As we near the launch of Pixel 10, I’m getting some déjà vu with Google’s new devices, as the company has been pushing forward with its flagship phones for the betterment of the entire Android ecosystem, rather than just its own benefit. Sound familiar?
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Back before we had the Google Pixel lineup, each year would deliver a new Nexus phone. Google produced these devices for a handful of reasons. It started largely as a way for Google to provide a device for developers to make Android apps on, but it morphed into being the place where Google would help break in new ideas for Android as a whole. Essentially, these devices would set the standard. Some examples that come straight to mind include Nexus phones being among the first to adopt USB-C, standardize fingerprint sensors, introduce new features like Seamless Updates, and help bring computational photography into the limelight.
When Google moved over to Pixel as its device, the goalposts shifted a bit.
Pixel wasn’t aimed at developers or meant to be a poster child for features, it was meant to be a device for consumers, a device that provided the experience that Google wanted to deliver through every element. In many ways, the series has let the goals of Nexus live on, but it’s clear that Google has been pretty happy doing its own thing (see Tensor) while allowing its partners to take the wheel, so to say. More recently, though, it really seems like Google is once again trying to set the standard for Android, and doing so through Pixel.
The first instance of this came with the Pixel 8 series. The bombshell announcement of Google promising “at least” 7 years of both security and major Android OS upgrades was important. Not only was Google setting itself apart, but it was outdoing Apple. In the time since, we’ve seen the entire Android industry make moves around this new standard. Samsung matched Google’s policy (almost immediately, no less), and many other brands have stepped up to deliver far longer update policies than they used to. There are still plenty of brands with underwhelming software support, but Google’s move did a lot of good for Android as a whole.
I’m hoping Pixel 10 is the next step in that regard.
The Qi2 standard has been messy, to say the least, with only a single Android phone having adopted the standard – 2024’s HMD Skyline – but even HMD seems to care a little less about its phones nowadays. Samsung half-heartedly adopted Qi2, but the “Qi2 Ready” program is mainly an excuse to skip building magnets directly into a device. It’s a good thing to exist, definitely. So many case makers were already throwing magnets into their cases, and “Qi2 Ready” gives that some standardization (though it’s not marketed well at all). But on the other hands, it lets Android manufacturers ignore and/or weaken a standard that brings a hallmark feature of modern iPhones to the masses, and a feature that people clearly enjoy.
Google is stepping up to the plate with Pixel 10 and properly adding Qi2 support, or at least that’s what recent leaks spell out. That’s a big deal. For customers, because Google seems like it’s building out a whole ecosystem in “Pixelsnap” as our team discusses on the latest Pixelated episode, but also for Android as a whole.
With a major name in this industry – if a small one by sales numbers – adopting proper Qi2 support, every Android manufacturer now has a real reason to add support. It’s no longer about matching/copying the iPhone, it’s about keeping up with their direct competition.
The update situation matters far more in the broad scheme of things, but the arrival of Qi2 continues on a similar effort.
What do you think?
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