So Google just announced a whole slew of Google Nexi and other Google goodness but it feels like it’s initially been hit with mixed reactions from fans. The products themselves deliver a lot of promise with the new larger pixel size in the camera sensor as well as a lot of promise of battery with the new Android sleep feature.
This all does not matter if this is poorly executed and while this is obvious, it will be crucial to the success of these products. Already I feel like we are in a different market to when the Nexus 5 was launched. Competition among mid tier handsets is very healthy with products like the Moto X Play and the OnePlus Two and even on the high end there are an abundance of large phones out at a similar price range with the Note 5 and the 6S Plus. Google will largely need to show that the camera performance is solid and consistent on auto to really wow the press and the average smartphone user. The camera is often a point of contention at Google press events so we’ll see if this is finally the phone with a solid camera.
The design of the devices themselves are interesting to say the least, the 6P seems to have a nicer design than the leaks had let on and it seems like a premium device however this year has been strong for phone design. The build quality of the 6P was praised highly during the press conference so hopefully this will come to fruition. Huawei typically build solid devices so hopefully this is what we will get with the 6P.
The 5X seems like a mid range device sold at a premium which is a little bit worrying but the camera hardware is the same as the 6P so it should get the same snappy camera as the 6P albeit with one or two features missing which may not be a dealbreaker for some. The design is a little boring but I was never a big fan of the Nexus 5’s design but the price was always low enough to justify the design but when phones like the Moto X Play and the Zenfone are about it feels like people are going to be questioning why they should spend the extra money.
The Pixel C looks like a really nice device and it came with some genuinely nice design features that seem fresh with the inductive charged keyboard and the clever magnetic solution for the hinge. The device itself looks gorgeous but I’m then brought back to reality and realise that Android is severely lacking in nice tablet apps and the platform itself isn’t as suited to a tablet interface as its competitors which is crazy given the potential of Android.
I did like the new Google cast devices announced with optimization in changing Wi-Fi conditions and the idea of taking the Chromecast devices between houses which indicates it may be a better device to take with you. The revamped app seemed intuitive and much better suited to the leanback experience of the device and the idea of pre fetching content means it’s going to be a more immediate feeling of getting to the content you want to see so I’ll be interested to see how well this works. The chromecast audio device seems like a great idea as well and it’s nice that it supports optical In as well as 3.5mm and RCA although I’m not sure on the whole luminescent yellow cable! The idea of repurposing old speakers and having multi room support seems like a great competitor to the Sonos’ and other competitors so it will be interesting to try it all out.
Overall I feel like it was a nice group of announcements but again we’ll have to see if the hardware will match up to the expectations set by the fans and Google themselves. I’ll be interested to see MKBHD’s and The Verge’s takes on all the products.