The tech press has been pretty "meh" across the board.

Reading more: it seems that Google are constraining certain 7.1 features to the Pixel line, apparently just cuz.

If you bought a 6P, you must be feeling a bit boned right now.

Astute comment:

What an amazing business strategy!

1) Introduce new, overpriced, (based on comments by users on this site) unpopular new product.

2) Intentionally hobble previous products to entice people into upgrading.

3) Forget that human beings have memories.


Or, in a nutshell,

Can't make a product that even competes with your previous offerings? Somehow reduce the desirability of your previous product to make it seem less competitive. Google (at least tacitly) presented the Nexus line as being one where you could be guaranteed the latest and greatest. Now they have a new product that is clearly unpopular (at least at first blush based on the comments on tech sites like Ars) but they are going to change their update policies to try to make the Pixel seem less bad by comparison.

For me, at least, this taints their whole business. Why would I buy even the new Pixel? I cannot trust Google to not arbitrarily change their mind in a year and decide that their "Brand New Innovative Business Strategy (tm)" with their new hardware line (called "button" or "transistor" or whatever) is the future. Fuck whatever that Pixel thing was that they were just "testing out" in the market.