Google's new Pixel 2 phones are House of Pleasures (House of Tolerance)nice. In fact, with their all-around solid specs, Google's software smarts and a camera that has the potential to be amazing, these (especially the larger Pixel 2 XL) could turn out to be the best Android phones around.
But in order to make these phones relevant in the market, Google needs to fix a key problem that ailed the original Pixels since launch: Low availability.
SEE ALSO: Google Pixel 2 vs. iPhone 8, iPhone X, and Samsung Galaxy S8Anyone who wanted to buy a Pixel phone was invariably greeted by an uncomfortably long wait time. And I'm not talking about a few weeks after these phones launched Oct. 4, I'm talking throughout the whole year in which they were available.
No matter how much you love Google's Assistant, the stock Android experience or the Pixels' subdued design, simply not being able to order one, or having to wait many weeks to get one, is a deal breaker.
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So will things improve this time around? It's tough to say. Right now, the situation in Google Store appears to be a little better (emphasis on little) than last year, when the larger Pixel went out of stock within 24 hours after the launch.
Right now, the Pixel 2 XL in white and black is all sold out, but the wait times for the unlocked, black variant, both with 64GB and 128GB, are holding steady at 2-3 weeks, which isn't horrible. The black, unlocked Pixel 2, currently ships by Oct. 17; the 64GB, white variant of that same device ships in 5-6 weeks, while the 128GB model ships in 3-4 weeks.
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable We'll see how these numbers change over the course of the next few days. However, there are other reasons to believe that Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will be easier to buy than the original Pixel phones.
First, all the Pixels were made by HTC, but this time around, Google actually owns a large chunk of HTC's mobile business -- the part that was already working on the Pixel phones. That should make some sort of difference, though it was never really clear if HTC was to blame for the original Pixels never being in stock.
There are also clues that Google has learned something from its last year's mistakes. For example, the company said it would enable pre-ordering the Pixel 2 phones even when they're out of stock, which is better than the previous option of joining a wait list and waiting for email notifications on availability.
Yes, things are looking up -- a little. And when the initial post-launch craziness subsides, we'll know more on how Google will handle the availability issue this time around. One thing is certain -- if the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL remain as hard to get as their predecessors, then even the greatest camera in the world won't make them a hit.
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