Here are Google's first smartphones - The Pixel and Pixel XL

By Abhinav Pathak on Oct 04, 2016 04:21 PM Email @exolete

Yes, I know we have already had the Nexus devices earlier which ran pure stock Android, but those were co-branded with other manufacturers. The Pixel and Pixel XL are Google Phones, built spec by spec based on the company's inputs and have some unique features to distinguish them from the horde of other Android smartphones.

Google Pixel and Pixel XL

Both the smartphones run on Android 7.1 Nougat with Snapdragon 821 and 4GB LPDDR4 memory. The major difference between the two is display and battery size. The Pixel has a 5-inch 1080p AMOLED display while the Pixel XL has a 5.5-inch Quad-HD AMOLED panel protected by Gorilla Glass 4. Both have a metal body and a fingerprint sensor at the back. Another change from previous Nexus devices is the lack of any manufacturer branding, which in this case is HTC. Instead you see Google's 'G' logo on the back again firmly affirming this is a Google phone and yes, that chin is there to stay.

You get a 12.3MP f/2.0 aperture rear camera with Sony sensor here which is capable of recording 4K videos and an 8MP front-facing camera for selfies. There's HDR+ which improves exposure control with zero shutter lag. The camera app has also been improved which the company says is now faster than any smartphone camera app. There's video stabilization as well. The company is also bundling free Google Photos unlimited with the Pixel smartphones which lets you upload full resolution photos to the cloud. You also get NFC support here to mobile payments using the fingerprint sensor.

As I said before, both phones also differ in terms of battery capacity, where you have a 2770 mAh battery on the Pixel and 3450 mAh on the Pixel XL. Both support fast charging over the USB Type-C port on the smartphones which gets you 7 hours of usage with just a 15 minute charge. You do get a 3.5mm audio jack, incase you were wondering. Unlike it was previously reported, Pixel smartphones don't come with expandable storage.

On the software front you see the new Pixel launcher with round icons, and the swipe to open app drawer. Google Assistant is also just a long tap away of the home button or calling a set phrase. It also understands which apps you use regularly for texting, listening to music or streaming videos. For eg, if you ask to listen to music from a particular artist, it would open YouTube, Spotify, Play Music or any other app based on which you use regularly.

Google Assistant is contextually aware as well and understands conversations similar to Google Now.

Pixel Hardware Specifications

Display: 5.0-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080p) AMOLED, 441 PPI, Corning Gorilla Glass 4
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 821, Quad Core 2.15 GHz
OS: Android 7.1 Nougat
RAM: 4GB, Storage: 32GB, 128GB
Rear Camera: 12 Megapixels, f/2.0 Aperture
Front Camera: 8 Megapixels
Connectivity: 4G LTE, dual-band WiFi ac, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, GPS
Dimensions: 143.8 x 69.5 x 8.6 mm
Weight: 143 g
Battery: 2770 mAh, Quick charging

Pixel XL Hardware Specifications

Display: 5.5-inch Quad HD (1440 x 2560p) AMOLED, 534 PPI, Corning Gorilla Glass 4
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 821, Quad Core 2.15 GHz
OS: Android 7.1 Nougat
RAM: 4GB, Storage: 32GB, 128GB
Battery: 3450 mAh, Quick charging
Rear Camera: 12 Megapixels, f/2.0 Aperture
Front Camera: 8 Megapixels
Connectivity: 4G LTE, dual-band WiFi ac, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, GPS
Dimensions: 154.7 x 75.7 x 8.6 mm
Weight: 168 g
Battery: 3450 mAh, Quick charging

Comparison: Google Pixel vs Google Pixel XL - What's different?

Pricing and Availability

The Google Pixel 32GB storage variant has been priced at $649 (Rs. 43,200) and it will be going on pre-order starting today in the US on Verizon. The 128GB Google Pixel comes in at $749 (Rs. 49,900). The Pixel XL starts at $769 (Rs. 51,200) while the 128GB storage variant will be available for $869 (Rs. 57,900).

In India pre-orders for the Google Pixel and Pixel start on October 13th online on Flipkart and these will also be available on Reliance Digital and Chroma stores. You will be able to choose from Very Silver, Quite Black and limited edition Really Blue colors.