Has Google lost its way with Pixel?
One thing I’ve always loved about Google’s Pixel smartphones is the fact the standard and XL/Pro models would all receive the same software features, which they received for many years. Other manufacturers like Samsung and Apple would not add features to their Galaxy’s and iPhone’s from previous years and if you wanted them well you’d have to stump up the cash for a new purchase.
However this year with the Pixel 8 series Google has started to deviate from its usual methodology by providing its larger phones with features not available to the standard model. This started with Video Boost, which essentially records a Log video (that you can’t edit yourself) and is sent to “the cloud” to be processed on Google’s servers. In return you get a somewhat colour graded video that tends to look better than a standard recording. There’s no reason this couldn’t be on the Pixel 8 but Google decided that it would keep it for the Pro only. This is also the same for Pro camera controls, even if they’re not really that pro.
We had news as well this week that Google’s Gemini Nano AI features would not be available to Pixel 8 users due to “hardware limitations”. That would be reserved for the Pixel 8 Pro. We discussed this on our podcast “Bunch of Phoneys” as to whether this was simply down to the amount of RAM with it having only 8GB as opposed to the 12GB of the 8 Pro. However the Samsung Galaxy S24 with 8GB RAM will be getting Gemini Nano support so maybe it’s partly SoC related as well and Tensor G3 just isn’t quite up to scratch? It doesn’t make much sense, especially since the whole point of Tensor according to Google was to be able to better provide these AI features. Something just feels off. Could this be a case of segregating even more features for the Pro model? Why would Google lie if this was the case? Either way people aren’t happy and it’s damaging the solid brand image it built over the last few years.
Back when the Pixel 4 XL released there was very little difference between it and the regular model besides the size, battery and screen resolution. We had the same cameras and always received the exact same software. Since the Pixel 6 and the move to their own semi-custom SoC ‘Tensor’, Google started to approach things a little differently. It continued with the A series phones but with being released six months after the main pairing it would end up that you could get a Pixel 6 for the same price as the 6a. This also happened with the 7 series and is set to happen with the 8 series as well.
It feels to me like Google has lost its way with Pixel a little and is at risk of undoing the good work it had done the last few years. In my opinion it needs to go back to how they did things with the Pixel 4 series. Make the A series make sense as a purchase and have two phones that are both “pro” a bit like how iPhone does it. That way people know what they’re buying and there won’t be confusion over which phone is getting which features. With rumours that the Pixel 9 will have a periscope lens in the standard model as pictured above, it’s possible Google is already planning to course correct.
