The Galaxy Note brand is now damaged beyond repair
Should Samsung give up on the Note brand entirely?
There’s no question that the beleaguered Galaxy Note 7 is having a hard week, after a hard month. Things were looking up for the Korean giant after the recall was deemed a success, a huge undertaking from around the world that attempted to corral over two million handsets. But then an AT&T-branded Note 7 caught fire on a still-grounded Southwest flight after being powered off and things went to hell again very quickly.
The response
In the immediate aftermath, Samsung issued what was perhaps the most tone-deaf response possible, saying that it wasn’t obvious the phone was a Note 7, nor that the battery was the cause. Obviously, the company was and is looking into the root cause, and was merely hedging against an outcome — that this replacement, “good battery” Note 7 wasn’t suffering from the same issues as its distressed early-production counterparts.
Should we find ourselves in a situation where a number of new Note 7s are spontaneously combusting, we’ll have no choice but to retract our recommendation.
Here at Android Central, we’ve taken the cautious route: We want to believe that when Samsung says it has things under control, it really does. As a result, while we all but stopped publishing peripheral Note 7 content during the recall, we began ramping up again as the situation returned to a semblance of control. But since the most recent incident, another Note 7 reportedly exploded in Taiwan, and in the coming days AT&T is expected to pull support for the device entirely.
The AC editors have discussed this internally over the past day or so. And we’ve decided that unless the ongoing investigation can prove conclusively that there’s no danger from the new, replacement Note 7s, we’ll be forced to withdraw our recommendation in the near future. We’re not there yet, but if you’re on the fence about a Note 7 purchase, maybe wait a few days and see how this pans out.
That may be inconvenient for us — the Note 7, battery problems aside, earned our most vociferous approval — but it would be devastating for Samsung, whose trust vector with consumers has already abated and may be about to expire. That is also being compounded by an increasing willingness by carriers to (thankfully) take the sides of the customers and allow them to return their Note 7s for, well, literally any other phone they sell.
Somewhere between then and now, between the Note 7s exploding and the Note 7s exploding again, trust in not just the product itself but the company as a whole began to wane. I’ve been witness to casual conversations wherein regular phone-buying customers have expressed reticence to buy another Samsung phone again, period; many of them claim to be moving in the direction of the iPhone 7 Plus, which came out in mid-September and is roughly the same price. Apple will surely benefit from this fallout, but it of course won’t be a one-to-one lateral movement; many Note buyers, existing or potential, will find other Android devices to buy, or — best case scenario — stick with a Samsung Galaxy S7.
But it’s safe to say that the Note line is practically finished, and that the repercussions of this debacle will have far-reaching effects across the industry. You’ll likely see improved controls around battery production, and greater emphasis put on the safe transportation of those batteries from nearly every company that buys Lithium-Ion cells in bulk. Samsung will lose money, yes, but it will also likely slow the speed of hardware production, perhaps culling the twice-yearly release schedule it established in 2011 with the release of the original Note.
The bigger question for Samsung now is what happens to the Galaxy S8, which is presumably just over four months from its debut. Not only does the company need to do an extensive audit of its battery suppliers (which is surely already in progress), but it has exactly that period to reassure every potential upgrader and new customer alike that it is working to ensure the most important computer in their lives is not going to be considered a dangerous good. We don’t know exact numbers, but between them the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge sold nearly 30 million units worldwide; that number may be cut in half if Samsung can’t win back the trust of its customer base.
The damage is done, a chemical burn searing three feet of carpet in an aisle seat of a Southwest flight, with no hope of repair.
The problem is compounded by the fact that most people buy their phones from carriers. In the U.S., carriers have been quite clear in their positions of helping customers replace phones they suspect are dangerous, but it’s the salespeople who, a few months from now, will be put in the position of answering questions about battery safety, likely taking the path of least resistance. Even if the fire incident on a Southwest flight turns out to be an isolated incident in the U.S. — and I hope it is — reps at the store level and over the phone have almost certainly been instructed to avoid lingering on the Note 7 and instead push customers towards another brand.
What’s next
Circling around, without declaring it dead, the Galaxy Note brand is now damaged beyond repair, done in as much by the company’s callous response to the initial claims of explosions as its follow-up earlier this week. Samsung is a big company, with a lot of moving parts, and it’s difficult to speak as a single entity. But now is the time it needs to unify under a single conceit: We made a bunch of mistakes, and we’re learning from them. If you want your money back, you can get it. If you want another phone, you can have one. But we’re not going to rest until every Note 7 customer is happy.
After that, Samsung may need to shut down the brand and move on. The damage is done, a chemical burn searing three feet of carpet in an aisle seat of a Southwest flight, with no hope of return.
Samsung Galaxy Note 7
- Galaxy Note 7 recall: Everything you need to know
- Samsung Galaxy Note 7 review
- The latest Galaxy Note 7 news!
- Here are all four Note 7 colors
- Complete Galaxy Note 7 specs
- Join the Note 7 discussion in the forums!
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AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint
The sweet sound of the ‘world’s most expensive’ earphones
I imagine I’m like most people in that I’m fairly content with a leaky pair of earphones that came bundled with a phone I bought 18 months ago. Some of you will have more expensive tastes, of course, dropping a few hundred on a “nice” pair of Beats, Sonys or similar cans. But there’s a whole other world out there, where money is seemingly no object in the pursuit of the perfect sound. And for roughly a week, I’ve been masquerading as an audiophile myself, wearing oBravo’s EAMT-1 in-ear headphones that cost no less than £3,082.50 (roughly $3,900). Yes, you read that right.
Made by an obscure Chinese company, these earphones are “the world’s most expensive” — a claim I haven’t been able to debunk even after a significant price drop (they originally cost £3,699). We’re only talking in-ears here, though. There are plenty of over-ear headphones around that price and more. Some are way, way more.
As far as in-ears are concerned, though, the EAMT-1s are as expensive as they come, backed up by the proprietors of exclusive UK stockist Audio Sanctuary, who were silly kind enough to lend me a pair. (The store appears to be the only place on the entire internet you can buy oBravo’s latest right now, in fact.)
I wish I could tell you exactly why these earphones are so damned expensive, but the deeper my research has gone, the more oblivious I become. The language used to describe the technical capabilities of the EAMT-1s is even more alien to me than the vocabulary audiophiles employ to explain the various qualities of sound. To illustrate what I mean, this is Audio Sanctuary’s explanation of oBravo’s Air Motion Transformer (AMT) technology:
“The AMT diaphragm is made of a Mylar ribbon bonded with conductive aluminium strips. It is equivalent in surface area to a conventional seven-inch cone-type mid-range driver, but is accordion-folded down to a compact one-and-a-half-inch grouping for point-source dispersion. The low-mass diaphragm is suspended within a dipole magnetic field concentrating an intense field around said diaphragm. When signal current passes through the aluminium strips, the ensuing bellow-like motion of the folded pleats moves air five times faster than with a conventional cone driver.”
How anyone without a degree in sound engineering is supposed to make any sense of that, I don’t know. Apparently, though, the 8mm AMT tweeter (for mid- to high-ish frequencies like vocals and hi-hats) paired with a 13mm neodymium dynamic driver is primarily what you’re paying for. I’m reliably told that crafting an extremely high-end earphone is markedly more complex than making a great-sounding pair of over-ears simply because there’s so much less space to work with.
Though I hate to be skeptical, the opinion that money is directly related to quality is common in specialist circles, particularly when audio and video are concerned. Some cables sell for $1,000, for example, even though the vast majority of people wouldn’t say there’s any difference between them and a $10 equivalent. An audiophile, however, might claim the difference is stark. It’s that kind of subjectivity, compounded by impenetrable lingo, that can blur the line between genuine innovation and snake oil.
With my skeptical hat returned to its drawer, I can say the EAMT-1s just ooze quality, from the smooth metal and rich, dark wood of the backplates to the luxuriously wrapped cables. Every connector is gold of course, and you can actually detach individual buds and swap the lead out for one with a 2.5mm jack. I didn’t even know those existed. Because of the earphones’ coaxial design, they are much deeper than “normal” in-ears. But at 35g, they aren’t noticeably heavy and are perfectly comfortable to wear all day, especially with the included Comply tips made from expanding foam.
The pair I’ve been testing have a handmade ceramic enclosure, chosen because the material is relatively inert from a resonance perspective — meaning it barely interferes with driver output (Yay! Something I actually understand!). The ceramic version is described as the best of the best, but you can also request the EAMT-1s with an aluminum enclosure that’s supposed to offer a more “neutral” sound, or an Acacia-wood enclosure for extra warmth.
Materials and build quality aside, the EAMT-1s sound absolutely incredible. I mean, you’d hope so for nearly $4,000, but it’s quite hard to communicate the clarity of these earphones. Listening to the Cure’s greatest hits in high-res FLAC format, for example, I can practically pick out the moment each string of a chord leaves the plectrum; similarly, I swear I can hear the creak of bass-drum pedal on some of my favorite Foo Fighters tracks. The clarity and depth are insane, like you’re sitting in the recording booth as these songs are being played.
And that’s with the EAMT-1s plugged directly into my MacBook, which I’m sure will anger one or two people who would probably argue I have no idea what they really sound like as I’m not running them through a dedicated DAC/headphone amp.
Because the output is so crisp and clear, the EAMT-1s feel at their best when there’s a lot going on in a track. By that I mean several guitars, drums, vocals, effects, et cetera. That said, simpler arrangements sound great too. The Wu-Tang Clan’s 1993 album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), for example, or Kendrick Lamar’s Untitled Unmastered from earlier this year. Never have heard I bass so … beautiful as on the EAMT-1s. The low-end is real deep and silky smooth. It’s not kick or volume, just pure bass tones.
But the thing is, it’s extremely rare for me to be sitting at my computer listening to high-def audio, especially as I have a pretty slim collection. The vast majority of the time — and I’m talking pretty much all day, every day — I’m jacked into Spotify. And I’m talking free Spotify here, where the maximum bitrate is roughly 160 kbps. While that sounds, well, fine on a pair on phone-bundled buds, the EAMT-1s expose every flaw. You might as well be listening to a Galaxy S2’s loudspeaker at the other end of tin-can telephone, to massively exaggerate the point.
Where high-res tracks give a real sense of presence, the same songs piped through Spotify on my phone sound muddy, ill-defined and distant. You can literally feel the compression like a haze hanging over the track — especially if it hasn’t been expertly produced and mixed. But I’m not an audiophile, and there’s only so long I can pretend to be one, with my paltry FLAC library and nonexistent Tidal subscription. Simply put, oBravo’s EAMT-1s aren’t made for muggles like me.
This was never more obvious to me than when I took them out of the safety of my flat. I was genuinely nervous carrying around a pair of earphones I couldn’t even dream of affording, knowing that soon enough I’d be returning to them to Audio Sanctuary, a task I’m seriously looking forward to. I can’t deal with that kind of responsibility. What if one fell out of my ear and somehow I managed to shatter a ceramic enclosure? What if I left them on the bus? People who can afford $4,000 earphones probably don’t have to worry about that, though. I doubt they catch buses very often.
Source: Audio Sanctuary
Six next-gen battery technologies
By Cat DiStasio
We all love our battery-powered gadgets, but portable power cells can be devastating to the environment. Fortunately, recent developments have proven that greener batteries are coming in the not-too-distant future. Engineers are replacing toxic components with less harmful materials ranging from leaves to sugar. Other innovations on the rise look to nature to help make batteries last longer, perform better and leave less of a trace once they’ve been discarded. This gold nanowire-based battery, for instance, was created by accident and could make lithium ion batteries obsolete, while this single-use battery dissolves in water when its job is done, making it easier to reuse its components.
The leafy green battery
A team of University of Maryland researchers sought to develop an inexpensive material to serve as their batteries’ negative terminal (anode). In the end, they found the perfect material right on campus. The team found that oak leaves could be heated to 1,000 degrees Celsius to destroy the existing carbon structures, and then introduced the electrolytes to the leaf’s natural pores for absorption. The result is a plant-based anode that performs similarly to traditional battery components. Research is ongoing to test other natural materials, such as peat moss, banana peels and melon skins in search of the nature-based battery of the future.
A graphene battery that charges in an instant
Scientists are working hard to create rechargeable batteries that can withstand more use. Australia’s Swinburne University has created a new graphene-based battery that shows rapid charging abilities — and it has enough durability to last virtually forever. Super strong graphene replaces lithium in the battery’s supercapacitor, addressing all of the shortcomings of that widely used material while also reducing the environmental impact of battery production. The graphene-based supercapacitor allows the new battery to charge to 100 percent power in just a few seconds, it can withstand many more recharging cycles and it also costs less to produce than traditional lithium-ion batteries.
Sweet and cheap: a battery fueled by sugar
A Virginia Tech team developed a sugar battery that lasts longer than any previous sugar-based prototypes could. Maltodextrin, a polysaccharide made from the partial hydrolysis of starch, is isolated from natural sugar and then used as fuel. When combined with air, the battery releases electrons from the sugar solution to generate electricity. Sugar is cheap and abundant, so it makes for a battery that’s not only affordable, but biodegradable as well.
Gold-based battery that doesn’t die
An accidental discovery by researchers at University of California, Irvine led to a technological breakthrough that could leave lithium-ion batteries in the dust. The team built a nanowire battery using gold and some new-fangled materials, and it can be recharged hundreds of thousands of times without slacking in the performance department like lithium-ion batteries are known to do over time. The battery consists of protected electrode nanowires made from a thin core of gold, surrounded by layers of manganese dioxide and a Plexiglas-like electrolyte gel. Although the team had initially been searching for innovations to increase the power capacity of batteries, they stumbled upon this method of building a battery that can last basically forever without showing any signs of wear.
Self-destructing battery dissolves in water
A self-destructing battery won’t come in handy for everyone, but the development of this dissolving energy storage device is a key innovation for certain applications where single-use batteries are currently being left behind to pollute the surrounding environment. Created by a team at Iowa State University, this battery is designed to self-destruct when triggered by light, heat or liquid, so it’s well suited for military applications and other so-called “transient” devices that require a power source for a finite amount of time. Certain medical devices and environmental sensors might fall into this category, and since the battery simply dissolves in water once it has served its purpose, its lasting impact on the environment is approximately nil.
Edible saltwater battery
Although there’s probably no need to eat a battery, you could chow down on parts of this one if you really felt compelled. In an attempt to demonstrate how natural and eco-friendly his company’s new battery really is, Jay Whitacre at Aquion Energy has eaten parts of the saltwater-based battery, and lived to tell. The battery’s components are comprised largely of naturally derived materials such as dirt, cotton, carbon and saltwater acting as an electrolyte solution. While hardly a delicious meal, the battery components demonstrate an ecological sensitivity not often found in the energy storage field.
This battery is designed for large-scale jobs, such as providing backup power for a home or business equipped with a renewable energy source, such as wind or solar. It can also be charged up with off-peak grid power, to save money on energy use during peak times when prices are higher.
The VR reading library Oculus hid at its developer conference
Oculus’ annual developer conference serves as a touchstone for its community; a time to see how far virtual reality has come in the last year and to inspire, motivate and help developers build the VR experiences of tomorrow. Most of that comes in the form of announcements, panels and software showcases, but in the media demo rooms, the VR company hid dense sources for inspiration in plain sight. Stacked just above the TV in at each demo station was a small collection of books — all of them about either games, game development or the effect of virtual reality on our culture.
Executives at Oculus have been pretty open about the books that inspire them. Both Ready Player One and Snow Crash have been name-dropped by the company’s founders on multiple occasions, and the former novel is almost required reading at the company: every new employee gets a copy. It’s supposed to get employees motivated about building great virtual reality experiences — but it seems like the team at Oculus gets inspiration from more than just science fiction.
Between game demos, one could read about the perils of game addiction in Edward Castronova’s Exodus to the Virtual World, or bone up on the value of games as an artistic medium in Tom Bissell’s Extra Lives. There were books on the effect of virtual reality on the human psyche, the lives of pro-gamers, how commerce in video games is effecting our real-world economy, and more. It’s not an official reading list by any means, but it’s clear that Oculus’ set dressers chose the conference’s display books carefully. Through the course of three days, we counted sixteen different books on gaming or VR, all catalogued in the gallery above. If you’re looking for something to read now that Oculus Connect 3 has come to an end, take a look — there are plenty of options.
SmartOmi Convertible wireless/wired earbuds: You can enjoy the best of both worlds with these hybrids (review)
The debate over wireless headphones has never been hotter with Apple removing the 3.5mm audio jack from its most recent smartphone. Sure others like Lenovo/Moto beat Apple to the punch, but no other manufacturer makes a bigger impact on the future development of smartphones than Apple. Some companies chose to stick with the 3.5mm audio jack like LG and Samsung. The lack of unification of basic connections like is not friendly to the consumer. We don’t know what the future holds, and removing the audio jack makes our trusty headphones obsolete.
Rather than picking sides, a very smart decision was made by a third party accessory maker, SmartOmi, to make earbuds that offer a wired and a wireless connection.
I’ve been using the hybrid wireless/wired headphones from SmartOmi and wonder why others aren’t doing the same.
Design
True wireless earbuds are just making their introduction to the market with options such as the Samsung Gear IconX and the Apple Earpods which cost over $170.
SmartOmi’s hybrid earbuds are bullet style with a single cord that connects between the two titanium canisters. The earbuds are similar to what we’ve seen from popular manufacturers such as Jaybirds and Beats audio where they connect to your smartphone over a single Bluetooth connection. However where these earbuds differ, is the ability to connect to a 3.5mm audio cable through the microUSB port. That way you can choose to use the 3.5mm audio jack on your mobile device, or use a wireless connection over Bluetooth. This is great for people who forget to charge their accessories since you can use the wired connection to power the earbuds.
MicroUSB port used for charging and the 3.5mm audio cable.
The titanium casing on both earbuds provides for a lightweight experience, and when paired with the proper silicone tip and flange offers a superior level of comfort. Included in the box are small, medium, and large ear silicone ear tips with two sizes of ear flanges.
The part that fits into your ear canal, isn’t as small as some that I’ve used before and might be uncomfortable for those with small ears. Those who have regular or large ears should have no issue with the fit.
At the end of each earbud are powerful magnets that stick to each other which makes a full loop so you can store them on your neck when not in use. Or you can stick them to metal objects like your refrigerator so you don’t misplace them when you get home.
The controls are placed inline between the two earbuds with a microphone for taking phone calls or using Ok Google or Siri. You can perform the standard functions from the earbuds where you can turn the volume up/down, fast forward/rewind a track, play/pause, and answer and end a phone call.
The SmartOmi hybrid earbuds are a high-quality build that make a whole lot of sense.
Usage
Sound quality always comes first when it comes to audio products. Build quality can be the best, but if the sound doesn’t match then there’s no point in spending your money. Overall, SmartOmi’s hybrids are calibrated to please everyone. They are rather powerful and offer a balanced and warm signature. What’s extremely nice is the earbuds sound the same whether using a wired or wireless connection. Highs are tight and crisp, mids are warm, and the lows offer a wide spectrum from deep to punchy depending on the music.
Consistency is very important between connection types and no one wants Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde earbuds based on how you decide to use your hybrids.
Comfort and fit come easy with these hybrid earbuds. I didn’t need to swap the ear tips or flanges to get the right fit on the first try. The fit is tight without being uncomfortable and can be worn for several hours without fatigue. I regularly got four to five hours of playback with the volume at 60-70% of the max. With a tight seal, there is no need to crank these earbuds up to loud levels which is better for your eardrums and hearing. The tight seal also offers the best playback as it is easier to hear a wider range of the sound spectrum.
Call quality is actually very good on the SmartOmi earbuds. That is probably helped by the strong EDR Bluetooth connection that I never experienced issues with. When you combine the build, fit and sound performance in combination with the ability to connect wired or wirelessly, the SmartOmi earbuds make a whole lot of sense.
Summary
I review quite a few headphones, but this is the first earbud style that I’ve reviewed that offers a wireless and wired connection. The ability to connect both ways seems like common sense, yet almost no manufacturer offers this feature. It’s a simple feature that I appreciate especially because I forget to charge my headphones. Nothing kills intensity worse than music dropping out in the middle of a run or weight lifting session.
Regularly priced at $59.99, I would recommend the hybrids as a great mid-range priced set of earbuds based on sound quality and build alone. I love earbuds that offer a balanced sound, rather than those that are unbalanced with emphasis on bass. Too much bass muddles out the mids and I never enjoy my music in that fashion.
Throw in the ability to connect any way you choose, with or without battery power, and these SmartOmi earbuds are a great buy if you love your music. Right now SmartOmi is offering these hybrid earbuds at a discount at $53.99 at Amazon with the discount code 5LKXFFPE.
Should you upgrade to the Google Pixel from the Nexus 5X?
There’s a ton of hype surrounding Google’s new Pixel, but should you upgrade from last year’s Nexus 5X?
If you picked up the Nexus 5X last year, you were likely swayed by one reason or another — appreciation for a smaller size screen versus the Nexus 6P, or simply nostalgia for its Nexus 5 predecessor. You might also enjoy the soft-touch plastic backing which helps you maintain your grip. However, if your experience actually using the phone on a daily basis has been anywhere similar to that of the AC writers who gave their thoughts on the Nexus 5X three months on, you may share their common complaints about inconsistent performance, limited storage space and some questionable moments when using the camera.
But it’s a new year, and that means a new phone launch from Google. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know the Nexus name has been replaced by Google’s new Pixel line up. Assuming you’re interested in upgrading to a phone around the same size as the Nexus 5X, should you get the Pixel to replace it? Let’s explore.
Let’s first compare the specs:
| Operating System | Android 7.1 with Google UI | Android 7.0 Nougat |
| Display | 5-inch 1920x1080AMOLEDGorilla Glass 4 | 5.2-inch 1920x1080LCDGorilla Glass 3 |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 |
| Storage | 32/128GB | 16/32GB |
| RAM | 4GB | 2GB |
| Rear Camera | 12MP f/2.01.55-micron pixelsPDAF, LDAF | 12.3MP f/2.01.55-micron pixelsLDAF |
| Front Camera | 8MP f/2.4 | 5MP f/2.2 |
| Charging | USB Type-CRapid Charging | USB Type-CRadpid Charging |
| Battery | 2770 mAhNon-removable | 2700 mAhNon-removable |
| Fingerprint sensor | Yes | Yes |
| Dimensions | 143.8 x 69.5 x 8.6 mm | 147.0 x 72.6 x 7.9 mm |
| Weight | 143 g | 136 g |
Hardware
As you would expect given the pricing and its late-2016 release, the Pixel offers better specs in nearly every category, and continues that into the overall build quality. The Pixel features an aluminum unibody build with Gorilla Glass 4 on the front, and a panel of glass along the top one-third of the back where the camera, LED flash and fingerprint sensor reside. Compared to the plastic featured in the Nexus 5X build, the Pixel resides in a completely different class. While some may like that the Nexus 5X bucked the trend of an aluminum unibody design as found on the Nexus 6P, there’s simply no denying how slick and cool the Pixel is — plus it’s also available in three distinct color styles.
The Pixel’s hardware and specs reside in a completely different class.
Internally, with the Pixel you get a Snapdragon 821 processor and 4GB of RAM to ensure everything runs smoothly. The Pixel’s 5-inch screen is slightly smaller than the 5.2-inch screen found on the Nexus 5X, which means you’ll enjoy better pixel density for a crisper viewing experience. When it comes to the camera Google is making a lot of bold claims, and though the hardware is very similar to the Nexus 5X the big change here is going to be overall camera performance and that’s a big deal.
Software
Each Pixel will ship running the latest version of Android, version 7.1. The Nexus 5X was one of the first phones to receive the Nougat update, so chances are you’ve already updated your Nexus to the latest OS.
However, as we’ve reported earlier there are a number of new features that will remain Pixel exclusives for the forseeable future. This includes the revamped Pixel Launcher. The Pixel and Pixel XL will be the first phones to ship will Google Assistant, which may well prove to be a real gamechanger in the way we interact and use our phones. Pixel users will also get free, unlimited original-quality cloud backup for all your photos and videos via the Google Photos app — and that includes 4K video. And the Pixel phones are the first to be specifically designed and shipped with Google’s Daydream VR platform.
The experience on the Pixel won’t be too far removed from the Nexus 5X, but there are enough new features here that you may be taking an extra look.
Bottom line
The Pixel is the first phone “Made by Google,” and by all accounts will be an amazing device with awesome specs and cool new features you’ll want to check out. But on the flip side of all that hype, the Pixel is not cheap. Starting at $649 for the 32GB version and getting as high as $849 if you upgrade to the 128GB of storage and get Google’s device protection, the Pixel line up is significantly more expensive than what you paid for your Nexus 5X.
This might price out a portion of the Nexus fan base, but if you’re still rocking the Nexus 5X and aren’t scared off by the steep price of the Pixel, then it’s definitely worthy of your attention, and your hard-earned dollars.
Google Pixel + Pixel XL
- Google Pixel and Pixel XL hands-on preview
- In pictures: Google Pixel and Pixel XL
- Pixel + Pixel XL specs
- Understanding Android 7.1 Nougat
- Verizon is the exclusive U.S. carrier for the Google Pixels
- Join the discussion in the forums!
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