With the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recall, timing is everything. And Google may just capitalize on such timing with the release of its Pixel smartphone. For Android fans who despise the Apple closed architecture, Google seems to have delivered a worthy alternative. Of the reviews I have read, all seem to rate the Pixel phone a strong competitor.
Most seem to especially point to the Google Assistant, a Siri AI alternative to answer verbal questions at a touch of a button. Per Walt Mossberg, former WSJ writer and now re/code co-founder, "the Assistant blew away every competitor I’ve tried. It shredded Siri,
which has a five-year lead. It not only did on-phone tasks reliably —
like launching an app, or creating reminders or notes, or playing music —
but it understood most of the wider-world questions I asked it." Impressive, although Siri is the least of the reasons today to purchase an Apple iPhone.
For other Android phone manufacturers, the release by Google of its own line of smartphones may cause trouble in the Android universe. No longer is Google a partner offering an alternative operating system to Apple, it is a competitor as well using the same operating system to drive users to buy a Google smartphone. And that may be troubling as smartphone wars seem to heat up between Apple and Google.
