Google is taking on Apple, Samsung with new ‘premium phone’ with virtual PA, unlimited storage

You can tell this is a premium phone in one key way — it costs exactly the same as an iPhone.

With the Pixel and Pixel XL phones, Google says it has made the “big shift” in being a company who makes an operating software for other companies to someone who delivers the whole package.

And the package has some attractive features. This is the first smartphone to Google Assistant built in, with the digital assistant able to do everything from using monument recognition to find that photo you took standing in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge to taking you straight to Kim Kardashian’s Instagram account.

The two biggest complaints with smartphones is that they fill up with all the pictures and videos we now obsessively take and the batteries die way too quickly.

Google’s solution to those issues is to let you store all of your photos and videos in full resolution in the Google cloud for free and a fast charging feature that gives you an extra 7 hours of life with just 15 minutes of charging.

Google has even found a solution to avoid the bulging lens camera on the back of the iPhone. The Pixel has a slight angle on the back, being slightly thicker at the top than the bottom, which means the lens does not extrude further than the case.

And for those bemoaning Apple’s decision to dump the headphone jack, the Pixel phones still have that reassuring port for those who refuse to go wireless.

Unlike Apple, Google sees the smartphone as the way to take virtual reality to the masses and the new Daydream View VR headset will let you use your Pixel smartphone to play VR games and apps or watch movies.
 

As for how it compares with the Samsung Note 7, the most important feature for consumers is that the Google phones don’t come with the stigma Samsung is facing in the wake of the exploding battery recall fiasco.

In a move to make it easy to switch camps, Google is putting in the box a dongle that plugs into the Pixel phone and lets you plug a cord at the other end to your Android or iPhone so you can transfer your photos, messages and contacts.

Where the Pixel phones fall short in comparison to the iPhone and Samsung’s Note 7 is a few key ways.

Unlike the Samsung and Apple devices, the Pixel phones have no water resistant rating. Also, they don’t have image stabilisation for still photography (just for video) and while all three phones have a 12 megapixel camera, the Apple iPhone 7 Plus has a dual lens.

Yes, the Pixel phone comes in two colours of Very Silver or Quite Black (and Really Blue if you live in the United States), but the design has a glass panel on the back top third of the phone which would seem to be a vulnerable area when dropped.

Jackdaw Research chief analyst Jan Dawson said the problem with the Pixel phones is that they do not offer anything really unique.

Google is taking on Samsung and Apple with two new phones. It’s timing is brilliant but, as a hardware maker, it still has a way to go.