Once I wrote our preliminary evaluation 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 largely generic iPhone clone.
Now that I have 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 frightened 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 digicam bar on the again. It may be tougher than ever to tell apart 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 more like iPhones, each on the {hardware} and software program fronts, however it’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 way in which I am pondering. Attracting clients to change away from an iPhone to a Pixel requires a telephone that appears and feels acquainted sufficient to maintain them comfy, all whereas getting them used to one thing new and totally 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 great thing about Android is that we are able to all be collectively and nonetheless be totally different whereas largely having fun with the identical issues.
Individuals purchase merchandise for lots of causes, however there’s all the time been a big quantity of people that select one thing as a result of it is what everybody else makes use of. Numbers cannot be improper, 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 individuals usually don’t love change, and it is fairly straightforward to see why so many have caught with Apple for thus lengthy.
However Google instantly addressed each of those points in its Pixel 10 unveiling, and it is clear the corporate needs to sort out these points head-on. Not solely that, however Google confirmed how significantly 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 images by giving them an AI coach.
Oh, and do not forget that the Jonas Brothers recorded an entire dang music video utilizing the Pixel 10, an essential distinction from Apple or Samsung, who pulled movie administrators on stage and claimed their telephones are adequate to make your movies appear to be Hollywood motion pictures. Too dangerous you continue to want $30,000 value of lighting and different gear to attain that, particularly with smartphone digicam sensors.
It drives me completely loopy that Google would ever want to make use of celebrities to persuade individuals to purchase their merchandise, however they would not be the primary (nor the final) to make use of such techniques. Individuals needs to be sensible sufficient to make an knowledgeable choice on their very own, however historical past has proven that is not all the time the case. It is human nature to need to comply with the gang. May as effectively embrace that and play to its strengths.
It is Pixel vs. iPhone
If nothing, Google is uniquely courting iPhone customers. It isn’t 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 newest season of your favourite present. Regardless of how arduous Samsung or Motorola strive, they will by no means be the iPhone of Android. It is simply not taking place. Which means it is as much as Google to do the job, significantly since they’re the corporate that builds the working system, anyway.
Some individuals 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 every little thing you want. That is what Google is aiming for, and it is clearly working based mostly on the large progress 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 celeb opinions is a profitable method. 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 selections. 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 truly an issue. We will have our cake and eat it too.
For the Execs
The Pixel 10 Professional represents the perfect Google has to supply, because of its superior digicam options powered by the Tensor G5, new AI capabilities, and a brand new Pixelsnap magnetic charging system.
