104 PCWorld FEBRUARY 2021FEATURE THE YEAR OF THE GOOGLE PIXEL
But things might be looking up. In 2020
Google switched up its strategy with the Pixel
4a and 5, and the results were shockingly
good. For one, the design was fantastic, with
a light frame, slim bezels, and a textured
non-glass back. But the more interesting
moves were inside the phone: Google opted
for the midrange Snapdragon 765G rather
than the 865, and the Pixel didn’t lose a step.
It still feels speedy, still delivers the purest
Android experience, and still takes better
photos than phones costing hundreds of
dollars more. It also opens up the Pixel to a
new world of possibilities.LOWER-END,
HIGHER-CLASS
The Pixel might have been just a gleam in
Google’s eye when Android One launchedT
his time last year I wrote a column
titled, “If you got a Pixel 4 for
Christmas, you should probably
return it (go.pcworld.com/p4xm).”
I didn’t want to write it. Ever since the Pixel
launched in 2016, I’ve rooted for Google’s
phone to succeed. No other company is in
such a position to bring an iPhone-like level of
hardware/software integration and an
experience unsurpassed on any other
Android phone.
Unfortunately Google never quite nailed
it. The pieces were all there—flagship
processor, fantastic camera, regular Android
updates—but the design always left much to
be desired, the features were gimmicky, and
the battery was merely good-enough. On
the Pixel 4, the compromises became too
much to bear.