It’s time for Google to turn its Pixel into an iPhone

Yeah, I said it. I don’t expect this to be a popular opinion, but I said it. If Google really wants all of its wildest Pixel dreams to come true, it needs to look across the aisle. It should look at Apple’s control over the entire iPhone pipeline and seek to emulate it, transforming the Pixel from just an Android option into a must-have device for the purest Google experience on the market.

And yes, I realize that the Tensor Project and Pixel UI have already started this process, but I think Google needs to go further. Here’s how I came to take such a controversial stance, as well as why you should feel the same way if you consider yourself a Pixel fan.

Some time ago, Google announced a new policy to make sideloading apps safer and more reliable. He decided it was time to start checking all developers who distribute Android apps, whether or not they are listed on the Play Store. On the surface, I think there are two ways to think about it: either you focus on the fact that Google is taking away a bit of freedom from our favorite operating system, or you can think of it as an improvement to Android’s overall security.

Personally, I choose the latter. I know, I know, I respect the rules a lot, but I can’t do anything about it. I see the benefits of a little more security when I almost hit the wrong download button more than once on sites like APK Mirror. The last thing I need is some well-disguised advertising that I pressed to charge my Pixel 10 Pro XL with who knows what, just because I couldn’t tell one download button from another.

And when I think of Google improving its sideloading security, my mind automatically turns to the other historically locked-down platform – yes, iOS. It’s no secret that Apple wants to keep everything you put on your iPhone above board, and by running almost everything through the App Store, it’s able to maintain the high level of optimization that allows iOS to do more with less.

So if Google wants to start locking things down, it might as well go all the way. It might as well ensure such a level of Pixel-specific optimization that its in-house flagship can overcome the current performance gap between its own Tensor chip and Qualcomm’s high-end Snapdragon offering. In some ways this feels like iPhone improving on the Pixel, but I think it really means prioritizing the Pixel the way it was always intended.

Now that you know I’m not at all saying I want Google to use iOS, make its Pixels more like iPhones, or adopt an ultra-thin design, I hope you’ll listen. The only way I really want Google to turn its Pixel into an iPhone is to take full control of the pipeline from start to finish, which mostly means refining its approach to Android.

But wait, doesn’t Google already control Android? Isn’t it already pushing out updates to the Pixel ecosystem faster than other developers can keep up? Doesn’t it send AI-based features via Pixel Drop every few months? Yes, it is. He does it all, and he does it well.

And yet it almost always feels like the latest and greatest pixel shift on paper. We’ve written about the Tensor lineup several times, highlighting its lag in raw performance numbers, and it’s hard to overlook how long it took Google to resolve some of its thermal issues. Oh, and it’s worth noting that several recent Pixel models have been plagued by various battery issues, to the point where they’re not always easy to recommend to family and friends.

You know who hasn’t had the same difficulties? Apple. Its iPhones have historically done more with less, posting excellent benchmark numbers and stretching smaller batteries to impressive lengths. Optimization has been its secret weapon, and that’s only enhanced by the fact that Apple only has one platform to manage.

So in my perfect world, Google does the same for the Pixel. It focuses on refining the core version of Android with its own phone in mind, but leaves the base platform available for Motorola and Samsung. It encourages Play Store publishers to optimize their apps for the Pixel from the start, ensuring they work seamlessly with the current Tensor architecture. Oh, and it adopts a Dynamic Island cutout in the – no, whatever, it’s just a joke.

Think about it, though, if Google makes the Pixel its number one priority, if it completely abandons the “one in the same, not the same” mentality for other Android phones, it could probably become the perfect rival to the iPhone. It already has top-notch camera features, advanced AI capabilities (that actually work), and has improved its build quality faster than anyone else, so forcing optimization with the Pixel in mind is the final step in creating my perfect phone.