2016 saw Google finally enter the smartphone space with its own devices. Even though the Pixel and the Pixel XL were churned out of HTC factories, they were conceptualized and designed by Google and the company controls everything about them. That is not about to change but since there is always room for improvement, even for devices as nearly perfect as the Pixel smartphones, Google is looking to make some changes.
One of the major gripes most of us have had with the Pixel smartphones from Google is the pricing.
The Pixel and Pixel XL are not your average high-end smartphones. The were the first smartphones in the world to arrive running the newest version of Android Nougat, 7.1.1, the first smartphones in the world to incorporate Google Assistant and they relied on Google’s algorithms to fine tune images and end up with stunning results, effectively placing them at par or ahead of the competition which includes stellar devices from the likes of Samsung (Galaxy S7/S7 Edge) and Apple (iPhone 7/7 Plus).
As per a report from Google news focused site 9to5Google, Google is keen on improving the Pixel’s low light photography smarts while not caring so much about adding more pixels to the camera.
And waterproofing? Apparently Google may be having that on the cards as well, just don’t count on it since it may or may not make it to the final release of the successor to the current Pixel lineup.
What’s interesting is news that Google has been testing several iterations of a device internally only identified as Pixel 2B which is thought to be a lower specced, lowly priced version of the high-end Pixel.
Since details of the cheaper Pixel are hazy at the moment, we can count on hearing more about it as the year progresses. Maybe we might be lucky and get a glimpse as the Google I/O 2017 news circus gains momentum.
