Google Pixel
What are some notable features of the Google Pixel?
When was the first Google Pixel released?
What were some initial criticisms of the Google Pixel?
What ethical and privacy concerns have been associated with the Google Pixel?
What was the price range for the original Google Pixel?
Google Pixel, smartphone line by Google known for its advanced camera capabilities and integration capacity with Google software and services. The Pixel uses the Android operating system, which Google acquired in 2005. Building on the previously developed Google Nexus smartphone’s design, the Pixel was first released in the United States in 2016.
Background and initial release
Before marketing its smartphones to the general public, Google debuted the Nexus One: a phone model designed specifically for developers, featuring minimal bloatware and timely updates. Most other phones had preinstalled software that made it difficult to test developer-made features. The Nexus One, with its simple stock Android interface, made it easier for developers to eliminate irrelevant information when testing new programs or software. First released in 2010, the Nexus was Google’s first foray into hardware, though the actual device was manufactured by HTC. (Subsequent models were built by Samsung, LG, Motorola, and Huawei.) The company produced six generations of the device, with later generations reaching broader consumer bases, prior to retiring it after the release of the Nexus 5X and the Nexus 6P “phablet” (phone-tablet combination).
Although Google emphasized that the new Pixel phone would be fully designed and manufactured solely by Google, the phone was actually built by the Taiwan-based technology company HTC. Subsequent models were built by LG and contractors such as Foxconn, which also makes Apple’s iPhones.
The first Google Pixel was released to consumers in the United States in 2016 and originally ranged in price from $649 (for a standard, 32-gigabyte Pixel) to $869 (for an extra-large, 128-gigabyte Pixel). The phone, which ran on the Android operating system, was compatible with Google’s extended suite of products, including the Google Chrome Web browser, the Google Assistant voice search tool (analogous to Apple’s Siri), the Google Duo video chat app, and unlimited Google Photos cloud storage. The Pixel boasted a fast-charging battery, virtual-reality headset compatibility, and the highest rated smartphone camera at the time.
The Pixel received largely positive reviews in a smartphone market saturated by both Apple’s iPhone, which was first released in 2007 and on its seventh iteration by September 2016, and Samsung’s Galaxy S, which was released in 2010 and also used an Android operating system. However, even laudatory reviews acknowledged that the Pixel’s design heavily resembled that of the iPhone, and users criticized its lack of waterproofing and other physical safeguards.
Features
Over the next decade Google continued to release new generations of the Pixel, ranging from the original model to the Google Pixel 9 series in August 2024 (see the table below for a more detailed account of each model). Pixel phones typically lack a headphone jack, though the original model and early lower-budget “a” models had a 3.5-mm jack. All Pixel phones can be charged with a USB-C cable.
The Pixel’s promotion often focuses on its camera technology. (The most notable Pixel camera design, a rectangular bar on the back of the phone that houses the camera lenses, was retained from the Nexus 6P.) After its initial release, subsequent generations of the Pixel introduced photography and photo-editing tools that use AI, such as Night Sight, a low-light photography tool; Top Shot, which selects the best image in a series; Magic Eraser, a tool to remove unwanted distractions from image backgrounds; and Real Tone, a feature designed to more accurately replicate skin tones.
| year | releases | notable features |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Google Pixel, Google Pixel XL | first smartphones to use Google hardware and software; introduction of Google Assistant |
| 2017 | Google Pixel 2, Google Pixel 2 XL | improved camera algorithm; Active Edge, allowing users to squeeze the phone to activate certain features |
| 2018 | Google Pixel 3, Google Pixel 3 XL | improved low-light photography; AI feature to recommend best photo from several images; wireless charging |
| 2019 | Google Pixel 3a, Google Pixel 3a XL | budget option; mid-range hardware |
| 2019 | Google Pixel 4, Google Pixel 4 XL | face unlock feature; Motion Sense for hands-free control |
| 2020 | Google Pixel 4a, Google Pixel 4a 5G | budget option; single-camera lens option |
| 2020 | Google Pixel 5 | dual-camera system; offered at a mid-range price point |
| 2022 | Google Pixel 6, Google Pixel 6 Pro, Google Pixel 6a | larger camera bar; AI photo-editing capabilities including background removal (Magic Eraser feature); all-day battery; powered by new Google Tensor chip processor |
| 2022 | Google Pixel 7, Google Pixel 7 Pro | powered by second-generation Tensor chip processor; improved low-light photography |
| 2023 | Google Pixel 7a | smaller size; first model offered at lower price point to include Tensor chip processor |
| 2023 | Google Pixel Fold | ability to unfold from one standard-sized screen into a larger, dual screen |
| 2023 | Google Pixel 8, Google Pixel 8 Pro | AI audio- and video-editing capabilities, including background and noise removal |
| 2024 | Google Pixel 9, Google Pixel 9 Pro, Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold | integration with Google Gemini AI assistant and tools; AI photo-editing tools |
Criticism and controversy
The ubiquity of Google and its parent company, Alphabet Inc., across multiple markets has led to some users expressing concerns about ethics and privacy regarding the Google Pixel and its accompanying Google services. In 2019 the city of Atlanta questioned Google for hiring contractors who allegedly targeted the city’s Black homeless population for facial scans in order to test the company’s facial-recognition technology.
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In 2024 researchers from cybersecurity news publication Cybernews reported that the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL sent user data to Google every 15 minutes, including “location, email address, phone number, [and] network status,” leading researcher Aras Nazarovas to conclude that the “amount of data transmitted…casts doubt on who truly owns the device.” (Google responded that Cybernews had misinterpreted crucial technical details in their report.) The Google search app and Gmail both collect user data and send some data to external parties; Google Chrome collects user data, including browsing history, location, payment information, and product interaction. However, developers have pointed out that such data-sharing practices occur across all Android phones and even some devices running Apple’s iOS operating system.