Google Pixel 6 Requirements to Succeed

 Let's get a few things out of the way, if you paid 700$ for a Pixel 5, you got ripped off. That's it.

So lets see what the Pixel 6 needs to have to even have me bother to take a look.

1. Snapdragon 875. This is a must. Flagship chip with built in 5G. 8GB of ram (since they already did do it on the Pixel 5, might as well do 8GB). 128GB of storage with an optional 256 and 512GB options. 

2. OLED High refresh rate screen. I don't care if it's 90hz or 120hz, it has to have a high refresh rate screen.

3. 4000mah Battery, is a must. They can't go back now that they have increased their battery sizes. There will be no excuses.

4. New camera hardware. The Pixel 5 is using the same IMX363 that google used in the pixel 2, 3 and 4. Heck, there is an easy replacement with the IMX577. Its also 12.3mp, but its a larger sensor and supports 4k 60fps. It's a huge sensor that so far, no one has implemented, and its been around for a while. This would be the perfect replacement. Also, a telephoto and an ultrawide is required. You can't just give us one camera one year, and swap it out for something else. Just give us all 3 and be done with it.

5. Faster charging. Google is still stuck on the USB type C power deliver 1.0 standard. USB PD 2.0 allows up to 20 volts at 6amps of current, allowing up to a crazy 100 watts of power. I can't believe google is still using 18 watt charging when OnePlus and other companies are pushing 30 or more watts of power.

6. Bring back the speakers. Seriously WHAT THE HELL. First google was all about the speakers, now its just throwing all of that away?

7. Squeeze for assistant must come back. Its BS that google took it away in the first place.

8. Face unlock. In a world where you can get both fingerprint and facial recognition, google should just do both. They forced the whole industry to support the Pixel 4 with soli, so there is zero reason to go back on it now.

9. Better haptics. The pixel 4 came out with the first truly good haptics on android. Google really rubbed it into everyone's faces how they tried to improve the feel of the vibrations, and then with the pixel 5 they scrapped it. WTF google. Premium my freaking ass.

We can also talk about the Pixel 5A. What would the Pixel 5A need to do at 350$ to succeed? Well, improve on what the Pixel 4A did. Better chipset like the Snapdragon 750G. 6GB of ram. A solid camera (using the same sensor as the flagship model, otherwise its pointless). Good battery, and a slightly better screen. At this point, 90hz screens are cheap that budget phones all across the board have them, so there is no excuse for google to not offer a good experience on a budget.

Google Pixel 5 Is A Rip Off

 The Pixel 5 is a rip off. There is literally no other way for me to put it. Let me explain why this phone (and the 4A 5G as a result) is a rip off and is not worth 700$ USD. Yes I have heard that in some regions the phone is 599$ and that is more palpable, but still, not worth it considering the actual cost of manufacturing.

Let's first start with the predecessor, the Pixel 4. I purchased a Pixel 4. I still use it. Its a nice device. With some tweaks the battery life is more than bearable for me. But this had all the flagship phone check boxes and came in at a nice 799$ price tag. This wasn't terrible considering it was every box checked except the battery. Now, remove 100$ and we step down in CPU, GPU, RAM speed, Storage speed, Build quality, we loose radar/soli and face unlock, squeeze function, front facing speaker, and the Neural core.

So you are telling me, that removing cutting edge radar tech, and stepping down to 2017 level's of performance is "only" 100$? Wow.

Also. The Pixel 4a 5G is a pixel 5, minus the water proofing, 90hz display, and "fake" metal body. And apparently that costs 200$. 

I am sorry but this makes no sense. These price differences don't make any sense at all considering devices like the Galaxy s20 FE has top end specs, checks all the boxes, has BETTER EVERYTHING for the same price as the pixel 5.

I get it. Its about the software, you get updates, etc. But really, 99.9% of people will not care. The s20FE is better in every measurable way, and you can tell me that the Pixel 5 has a better camera. Its the SAME CAMERA that has been used since the Pixel 2. You would think considering its such an outdated sensor that it would cost less. Nope.

Want more? The OnePlus 8 is 599$ (was 699$) and it has even better specs than the S20 FE. Things like 30 watt fast charging, under display finger print scanners, bigger screens, bigger batteries, etc. And now the iPhone 12 which looks to be freaking amazing and unique compared to its predecessors, is only 100$ more than the Pixel 5.

There is also this strategy, that the samsung and apple agreed to raise prices of their flagships to 1000$ so that then they could sell you mediocre 2-3 year old hardware for 700$. This is very plausible since in reality, the flagships aren't worth nor cost 1000$ and are only marginally better than their 800-900$ variants. This is pretty obvious with things like the new note and s20 series, where, the ultra is a whopping 1200-1400$ (You could buy an RTX Titan for this money and play video games at 8k) and has pretty much NOTHING but gimmicks over its 1000$ version.

We have hit the wall of diminishing returns. The only devices that are honestly worth the money are the 300-400$ price range, where, you can get a new device every year and not really feel the hit on the wallet, and still enjoy a decent experience through out said year of ownership. It really felt like phones would get better and eventually we would hold on to them longer, making the prospect of owning an android device for 2+ years viable. But alas, this is not the case with the new pricing system, which pretty much makes it pointless. Over 3 years you can either own the Pixel 4a, 5a, and 6a (if we account for the future) and it would cost you just as much as the latest flagship except you would have to hold that for 3 years and deal with the plummeting value.

Enjoy consumerism. GG well played.