Tomorrow, Google is expected to come back to hardware with the Google Pixel 2 and its big brother the 2 XL, among other tech toys. The original Pixel was Google’s attempt to show off Android, and it was fairly popular in its own right as a phone. But can the Pixel 2 stand up to the hottest phone on the market?
Rumors point, honestly, to a high-end but not exactly thrilling phone, right down to the color names. Supposedly the Pixel 2 will come in “kinda blue,” “just black,” and “white.” Really, those are what the rumor mill insists are the names.
The Pixel 2 — starting at $650 with the XL starting at $850 — seems more equivalent to the iPhone 8 than the iPhone X. Apparently the solid but uninspiring shell of the phone will be the same. There’s no fancy wraparound screen, although the Pixel will supposedly include a “squeeze” function that opens an app just by gripping the sides of your phone.
The Pixel 2 XL will also reportedly have a bigger screen, although both phones are apparently leaning on software for their cameras instead of upgrading to a dual-lens system. That might hurt Google if Apple’s bid for AR to be the next big thing takes off.
And, sadly, rumor has it there’s no headphone jack. Come on, Google, throw us a bone.
To be fair, when it comes to Android, the exotic and weird phones are more the bailiwick of third parties. Samsung’s Note 8, LG’s higher-end phones, and others more than ably fill the “luxury” end of the market, and it’d be hard to shove them off their perch even with Google’s muscle behind it. Google is mostly interested in having a phone that shows off the “stock” version of Android to the fullest, and as it just bought HTC’s smartphone apparatus, it’s likely more interested in filling the gap for a year before getting flashier with the Pixel 3. That said, that might be too late, as anticipation of the iPhone X is rising rapidly ahead of its arrival to doorsteps and Apple “town squares” in November. Our prediction: Unless the iPhone X is a glitchy disaster, the Pixel 2 will struggle to keep up.
(via The Verge)