Google Pixel Marketed Specifically To iPhone Users, Google Admits; Pixel Is Verizon-Exclusive, Is T-Mobile Selling It Now? [Video]
ByThe Google Pixel was specifically designed to rival the iPhone and marketed directly to entice iPhone users to make the switch and enjoy the full benefits of the Android Nougat. Moreover, Verizon has signed a deal to make the Pixel an exclusive at the carrier level, but consumers say that the Pixel is now displayed in T-Mobile stores.
Google SVP of Android and ChromeOS Hiroshi Lockeimer spoke to ALL About Android Podcast last week and admitted that the Google Pixel was really designed to rival Apple's iPhone. The key consideration was to entice iPhone users to make the switch and embrace the Android Nougat with its exclusive software features.
The marketing for the Google Pixel is also mainly directed to iPhone users particularly on its inclusion of the Quick Switch Adapter, which connects an iPhone device directly to the Google handset to transfer data, including contacts, photos and messages according to the Express. Evidently, iPhone users will be able to easily make a switch with this nifty piece of hardware.
Moreover, the Google Pixel like the iPhone has a hardware that is streamlined and nicely-built. It also has a software that is user-friendly and practical. When it comes to pricing, the Google Pixel also matches that of the iPhone.
For this year, the Google Pixel and its bigger variant, the Pixel XL have featured prominently as one of the top selling smartphones despite being a relatively new player in the market. Morgan Stanley estimated that Google sold 3 million smartphones for this quarter while Kantar Insights puts it at 0.5 percent share on all US devices sales in a three-month period ending on Oct. 31.
This puts the Google Pixel at equal footing with other top smartphone manufacturers like Huawei and Microsoft, accomplishing the feat in just 11 days according to Fortune. Nowadays, the Google Pixel and Pixel XL are hard-to-find with sales high and supply limited.
The Google Pixel is an exclusive to Verizon at the carrier level, although the carrier seems to make it appear as having the sole right to sell the product in its recent ad. T-Mobile is also displaying the Google Pixel, but will not sell it unless users sign up with the carrier and avail of the $350 dollars bill credits good for the first two years.
However, T-mobile will still not be able to sell the Google Pixel, but will redirect consumers to the Google online store or Best Buy. Though the Google Pixel is unlocked, the Christmas holidays will surely make Verizon complain on the technicality of its arranged exclusivity, Forbes reported.