Google's mixed 2017 hardware launches, from the stellar Pixelbook to the average Pixel 2 and awful Pixel Buds, highlight why it's not gaining on rivals
Context & Ripple Effects
The 2017 lineup capped a three-year pattern rather than breaking it: the Pixel C shipped with unfinished software and connectivity problems, the first Pixel was fast but dull and needed polish, and the Pixelbook earned praise for build quality while its Android app support lagged. Gizmodo's split verdict — stellar laptop, average phone, awful earbuds — reads as the same company excelling at industrial design and stumbling on launch-ready software.
Why it matters: Google's devices exist to carry Assistant and its services into consumers' hands, so a misfire like the Pixel Buds doesn't just lose a product category — it weakens the showcase argument for the whole hardware push. The stagnation this piece diagnoses was later confirmed from the inside, when [[a:941124|Sundar Pichai cited year-over-year headwinds in premium smartphone sales after the Pixel 3 launch]].
First-order effects
- The Pixel 2 enters the premium phone market against Apple and Samsung carrying only an 'average' reception, leaving Assistant differentiation to do work the hardware reviews won't.
- Pixel Buds' poor reviews land at launch, undermining the Assistant-everywhere hardware story in exactly the category — voice — where Google most needs credibility.
Second-order effects
- Premium buyers default to incumbents, and the pressure surfaces in Google's own financials: the Q1 2019 report attributes weak results to industry-wide premium smartphone headwinds following the Pixel 3 line.
- Each half-finished launch raises the bar for the next one — reviewers now grade Google devices on whether software has caught up to the hardware, a test the Pixelbook's lagging Android app support shows the company still failing.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds — superb build quality paired with software that needed more time, from the Pixel C through the Pixel Buds — Google's hardware business settles into being a services distribution channel rather than a share-gaining device maker.
- The structural risk is a two-tier reputation: laptops and phones that reviewers respect as objects, while accessory and assistant categories become proof points competitors cite against Google's hardware ambitions.
The trend: Google's hardware line operates as a showcase for its services, with market-share gains gated on software polish that keeps arriving after launch rather than with it.