「AI＋ハードウェア＋ソフトウェア」で進化を続ける「Pixel 4」「Pixel 4 XL」

Last year, Google launched its own brand smartphone "Pixel" series sold in the United States and Europe for the Japanese market, and in addition to the SIM-free version sold by itself, "Pixel 3" and "Pixel" from NTT Docomo and Softbank 3 XL ”has been released. After that, in May of this year, the popular price range "Pixel 3a" and "Pixel 3a XL" were also introduced, and along with the development of other Google products such as Google Home, the hardware gradually gained a presence in the Japanese market. It is increasing.

Google used to develop smartphones under the brand name "Nexus", but the flow has stopped after the "Nexus 5X" and "Nexus 6P" released in 2015. The Nexus series was one of the first to use the latest Android platform, and it was gaining support from users, but the Pixel series, whose first model was announced in 2016, started to replace it. Unfortunately, the first and second generation models of Pixel have been postponed to the Japanese market, so there is a slight gap, but from 2018, the offensive to the Japanese market is strengthening again.

The Pixel series started as a replacement for the conventional Nexus series, but its position as a product is slightly different. Originally, the Nexus series was positioned as a "reference model" for the Android platform, and was manufactured in collaboration with HTC, Samsung, LG Electronics, Motorola, and others.

On the other hand, the Pixel series was initially developed by outsourcing the production to HTC, but in September 2017, it acquired the development department of HTC, and now it is being planned and developed within Google. It continues to evolve as a smartphone for comfortable use of various services provided by Google. In other words, it is a smartphone that aims to be able to quickly experience apps provided by Google, cloud services, and services that utilize AI technology.

However, the advantage of being able to use the latest Android platform as soon as possible is not lost, and as far as the update status of last year's Pixel 3/3 XL and this year's Pixel 3a / 3a XL is seen, it is natural that the latest version will be available. However, it is faster than other models.

Regarding the reaction of the Pixel series in the Japanese market for about a year, the night view mode of Pixel 3/3 XL was added in the update after the release, so it seemed a little late at the beginning, but it is enough. It seems to have been accepted by users who prefer a simple design while incorporating specifications and functions. Several people around me use the Pixel 3 as their main device.

However, I cannot deny the impression that the price has become a little disappointing. Since the initial price setting was a little high, the launch at the time of launch was not good, but from June to July this year, NTT DoCoMo and Softbank reduced the price of Pixel 3/3 XL by tens of thousands of yen, and then this announcement In September, just before that, NTT DoCoMo reduced the price to the 20,000 yen level with a lump sum payment. There is a trade-off with the limitation of terminal purchase subsidies from October this year, but with the release of the Pixel 3a / 3a XL in the popular price range in May this year, there is still a feeling that sales have become a little rough. rice field.

In response to this situation, Google has announced that it will launch two models for the Japanese market, the "Pixel 4" and the "Pixel 4 XL." Like the Pixel series from last year, it basically consists of two models with different specifications such as display size, resolution, and battery capacity. Chipsets are basically the same, and the functions and services that can be used are almost the same. There is a difference in continuous usage time due to the difference in battery capacity, but basically the choice is based on the display size and the ease of holding the body.

Regarding sales channels, in addition to the Google store sold by Google itself, Softbank will handle it as a carrier model. Softbank is said to have been the first to deploy the Android One series in Japan following the track record of many sales of the Nexus series by e-mobile, and the previous Pixel 3/3 XL also recorded top-class sales in the world. It seems that it was adopted in anticipation of its sales power. Unfortunately, NTT DoCoMo is not in the lineup of 2019-2020 winter / spring models, and au is still on the lookout, but I bought it at the Google store and inserted the SIM cards of NTT DoCoMo, au, and MVNO companies. It is possible to operate it.

The prices are as summarized in the attached table. Since the consumption tax was 8% when the Pixel 3/3 XL was released last year and 10% this time, it is converted, but the price has been reduced by about 5,000 yen compared to last year. That said, the 128GB version of the highest priced Pixel 4 XL is over 120,000 yen, which is relatively relatively high spec model to be released this fall, except for iPhone 11 Pro / Pro Max and Galaxy Fold. It falls into the high category.