Not so long ago, Google had better designed its smartphone portfolio. Hopefully, they return to it. The other day detailing his own personal issues he’s witnessing with the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Among them: the display size of the Pixel 6 Pro, which Google could have compensated for with a good one-handed mode – but this opportunity was probably missed.
Fortunately, with a body height of around two meters and hands that are quite proportional to this, I rarely had a problem with an above-average display area on smartphones. Nevertheless, in this article, I would like to speak for all those for whom the Pixel 6 Pro is too big.
The tenor of many comments was that you simply shouldn’t buy such a large smartphone if you have small hands or don’t want to make any compromises. And this is where the authors are wrong.
Pixel 6 Pro is not only the bigger but also the better smartphone
With the Pixel 6 Pro, Google implemented a new strategy in the naming structure. The “Pro” can be found for the first time in the designation of a pixel smartphone and makes it clear at a glance that you are dealing with a better-equipped device here, but not with a larger one. While the Google Tensor chip in both the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro is the same.
The Pro model has more RAM and, most notably, a third camera sensor, which is likely to lure the majority of those interested. The screen size is ultimately just a by-product that you have to accept if you want the advantages mentioned, even if you have no interest in such a large display.
It was different from previous generations. If the Pixel 4a and 5a only came in one format, Google offered an XL model from the Pixel 2 to the Pixel 3 to the Pixel 4. This not only brought with it an unusual name, because the main and XL devices ultimately used the same technology, just in a slightly larger package.
Apple and Samsung, for example, do it better
I think you can make a comparison to Apple at this point. With the normal iPhone and iPhone Pro, Apple first and foremost gives customers the choice of equipment, not size. If you like it even bigger, you have to go for the Pro Max, but that should also change this year with a supposed Max version of the normal iPhone.
The iPhone 11 Pro was actually quite a bit smaller at 5.8 inches versus the 6.1 inches of the iPhone 11. Samsung also manages this quite well with its flagship series, the datasheets of the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+ agree for the most part (apart from the display). This shows that good hardware does not need more space.
Google should bring back the XL strategy
So what I would like to see from Google is obvious. They should provide an equally sized Pro model with the Pixel 7 and feel free to go back to the old “XL” suffix, which simply denotes a larger, not better smartphone.
But I can well imagine why they don’t. If they were to sell a Pixel 6 XL with the same technology as the Pixel 6, they would lose buyers who are now turning to the Pixel 6 Pro precisely because of the large screen. However, you can currently justify a higher price because of the better technology.
Also, while Google is a well-respected Android custodian, it doesn’t play a big role in terms of sales compared to other companies, so they probably just can’t afford to diversify their portfolio. I just had to get that off my chest. Now, of course, I would be interested in your opinion, if you haven’t already expressed it in Denny’s last post – but please stay factual!