Earlier this week, Google took the wraps off of their new smartphones, and it shouldn’t surprise most people that they weren’t carrying the Nexus name. Instead, Google is using their own brand, Pixel, to bring these two new smartphones to market. While HTC is manufacturing these devices, Google is calling all of the shots here, and “Made by Google” is the message the Internet giant is trying to get across when marketing these. Given their impressive specs, both the Pixel and Pixel XL are great smartphones, and given that they only come in 32GB or 128GB storage options, many will be opting for the former. With no microSD card slot, a lot of users will be wondering how much storage space these devices come with out of the box.
Devices from names like LG and Samsung have often come under fire for not launching with enough free space for users to work with, despite shipping with an advertised amount of space such as 64GB, for instance. This is often because LG, Samsung – as well as other manufacturers – pack in lots of extra features, software and promotional demos and apps in order to help set themselves apart from the rest of the competition. On a device that is essentially running stock Android – save for a few additions like the Pixel Launcher – we’d expect such a device to ship with a lot more free space, right? Well, Android Central took a look at things and discovered that out of the box a 32GB Pixel has 24.3GB of free space, but installed apps take up 1.22GB, bringing the total down to a little over 23GB.
While this won’t be what people were expecting, it’s certainly not out of the ordinary for Android – or smartphones in general, as devices often ship with less space than advertised due to formatting and other included apps as well as the base Android software. With a price tag starting at $649, it’s likely many will be put off by how much extra they need to pay to get their hands on the more roomy 128GB models, but the new financing option from the Google Store might help change some people’s minds out there.