But is it an act of quiet desperation?
The Pixel vs iPhone debate has been rumbling for years, but Google just lobbed a new grenade into the mix with a series of YouTube shorts that subtly savage the iPhone’s shortcomings.
The ‘Best Phones Forever’ series, which you can find on the Made by Google channel on YouTube, are five, light-hearted comedy shorts that show friendly chats between a sympathetic Pixel and an iPhone that appears to be having an existential crisis.
But underneath the jokes and high-quality production are a series of laser-targeted digs at the iPhone’s main shortcomings, from missing astrophotography modes and built-in VPNs to the lack of a foldable form factor. Naturally, the Google Pixel Fold makes an appearance in the final episode, ‘Opening Up’.
For example, in ‘Plateau’ the iPhone laments to the Pixel that «when I was your age people were still showing me off to their friends». The forlorn iPhone adds that these days «it’s not the same, the way their friends compliment your photos – so sharp». In an unsubtle nod to Google’s Photo Unblur feature, the Pixel adds: «I can unblur your photos for you, we don’t have to tell anyone».
Towards the end of Plateau, Google really goes for the jugular, with the exasperated iPhone telling the chirpy Pixel: «Just stop! Astrophotography mode, call assist, 30x zoom – you can do so many things I may never be able to».
