After Carphone Warehouse spoiled the surprise a day early, Google finally unveiled its new Pixel phone yesterday!
And guess what? It kinda looks like a huge rip off of the iPhone!
Google has sold its own phones for a while now of course - just made by other companies and labelled with the Nexus brand rather than anything overtly Googlarian (that's probably a word). And Nexus has always been the benchmark for Android phones. As Android as it gets without being a walking, talking robot.
Now though, Google seems to be taking its flagship phone in a new direction - on a collision course with Apple! The Pixel phone looks to imitate the iPhone in every conceivable way. So let's examine which is best.
Specs
It's difficult to compare specs between an Android phone and an iPhone, but here goes. Prepare for NERDINESS.
The Pixel and Pixel XL are 5in and 5.5in respectively, while the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are 4.7in and 5.5in. Google's babies come in either 32GB or 128GB varieties, which the iPhone shares along with a super big 256GB beast.
I can't be bothered to get into the super anorakky stuff like colour spectrums and light density, but battery life is something iPhones have come under fire for their whole life, so let's take a look.
The 7 Plus actually boasts slightly better battery life than the Pixel XL under normal WiFi use (15 hours compared to 14), but when on standby, the difference is huge: the Pixel XL boasts a lifespan of 23 days compared to the 7 Plus's meagre 16 days.
The cameras, meanwhile, are overall slightly more impressive for Google than for Apple - at least in terms of raw specs. The Pixels have 12MP rear and 8MP front cameras respectively, while the 7 has 12MP and 7MP. Apple does tend to employ little magicians inside the iPhone's cameras to stretch those megapixels into pure eye candy though, so don't just look at the numbers!
Winner: Pixel! (Just.)
Style
Let's be honest: they look exactly the same. From the little dark line on the backside of the device to the length of the bezels to the placement of the volume buttons, the Pixel looks to imitate the iPhone's look in almost every way.
Just replace the fingerprint sensor on the back with a half eaten piece of fruit and you're pretty much there, Google.
Winner: draw!
Google Assistant vs Siri
We've already had Google Now for a while now, but Google revealed their newest virtual companion yesterday: Google Assistant.
Assistant was originally developed for use within Google's own messaging app, Allo, but now it's everywhere, ready for Google to take over the world (including your house, with Google Home). It's like Now was, except, like, more human. And better. So it's Siri then, basically.
Winner: depends if Google assistant has as good a sense of humour as Siri!
Android vs iOS
Next let's examine what an actual working day of each phone will look like. With iPhone 7, thanks to what was only an incremental update in iOS 10, it'll be much the same as it's been for a couple of years now, only with more swearing as you try to unlock your phone by swiping like before.
With the Pixel, and Android Nougat 7.1, it seems the aforementioned Google Assistant will form much of its functionality - reminders, emails, Google searches, and more can all be taking care of by 2016's version of the speaking clock.
Meanwhile Duo (don't get your hopes up, I don't mean the 'share' size Mars bar) is Google's answer to FaceTime. I mean, better late than never, right guys? Only the six years behind.
There's also the welcome bonus that Google is providing free unlimited cloud storage for photos and videos for Pixel users. The tech giant is also flogging a special cable to connect your old iPhone with your brand new Pixel to transfer over all your music and photos. So that's a pretty neat bridge between iOS and Android, if you need it!
Winner: Pixel!
Price
The big one. A large part of why Nexus, and Android in general, was such a success at the start was its cheaper price point when compared to the iPhone. As time has gone on, however, the prices of Nexus branded phones has crept up, and that trend has continued with the Pixel.
The Pixel and it's XL brother are the exact same prices as the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus: £599 and £719 respectively. Phew, that's one hell of a wedge. And it's no wonder they're the same price - everything else is pretty much the same, too!
Winner: nobody, especially not you, the consumer.
Headphone jack
The killer blow, though, is the inclusion of a headphone jack on the Pixel, which Google did not make any attempt to hide in its trailer.
This is where Apple screwed up its publicity. Unveiling the AirPods at the same time as announcing the iPhone 7 no longer had a 3.5mm headphone port was PR suicide, and has made many people believe they now need to shell out £159 to listen to music on their new iPhone.
Quite apart from the marketing own goal, it was a silly decision to rid the iPhone of the port in the first place. Forcing people to buy an extra peripheral (and maybe new headphones, too) so they can listen while charging is pure anti-consumerism.
Google are proud of their old school 3.5mm aperture. Rightly so.
Winner: Pixel!
Overall winner: Pixel!
Yes, the Pixel wins our recommendation before a ball is even kicked. How's that for reactionary content?
