The past 48 hours have been crazy, following the announcement of Google Pixel.   Ever since Google’s announcements of its Pixel phone this Tuesday in San Francisco, many news outlets including; The Verge, Bloomberg, CNET, Usa Today and others have been drawing comparison between the Pixel and the iPhone 7. Aside from both being smartphones, why does everyone seem compelled to compare these two devices?   One article by Kef Leswing for Business Insider discusses some of the comparisons being made between the Pixel and the iPhone: “…And when new Google hardware boss Rick Osterloh revealed the Pixel, he couldn’t help but throw shade at the Pixel’s main competitor, Apple’s iPhone. “Pixel has no unsightly camera bump,” Osterloh said before highlighting the device’s virtual-reality capabilities and artificial-intelligence assistant.” Mark Gurman writing for Bloomberg Technology notes that “Google……. debuting a pair of slick and powerful handsets that for the first time will go head-to-head with Apple Inc.’s iconic iPhone.”

Now let’s take a deeper look into some of the speculated reasons behind the comparison of Google Pixel and the iPhone7.

The Advertisement:

In one minute and twenty-one seconds Google compared its Pixel to the iPhone in numerous ways, here are some: 1. It’s NEW! This being in contrast to the iPhone 7, which is, of course, the 7th generation of Apple’s iPhones. Whereas the Pixel is the the first Pixel of its kind (for now). 2. It has a headphone jack. After Apple had received heat for removing the standard headphone jack, Google wanted to reassure fans they would not be following in Apple’s footsteps. 3. There is no camera bump. Another complaint Apple has come under fire for in the past is the bump on the back of the phone created by the camera jutting out. Google hops on the bandwagon here as well. 4. The whole advertisement has an “Apple vibe” to it, the colors in the background, the simplistic style and even the phones floating in mid-air, all of this screams Apple.  

The Event

At Google’s Pixel event, the company’s hardware chief Rick Osterloh, made note that the Pixel does not have an “unsightly camera bump”. Later on when discussing storage a Google engineer stated that the Pixel would have unlimited photo and video storage in the cloud, and users can “say goodbye to those painful ‘storage full; popups”, while displaying an iPhone popup. Osterloh also used some of Apple’s big marketing points, saying that the Pixel is the “intersection of software and hardware” and that the phones “just work”.  

Everything else:

Aside from the times when Google compares the Pixel in unsubtle ways to the iPhone, it also shares many resemblances. The pricing of the two phones is nearly identical with both starting at $649 for the most basic version. The hardware, the look and the camera are all very similar as well. Most importantly Google has claimed this phone as it’s own and that the hardware and software are all under one house, just like the iPhone.   The Google Pixel will even come with a Quick Switch adapter so you can transfer all your phone’s (iPhone’s) data, messages, photos, etc.

So why all the comparisons to the iPhone 7?

Google has essentially marketed the Pixel as Google’s iPhone, making this announcement only a month after the iPhone 7 announcement. Throughout its video advertisement to the pricing of the device, Google has done a good job at comparing itself to Apple.   I wonder if Google will be able to take away from Apple’s fanbase or if it has started a mobile- war with the wrong tech-giant.