Google Pixel and Pixel XL: UK release date, price, specs and features of Google's new Android smartphones
Google Nexus is dead - long live Google Pixel. Here's everything you need to know about Google's new iPhone 7 rivals
Google has revealed two new phones that will offer an alternative to Apple's popular iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
The search giant has been producing its own Android-based phones for the last few years under the "Nexus" brand - but no more.
Google has ditched the name Nexus in favour of the Pixel moniker. In the past, the company has used the Pixel name on its premium tablet and laptop products.
The new Pixel is, in Google's words, "the first phone built by Google inside and out".
Just like Apple, Google controlled both the hardware and the software - in this case, Android version 7 (nicknamed Nougat).
READ MORE: How much does the Google Pixel and Pixel XL cost?Release date
Pre-orders for the phone began on October 4 in the US, UK, Australia, Germany and Canada.
The phone will ship to customers and be available in shops on October 20.
READ MORE: iPhone 8: Release date, price, rumours and news about Apple's 2017 iPhoneHow to pre-order and best deals
Pre-orders for the Pixel and Pixel XL are both open either through Google's own online store (which you can find here) or high street store Carphone Warehouse (which is here).
Alternatively, you can go to the network EE, which has an exclusive right to the Pixel phone in the UK.
With EE, the Pixel is free on a £50.99 a month, 24 month 4GEE plan, which comes with unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 10GB of mobile data a month for existing customers.
READ MORE: How much does the Google Pixel and Pixel XL cost?The Pixel XL is also available free on a £55.99 a month, 24 month plan, and comes with unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 10GB of mobile data a month for existing customers.
4GEE Plan customers receive unlimited minutes, texts and 500MB of data a month for use abroad in the EU. Alternatively, for just £5 per month more, you can get Pixel and Pixel XL on 4GEE Max plans giving you access to the UK’s fastest 4G speeds, and inclusive access to the BT Sport App for the duration of the plan.
Just as an extra sweetener, those who pre-order before October 20th will receive a £50 Google Play voucher they can use to purchase content from the Google Play store.
Google Pixel launch
Design
The white Pixel bears a striking resemblance to the iPhone 6 although it has the rear-mounted fingerprint scanner popular with other Android handsets.
Both the smaller Pixel and the larger Pixel XL will make the jump to the USB-C charging port and both will have 4GB of RAM and the same 12MP camera on the back (8MP on the front).
There will be a choice of either 32GB or 128GB of internal storage, and Google is also offering Pixel owners free unlimited storage for photos and videos through its Google Photos app.
And - of course - Google has kept the 3.5mm headphone jack in place, unlike Apple which ditched it with the launch of the iPhone 7.
READ MORE: What makes phone batteries explode? And what to do if YOU bought Samsung's Galaxy Note 7Both the Pixel and the XL have a similar design to last year's well-received Nexus 6P albeit with a thinner bezel that means a near edge-to-edge display.
Price
Buying directly from Google or Carphone Warehouse means you can pick up the phones SIM-free and unlocked for the one-off price of £599 for the 5-inch Pixel and £719 for the 5.5-inch Pixel XL.
That puts them in exactly the same kind of territory as Apple’s iPhone models.
It looks like EE is the only network in the UK that will stock the phone on contract, and we'll update this as soon as we know for certain.
Specifications
The Pixel XL has 5.5-inch 2,560 x 1,440 AMOLED display with a quad-core Qualcomm processor, 4GB of RAM, USB Type-C port, and rear-facing fingerprint reade.
It has a 12-megapixel rear camera and a 8-megapixel front-facing one.
It will also have a beefy 3,450mAh battery and standard 32GB of storage, with the option to upgrade to a 128GB if needed.
READ MORE: Android 7.0 Nougat: All the features of Google's new mobile operating system and how to download it onto your smartphoneThe regular Pixel has similar specs, but it’s clearly the lower-end of the two flagships.
It will sport a 5-inch Full HD AMOLED display, quad-core 2.0GHz 64-bit processor, 4GB of RAM, the same cameras as the XL and a smaller 2,770mAh battery.
As expected, it will also come with a rear-mounted fingerprint reader and a USB Type-C port.
Features
Both Pixel phones come pre-installed with the latest version of Android (Nougat), as well as Google's AI-powered assistant Allo and the FaceTime-style app Duo.
Google also "live cases" that can be customised with your favorite photos and places, as well as exclusive designs from artists like Justin Maller, and photographers like Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield.
Should you buy it?
If you don't like the idea of an iPhone 7 there's a lot to suggest Google's phones will offer a decent alternative. These phones will be developed to Google's spec so should have the best integration with Android on the market.
What's more, they're going to be entirely free of the third-party bloatware commonly loaded onto Android phones by other manufacturers.
