5 Things Google Pixel owners can do, that Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge can only dream of

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Google Pixel is the first smartphone designed and made by Google

The Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge are phenomenal smartphones.

The latter is a stunning follow-up to Samsung’s award-winning Galaxy S6 Edge, which boasts a beautiful curved display and stunning rear camera capable of handling tough low-light conditions.

Samsung also delivered a water resistant design, which brings a new peace of mind to owners of the eye-wateringly expensive £639 device.

Meanwhile, the Pixel is the first smartphone to be designed and built by Google. In the months before the launch of the Pixel and larger Pixel XL, CEO Sundar Pichai said Google should be “more opinionated” about the design of Android hardware, adding that the company should "push the devices forward."

The Pixel is the company’s attempt to do just that.

Google Pixel – In Pictures
Thu, October 20, 2016

The Google Pixel and larger Pixel XL both feature stunning screens, fast processors, top-notch cameras and a ridiculously high price tag

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Google’s Pixel smartphone boasts a stunning screen, fast processor, top-notch camera and a ridiculously high price-tag

For a smartphone designed to be “more opinionated” about design, the Pixel and Pixel XL are remarkably bland. But the devices present such a hassle-free, friendly version of Android that is impossible not to be charmed.

But when it comes to picking between these two phones – you should be aware that there are some things that are just more difficult on the Galaxy S7 Edge.

Here are 5 features that are available to Google Pixel owners, that Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge owners can only dream of –

1 – Google Assistant

It is impossible to talk about the Google Pixel without touching on Google Assistant. The talkative virtual assistant is the headline feature of the new Google phone, and it’s not hard to see why.

Google Assistant leaves rival assistants from the likes of Apple, Amazon and Microsoft in the dust. The Google Assistant is context-aware, and smart enough to understand follow-up questions.

So, if you ask “How many Grammy Awards has Adele won?” followed by “How old is she?” – the Assistant is able to work-out that your second question refers to the person named in your initial first query.

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Google Assistant is an exclusive feature to the Google Pixel

It’s incredibly clever. And means you no longer have to force yourself to talk like a robot just to get your questions answered by one.

Sadly, Google Assistant is exclusive to the Pixel for now.

The virtual assistant does make an appearance in Google’s latest instant messaging service Allo, which is available for free on the Play Store.

However Galaxy S7 Edge owners won’t be able to access the helpful assistant from anywhere in the operating system, like Google Pixel owners can.

2 – Free Photo, 4K UHD Video Storage

Both the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and Google Pixel have outstanding cameras, with the latter being awarded an unprecedented 89 score by DxOMark Mobile.

However only one of these two smartphones is able to back-up full-resolution photographs and 4K Ultra High Definition video to the cloud for free.

Google launched its cloud-based photo management software – Google Photos – back in May 2015.

The free tool is available to everyone, and offers unlimited free storage for any photos up to 16 megapixels and video footage up to 1080p.

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Google Photos lets you search your photo collection by place, description – or even species

Google allows users to store their photographs uncompressed, although this will eat into your available Google Drive storage.

Except that is, for those with a Google Pixel.

Everything you shoot on the Pixel, including enormous Ultra HD 4K video files, will be automatically backed-up to Google Photos free of charge.

That gives Pixel owners peace-of-mind, and goes someway to forgive the Google phone for its lack of expandable storage via microSD card – something Samsung reintroduced this year with the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge.

Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge in pictures
Wed, February 24, 2016

Everything you need to know about the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, in pictures below.

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Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge – A camera view of the new Samsung

3 – Daydream VR

Samsung is no stranger Virtual Reality headsets.

The South Korean technology firm has been bundling the immersive headsets with its flagship smartphones since the Galaxy Note 5, back in November 2015.

However Google has now taken a serious interest in the product category and has created a new standard, which it has integrated tightly with the latest version of its open-source mobile operating system, Android 7.1 Nougat.

The DayDream platform carries its own software and hardware specifications, designating compatible phones as "DayDream-ready".

Samsung is one of a number of third-party manufacturers that has pledged support to this new standard in virtual reality software and hardware. Others include HTC, LG, Xiaomi, Huawei, ZTE, Asus and Alcatel.

But for now, Samsung device owners will be limited to the Gear VR headset, since none of the company’s current offering is "DayDream-ready”.

Meanwhile, Google Pixel is compatible. And not only that, it is often bundled with the cutting-edge new headset by mobile carriers.

4 – Support 24/7

Google included a number of nifty software features and tweaks for its own Google Pixel smartphone that aren’t available on rival Android devices.

One of the most useful is the 24/7 support baked into the Pixel’s settings app.

This new panel lets Google Pixel owners quickly start a text or video chat with a Google expert, who will guide you through any problems you might be having with your device. Like Amazon’s MayDay feature, you can choose to share your screen with the support staff who will walk you step-by-step to a solution.

Unfortunately, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge owners will have to make an appointment with a local retailer, or launch a chat via the Samsung website.

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Google Pixel owners can get fast access to support from Google 24 hours a day

5 – Smart Storage

The Google Pixel wants to make your life as easy as possible.

To that end, the smartphone doesn’t even interrupt you when it has run out of available storage. There’s no annoying pop-up to close, instead, the phone will automatically clear-out photos and videos that have already been backed up to the cloud via Google Photos.

Remember – these snaps and videos have been stored at full quality, so you’ve got nothing to lose by removing them from your local storage and downloading them again from the cloud at a later date.

Of course, Google Photos is available for all Android and iOS smartphone owners, with unlimited free back-up. But Google Pixel owners are the only people who get the benefit of free, high resolution video and photo backup.

Everyone else tops out at 16MP stills and 1080p video, unless they want to start paying for Google Drive storage.

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