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The new phones, the Pixel and Pixel XL are rumored to start at $649 for the smaller phone in the smallest memory configuration of 32gb. If true, this would mean

The new phones, the Pixel and Pixel XL are rumored to start at $649 for the smaller phone in the smallest memory configuration of 32gb. If true, this would mean the old Nexus line is well and truly dead and Google is taking the Apple approach to pricing. The Pixel brand is supposed to be premium at a premium price but currently has one product that fills that niche (the Pixel Chromebook) and one that doesn't (the failed Pixel C tablet that was repurposed from an abandoned Chrome OS branch to Android and launched barely functional).

blinkingled 10y ago
I doubt many people will buy a $649 phone with run of the mill specs and only 18 months of updates even if it was made by Google (whatever that means). Google might not remember but nobody bought the Chromebook Pixel or the Pixel C.
- hammock 10y ago
  All(?) of the top-end Androids in the Verizon store are priced at $650 and above.
  - pjmlp 10y ago
    In countries where we have the joy of buying phones without contracts, the majority of the customer, doesn't go above the 300€ line, when paying the full price out of their pockets.
    - JustUhThought 10y ago
      Cause people be sane.
    - maxerickson 10y ago
      Verizon has at least broken the phone payments out, so a customer can compare the upfront price and a purchase contract. I guess the others have also. Their advertising is still ridiculously misleading. They say the "Verizon Plan" starts at $35 a month, but that's before activating a device (which is $10 for a tablet and $15 for a phone) and taxes/fees. Cheapest phone is going to be ~$55 per month, it's ridiculous that they emphasize the $35 in their advertising.
    - kbenson 10y ago
      The last few years I've not been offered a contract, but the ability to finance the phone. An inversion of the prior contract model, it's more what you expect. There are separate fees for the service, and for the monthly payment for the phone. After X number of months (choosable on purchase, affects per-month phone payment), the phone is paid off and is no longer part of the bill. It's much more straightforward and easy to reason about, and you don't have to immediately try to upgrade when your contract is up so you don't feel like you're paying for more than you're getting.
      - pjmlp 10y ago
        That is the old model we had with pre-paid in Portugal back when mobile phones were introduced, however they were locked to the provider and it was a fight to get them unlocked at the end of the leasing time. Eventually our version of FCC got around making it easy to complain if an operator would make someone's life hard regarding unlocking.
    - tamana 10y ago
      That's great, but they arent buying top-end phones then, and they have lots of optona, so new premium phone announcements aren't interesting.
  - blinkingled 10y ago
    That's what people buy - whatever is in the carrier store and whatever they see on TV ads. Besides isn't there a monthly plan most carriers offer? I mean with Project Fi the Pixel phones could be a equally attractive deal for Regular Joe but they would still have to advertise it heavily and offer better value through extended updates.
- viraptor 10y ago
  Why 18? Nexus line had 3 years of support and still continues to receive security updates after that.
  - SCdF 10y ago
    Where do you get that three years of support figure from? The only official numbers I've ever heard was 18 months, which lines up roughly with my experience. I have a N5, which came out (just) less than three years ago, and it is not getting Nougat, which was released a few weeks ago. The last major update it got was around a year ago. AFAICT with Google you're guaranteed to get the next OS version, if you're lucky you'll get the next next one (like N5 did with MM), but that's it. Which, compared to iOS, feels pretty stingy.
    - mkozlows 10y ago
      Two years of major-release support, and three years of security support: http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/08/05/google-announces-new-update-policy-for-nexus-devices-including-monthly-security-patches-for-3-years-and-major-otas-for-2-years-from-release/ http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/08/05/google-announces-new...
      - SCdF 10y ago
        Right, so still pretty bad compared to iOS: iOS10 just came out and supports the iPhone 5, which was released 4 years ago. I presume if they had some massive security issue they'd backport it to versions of iOS older than 10. (I am no iOS fanboy, but honestly I'm sick of the android expectation of getting a new phone every 2 years, and they seem to be the only ones who are even pretending to give a shit with their old phone support. They still don't give as many shits as I'd like, but I cannot find their better).
        mkozlows 10y ago
        Don't look at it from the time the phone started being sold, look at it from the time the phone stopped being sold. Android and iOS are very comparable then. The difference is that Apple keeps selling old models (at high prices) for three years.
oconnor0 10y ago
I'm sad to see the Nexus line go away. I quite like my Nexus 5 but have no interest in spending over 600$ on a phone.
- jdc0589 10y ago
  agreed. I also feel like I got the shaft with the nexus 5x. it wasn't "top of the line expensive" but it was more than any other nexus phone I'd had, and until Android 7 came out I felt like it was a piece of crap; thankfully that update smoothed performance (or perception) out A LOT for me.
  - JustUhThought 10y ago
    Agreed. Between this and dropped support for Moto G/E, Google is proving to be super flaky, and which has diminished my desire to invest in any of their hardware.
    - maxerickson 10y ago
      Google sold the Motorola phone division to Lenovo. Are you talking about something that happened before that?
      - JustUhThought 10y ago
        Just saying they generally don't gollow through. Selling off a company would fall under this umbrella. Boston Dynamics anyone. Google is basically the head "mean girl". Bitch will drop you in a second if you're cramping her style.
- matart 10y ago
  What would you go with instead? I am also a Nexus 5 user looking for an upgrade of some sort.
  - mafuyu 10y ago
    Check out the OnePlus 3. It's a "flagship killer" at a low price. I have one and it's excellent.
hocuspocus 10y ago
> If true, this would mean the old Nexus line is well and truly dead and Google is taking the Apple approach to pricing. What old Nexus line are you talking about? Most[1] Nexus phones have been priced high at launch with fairly average specs, if not disappointing. I believe the 6P is the one truly high-end Nexus, and then there's the 5X that was grossly overpriced everywhere but in the US, and finally the Nexus 4 and 5 which were very good deals from the get-go. [1] Nexus One, Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 6
mkozlows 10y ago
That is not an accurate description of the Pixel C. It's an excellent Android tablet. That some reviewers don't want Android tablets is a separate issue.
- Splendor 10y ago
  I'm not saying you're wrong, but you didn't really counter anything in the previous post.
  - LeifCarrotson 10y ago
    One said it launched barely functional, the other said it's an excellent Android tablet. Those are very different.
    - jjnoakes 10y ago
      Is it not true that it could have launched barely functional and updates worked out the kinks so that now it is an excellent tablet?
- JohnTHaller 10y ago
  It's a quite good Android tablet now. At launch, it was pretty messy. Part of this was because it was supposed to be a Chrome OS tablet but got rushed out as an Android tablet before Android even had split screen. Yes, the OS matters if it limits the hardware. It has 4 mics but didn't even support Google's always on at launch (seriously?). Add to that the fact that the hardware was pretty buggy at launch with lots of users complaining about random reboots and failures. Ars Technica has a good summary in their "One year later" review of the Pixel C. The reviewer is on his 3rd Pixel C due to hardware failures. http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/09/one-year-later-can-android-7-0-nougat-save-the-pixel-c/ http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/09/one-year-later-can-an...
  - mkozlows 10y ago
    Some units were buggy at launch, clearly. Most weren't. I bought one day one, and still have it; it's been fine the whole time. And yes, it didn't have split screen at launch -- no Android tablet did until Android 7, so that's not some special failing of the Pixel C.

blinkingled 10y ago

I doubt many people will buy a $649 phone with run of the mill specs and only 18 months of updates even if it was made by Google (whatever that means). Google might not remember but nobody bought the Chromebook Pixel or the Pixel C.

hammock 10y ago
All(?) of the top-end Androids in the Verizon store are priced at $650 and above.
- pjmlp 10y ago
  In countries where we have the joy of buying phones without contracts, the majority of the customer, doesn't go above the 300€ line, when paying the full price out of their pockets.
  - JustUhThought 10y ago
    Cause people be sane.
  - maxerickson 10y ago
    Verizon has at least broken the phone payments out, so a customer can compare the upfront price and a purchase contract. I guess the others have also. Their advertising is still ridiculously misleading. They say the "Verizon Plan" starts at $35 a month, but that's before activating a device (which is $10 for a tablet and $15 for a phone) and taxes/fees. Cheapest phone is going to be ~$55 per month, it's ridiculous that they emphasize the $35 in their advertising.
  - kbenson 10y ago
    The last few years I've not been offered a contract, but the ability to finance the phone. An inversion of the prior contract model, it's more what you expect. There are separate fees for the service, and for the monthly payment for the phone. After X number of months (choosable on purchase, affects per-month phone payment), the phone is paid off and is no longer part of the bill. It's much more straightforward and easy to reason about, and you don't have to immediately try to upgrade when your contract is up so you don't feel like you're paying for more than you're getting.
    - pjmlp 10y ago
      That is the old model we had with pre-paid in Portugal back when mobile phones were introduced, however they were locked to the provider and it was a fight to get them unlocked at the end of the leasing time. Eventually our version of FCC got around making it easy to complain if an operator would make someone's life hard regarding unlocking.
  - tamana 10y ago
    That's great, but they arent buying top-end phones then, and they have lots of optona, so new premium phone announcements aren't interesting.
- blinkingled 10y ago
  That's what people buy - whatever is in the carrier store and whatever they see on TV ads. Besides isn't there a monthly plan most carriers offer? I mean with Project Fi the Pixel phones could be a equally attractive deal for Regular Joe but they would still have to advertise it heavily and offer better value through extended updates.
viraptor 10y ago
Why 18? Nexus line had 3 years of support and still continues to receive security updates after that.
- SCdF 10y ago
  Where do you get that three years of support figure from? The only official numbers I've ever heard was 18 months, which lines up roughly with my experience. I have a N5, which came out (just) less than three years ago, and it is not getting Nougat, which was released a few weeks ago. The last major update it got was around a year ago. AFAICT with Google you're guaranteed to get the next OS version, if you're lucky you'll get the next next one (like N5 did with MM), but that's it. Which, compared to iOS, feels pretty stingy.
  - mkozlows 10y ago
    Two years of major-release support, and three years of security support: http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/08/05/google-announces-new-update-policy-for-nexus-devices-including-monthly-security-patches-for-3-years-and-major-otas-for-2-years-from-release/ http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/08/05/google-announces-new...
    - SCdF 10y ago
      Right, so still pretty bad compared to iOS: iOS10 just came out and supports the iPhone 5, which was released 4 years ago. I presume if they had some massive security issue they'd backport it to versions of iOS older than 10. (I am no iOS fanboy, but honestly I'm sick of the android expectation of getting a new phone every 2 years, and they seem to be the only ones who are even pretending to give a shit with their old phone support. They still don't give as many shits as I'd like, but I cannot find their better).
      - mkozlows 10y ago
        Don't look at it from the time the phone started being sold, look at it from the time the phone stopped being sold. Android and iOS are very comparable then. The difference is that Apple keeps selling old models (at high prices) for three years.

oconnor0 10y ago

I'm sad to see the Nexus line go away. I quite like my Nexus 5 but have no interest in spending over 600$ on a phone.

jdc0589 10y ago
agreed. I also feel like I got the shaft with the nexus 5x. it wasn't "top of the line expensive" but it was more than any other nexus phone I'd had, and until Android 7 came out I felt like it was a piece of crap; thankfully that update smoothed performance (or perception) out A LOT for me.
- JustUhThought 10y ago
  Agreed. Between this and dropped support for Moto G/E, Google is proving to be super flaky, and which has diminished my desire to invest in any of their hardware.
  - maxerickson 10y ago
    Google sold the Motorola phone division to Lenovo. Are you talking about something that happened before that?
    - JustUhThought 10y ago
      Just saying they generally don't gollow through. Selling off a company would fall under this umbrella. Boston Dynamics anyone. Google is basically the head "mean girl". Bitch will drop you in a second if you're cramping her style.
matart 10y ago
What would you go with instead? I am also a Nexus 5 user looking for an upgrade of some sort.
- mafuyu 10y ago
  Check out the OnePlus 3. It's a "flagship killer" at a low price. I have one and it's excellent.

hocuspocus 10y ago

> If true, this would mean the old Nexus line is well and truly dead and Google is taking the Apple approach to pricing. What old Nexus line are you talking about? Most[1] Nexus phones have been priced high at launch with fairly average specs, if not disappointing. I believe the 6P is the one truly high-end Nexus, and then there's the 5X that was grossly overpriced everywhere but in the US, and finally the Nexus 4 and 5 which were very good deals from the get-go. [1] Nexus One, Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 6

mkozlows 10y ago

That is not an accurate description of the Pixel C. It's an excellent Android tablet. That some reviewers don't want Android tablets is a separate issue.

Splendor 10y ago
I'm not saying you're wrong, but you didn't really counter anything in the previous post.
- LeifCarrotson 10y ago
  One said it launched barely functional, the other said it's an excellent Android tablet. Those are very different.
  - jjnoakes 10y ago
    Is it not true that it could have launched barely functional and updates worked out the kinks so that now it is an excellent tablet?
JohnTHaller 10y ago
It's a quite good Android tablet now. At launch, it was pretty messy. Part of this was because it was supposed to be a Chrome OS tablet but got rushed out as an Android tablet before Android even had split screen. Yes, the OS matters if it limits the hardware. It has 4 mics but didn't even support Google's always on at launch (seriously?). Add to that the fact that the hardware was pretty buggy at launch with lots of users complaining about random reboots and failures. Ars Technica has a good summary in their "One year later" review of the Pixel C. The reviewer is on his 3rd Pixel C due to hardware failures. http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/09/one-year-later-can-android-7-0-nougat-save-the-pixel-c/ http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/09/one-year-later-can-an...
- mkozlows 10y ago
  Some units were buggy at launch, clearly. Most weren't. I bought one day one, and still have it; it's been fine the whole time. And yes, it didn't have split screen at launch -- no Android tablet did until Android 7, so that's not some special failing of the Pixel C.