Google didn't need to make its own smartphone. Even though the company spent several years having other manufacturers build phones it could slap its "Nexus" branding on, selling hardware is not core to Google's business. Things like advertising and Search still handily dwarf the inroads the company's made as a smartphone manufacturer, and that will likely remain true for the foreseeable future.
Compared to the contributions the iPhone makes to Apple's bottom line, the Pixel has always, in some sense, been a hobby. Which means Google finds itself in a familiar place heading into the launch of the Pixel 10. It's better than it's ever been at the business of building phones, but the task for the Pixel remains the same: get people to use Google software (especially Search).
The first smartphones "made by Google"
Google sold its own hardware, including a lineup of phones, under the Nexus brand from 2010 to 2016 — but it was always known that hardware manufacturers like HTC and Samsung were actually building the hardware.
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That changed with the Pixel, the first time Google started using the now-ubiquitous "made by Google" phrasing. Ever since the first Pixel phone arrived in October 2016, Google’s phones have been defined by their camera skills. Google's significant breakthroughs in computational photography influenced the entire industry, and continue to do so today. The original Pixel and Pixel XL featured a single 12.3-megapixel camera and let anyone take great HDR photos without any fuss. Purchasing a Pixel or Pixel XL also unlocked unlimited full-resolution backups of your photos in Google Photos for free, a strong incentive to consider switching to Google's smartphone in its own right.
The company's glass and aluminum phone was more than just its camera sensor, though. A big part of Google's early pitch for the Pixel, and other hardware like Google Home, was that it could serve as a vehicle for Google Assistant. The AI-powered voice assistant had shades of Siri, and voice control features previously available in Android. But it was far more integrated into Google's software and services and had a deep well of knowledge to draw on from Google Search. An "OK Google" could let you set a timer on your phone, but it could also answer trivia or tell you about an upcoming calendar event.
Google continued to lean on software for the release of the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, which put Google Now-style proactive information on a new always-on display, along with a refined design with pressure sensitive sides that could activate specific functions on the phone. In terms of the camera, Google's major improvements over the original Pixel were the addition of optical image stabilization for video and a custom imaging chip, dubbed the Pixel Visual Core, that handled the image processing for both first-party and third-party camera apps. Besides being the first instance of Google sneaking some of its own custom silicon into its phone, the Pixel 2 was also was a significant challenge to Apple's dominance in the photography department
That pattern continued with the release of the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, which again featured a slightly modified design, wireless charging and a collection of new camera features. The biggest was Night Sight, Google's software solution for taking really good photos when there’s barely any light available. The feature was released after the Pixel 3 came out, and gave the phone the ability to capture more or less light at night depending on the shakiness of your hand. The third-generation Pixel was also paired with the introduction of Google Assistant's Call Screen feature, a mixture of visual voicemail and audio transcription that allowed users to see why someone is calling and only pick up if they wanted to.
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