Google Pixel Phone

I really wish Google would make a Nexus 5-style Pixel phone in 2017

Phones are getting VERY expensive in 2017. The new iPhone 8, once that lands later this year, will be the most expensive handset Apple has ever made. On top of that, you can expect to pay $1000+ for the Galaxy Note 8 as well.

The Google Pixel phones are kind of pricey too, even more so when you factor in The Big G’s old Nexus phones. You still have TONS of cheaper options, especially in the Android space, but if you want a flagship phone in 2017 you are going to have to pay a big premium for it.

You could grab the OnePlus 5, of course, which is cheaper than most new, flagship handsets (though, again, it is more expensive that the OnePlus 3T). But I personally think there is a niche here that Google could exploit with its Pixel phones.

Everybody loved the old Nexus phones; they weren’t the best but they delivered where it counted – value for money and usability. The Nexus 6P was expensive, and rightly so, given its specs, but the most popular Nexus of all time was, of course, the Nexus 5.

Rumours suggest Google is prepping as many as three Pixels for 2017, and my hope is that one of them is a mid-range, sub-$450, offering. Google is uniquely positioned to do this as well because it makes enough money with Android to take any potential financial shortcomings on the chin.

A cheaper Pixel offering would be the perfect antidote to the myriad of $1000+ flagships in 2017. It could even keep similar specs to the current Pixel, drop the display to 1080p, and focus on price-competitiveness and software performance.

And while this might sound like wishful thinking on my part, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that this is actually happening, though it is unlikely the phone itself will carry the Pixel brand.

Rick Osterloh, head of the Pixel team, told 9to5Google that work on a Pixel 2 series of phones is now underway. Furthermore, a tipster then leaked information about the same team also working on a cheaper model, known internally as the “Pixel 2B”.