Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL, at initial launch, were reported to only be available through Google and Verizon, with Verizon being the exclusive carrier partner. Heads were scratched, articles were written, and videos went up on YouTube regarding Google’s confusing marketing with the Pixel, saying that it is “only on Verizon”, despite the unlocked model from Google being not only perfectly usable on all of the major US carriers, but available with financing through certain channels, which is one of the big draws of buying a phone from a carrier. A single Tweet from John Legere, however, is enough to shake that perception and instill doubt that the Pixel family could remain Verizon exclusive for any significant length of time.
In the bombastic fashion typical of T-Mobile’s outspoken CEO, John Legere took to Twitter to show off a Google Pixel unit that had been sent to him as a present from Google, complete with a note saying that the sender wanted him to be one of the first to own one. The signer, “Brennan”, also expresses that the Pixel is meant to be “simple and easy”, and John Legere apparently loves it. In the Tweet, he bragged that the phone works wonderfully on T-Mobile’s network, and that he loves it. The kicker with the Tweet, however, was a cryptic line from Legere saying that he had “BIG news” regarding the Pixel and T-Mobile.
When a wireless carrier CEO says that they have “BIG” news about a device that was thought to be exclusive to another carrier, it could mean a number of things, but the first thing on everybody’s mind who saw the Tweet was probably that Verizon’s stranglehold on the market segment crossover between those who want a Pixel and those who can only buy from their carrier due to credit or short-term financial issues was about to be put to an end. While there is no proof that this is the case, it is a distinct possibility; after all, while Verizon may have exclusivity to stock and sell the device, T-Mobile could simply ‘handle the device financing’ and ‘act as a middleman’ for their customers who want a Pixel. We’ll just have to wait until tomorrow to see what he has to say.