Google Pixel Smartphones to Take On Apple iPhone 7? GOOG is Going Ad-Crazy

Google Pixel Oct 4 launch - billboard with event advertisement

From the way Google is buying up billboard space around the country ahead of the assumed Google Pixel launch on Oct.4, it would seem that the search engine giant is now after smartphone giant Apple and its recently launched iPhone 7. But it’s not just the United States, either. Google has apparently rented building-side space in Germany to advertise its Oct 4 launch of what we assume to be two variants of the rebranded Nexus phones, dubbed Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL.

Coincidentally, the ads in Germany appeared this week, when the famous Photokina exhibition in Cologne, is being held between Sep 20 and 25. Photokina is the self-proclaimed “world’s leading trade fair for photo and video.”

Google Pixel Oct 4 launch - billboard with event advertisement
The Photokina exhibition in Cologne, Germany

This isn’t the first time Google is going all out to advertise the launch of a product, but in the previous case it was Android they were advertising.

This time they’ve got a continuum thing going with all their ads, basically showing the same phone outline with “Oct. 4” on the left side and the “G” logo on the right.

They’ve done billboards, standalone models (The Verge calls it a statue), building-side projections and several other ‘above-the-line’ (ATL) ad media.

Google Pixel Oct 4 launch - standalone display "statue" with event advertisement
Photo from Brooklyn Bridge Park, originally posted on Reddit by Redditor dolan313

Last week they released a YouTube video showing their famous search bar morphing into the shape of a smartphone, and the same thread continues throughout their ad campaign for Pixel and Pixel XL.

The phones are expected to start at a premium price of around $649 for the XL variant, putting them squarely in contention with Apple’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Sources say that Apple may well sell over 100 million iPhone 7s this year, especially with the holiday season all set to show a major ramp up in retail sales in general.

The Google Pixel smartphone is thought to be the fastest Android phone on the planet, and should come with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor that delivers lightning-fast reflexes.

RELATED ARTICLE: New Google Pixels Could be Fastest Android Phones Ever

So how does this put Google in direct competition with Apple’s iPhones? It’s simple: this is the first time Google is fully committing to high-end Android phones. The Nexus 6P was great, but most people felt it was merely an extension of the Nexus brand rather than a pure-Google phone.

This time, however, Google is going in with both feet in a no holds barred all out battle to take a huge chunk of market share from Apple and Samsung’s premium market segments. They’ve obviously done away with the Nexus name in favor of the new Pixel branding, and it’s clear that they intend this phone to be almost as popular as Android itself, which is basically their own product.

And the fact that they’re throwing all their weight behind launching this right at the start of the holiday season means they’re gearing up for some BIG sales over the next three months leading up to Christmas.

As reported by us three days ago, Google also intends to launch several other products at the event in Ghirardelli Square on Oct. 4, including Google Home, the company’s answer to Amazon Echo featuring Alexa the virtual assistant.

There’s still a week and a half to go before the Oct. 4 event in San Francisco, so if we hear anything between then and now about phone specs, pricing, availability for preorders and so on, you’ll be the first to know.

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