The "Pixel 3 Lite" seems pretty certain at this point. Question is, will the first low-cost Google phone offer more bang for the buck than the iPhone XR?
Japan's largest business daily Nikkei chimed in this week with a report about the imminent low-cost Google phone.
Google's new smartphone will be its first non-premium model aimed at price-sensitive customers and those in emerging markets. It is expected to be priced lower than Apple's cheapest iPhone, the XR....
--"Google plans cheaper smartphone to draw users into internet empire" Nikkei, February 13, 2019
So, how will a cheaper Google phone stack up against Apple's latest inexpensive entry?
Low-cost Google phone: Rumored specifications are impressive for the phone dubbed the Pixel 3 Lite (courtesy of Rozetked): 4GB RAM, 8MP front-facing camera, and a 12MP rear camera. The battery is 2,915mAh, which would match the 5.5-inch Pixel 3.
But where does Google cut costs?
The base storage is only 32GB and it's (purportedly) made largely from plastic materials. Other supposed cost savings come from a 5.56-inch IPS LCD screen (2,220-by-1,080) and a Snapdragon 670 processor. (And it may have a retro 3.5mm headphone jack.)
All the above is lesser hardware than the current Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, which have a base storage of 64GB, an aluminum frame and glass back, pricier OLED displays, and faster Snapdragon 845 processors.
But one question is, will Google eliminate cool features on a Lite phone such as Google Night Sight?
iPhone XR: Apple's low-end XR has some premium features despite its low $749 starting price (the 64GB XS starts at $999) including an edge-to-edge display, a glass back for wireless charging, long battery life (longer than the XS), the same A12 processor as the XS, and a 7MP front camera and a 12MP rear camera.
Where Apple cuts costs: The lower-cost XR has a lower-resolution LCD display (1792-by-828-pixel resolution at 326 ppi) compared to the high-resolution OLED display on the XS (2436-by-1125-pixel resolution at 458 ppi) -- which is probably the single* biggest difference. And the rear camera lacks the second 2X zoom telephoto lens found on the XS and XS Max. Also smaller things are lacking like 3D touch.
Can the "fastest growing U.S. smartphone brand" begin to impact the iPhone? While Google's impact on the global market has been very small so far, according to IDC (as cited by Nikkei), this may be changing in the U.S. Strategy Analytics said last week that Pixel shipments jumped by 43 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018 over the previous year and is the "fastest growing U.S. smartphone brand."
Google appears to be eyeing a strong launch for the low-cost phones. Android Police said in December that "Google intends to launch two new Pixel [Lite] smartphones on Verizon in early spring 2019."
Google is also being very aggressive with Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL pricing, offering regular discounts (three sales on the Google Store since the phones were announced in October) of at least $150 on both the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. That's typically a strong indication that a company is trying to carve out a larger share of the market.
Upshot: If rumors hold up and Google is aggressive on Pixel 3 Lite pricing and if it enables software features like Google Night Sight and U.S. market share continues to grow, Google phones could begin to impact iPhone sales over the course of 2019 and into 2020.
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*But the iPhone XR's lower-cost LCD also boosts battery life.
