Google's first generation of Pixel has been well-received by critics and fans alike, and signals the search giant's successful foray into smartphone manufacturing.
With its smooth performance, great processor, superb camera, and a clean Android 7.0 Nougat experience, the Pixel was certainly a breath of fresh air in the oversaturated Android market.
However, Google does realize that it is not the perfect smartphone and that there is still room for improvement, which is why the company is now asking for user feedback that it will use to come up with the second version of Pixel.
Krishna Kumar, Google's Product Lead for Pixel, posted a design feedback request in a Pixel community forum, as well as a link to a CNet special report that highlighted the company's meticulous and painstaking design process.
The thread has since been locked down after being inundated with comments. The people have spoken, and here are some of the things they think should be added to the future Pixel phone.
Water-Resistant
The Google Pixel is IP53 certified, which means that "water falling as a spray at any angle up to 60° from the vertical shall have no harmful effect." You're probably safe if you accidentally spilled water over the phone, but nothing more extreme than that.
However, the Pixel was launched at a time when Apple has an IP67 certification and Samsung has an IP68 certification for their flagship phones. This puts the Pixel at a disadvantage when it comes to this category.
Smaller Bezels
There is a lot of wasted space on the phone's unused bezels. The side bezels are thin enough, but the bottom bezel is unnecessarily huge and could have been put to better use if only the company placed a dual front-facing speakers, like they did with the Nexus 6P.
Front-Facing Stereo Speakers
The company should also pay better attention to audio with its next iteration of the Pixel. The Nexus 6P had a solid set of speakers, something that is sorely missing from the Pixel. Not only that, the Pixel speaker is also suffering from a hardware issue that the company is now in the process of fixing.
Other issues that were raised from Kumar's questions are not related to design, but are just as important. Four months after it has been launched, the Pixel is still difficult to come by because of its limited availability and expensive price tag.
Still, it is encouraging that Google is reaching out to its user base, and hopefully the feedback it has received will be used in the development of its predecessor.
