Nexus is dead, and Pixel is here to replace it. It's the biggest shift in Google'due south homegrown smartphone strategy since the beginning Nexus launch in 2022. Google executives have assured this will be one to remember, and the visitor has begun an advertising campaign bigger than annihilation they've done previously for a hardware product. So what's the big deal?

Pixel is the first time Google is challenging the smartphone market with a product of their own. The Nexus line was always positioned as a niche / cost-conscious alternative for developers and enthusiasts, designed to show off the latest features of Android; Pixel, on the other hand, is a full blown consumer product with unique features and a top-terminate toll tag to match. Google wants Pixel to compete with the Apple iPhones and Samsung Galaxies of the earth, and they believe this is the hardware and software to exercise so.

The Pixel is bachelor in two sizes: the v.0-inch Pixel, and the five.5-inch Pixel XL. In that location are slight differences in screen resolution and battery chapters between them, just the majority of the internal hardware is the same: Snapdragon 821 SoC, 4GB of RAM, a 12.three-megapixel rear camera, and either 32 or 128 GB of storage.

There are some significant differences to notation hither betwixt the new Pixel and the erstwhile Nexus phones.

The most axiomatic, yous'll take to pay a premium price to get the Pixel ($649) or Pixel XL ($769), which is in stark contrast to Nexus products that launched at more attractive prices. Gone are the days of a $379 Nexus 5X or a $499 Nexus 6P.

Second, the Pixel comes with software features that are unique. Nexus devices simply packed stock Android -- which was oft seen every bit a big positive -- but Google wants the Pixel to stand out, and then they've included sectional functionality like Google Assistant. Pixel phones as well run Android seven.i, which is a version of Android so new that Google hasn't pushed it to Nexus devices just yet.

Google wants Pixel to compete with the Apple iPhones and Samsung Galaxies of the world, and they believe this is the hardware and software to do and so.

Google sent a Pixel Twoscore for us to review ahead of its launch on October xx, and so my thoughts are based purely on the larger version of the telephone. The Pixel is by and large the same phone, however I hope to have some thoughts on its performance and bombardment life in the coming weeks.

While Google doesn't explicitly annunciate it, it'southward mutual cognition that this phone was designed and manufactured in conjunction with HTC. I've long been a fan of HTC's all-metal designs, and forth with Samsung and Apple tree I believe they tin produce beautiful smartphones. The Pixel, all the same, doesn't live upward to the standards I know HTC is capable of.

When I offset saw leaked images of the Pixel and Pixel XL, I thought the phones looked pretty slow. However this didn't concern me considering I had a similar experience with the Nexus 6P: the telephone looked ugly in photos and renders, merely was much nicer in the flesh. Unfortunately, I tin't say the aforementioned for the Pixel Forty.

Google has opted for a metal unibody like to HTC flagships, notwithstanding they've ruined it with a massive glass department that houses the camera and fingerprint sensor. Certain, the phone stands out from a crowd of metal-backed competitors – and Google wants the Pixel to stand up out – but the glass expanse looks and feels ugly.

The design of the Pixel is just a little… weird.

On my "Very Silver" model, the best mode to describe the glass area is this: information technology looks like someone has painted over the aluminium back with cheap white pigment. Of course the glass section doesn't quite accept the same properties as pigment, every bit it reflects lite and has a distinctly sleeky texture, but the visual impact is similar.

The glass panel is a especially odd choice because the aluminium unibody looks cute in other areas. Towards the base of operations of the phone, the sleek body dominates, and even though in that location's a thick antenna line through the chassis, the minimalist blueprint with well-crafted curves looks cracking. The edges, all four of which are part of the metal unibody, are comfortable and easy to grip.

Expect closely and you lot might notice the Pixel Forty is a slight wedge, with thickness ranging from 7mm at the base, to 9mm at the top. The telephone isn't particularly slim or calorie-free, however I don't mind this when the build is solid and a large battery is included.

Looking at the Pixel XL's front panel, I like the use of "two.5D" Gorilla Glass 4, however the bezels effectually the brandish are massive. The Pixel Twoscore is most the aforementioned size as the iPhone 7 Plus, which is known for its ludicrous bezels, while the explosive Milky way Note 7 crammed in a larger display into a smaller trunk.

The nearly notorious issue with the bezels is the chin beneath the brandish. This big expanse would be somewhat acceptable had Google opted for capacitive navigation buttons rather than their on-screen equivalents, or if the fingerprint sensor was on the front, only instead information technology's just a bare slab of glass. Both Pixel phones would await significantly improve had HTC shrunk the bezels on all four sides, and the Pixel XL in particular would be easier to concur and operate with smaller size bezels.

The infinite above the display doesn't look great either. The sensor assortment is quite obvious on the white model, while lacking a notification LED, which is 1 of my favorite features of Android devices.

The Pixel XL features a decent selection of ports: USB three.0 Blazon-C on the bottom for fast charging and fast data transfers (USB 3.0 is reasonably unique on phones); and a iii.5mm audio jack on the top. Guess what? Yous tin accuse the Pixel and listen to audio at the same time. The left side likewise features a modest nano-SIM card tray, though in that location's no microSD carte du jour slot.

The clicky however shallow ability and volume buttons are found in a comfy position on the correct-mitt edge. Forth the bottom you'll also find two speaker grilles, although only the left is actually used for a speaker. This lesser firing speaker is loud and of acceptable quality, though with so much bezel space on the front I'd have preferred to run across front end-facing stereo speakers.

Information technology'south as well of import to notation that the Pixel and Pixel XL are non water resistant, which is a present feature on both the Galaxy S7 and iPhone 7 lines. Would I have liked to see h2o resistance? Sure. Is it a killer characteristic that should exist required on all smartphones? No. Unless you're planning to take underwater photos or similar using a phone in the shower, y'all probably wouldn't utilise the water resistance features even if you had it.