Back in the day, one of the reasons for purchasing a Google Nexus handset was not only the fact that you’d be one of the first to get the latest Android updates, or that your Android experience would be largely unadulterated, but also the fact that Google’s Nexus phones tend to be subsidized in terms of price.
This meant that you could get yourself a relatively decent Android smartphone without having to pay top dollar. That all changed with the Nexus 6 when Google started to partner with carriers to offer the phone, and unfortunately that practice is still ongoing. In fact if you were planning on picking up the upcoming (rumored) Google Pixel XL handset, David Ruddock of Android Police has tweeted that it could potentially be priced at $649.
Now as Ruddock notes, at this point it is merely hearsay meaning that he cannot confirm if this is true. He also points out that he is unsure if the $649 price tag is for the 32GB model or a 128GB model, although judging from the comments many seem to be a little taken aback by the price and are hoping that it is for the 128GB model.
Like we said, Google has since moved past subsidizing their Nexus smartphones with the Nexus 6, and it does not appear that they will be returning to those habits anytime soon. That being said, what we know about the Pixel smartphones do indicate that they will be top-of-the-line handsets with Snapdragon 821 chipsets, so maybe it could be worth it. In any case we expect Google will officially unveil the new Pixel phones on the 4th of October, so stay tuned.
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