For the past decade, Apple and Samsung have dominated the smartphone market, but their time at the top might be coming to an end after Google unveiled its new smartphone, Pixel.
According to a statement released by Google, the company will soon stop manufacturing the Nexus phones to make room for the Pixel.
While the Nexus phones have been co-branded by Google, the companies that manufactured them like LG and Huawei, usually got the top billing. With the Pixel, Google won’t be sharing any credit with other companies because the tech giant is manufacturing the phones.
Ian Fogg, an analyst at market researcher IHS Markit, said Google is trying to go head to head with Apple and Samsung, as well as some of the companies they have partnered with in the past. Fogg added that this time around, Google wasn’t giving any of their partners exposure.
Fogg said the pricing similarities between the Pixel and the iPhone and Galaxy also point to the fact that Google plans on competing with the two industry giants.
The 5 inch Pixel is priced at $650, while the 5.5-inch Pixel XL is priced at $770. Their prices are essentially the same as the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 and the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus.
Fogg also said that Google took over the control of both hardware and software so it could compete effectively with Apple. Since Apple is the most successful phone company, and the company believes integrating hardware and software together helps to create great products, Google is following in the same step.
Google however plans to surpass Apple by adding artificial intelligence to its new phone. Jordan Edelson, founder and CEO at Appetizer Mobile, which is an app development agency, said Google is emphasizing the AI and camera for the Pixel, which is about making the device smart enough to capture and analyze information in the Google Cloud.
Pixel vs iPhone 7
Display
The Pixel phones use an AMOLED display, compared to Apple, which uses LCD displays. However, Apple will soon switch to AMOLED display, which has more advantages over the LCD.
Camera
According to Google, the Pixel camera is very competitive with that of the iPhone, and received “a best-ever” 89 DxOMark Mobile score, which is the measuring tool for camera performance. The score Pixel received is three points better than that the score the iPhone 7 camera received.
Storage
This is a wash because both phones at 32GB then jumping to 128GB for the pricier versions.
Battery
This is where the Pixel shines, according to Google, the battery can last all day, which is an upgrade over the battery life of the iPhone 7, which doesn’t last very long.
