While the Fall is traditionally a time that we see Google announce a new Nexus smartphone, or a pair of Nexus devices as has been the case with last year’s Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P, this year appears to be much different. Instead of launching their stock Android flagships under the Nexus branding, this year appears to be the year of the Pixel. Specifically, the Pixel and Pixel XL, both devices that share common DNA and look very similar, but are designed for slightly different customers, with the former potentially offering Android fans some salvation from the ever-growing footprint of smartphones. Even the Pixel XL at 5.5-inches isn’t too big, but back to the Pixel and its 5.0-inch display.
The Pixel, as we covered earlier, is the smaller vision that Google has for the perfect Android smartphone. Its packed with the same Snapdragon 821 quad-core CPU that the larger Pixel XL is packing, as well as the same 4GB of RAM. Elsewhere, there’s a rear-facing 12.3-megapixel camera, which Google is very proud of, as well a front-facing 8-megapixel camera, both of which Google has taken their time to make sure they offer the best picture taking quality they can do. The Google Pixel is to be priced at $649, while the Pixel XL will be priced higher, which people interested in can take a look at here. While the $649 price tag might seem pretty steep, it’s important to remember that Google is including 32GB of storage as standard here, and despite the 5.0-inch Full HD display, Google is still including all the same internals as the larger phone here, too. These devices aren’t simple Nexus options, either, and they’re not rebranded phones from other manufacturers. Instead they are the exact vision of what Google thinks a smartphone should be and how they should act, which makes these excellent offerings the majority of people looking for a clean and simple experience.
The Pixel and Pixel XL will be available to pre-order today in the United States, as well as the UK, Canada, Australia and Germany. India will get the chance to pre-order these latest and greatest phones from Google from October 13th. That $649 price tag is of course the starting price for the Pixel, but depending on where you are in the world it’ll be priced differently, of course. In the United States, the Pixel and Pixel XL will also be available from Verizon as well as unlocked from Google and available to use on Project Fi, too.