The next few weeks will be among the most interesting as the Google Pixel and Pixel XL phones will be launching at an event held by the search engine giant.
Made by HTC, the Google Pixel is expected to succeed where the LG Nexus 5X failed and take everything you know about this phone to the next level. But will this be possible considering the love people have for the budget Google Nexus 5X?
You may have noticed the change in names, where there is no more Nexus stuff. Apparently, Google is making an official shift from the Nexus brand in favor of the Pixel brand, hence the Google Pixel and Pixel XL phones. So, how does the smaller Google Pixel compare against the smaller Google Nexus 5X from 2015?
Design and display
The Google Nexus 5X is a small and decent handset that beats many in terms of compactness. It’s hard to find such a decent phone that is at the same time compact. It measures 147mm tall and 7.9mm thick, weighing just 136g. You get a fingerprint scanner at the back and a USB Type-C port for charging and file transfer. The phone is made of a polycarbonate back and has three colors.
Rumors about the Google Pixel claim that HTC will make use of a metallic material, with some part of the phone featuring a glass panel. The phone gets to keep the fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C port as well as adopt an HTC 10-like finish on the edges. In place of the Nexus logo, you get a G logo, just below the rear snapper.
As for the display, the Google Pixel will reportedly come with a 5-inch Full HD screen that is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 4. This is contrary to the Google Nexus 5X, which comes with a 5.2-inch Full HD screen and a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on board. Due to the same resolution kept between the two, you get sharper views on the smaller Pixel as compared to the slightly larger 5X.
Hardware and software
The Google Nexus 5X has a Snapdragon 808 SoC powering it and this is paired with a RAM of 2GB. You get either 16GB or 32GB of storage, but there is no room for microSD card storage. The phone is kept alive by a battery size of 2700mAh. On the other hand, the incoming Google Pixel will reportedly carry a Snapdragon 820 SoC alongside a 4GB RAM and 32GB of onboard storage. If the rumors are to be believed more, the Pixel will come with a slightly upped battery size of 2770mAh. There is also talk of a higher storage option coming in, something like 128GB, but this is still a rumor, just like everything else.
In terms of software, the Google Nexus 5X has Android Marshmallow out of the box, but an Android Nougat OTA update is already available. The same Nougat, but a newer version, probably v7.1, is expected to power the Google Pixel out of the box. There are also reports that Google could be readying a new Pixel Launcher to be released alongside the new phone.
Camera and conclusion
The camera on the Google Nexus 5X is great. It offers a 12.3MP snapper at the back and a 5MP lens on the front panel. These two share the same f/2.0 aperture, but the rear snapper adds an IR laser autofocus as well as dual-LED flash.
Recent Google Pixel benchmarks have revealed that the handset will include a 13MP snapper at the back and an 8MP lens in the front snapper. This is a slight improvement over the Nexus 5X, meaning you should be ready for much better photography on the new phone if you are up for an upgrade.
As you can see, it seems the incoming Google Pixel will have a slight size decrement over its predecessor. However, the power that it packs on the inside is immense, something that has led to suggestions that the base model of the phone could start selling at a massive $649. In contrast, the Nexus 5X came in at $379, with the 32GB variant priced at $429.
Google is expected to unveil the Pixel and Pixel XL phones at an event on October 4, during which we’ll know the official details about the Nexus 5X successor.
I was hoping for a dual camera. I love my wife’s dual camera on the Honor 8.