10 Pixels In, The Purpose Of A Google-made Smartphone Remains The Same

Google didn't request to make its ain smartphone. Even though nan institution spent respective years having different manufacturers build phones it could slap its "Nexus" branding on, trading hardware is not halfway to Google's business. Things for illustration advertizing and Search still handily dwarf nan inroads nan company's made arsenic a smartphone manufacturer, and that will apt stay existent for nan foreseeable future.

Compared to nan contributions nan iPhone makes to Apple's bottommost line, nan Pixel has always, successful immoderate sense, been a hobby. Which intends Google finds itself successful a acquainted spot heading into the motorboat of nan Pixel 10. It's amended than it's ever been astatine nan business of building phones, but nan task for nan Pixel remains nan same: get group to usage Google package (especially Search).

The first smartphones "made by Google"

Google sold its ain hardware, including a lineup of phones, nether nan Nexus marque from 2010 to 2016 — but it was ever known that hardware manufacturers for illustration HTC and Samsung were really building nan hardware.

That changed pinch nan Pixel, nan first clip Google started utilizing nan now-ubiquitous "made by Google" phrasing. Ever since nan first Pixel telephone arrived successful October 2016, Google’s phones person been defined by their camera skills. Google's important breakthroughs successful computational photography influenced nan full industry, and proceed to do truthful today. The original Pixel and Pixel XL featured a azygous 12.3-megapixel camera and fto anyone return awesome HDR photos without immoderate fuss. Purchasing a Pixel aliases Pixel XL besides unlocked unlimited full-resolution backups of your photos successful Google Photos for free, a beardown inducement to see switching to Google's smartphone successful its ain right.

The company's solid and aluminum telephone was much than conscionable its camera sensor, though. A large portion of Google's early transportation for nan Pixel, and different hardware for illustration Google Home, was that it could service arsenic a conveyance for Google Assistant. The AI-powered sound adjunct had shades of Siri, and sound power features antecedently disposable successful Android. But it was acold much integrated into Google's package and services and had a heavy good of knowledge to tie connected from Google Search. An "OK Google" could fto you group a timer connected your phone, but it could besides reply trivia aliases show you astir an upcoming almanac event.

Google continued to thin connected package for nan merchandise of the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, which put Google Now-style proactive accusation connected a caller always-on display, on pinch a refined creation pinch unit delicate sides that could activate circumstantial functions connected nan phone. In position of nan camera, Google's awesome improvements complete nan original Pixel were nan summation of optical image stabilization for video and a civilization imaging chip, dubbed the Pixel Visual Core, that handled nan image processing for some first-party and third-party camera apps. Besides being nan first lawsuit of Google sneaking immoderate of its ain civilization silicon into its phone, nan Pixel 2 was besides was a important challenge to Apple's power successful nan photography department

That shape continued pinch nan merchandise of the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, which again featured a somewhat modified design, wireless charging and a postulation of caller camera features. The biggest was Night Sight, Google's package solution for taking really bully photos erstwhile there’s hardly immoderate ray available. The characteristic was released aft nan Pixel 3 came out, and gave nan telephone nan expertise to seizure much aliases little ray astatine nighttime depending connected nan shakiness of your hand. The third-generation Pixel was besides paired pinch nan preamble of Google Assistant's Call Screen feature, a substance of ocular voicemail and audio transcription that allowed users to spot why personification is calling and only prime up if they wanted to.

Google would spell connected to present nan first fund type of nan Pixel a fewer months later pinch nan Pixel 3a, a believe that continues to this day. In nan pursuing years, nan company's releases were mostly memorable for gimmicks for illustration nan Pixel 4's Motion Sense feature (using radar to observe manus gestures to motorboat shortcuts) and nan take of manufacture trends, pinch the Pixel 5's support for 5G.

The institution followed up those phones pinch a fewer releases that were only memorable for gimmicks for illustration nan Pixel 4's Motion Sense feature (essentially mobility controls for circumstantial apps) and nan take of an manufacture trend, pinch nan Pixel 5's 5G support.

Say hullo to nan camera barroom and Tensor chip

It would return nan extremist caller creation of nan Pixel 6 to threat things backmost into attraction for Google. Not only did nan Pixel 6 person a massive, shelf-like camera barroom connected nan back, but nan telephone was besides nan first to beryllium powered by a civilization SoC developed by Google. Rather than attraction connected earthy power, nan Google Tensor spot was designed to grip on-device AI tasks for illustration Magic Eraser for editing photos, Live Translate for converting matter to different connection arsenic you type and Direct My Call, which lets nan Pixel navigate telephone trees connected your behalf.

The splashy motorboat of nan Pixel 6 successful 2021 marks nan caller way Google's smartphones person been heading for nan past 4 years. They're still bully astatine taking photos, but their main domiciled is to beryllium a showcase for immoderate AI characteristic nan institution has cooked up astir recently. Google continued to refine nan thought pinch nan merchandise of nan Pixel 7, which was paired pinch nan first Pixel Watch pursuing Google's acquisition of Fitbit successful 2021. 2023 brought nan Pixel 8 arsenic good arsenic nan company's first foldable, nan Pixel Fold.

The move besides matched soul shifts astatine Google itself. The teams processing nan Android operating strategy person agelong been abstracted from nan teams building Pixel phones retired of respect for Google's partners who make their ain Android phones. That changed successful 2024 erstwhile Google announced a reorganization that placed Pixel and Android nether nan aforesaid "Platforms & Devices" umbrella. The stated information was that aligning package and hardware would fto nan institution merchandise caller AI features moreover faster, which bore retired successful nan various Gemini features connected nan Pixel 9 lineup and immoderate nan institution has planned for nan Pixel 10. On immoderate level nan friendly domiciled smartphones play successful people's lives makes them an evident venue for AI, thing nan institution intelligibly wants to return advantage of based connected in-development features for illustration Project Astra.

Google intelligibly experimented passim nan life of nan Pixel, but nan telephone has ever been a instrumentality to waste package ideas. Demonstrating nan imaginable of computational photography had early success, and now nan institution is trying to do nan aforesaid point pinch generative AI and Gemini. Competition remains fierce — OpenAI shared successful December 2024 that ChatGPT had 300 cardinal play users, making it a existent threat to Google's halfway business. Google has ne'er been a hardware company, nor has it needed to triumph astatine hardware. But pinch stiffer title successful package than ever, utilizing nan Pixel bid to get group to usage Google's galore services is arguably much important than ever.