Until now, the only available Google phones were the Nexus smartphones made by HTC, Huawei, Motorola, LG and Samsung. That’s about to change with the launch of the Google Pixel and Pixel XL. Although the Nexus smartphones had a lot to do with Google, the Pixel and Pixel XL are the first 100% Google phones.

From the prices and specs, it’s clear that these new devices from Google will be competing head to head with the latest flagship models like the Apple iPhone 7, the Huawei P9 and the Samsung Galaxy S7.

Unique Features

The devices come in three colors that are very interestingly named. You can either choose to go with Very Silver, Quite Black or Really Blue. The design is full of curved edges and smooth surfaces that make the phones easy to hold.

The first notable thing about Google Pixel smartphones is the fact that they come with Android 7.1 Nougat off the box. Users will also get lots of exclusive software that is only available on the Google Pixel or Pixel XL.

The most interesting of these is the Google Assistant. This assistant has been designed to give quick solutions to most of the common and a good number of the uncommon tasks that you would want to do with your phone.

Considering that it draws from your Google account and Google’s huge data banks, the scope of things that this assistant can potentially do is very wide. When you give it a query that it can’t get a direct solution for, it will fail intelligently by giving you a web link that you can use to dig up the answers.

The battery life is another unique aspect, with a number of early reviewers reporting that it is exceptionally good.

Google Pixel Specs

These phones are available in two screen sizes: the 5 inch Google Pixel and the 5.5 inch Google Pixel XL. Both screens come with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection and Full HD resolutions. The Google Pixel has a resolution of 1080 x 1920 (441 ppi) and the Pixel XL has 1440 x 2560 (534 ppi).

They run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 chipset, which makes them ideal for the Daydream VR. Buyers will also get a quad-core processor with two 1.6GHz Kyro cores and two 2.15 GHz Kyro cores. Both devices come with 4GB or RAM and 32 or 128 GB of internal storage capacity.

At the back, you’ll find the fingerprint sensor and the primary 12.3 MP camera. The front camera has an 8MP lens.

Google Pixel Release Date and Pricing

These devices have rolled out on October 20 and they are available from the Google Store, Verizon and BestBuy. You will also be able to buy the Google Pixel and accessories from Amazon.

The 32GB variant of the Pixel starts at $649.99 while the 128 GB variant starts at $749.99. The larger Pixel XL, on the other hand, will draw you back by $769.99 (32GB) or 869.99 (128GB).

Google Pixel Phones on Amazon

There are also some used or new versions of the Google Pixel and Pixel XL phones available on Amazon as well.

Check on Amazon