Interested Android fans will read up on the subject and they’ll know the exact issues of a blue tint when viewed off-axis, muted colors, and potential screen burn-in, and they can then make a reasonably informed decision about whether they can live with them. My biggest worry about the Pixel 2 XL display drama is how it will filter out to the wider public. The entire Pixel brand is being tarnished by one ill-judged component choice It’s a lot like encountering the Nike logo on watches or the Adidas brand on bottles of aftershave: a familiar name in an unusual context. So this is the time when many of us will be forming opinions about how much we can trust Google with physical devices. We all know the Google name and the rainbow-colored logo, but we’re not used to seeing that branding on an actual piece of hardware. Google’s hardware business right now is in the reputation-building stage of development. For Google’s bottom line, hardware revenues are an imperceptible teardrop in a monsoon of advertising income. Google isn’t trying to generate an immediate return on its Pixel sales, either, even with the distinctly premium pricing of the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. Google isn’t trying to push vast quantities of units out there like, say, Huawei, a company that recently claimed it had surpassed Apple to become the second-biggest smartphone vendor in terms of units sold. This is why the Pixel 2 XL screen issues are such a devastating problem for Google’s Pixel lineup and trajectory. In both cases, Google’s first goal is the same: Google wants to be taken seriously as a hardware company. But in the nearer term, and on a more realistic scale, Google’s only really seeking to have a buffer against Samsung’s dominance within the Android ecosystem. Over a long enough timeline, the Pixel is Google’s answer to the iPhone. If you ask the company itself, mobile hardware is no longer a hobby, and if you ask devoted fans of the Pixel camera like myself, you’d hear similarly high praise for the Pixel lineup. While we wait for Google to complete its investigation, the interesting question to ponder is what exactly Google is hoping to achieve with its Pixel phones. Google wants to be taken seriously as a hardware company