A Google executive has dismissed the idea of a budget Pixel phone, saying a low-end handset would require too many compromises.
With the new Google Pixel 8 phones currently up for pre-order ahead of this month’s release – and now at a higher price than previous years – the question of whether the company will ever drop into the budget section of the market has arisen again.
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VP of mobile business Nanda Ramachandran told the Austrian newspaper Der Standard that the hallmarks of the new Pixel phones – cameras, AI and security – wouldn’t be possible on a device that comes in at a couple of hundred quid.
“It is quite unlikely that we will go in that direction,” he told the paper. “We would have to make too many compromises for that.”
Whether there’d even be a demand for a budget Pixel phone remains to be seen, given the Pixel 7a and its predecessors do a good job of maintaining much of the experience without too much compromise in the mid-range. Google also believes the Pixel 8 range remains good value despite the increase in price for this cycle.
“If you look at the Pixel 8, then we have renewed almost everything compared to the Pixel 7,” Ramachandran added. “And of course, the seven years of update support are also a significant investment.”
The longevity promise is significant. The phone will be supported through 2030 with access to Android updates all the way. Google is also promising to sell replacement parts so users have a better shot at fixing their phones and keeping them active throughout this decade.
The Pixel 8 phones also have a brand new Tensor chip, better screens and plenty more.
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