I'm not going to buy the Google Pixel and here are 5 reasons why

1) No wireless charging

For the kind of price Pixel and Pixel XL are marked at (Rs 57,000, Rs 66,000, Rs 67,000 and Rs 76,000), the lack of wireless charging is a little off-putting. Of course, it is not an essential feature and even its intended rival, the iPhone 7, does not have it. But considering how Google has claimed it to be a superior species in the existing smartphone genepool, it would seem obvious that this is one feature it ought to have.

2) No optical image stabilisation

While it is true that the Pixel does have a great camera (DxOMark has hiven the camera a score of 89, the highest they have given to any smartphone camera ever), calling it the best camera ever is a little bit of a lie. The fact that both the Pixel and Pixel XL cameras don't have "Optical Image Stabilisation" is a little problematic. In simple terms, OIS helps avoid blurry images for those who have shakey hands (like me!). And considering the fact that its direct competitor, the iPhone 7 has this technology, it really should have incorporated it.

PS: The OnePlus 3 also has OIS.

3) Not water-resistant

In an age when most high-end phones manufacturers take the extra effort to make their products water-resistant, Google is either being ignorant, or just plain stupid. An IP68 rating basically means that the smartphone is water-resistant to a maximum depth of 1.5m for up to 30 minutes, and is protected from dust, dirt and sand. The Pixel and the Pixel XL do not have an IP68 rating. They have an IP53 rating which basically means that it is kind of spray-proof. Thanks Google.

4) Non-removable battery

This has been a standard in Google phones and one that should have gotten rid of. From a consumer perspective, it is always better to have removable batteries. It helps avoid overheating, helps increase chances of preventing damage if it comes in contact with water and in general saves you some money if there is any kind of battery damage. But no. Google really ought to rethink this one.

5) No expandable memory and lack of variants in storage

The Pixel and the Pixel XL lack expandable memory. Sure, one can argue that 128 GB is a lot of disk space, but there is also the more affordable 32 GB variant. And even with that, the variants are weird themselves. The Pixel and the Pixel XL come in 32 GB and 128 GB. There is no 64 GB variant, which in itself is weird. 

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