A quick first impression of the phone that Google currently deems its
greatest
Screen: 5.5-inches
AMOLED, QHD (2560x1440) resolution (~534 ppi), Gorilla Glass 4 Key hardware:
Quad-core 2.15/1.6GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 821, Adreno 530 GPU, 4GB RAM, only
32/128GB internal storage Camera: 12.3MP rear with PDAF, laser AF, EIS, 1.55 um
pixels, f/2.0, 8MP front f/2.4 OS: Android 7.1 Nougat Price: Rs57,000 (32GB)
It's not often that Google outs their very own smartphone. And by very own,
we're talking about one that bears their own stamp of approval, a device that
they ascribe to embodying the current state of the art. Today, this phone is
the Google Pixel. Unveiled to much fanfare during their October 4, ‘Made By
Google' event, this phone marks a way point in Google's smartphones strategy.
While they have in the past had their formidable Nexus line that came to be
known as the company's interpretation of an ideal Android smartphone, the Pixel
takes this up several notches. With this phone, the company has–for the first
time–controlled the entire chain of events that go into the creation of a
device. Google has brushed a line that has until now been stoically defined by
their rival Apple–a line that links both the device hardware and the operating
software; the two elements that embody a phone's experience.
Diving in The box
itself is quite understated–a bookcase design comprising an outer shell from
which an inside compartment slides out. Opening this reveals the phone, which
at first glance is larger than your average 5.5-inch device owing to the
noticeable space above and beneath the screen. It's comfortably narrow width
does make it easy to hold though. The matt metal finish (specifically called
‘Very Silver,) the chamfers, and especially the glass that envelopes the camera
module and fingerprint sensor at the back all exhibit pristine build quality.
Getting the phone up and running is quick–a few screens after
first power on and you are prompted to connect the Pixel phone to your earlier device.
That done, all data gets copied over seamlessly–it took me under two minutes to
move about 2.2GB of local data from my existing device.
Once set up, I dived right into its key feature–to start, Google
Assistant. Long-pressing the on-screen home button brings up Google's all-new
AI assistant. Off the bat, I didn't perceive any big difference compared to the
earlier Google Now but it did appear a lot quicker, with information and search
results showing up on screen in neatly laid out tiles. Searching for ‘the
nearest ice cream shop' and ‘upcoming flights to Goa' worked quite well.
I also fired off several shots on its all-new 12.3 MP main
camera, and the results looked stellar. Besides shooting a couple of landscapes
and still life shots, the ‘Lens blur' feature worked to especially great
effect. Of course, I couldn't help but compare it with the shots I've been
taking with the new iPhone 7 Plus. However with these cameras being as hugely
capable as they are, I was hard pressed to pick a clear winner in such a short
time. More will be revealed when I put it through a wider variety of lighting
and photography situations.
Android Nougat, which
powers this new phone, appeared lag-free even after firing up several apps and
tossing in a few–albeit brief–bouts of gaming with the likes of Machinarium and
Asphalt 8–clearly its fast Snapdragon 821 processor and 4GB of RAM held it in
good stead here.
There's more to be
revealed in this phone as we dig deeper and stack it up against its formidable
Apple counterpart.
DNA 20OCT16
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