Google had introduced their new smartphones yesterday, the Google Pixel and Pixel XL. As you can see, the Nexus line is gone, Google had introduced their new phones under a new name. In any case, we have a ton of coverage on these two devices on the site already, and new info just keeps on coming it seems, so let’s get to it. As most of you know, the two Pixel smartphones will ship with Android 7.1 Nougat out of the box, which is the latest version of Google’s operating system, and these two phones will be the first to ship with it. Now, as part of this OS, you’ll get Google’s Pixel Launcher which had leaked a few weeks back, and a ton of more features, read on.
Some parts of Android 7.1 Nougat’s software are Pixel-exclusive, and some are not. Well, a full changelog has surfaced, so that we can see what’s going on. We’re looking at a huge changelog here, which was to be expected, in case you’d like to take a look at the whole thing, take a look at the gallery down below. Now, let’s take a look at some key differences here, shall we? These are the main features that will remain exclusive to Pixel devices: Pixel Launcher, Google Assistant, solid navbar icons, unlimited original quality Google Photos backup, EIS 2.0, blue SystemUI theming, wallpaper picker and a dynamic calendar date icon. That being said, you’ll be able to get most of these features elsewhere by manually installing APKs and flashing some content, though you’ll need root for the latter. Now, all devices that receive Android 7.1 Nougat will get tons of features, including a Daydream VR mode, Night Light (which is essentially a blue light filter, should make you sleep better after tinkering with your device before bedtime), fingerprint swipe down gesture, performance improvements to touch and display, and so on.
As already mentioned, Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL devices are the first to ship with Android 7.1 Nougat, though other manufacturers will get on board soon as well. These two phones are both fueled by the Snapdragon 821 SoC, and ship with 4GB RAM. The 12.3-megapixel shooter is placed on the back of each of these devices. And they both come with fast charging as well. The smaller handset, the Google Pixel, sports a 5-inch fullHD display, while the Pixel XL comes with a 5.5-inch QHD panel.
