Even this old iPhone XR got the latest iOS update on day one (Image credit: Future)
Google is asking me to have the same confidence in Pixel phones, and that’s not an easy ask. So far, things have been smooth with the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. Google’s biggest software addition of the past year, the new circle-to-search functionality, was added to those phones on day one. Of course, the new search feature inexplicably launched on the Samsung Galaxy S24, but it showed up on the latest Pixel phones at the same time. No harm, no foul, Pixel 8 fans.
Google said it would bring circle-to-search to older Pixel devices, and the rollout has been odd. This week, in a Pixel Feature Drop, the new feature was added to the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro . The Pixel 7a and Pixel Fold, which are both newer phones than the Pixel 7, have not been updated with the new feature. Why?! All of these phones use the same Google Tensor G2 chipset. The Pixel 7a is a bargain phone, but it still has 8GB of RAM, just like the Pixel 7.
Why not bring the feature to all of these phones at the same time? The only reason I can imagine is that Google didn’t think it worthwhile to devote the developer resources. Google only has so many developers, and a limited number of people working on older phones. They focused on the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro first. Other phones will come later.
This makes sense at a small company, but Google has more than 180,000 employees . This smacks of laziness or a limited vision of Google’s Pixel team. Google appears to be abandoning its customers with no rhyme or reason. Thanks for spending $1,500 on the Pixel Fold ! Maybe eventually it will get the same features as this Pixel 7 you could have bought for $400.
It’s hard to recommend a phone Google doesn’t update
This doesn’t happen with Apple, a company that supports its phones long-term. Apple doesn’t leave its older phones behind, or leave its most important buyers wondering when the cool new features might come their way. If you have an iPhone 12 , or an iPhone 13 mini , or an iPhone 15 Pro Max , you got the new NameDrop feature on the same day as everybody else.
In this way, Apple simply treats its owners better. It is easier to recommend the best iPhone today because I know, from Apple’s history, how it will treat iPhone owners. I’m not so sure about Google.
The Pixel 7a didn’t get circle to search because … why?! (Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)
The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are great phones, and I’d have little trouble recommending them, but that’s not to say I’d have NO trouble. Will you be angry with me when Google offers a cool new AI feature for Pixel 9 owners but gives older phones neither feature nor explanation? I asked Google why the Pixel 7a was left out of the circle to search party, and they said they had nothing to share.
I’ve been recommending the Pixel 7a as a great bargain phone option, but now I wonder if Google cares about that phone as much as I do. I can’t recommend it if Google is going to leave it in feature limbo for the rest of its lifespan, for no apparent reason.
The line in the sand for me is Google’s seven-year promise, and that started with the Pixel 8, so that’s the phone I hold to a higher standard. From this phone forward, including a possible Pixel 8a that may arrive soon, I will expect Google to treat its phones equally, and to treat its owners with respect and clarity. If Google is going to change the game, making promises that beat Apple, it needs to show us that it’s ready to play ball.
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