After yesterday’s gargantuan leak, another interesting Google Pixel 6 rumor has arrived, courtesy of M. Brandon Lee from the ‘This is Tech Today’ YouTube channel.
Alongside possible pricing info gleaned from sweepstake small print ($850 for the Pixel 6, Lee reckons) and the expected available colors, the Twitter thread revealed that Google seems to be toying with its own answer to the Apple One subscription: the Pixel Pass.
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According to the promotional image shared by Lee, Pixel Pass would allow people to pay a flat monthly fee for their Pixel 6, and would entitle them to a number of premium extras including an extended warranty and access to Google’s three big subscription services: YouTube Premium, Play Pass and Google One.
Pixel Pass: This appears to be a blend of the iPhone upgrade plan where you can get a new phone every year and the Apple One Subscription.Contains YouTube Premium, Google One, Play Pass, extended warranty, and is associated with Google Fi.#pixel6 #teampixel pic.twitter.com/iU7VTc16vSOctober 10, 2021
The screenshot also indicates it’s related to Google Fi, which is the company’s own US-only carrier that uses the T-Mobile network. That suggests this might be limited to American customers only, though it’s possible a version without the carrier could be made available to the rest of the world.
The obvious point of comparison is Apple One, which bundles a number of the company’s own services for a lower cost than buying them individually. The price starts at $14.95 a month for one person, and includes Apple Music, Apple TV Plus, Apple Arcade and a 50GB iCloud Plus account, but this can be expanded to include Apple News Plus and Apple Fitness Plus for up to five people for $29.95 per month.
If Pixel Pass includes the phone and a carrier as well as Google’s own services, it’s likely to get pricey. YouTube Premium, Play Pass and Google One go for at least $19 a month between them, after all, and those are likely to be the cheaper elements. Despite this, it could still offer an appealing way for people to get the phone if they don’t fancy paying the full SIM-free price up front, and already subscribe to one or more of the listed services.
Hopefully Google will shed a little light on Pixel Pass at its upcoming event, which is scheduled for October 19. While the highlights are expected to be the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, there’s a chance that we may get a look at the long-rumored Pixel Fold, too, which some have claimed will launch before the year is out.
