, the general public, use scissors. We are knife civilians.

Basically, phone civilians just want to get things done, but phone geeks don’t mind spending time setting things up according to how they want things to go – whether that’s the organisation of icons on the screen, or no icons at all on the home screen apart from the app drawer. That’s sort of the idea about who iOS is targeted at, and who Android is targeted at – phone civilians and phone geeks respectively, although you’ll often also find civilians using Android phones and geeks jailbreaking iPhones.

That’s how Google is marketing the new Pixel phones – aimed at phone civilians, but with the usual Android customisation to keep phone geeks happy. To that effect, it’s nice to see there’s still an app drawer on the Pixels, accessible by swiping up from the bottom of the screen, but almost all of the nuances of Android evolution are less visible on the Pixel to the eyes of an Android convert than to the eyes of an Android veteran.

Maybe that’s the point. Maybe Google are trying to be a bit more like Apple, not just in hardware design but also in software. No, it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever to the average Android veteran, but I don’t think it’s supposed to. I think now, instead of trying to be very different and innovative, it’s all about trying to be the same.

To be honest, when I first got an Android device (my HTC Wildfire with Android Gingerbread), I already had my 4th Gen iPod Touch with iOS 5, and felt that Android needed to play catch-up to iOS in some aspects. Recently, however, I’ve felt the opposite was true, that Android has improved so much that it was now Apple who needed to play catch-up.

But with the new Pixel phones, it seems Google is finally at the point of nearly being the same but different, rather than being completely different and versatile, with the added benefits that owning an Android phone has to offer. At least that last factor remains.

Chris K.