Google Pixel 2 will continue to “stay premium,” launch confirmed for later this year

Last year, Google made its self-branded hardware debut with the release of their Pixel lineup. And this premium device, sitting right alongside the iPhone 7 and Galaxy S7 series, was a crowd pleaser. But, now we have moved into the next year and talks about Pixel 2, it’s successor have already started making rounds of the interwebs. Since there’s never a wrong time to talk about a particular device, so let’s go with the flow as we have some credible info on our hands.

This development comes from Google’s SVP of hardware, Rick Osterloh, who during an interview with AndroidPit at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, has revealed that the Pixel successor will debut later this year. Though Osterloh started out by being a little cryptic about the specifics but he later made a concrete claim about the launch, just without a scheduled release date. Talking about the same, he told the press that,

There is an annual rhythm in the industry. So, you can count on us to follow it. You can count on a successor this year, even if you don’t hear a date from me now.

This claim comes from the “most reliable” source aware of Google’s hardware ambitions. It also confirms to us that Google Pixel was not a one time experiment. The tech giant is committed to building its own smartphone packed with top-of-the-line specs and a pure vanilla Android experience. It wasn’t just messing around with the launch of Pixel, which replaced their infamous Nexus lineup.

Further, there was only one burning question that everyone was intrigued to ask. Recently reports of Google experimenting with a budget variant of the Pixel had surfaced online. They suggested that it would debut alongside the flagship Pixel 2 lineup but the said rumors have been debunked by Osterloh in this interview. Right off the bat, this subject matter got the following answer:

Pixel stays premium.

And that was it, Google’s hardware chief just confirmed that the Pixel 2 won’t come with an affordable brethren. The Pixel brand will restrict itself to the premium segment — compete with the bad boys of the smartphone market, carve out a space for itself — and leave the budget segment for other original device manufacturers (ODMs) to handle and compete with its competitors. Further, he didn’t touch on the topic of whether Google will be building its own hardware devices or partnering with ODMs to make them come to life.

But, is the strategy of sticking to the top-tier the perfect strategy for Google to adopt? The tech giant could consider building a cheaper variant of their Pixel lineup for the emerging markets, thus, replacing the dying Android One Program. The company’s trust and brand image could help it score massive sales and revenues figures from these markets, that’s for sure. They could act as an alternative to the now-dead Nexus brand as well.

What are your thoughts about it? Would you buy an affordable Pixel 2? Comment your thoughts down below.

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