The leak culture is an inevitable consequence brought upon by the golden age of social media, where information travels fast. While some companies may view it to be a negative trend, there are those who embrace and leverage on it to incite excitement among the community.
Google is the newest party to enter the fray. Following the first wave of Pixel 4 leaks, the tech giant has unveiled a set of official images on Twitter. It’s an unexpected move, considering how leaks are often quickly taken down by the company in question, but this may just prove to be tactical: by acknowledging the effectiveness of the lead-up to phone launches, Google has also shaped the overall expectations for the Pixel 4. Talk about killing two birds with one stone.
The reason behind Google’s surprise act lies in the value of raising expectations. In showing off a small share of new features, such as a big square camera bump with a two-lens setup, an LED flash, a microphone hole, and what seems like a spectral sensor, speculations are bound to make their way to the tech community.
It’s all a performance perfectly put up by Google, too.
The Twitter reveal is not by any means a standalone affair; in fact, the happenings from the previous day serve as an opening to this moment. Here’s how it all went down:
- Renderings of a possible phone made their way to the internet, followed by a metal slug for case makers
- Rumour of a unique feature – gestural control via a radar sensor – is seen circulating around
- Further leaks of potential features are spotted
- A mixture of leaks and glimpses of the actual phone case designs is glimpsed
And now, real photos of the phone have been released, with the only step being the official announcement.
Unlike the traditional way of things, where the Osborne Effect – the thinking that customers will give current products a miss for an upcoming release – is a cause for concern, Google is welcoming it. The move is a bold one, but not without its reasons: the Pixel 3 is far from being the most popular build (sales-wise), and the design of its successor has been unveiled ahead of Apple’s new iPhone iteration that’s said to boast the same square camera bump as well.
Essentially, the Pixel 4 tease serves as a taunt to Google’s competitors, and a symbol of confidence for the the company. But in making the upcoming model a more tempting prospect, the big question remains: Will Google be able to walk the talk, and actually deliver on their promise? It’s really quite the high-risk-high-reward venture.
Based on past launches and the current landscape, however, the tech giant has got several points to work on. While well-reviewed, mainly for its camera, the Pixel 3 still had plenty it could make up for. The follow-up Pixel 3a illustrated that a solid device from Google direct could be priced reasonably and still person. That being said, should Google follow up with its usual course of action, the Pixel 4 would most probably launch in October, which happens to clash with Qualcomm’s off-period. This means the team will possibly miss out on the newest and best mobile processors.
From the image, it does appear that the Pixel 4 sports elegant, tasteful aesthetics, so at least Google has a leg up on that. As the release date of the phone nears, it’d do good for the team over at Google to ramp things up and refine some of the features, for a high risk factor can bring unfortunate consequences.
But hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained right?
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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Edwin Teo
