From nowhere, it suddenly appeared.
A new Pixel phone from Google[1]. And, seemingly, a new attitude toward one of my favorite subjects: aesthetics.
Here's a phone that bathed in dreams of sophistication.
Here's a phone seemingly targeted toward those who have made too much money lately. And toward those who think nothing of taking out a loan and spending four figures on a phone. And toward those who are fascinated by words like Tensor[2].
But what's it like when you actually use it? Well, Google[3] sneakily -- as it does many things these days -- slipped out a little video[4] to give potential customers a taste of what's to come.
First, you're assaulted by lots of pretty pastel-colored icons. And wait, there's a clock and a calculator.
The camera is a notch above the notch. It's but a pinhole that sits there like a zitty blemish on an otherwise large, pristine screen.
The wallpapers look engaging too.
But is this something truly arresting? Is this the reason to switch from a Samsung[5] or even, perish the concept, an iPhone[6]?
Well, it's not supposed to be, is it? It's just a cheery tease to whet your anticipatory glands and encourage you to start saving money.
But I still have a problem. Where's the centerpiece, the masterpiece of this whole thing? I speak, of course, of that marvelously designed camera bump.
I haven't seen it in person, but every image of the back of the phone makes it truly stand out, in a semi-Bauhaus kind of way.
Where the backs of too