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Google Is Considering Launching a Mid-Range Pixel Phone This Summer, Claims Report (arstechnica.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the price-sensitive dept.

According to a report from The Economic Times, Google is developing a new mid-range Pixel smartphone. "The paper claims that 'Google's top brass shared details of its consumer products expansion plans in trade meetings held in Malaysia, the UK, and the U.S. last month." The story cites "four senior industry executives" that were present at the talks. Ars Technica reports: The Economic Times pegs "around July-August" for the launch date of this mid-range device, which the publication says will have a focus on "price-sensitive markets such as India." The phone would be part of Google Hardware's first push into India, which would involve bringing the Pixelbook, Google Home, and Google Home Mini to the country. The Indian paper did not say if the phone would launch in other countries, but it did say the phone would be launched in addition to the regular Pixel 3 flagship, which the report says is still due around October. It's good to hear Google is considering expanding the Pixel line to more countries (even if it's just one more country) as distribution is currently one of Google Hardware's biggest weak points. The Pixel 2 XL is only available in eight countries; by comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S9 is sold in 110 countries. If Google really wants to compete in the smartphone market, it will have to do a lot better than selling in eight countries.

40 comments

  1. price-sensitive markets by wardk · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So somehow they can only produce affordable phones for "price sensitive" countries.

    1. Re:price-sensitive markets by jellomizer · · Score: 1

      The thing is, for the most part in price insensitive markets people will be more apt to buy the better phone and not Sacrifice quality or features on a substandard phone even if it is a better overall value.

      Also competing on costs is usually a path toward doom. As each version gets cheaper in quality to be cheaper in price. Until we got to the point where people buy a more expensive product because the want a better device.

      Gateway back in the early-mid 1990s was know for quality. Then they tried competing on price. Where Dell came in, it cost more but it was better built then by the early 2000’s they started making cheaper products then Apple came in...

      For areas where such devices are too expensive a mid range product is needed to compete with the other midrange products. Not shove a premium product at a cheaper price.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    2. Re:price-sensitive markets by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      can you buy from those countries?

    3. Re:price-sensitive markets by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't know if your examples are completely accurate. Apple never competed on price. They were expensive from the start and continued to be so. The desktop computer market has been constantly shifting. Right now, it may be that high-end users or gamers are only buying more expensive machines while general consumers buy laptops (leaving low-end desktops). Everyone is replacing their PCs/Macs/Laptops at slower rates because the hardware is lasting a lot longer.

      While Apple may dominate profits, they don't dominate actual computers sold. Dell, HP, and Lenovo each ship over 40 million computers each year (http://fortune.com/2017/01/11/lenovo-hp-dell-pc-market/). Acer and Asus each ship over 20 million (https://www.statisticbrain.com/computer-sales-statistics/). Apple shipped under 20 million, but they probably had high profit margins on most of them.

      Profit margins are probably why the big cell phone makers can't go far below $100 for a cell phone. It costs money to design and build the things, especially for custom designs (or they own the production lines). A company like Blu essentially just sells generic Chinese phones, which would be fine if they could be guaranteed updates and reasonable security (maybe Android One/Go will fix this?).

    4. Re:price-sensitive markets by ctilsie242 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Depends on what they mean as "affordable". A $250-500 handset would definitely have a market in the US, especially a Pixel brand that has an unlocked/unlockable bootloader. Not everyone here in the US can shell out a grand or more for an iPhone X, especially when there are midrange to entry level Android devices which can do everything a person wants or needs.

      Midrange phones can be decent. They may not have the latest, start of the art animoji or the latest gigapixel camera, but they will work just as well on a daily basis as a flagship phone, especially for most people who are not using it for extreme gaming.

      As for "price sensitive" countries, I would say that the US is becoming that way, especially if one doesn't live in SF, Austin, Seattle, or NYC.

    5. Re:price-sensitive markets by jellomizer · · Score: 1

      There are some cost apple products that have came out.
      the iPhone 5c, iPhone SE, iMac Mini, iPod mini, iPod shuffle normally come up as an Apple product for people who don't want to pay the for the premium product.

      Companies can make sub $100 smart phones, it is just that people don't want them.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    6. Re:price-sensitive markets by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The iPhone 5C was $550. Apple no doubt made a 50% profit margin on them. The iPhone SE is $330, but I've seen carriers/MVNOs sell it for ~$160 (I don't know what's up with that, is Apple dumping their supply?). The 2014 Mac Mini has an outdated laptop CPU and lacks RAM (you can get a Dell i3 for $400). Their iPods can't take SD cards unlike most of their competitors. (The Apple TV was price competitive when it was $100, but not at $150.)

      There is a market for sub-$100 phones, otherwise the ones out there wouldn't be selling. It's just that the no-name stuff is so poorly supported you'd just be pissing your money away.

  2. Seems well beyond the consideration phase by JoeyRox · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If the planned launch date is around July-August then they're probably already close to doing initial production runs.

    1. Re:Seems well beyond the consideration phase by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 2

      If the planned launch date is around July-August then they're probably already close to doing initial production runs.

      They probably just received FCC approval.

  3. Don't care. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My $20 flip-phone still works. Still gets 6 days to a charge. Has no ties to google. And nobody is spying on it.

    1. Re:Don't care. by jellomizer · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Except you phone company. Who has a list of all the times you made a call, who you called and where you called how long you called for. If your texting they probably have the texts too.

      Don’t assume obsolescence will make you safe from spying.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    2. Re: Don't care. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't forget they also know which cell towers he connected to and with what signal strength, so they have a pretty good idea of where he was, too.

    3. Re:Don't care. by DirkDaring · · Score: 1

      But hows the call quality with the tinfoil hat?

    4. Re:Don't care. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But they don't have the GPS data, email message archive, calendar appointments, driving routes, and the other data to tie it all together that Google has.

  4. Mid-Range by p51d007 · · Score: 1

    4 years ago, about this same time of year, I got a Huawei Mate2. It was during the "feeding frenzy" of the Oppo OnePlus One, while waiting for the invite, someone mentioned the Mate2, which had this huge battery. Reading the specs, it only had a snapdragon 400 processor. I ordered it on Amazon, thinking I'd play around with it, but send it back because of the "slow" processor. It came, and after setting it up, when I ran a benchmark, it was as expected...not the fastest in the west, but, what I was amazed, was how responsive it was. When the invite for the OnePlus One came, I got one, fiddled with it a few days, then sold it and went back to the Mate2. I ran that one for 3 years before upgrading to the Mate8. If you aren't into high end games, but, just use a phone as a phone, camera, mp3 player etc, you DON'T need the overpriced "flagships" with their flashy colors. These midrange phones are pretty good. Or, do like I do...wait til a new flagship comes along and wait for them to discount the "old" one...sometimes by around HALF of what they launched for.

    1. Re: Mid-Range by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The problem is that mid range phones usually don't come with timely updates or updates at all. Android one seems to be addressing this somewhat. I personally went with the Essential Phone which has good specs and hopefully will come with 3 years of updates/upgrades.

    2. Re: Mid-Range by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Agreed.

      I purchased an LG X Power 2 (called the X Charge in US) last year for $240 CAD for cash (no contract or financing).

      Fantastic phone. 4500mAh battery was the main reason. Its very snappy. Camera not great but I rarely use it.

  5. Nexus? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If Google really wants to compete they need to do this right and sell a decent phone at a fair price like the Nexus line. When they killed off the Nexus line I moved on. They also aren't going to compete unless they get carriers to sell their phones again.

    My last "Google" phone was the Nexus 5X, and even at that time we still had 6 other Nexus devices in the house being used. Now, its a mixture of OnePlus, Hauwei, and Samsung. OnePlus being my preferred as its the easiest to unlock, etc, but they don't have cheaper, models. So they aren't a good fit for my son for example. They also don't have tablets, so for that we are stuck with a specific Samsung that is still unlockable.

  6. Fake news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You can't name the sources? Fake news!

    And actually, no one cares.

  7. Re:Launching ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Are they trying hit Elon Musk's car or something, or are they going to being producing and selling or maybe even marketing a phone ?
    That is a poor use of that word...

    Well then I guess we'd better go back in time and never use the term "product launch" ever again.
    Of course, you'll have to make several thousand stops along the way to prevent the many many many uses of that term.

    Or... you can accept that this is a normal use of the word launch, just like when a ship rolls down into the ocean, which predates your reference to rockets by quite some time.

  8. come on... by Espectr0 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    just re-release the nexus 5x with updated internals (and same nexus 5x price)

    the day google started charging iphone-like prices it all went downhill

    --
    Open Source Java Web Forum with LDAP authentication
    1. Re:come on... by Albanach · · Score: 2

      just re-release the nexus 5x with updated internals (and same nexus 5x price)

      As someone who purchased four Nexus 5x phones, each of which is now bricked due to the bootloop fault, I think Google would rather that phone be forgotten. Honestly it was an embarrassment the way in which Google knew of issues with that device and didn't stand behind their customers.

    2. Re:come on... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > four Nexus 5x phones, each of which is now bricked due to the bootloop fault

      Yep. My wife and I both had one which went into the bootloop. Shame, 'cos I did love it as a phone.

    3. Re:come on... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mine bricked due to the bootloop fault but LG fixed it, I was without the phone for a week but it wasn't a huge deal.

    4. Re:come on... by Espectr0 · · Score: 1

      the nexus 5 was the same (mine fried). at least with the 5x LG replaced mine and it wasn't on warranty anymore. also, got a 32GB board instead of the 16GB i had.

      --
      Open Source Java Web Forum with LDAP authentication
  9. My list of requirements for cell phones, version 2 by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Cell phone requirements
    (Slashdot doesn't allow easily readable formatting.)

    > No abuse by suppliers of the OS or the hardware. There are areas in which Google (Now Alphabet, Inc.) is badly managed, in my opinion. No license provisions that give away important rights.
    > No unwanted programs
    > $1,000 or more is too much to pay. So, this list is focused on Android, not Apple phones.
    > Support both the modern GSM and the original CDMA system, all bands. You never know which provider you will need to use; some may have poor coverage where you happen to be. (In the U.S., only AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM.) That issue is complicated, as mentioned in the link provided.
    Which phones can I use on both software technologies, CDMA and GSM?
    > Dual SIM. When you travel, you may want to buy a pre-paid SIM card, so that you can give a local phone number to people you meet. That is especially useful when traveling internationally.
    > Replaceable battery. If the battery isn't replaceable, the manufacturer has arranged eventual failure.
    > Good battery life, infrequent charging
    > Good antenna
    > Latest version of Android, always upgradeable (Now, Apr 2, 2018, version 8.0.)
    > MicroSD slot: Have more storage without having to pay huge prices.
    > Headphone jack: Sometimes you want it. For example, sometimes 2 people want to listen to the same music.
    > Full resolution display, 1920 x 1080.
    > OLED display?
    > 5 GHz WiFi -- All WiFi bands
    > Waterproof
    > Fast charging
    > Camera:
    1) Optical stabilization
    2) Mechanical stabilization
    3) Works well in dim light, strong LED flash.
    > Qualcomm Snapdragon or other latest processor
    > Screen protector: Gorilla glass screen?
    > Good sound quality:
    1) Good sound quality through the speaker
    2) Good call sound quality
    > USB type C ?
    > Able to transfer apps to the SD card.
    > Stays cool when running several programs.
    > User interface? (Huawei uses EMUI.)
    > Included case: Don't pay ridiculously high prices for small bits of plastic.
    > Near-field communication (NFC)
    > Voice over Long-Term Evolution (VoLTE)
    > Easily Transfer phone numbers to and from the phone.
    > Android Auto?

  10. Please by Shemmie · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Will someone give me a nice 6 inch screen, a modern, update-able browser baked in, and that's it? No apps. No app-stores.

    I need texts, calls, and interweb. Turns out there's a standard for that latter part that means we don't have to use apps and all that crap.

    1. Re:Please by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Will someone give me a nice 6 inch screen, a modern, update-able browser baked in, and that's it? No apps. No app-stores.

      I need texts, calls, and interweb. Turns out there's a standard for that latter part that means we don't have to use apps and all that crap.

      Reminds me of the original vision for the iPhone where custom applications where meant to be WebApps

  11. Re:Launching ? by Archfeld · · Score: 2

    Launch :
    http://www.dictionary.com/brow...

    Notice there are 7 meanings for launch and only the very last one applies to this occurrence. Again I state this is a poor usage of that word, I did not say incorrect, but demonstrates poor grammar. I can launch a rock at someone which predates your ship reference and still more correct than what was used in the article.

    --
    errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
  12. The Nexus model was fine by It's+the+tripnaut! · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Good proc speeds with vanilla Android and very affordable pricing wasn't a bad model, they just didn't market it well. Frankly, not having it available for consumers to buy one easily in the vast majority of the world is just plain dumb.

    1. Re:The Nexus model was fine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are a lot more problems than just that. The post purchase support is fucking awful. When I broke the back glass on my pixel 1 I needed to go to twitter to get google to even read a message asking where I can get the phone fixed.. ridiculous company with awful support. Good luck getting something like the fingerprint scanner fixed, no one will in or out of warranty.

    2. Re:The Nexus model was fine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Strange. I have a Pixel 2 that died after about three weeks of ownership. I got Google to replace it under warranty after one phone call to support. It was relatively painless process.

  13. ...and they'll discontinue it next year. by Tony+Isaac · · Score: 2

    Remember Nexus tablets? Or Chromebook Pixel? Or Google Glass?

    This phone does not have a long life expectancy as a product.

    1. Re:...and they'll discontinue it next year. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, the Pixelbook is basically the Chromebook Pixel 3. It's also (since it's a convertible and runs Android apps) basically the latest Nexus Tablet (the PIxel C being the last one.

  14. Beat this, moto... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I got a ZTE with Qualcomm 425 CPU, 1GB ram, 5" screen, vanilla Android 6.0.1, unlocked, for $14.98 at Target on clearance the other day. $15 out the door. $7 for a 32GB sdcard. So $22 total. Actually it's a pretty sweet rig. Gonna use it as a vehicle digital instrument panel on my old truck was my thought...now I like it too much lol.

    Fuck spending $$$ on the latest & greatest. That's for noobs and chumps.

    1. Re:Beat this, moto... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow that's half what I paid for my ZTE Firefox, also on clearance.
      It can be flashed to Android 4.4 but I didn't bother yet (I would use it to install off-line OpenStreetMap. I don't plan to ever have a google account)

  15. Re:Beat this, mofo... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Supposed to be "mofo"

    Oh, and a 2800mah removable battery too lol.

  16. Great news! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Great news! Also, I'm ready to put my phone into a chipper/ shredder. Whoever thought they would be a good thing must have been a telemarketer.

  17. You are mistaken by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In 2018, an old flip phone is FAR more vulnerable to hacking than a smart phone. Smart phones area double-edged sword, but with proper configuration and apps can be made reasonably secure. Your flip phone has all the downsides and no upsides.