It’s now been almost 11 months since the launch of the highly anticipated Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro flagships, which were supposed to be “the iPhone of Android”. We (and by “we” I mean me) expected a duo of flagship devices that could do everything Samsung’s and Apple’s more expensive phones could, but just as reliably (if not still more reliable) and at a better price! You know – because Google makes Android and because that’s what Google promised.
Unfortunately, much to everyone’s chagrin, instead of becoming Android’s iPhone (read: a reliable phone with great software support you can rely on), the Pixel 6 series became one of the flagship phones Android’s least stable and therefore the hardest to recommend in 2021 -2022. If you bought a Pixel 6 more than a month ago, you already know exactly what I’m talking about, and if not is not the case, surely you have read the hundreds of stories (no exaggeration) about the various hardware and software bugs that have troubled the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro for almost a year! A year. I repeat – a year. Who would be satisfied with a $900 phone that only became reliable almost a year after its launch? Certainly not me.
Apology Gifts! Should Google offer Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro owners a special discount/trade-in offer on Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro?
Here is the Pixel 7 Pro in the new Hazel color!
As you may know, Pixel 6 bugs are now mostly fixed thanks to Android 13 (some battery drain issues still persist, but at this point, Google’s flagships are definitely underperforming when it comes to battery life).
Anyway, since it took Google spent almost an entire year turning the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro into the reliable smartphones they were meant to be from day one, wouldn’t it be fair for the company to give those who bought Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro “special gift excuses” on soon-to-be-released Pixel 7 phones?
Right now, Google’s trade-in offers for Pixel 5 owners who want to buy a Pixel 6 Pro aren’t that great:
- Trading in a Pixel 5 to buy a Pixel 6 Pro in the US gets you a $347 discount
- Trading in a Pixel 5 to buy a Pixel 6 Pro in the UK nets you £200 off
- Trading in a Pixel 5 for buying a Pixel 6 Pro in Europe (Germany) gets you a €290 discount
Of course, this is not an apples-to-apples comparison since the Pixel 5 is older and isn’t even part of Google’s revamped phone design language. However, if the discounts for Pixel 6 owners who want to buy a Pixel 7 are similar, I don’t think it would be fair to those who had to endure so many bugs for so long. That is, of course, if those customers want to switch to another Google phone in the first place.
Google to keep Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro prices unchanged; follow Samsung’s lead when it comes to amazing trade-in deals
Pull a Samsung, Google!
Anyway, probably the best example when it comes to swap deals in the smartphone industry is Samsung, and maybe Google could take inspiration from the South Korean company. For example, at the moment Samsung is willing to take $900 off the purchase price of your Galaxy Z Fold 4 to trade in a Galaxy Z Fold 3 or Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. Plus, you can save $800 if you trade in the two-generation-old Galaxy Z Fold 2 or Galaxy S21+, which is just… remarkable when it comes to trade-in deals.
The Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro trade-in deal for Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro owners
Now to the big question – what size discount should Google give Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro owners who have had to deal with broken fingerprint readers, poor battery life, dysfunctional adaptive brightness , display freeze, bad signal and a bunch of other smaller bugs throughout 2021-2022?
Of course, there’s no perfect way to “measure” this, but if you ask me (as a Pixel 6 Pro owner since day one), I’d appreciate a generous trade-in deal. So here’s what I imagine such a deal might look like:
- Trading in a Pixel 6 to buy a Pixel 7 could get you a $400 discount (or the equivalent depending on your region)
- Trading in a Pixel 6 Pro to buy a Pixel 7 Pro could get you a $600 discount (or the equivalent depending on your region)
Sure, that’s a discount equivalent to 2/3 of the value of the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, but I don’t think that’s too high a price for Google to pay…
As a company that doesn’t rely on the sale of phones to make the bulk of its profits, and as a phone maker that is now trying to attract existing Apple and Samsung users, as well as retain its base of existing Pixel fans (remember, these are people now doubting Google’s ability to make a reliable flagship phone), Google doesn’t have much to lose here. In fact, Sundar Pichai & Co should do everything to retain and attract users now.
That is, of course, if Google keeps the same (unbelievable) $600 and $900 prices for Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. This might prove somewhat difficult in the current economic climate, but if there’s one company that can withstand rising phone prices, it’s Google.
Sky-high iPhone 14 prices worldwide and canceled Note 22 and S22 FE flagships – Google’s golden ticket to record Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro sales?
Of course, we can never view the smartphone industry in isolation. But in this case, it could work in our favor and that of Google!
As you may know, although iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro prices in the US, Canada and China are unchanged from last year, the all-new flagship phones from Cupertino are significantly more expensive in the rest of the world! This includes some of Google’s target markets, such as the UK and Germany, where the iPhone 14 series is 15% more expensive.
In Poland, the iPhone 14 series is 25% more expensive than the iPhone 13 last year, while a 256GB iPhone 14 Pro (not Max) costs as much as a Galaxy Z Fold 4 on Amazon Germany right now. time (€1,450 / $1,450).
Unlike the Pixel 6, the Pixel 7 is also coming to India, which is the second largest smartphone market after China!
Ultimately, it’s up to Sundar Pichai & Co if they decide to keep the price of the Pixel 7 series low and offer existing Pixel owners a generous (and well-deserved) discount to offset the lackluster Pixel 6 experience!
Another benefit would be that if (heaven forbid) the Pixel 7 phones experience similar reliability issues as the Pixel 6, the steep discounts for Pixel 6 owners and lower prices could mitigate a real crisis over in Mountain View. Like they did for the Pixel 6.
OkayGoogle?