When the first #MadeByGoogle smartphones were unveiled back in the fall of 2016, many so-called Android purists probably experienced instant mixed feelings. On one hand, Google was clearly taking own-brand mobile devices more seriously than ever by going after Apple in a number of obvious ways.
Then again, the expansion of the Pixel program, which actually started years earlier with laptops and tablets, meant the Nexus line was grinding to a halt. That wasn’t at all shocking, but it still saddened some folks who may have fallen in love with Google’s earlier hardware experiments, despite major shortcomings.
