Google unveiled its inaugural mobile phone line, Pixel, at the #MadeByGoogle event in San Francisco Oct. 4. The new phone is entirely produced by Google, deviating from their normal web-based products.

The new device comes in two sizes. The Pixel comes in with a 5.0 inch display and the larger Pixel XL with a 5.5 inch display. The Pixel XL has a larger 3,450 mAh (milliAmps per hour) battery, compared to the the Pixel’s smaller 2,770 mAh battery. Respectively, both devices show off a charging time of 70 percent charge in just under 15 minutes, giving users a total time of 15 hours of use with no charge.

Both devices brandish a QHD AMOLED screen with 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 4, giving the phone good display color and a strong exterior, as well as what Google is calling “the best smartphone camera that anyone has ever made”. And according to DxOMark.com, the phone’s camera has a rating of 89, which is currently the highest-rated phone camera yet, the iPhone 7 only coming in second with a rating of 87.

The phone also comes pre-packaged with virtual reality capabilities, while the operating system is using a modified version of Android Nougat. Google’s newest phone is targeting directly at the mobile market through their exclusive retailer Verizon, even going so far as to call out Apple’s controversial removal of the 3.5 mm headphone jack for the iPhone 7 in their release trailer.

Google’s first attempt at pushing into the mobile market is extremely competitive, the Pixel being priced at $649 and the XL at $769. Both phones are available for pre-order and will be released Oct. 20.

Carl Illustrisimo felt negatively towards the product.

“Frankly, it’s nothing to get excited about, when the Nexus came it out was pretty grand too, but upon release it was mired with many problems. So I’m not jumping on the hype train,” Illustrisimo said.

Long-time Apple fan Connor O’Brien had strong feelings about the product.

O’Brien said, “I’ve always been a fan of Apple’s design, inside and outside the phone, but without Steve Jobs at the helm, they’ve had the same model for the past few years. I feel like Google has answered all my prayers as a designer for making an interesting phone that is more than just a black box with a screen.”

by ENZO BIONDI