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Google’s Issues with Its Pixel -- Shifting from Hardware Specs to Hardware Acquisition
Up until the Pixel 6, which is launching in October, Google tried to finesse the state-of-the-art hardware specs of its rivals by providing software alternatives. Even so, Google has historically had difficulties delivering the Pixel to a wide range of users across the globe. If Google intends to make any kind of impact with the Pixel 6, it’ll need to overcome its own history of poor supply. Google also announced the Pixel 5a 5G, a trimmed-down version of the Pixel 5, in the U.S. and Japan. The Pixel 5 and 4a 5G series are frequently out of stock on Google’s official site, and it’s one thing if Google can’t sell its phones to people who don’t want them; it’s another thing if it doesn’t seem like it wants to do so to people who do want to buy.
Google
With the Pixel 6, Google has wholeheartedly embraced contemporary smartphones design rather than reinventing the wheel with software. It’s putting in great cameras rather than relying solely on the excellent Google camera app, and the batteries are genuinely big and beefy ones rather than it using the adaptive battery it still has in Android 12. The supply crunch is impacting smartphone OEMs other than Samsung and Apple, but it will be especially difficult for Google, which does not drive high enough volume to jump to the head of the line when components are in high demand.
Aside from selling two Pixel sizes, the 2021 Pixels are rumored to be coming with a mix of RAM and Storage combinations, as well as different colors. Last year, Google shipped its Pixels in one SKU, for the most part, with the only variation being limited runs of alternate colors — white for the 4a 5G, blue for the 4a, and green for the 5.
“Having more SKUs greatly increases the complexity but may actually route around some supply chain bottlenecks if it means that Google can only source a limited inventory of parts used in one model but not another
Google may be focused on software, but its hardware ambitions have been no secret. If Google can nail the hardware and software experience of this phone, then it’s left with the challenge of getting Pixels in the hands of the people who want it while excitement reigns high.
Up until the Pixel 6, which is launching in October, Google tried to finesse the state-of-the-art hardware specs of its rivals by providing software alternatives. Even so, Google has historically had difficulties delivering the Pixel to a wide range of users across the globe. If Google intends to make any kind of impact with the Pixel 6, it’ll need to overcome its own history of poor supply. Google also announced the Pixel 5a 5G, a trimmed-down version of the Pixel 5, in the U.S. and Japan. The Pixel 5 and 4a 5G series are frequently out of stock on Google’s official site, and it’s one thing if Google can’t sell its phones to people who don’t want them; it’s another thing if it doesn’t seem like it wants to do so to people who do want to buy.
With the Pixel 6, Google has wholeheartedly embraced contemporary smartphones design rather than reinventing the wheel with software. It’s putting in great cameras rather than relying solely on the excellent Google camera app, and the batteries are genuinely big and beefy ones rather than it using the adaptive battery it still has in Android 12. The supply crunch is impacting smartphone OEMs other than Samsung and Apple, but it will be especially difficult for Google, which does not drive high enough volume to jump to the head of the line when components are in high demand.
Aside from selling two Pixel sizes, the 2021 Pixels are rumored to be coming with a mix of RAM and Storage combinations, as well as different colors. Last year, Google shipped its Pixels in one SKU, for the most part, with the only variation being limited runs of alternate colors — white for the 4a 5G, blue for the 4a, and green for the 5.
“Having more SKUs greatly increases the complexity but may actually route around some supply chain bottlenecks if it means that Google can only source a limited inventory of parts used in one model but not another
Google may be focused on software, but its hardware ambitions have been no secret. If Google can nail the hardware and software experience of this phone, then it’s left with the challenge of getting Pixels in the hands of the people who want it while excitement reigns high.
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Barry Young
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