Once I wrote our preliminary evaluate of the Google Pixel 9 final yr, I lamented the truth that Google stripped Pixels of the distinctive designs of the previous three years and changed them with a principally generic iPhone clone.
Now that I take a look at the Pixel 10, issues are even worse. With a full lack of a bodily SIM tray and the brand new revelation that Google can be throttling Pixel battery life and charging even tougher than Apple has with iPhones, I am nervous about the place the model is headed.
That is very true in a yr when Apple is allegedly altering up its iPhone design to incorporate a really Pixel-like digital camera bar on the again. It should be tougher than ever to differentiate the 2 if that occurs.
Which brings me to my level: if you got the selection between a model identify and a brand-name knockoff for a similar worth, would not you simply select the model identify? It is the idea I’ve struggled with for years as Android telephones proceed to look increasingly like iPhones, each on the {hardware} and software program fronts, but it surely’s one thing that Google seems to be totally embracing with the discharge of the Pixel 10 household.
What you see is what you get
My colleagues inform me the reality of the matter is the precise reverse of the best way I am pondering. Attracting prospects to change away from an iPhone to a Pixel requires a telephone that appears and feels acquainted sufficient to maintain them snug, all whereas getting them used to one thing new and completely different on the identical time.
It is a tactic I do not totally perceive, however then once more, perhaps I haven’t got to. In spite of everything, the fantastic thing about Android is that we will all be collectively and nonetheless be completely different whereas largely having fun with the identical issues.
Folks purchase merchandise for lots of causes, however there’s at all times been a major quantity of people that select one thing as a result of it is what everybody else makes use of. Numbers cannot be unsuitable, proper? That is a part of what makes iPhones a standing image, particularly within the U.S., the place competitors within the smartphone business is downright horrible.
Couple that with the deep lock Apple has on the messaging mindshare on this nation and the truth that folks typically don’t love change, and it is fairly straightforward to see why so many have caught with Apple for therefore lengthy.
However Google straight addressed each of those points in its Pixel 10 unveiling, and it is clear the corporate needs to deal with these points head-on. Not solely that, however Google confirmed how a lot better its telephones are than iPhones at many issues. From name translation to Gemini-powered textual content messaging, Pixels beat the pants off of something Siri or Apple Intelligence is making an attempt to do.
Plus, the corporate is leveraging Gemini in distinctive methods with new options like Digicam Coach, which helps the normies take higher pictures by giving them an AI coach.
Oh, and remember that the Jonas Brothers recorded an entire dang music video utilizing the Pixel 10, an necessary distinction from Apple or Samsung, who pulled movie administrators on stage and claimed their telephones are ok to make your movies appear to be Hollywood films. Too unhealthy you continue to want $30,000 price of lighting and different tools to attain that, particularly with smartphone digital camera sensors.
It drives me completely loopy that Google would ever want to make use of celebrities to persuade folks to purchase their merchandise, however they would not be the primary (nor the final) to make use of such ways. Folks must be sensible sufficient to make an knowledgeable choice on their very own, however historical past has proven that is not at all times the case. It is human nature to wish to comply with the gang. Would possibly as nicely embrace that and play to its strengths.
It is Pixel vs. iPhone
If nothing, Google is uniquely courting iPhone customers. It is not making an attempt to attraction to energy customers; it is making an attempt to be the glamorous telephone you are excited to see on the most recent season of your favourite present. Regardless of how exhausting Samsung or Motorola strive, they’re going to by no means be the iPhone of Android. It is simply not occurring. Which means it is as much as Google to do the job, notably since they’re the corporate that builds the working system, anyway.
Some folks simply need the simplicity of shopping for an iPhone, as a result of all it’s important to do is stroll right into a retailer, say “iPhone,” and the clerk fingers you a working smartphone that’ll most likely do the whole lot you want. That is what Google is aiming for, and it is clearly working primarily based on the huge development the corporate has seen within the final yr alone.
If Google’s star-studded presentation for the Pixel 10 tells me something, it is that courting the popular culture crowd who’re simply influenced by superstar opinions is a profitable components. Google needs Pixel to be a standing image, not simply one other Android model, and to do this, it’s important to make some bizarre choices. Individuals who benefit from the customizable energy of a Samsung telephone merely won’t get pleasure from a Pixel, however once more, as a result of that is Android, that is not really an issue. We will have our cake and eat it too.
For the Professionals
The Pixel 10 Professional represents the easiest Google has to supply, due to its superior digital camera options powered by the Tensor G5, new AI capabilities, and a brand new Pixelsnap magnetic charging system.
