If this is true, it would obviously be great. But I’ll believe it in 7 years if/when the Pixel 8 gets Android 20 (assuming they go on with their yearly release cycle).

I’m not even sure they have the vertical integration to be able to do it. Some proprietary firmware for a modem that’s not updated to work with later Linux kernels and all of a sudden it won’t work with newer versions.

But if they can manage that, great.

Even then it’s probably not for me. The last Pixel I tried for a week or so was the Pixel 6 Pro. The “Pro” Pixel line is their flagship lacking a lot of flagship specs: the SoC is basically a customized Exynos, which makes it rather inefficient compared to Qualcomm and Apple, resulting in pretty poor battery life despite sizable battery capacity. The optical (!) fingerprint sensor feels very slow (reminds me of first generation Touch ID, even though that probably was worse) and technically it’s also less secure than an ultrasonic one. The camera system is usually up there, but hardly the benchmark anymore. If you want the “Google experience” (whatever that may be) it’s probably great but other than that.

Also, storage options are very inconsistent with these. The biggest I could get in Germany was 256 GB with the 6 Pro, and that was only in black. Other colors were limited to 128 GB. There is a 512 GB version in some countries, but Google simply refuses to offer it here. Service/repair seems pretty horrible from what I’ve heard. 7 years of software updates don’t help when you can’t even get your battery changed quickly without hassle.

Phones overhyped by “tech” YouTubers. Their “a” series tend to offer great value for the money though, especially if you wait a few months after launch where prices from retailers drop quite significantly.