While the Pixel and Pixel XL are great devices, especially for Google’s first smartphone built from the ground up by the company, they are missing a few major features some high-end Android users have come to expect.
According to Wired’s David Pierce, who formerly wrote for The Verge, Google told him that it “ran out of time,” and was unable to add IP68 water resistance to its first flagship smartphone.
Compared to most devices, the Pixel’s development cycle was apparently very short, coming in at just “nine months and a week” from design to launch. The original plans for the phone were apparently canned at the start of 2015.
Other modern, high-end smartphones, including the Galaxy S7 and the dearly departed Note 7 are IP68 water resistance, while the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are IP67 certified. In comparison, Google’s smartphone features IP53 certification for dust and water resistance, resulting in the phone being able to withstandmsplashes but not full submersion in water.
Other missing Pixel and Pixel features some users of the phone have complained about include a lack of standard OIS image stabilization, though Google says the phone’s gyroscope is used for image stabilization to some extent. In my experience I’ve only missed OIS when shooting in low light.
Related: Google Pixel review: The high-end Android you’ve been waiting for
[source]Wired[/source][via]PhoneArena[/via]
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