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It’s no overstatement to say that the Pixel 2 XL is off to a bit of a rocky start to kick off 2017’s #madebyGoogle efforts. With a screen plagued by some issues that the tech media can’t seem to stop talking about, early inventory issues (for the Panda model, anyway) and some sluggish shipping dates, this has been anything but a pristine launch. Add to that the issues that Google Home Mini had before it launched and you have a pretty terrible start to Google’s latest hardware campaign.
It seems Google still has some work to do when it comes to being a retailer. All the new stuff debuted at Google’s October event shows Google has what it takes to dream up and create some pretty awesome hardware: it just hasn’t quite figured out to get it into consumer’s hands with as much aplomb.
Some Good News
As I’ve watched the issues unfold with other #madebyGoogle hardware, I honestly began assuming we’d see some sort of delay or snafu around October 31st when the Pixelbook is supposed to begin shipping out.
With every retailer already advertising 10/31 as the availability date, it simply felt like Google was setting itself up for failure. Remember Samsung’s Chromebook Pro and Plus launch? We do, and they both were terrible.
Chromebooks, in general, don’t get firm release dates with pre-orders and media hype. They just show up randomly and start shipping when they feel like it. Being conditioned to that sort of Chromebook release pattern, a hard date feels odd and a little scary with all that Google’s flubbed so far.
It looks like the Pixelbook might be the first hardware from the October event to actually launch as expected, though.
Yeah, the tech media is a bit divided on the price of this wonderful device, but the Pixelbook is by-and-large free from launch controversy. It delivers where Google said it would and now looks like it will be getting on delivery trucks in plenty of time for people to begin enjoying their devices by the 31st.
Over in the Reddit thread you can see user after user who have all received their shipping email with tracking numbers showing Pixelbook arrivals as early as Monday.
For those of you keeping track, that is a day before the device is even slated to show up in stores or begin shipping. Now, we can’t vouch for orders made at Amazon, Best Buy, or B&H, but it stands to reason we could at least see some of those devices begin shipping in the next couple days.
Either way, the Pixelbooks are coming for those of you who have ordered already and it seems, for the first time since earlier this month, Google has all the needed pieces in place to secure a successful launch on or before the actual launch date.
