Why Google Pixel might be the ultimate camera

Yesterday, Google showed the world that they’re doubling down on their efforts to be seen as a hardware company.

By releasing five hardware products that are made by Google, you will be able buy into the company’s software ecosystem through products that they’ve crafted. This is a scary prospect for one competitor in particular.

Apple has always been a great hardware company, showcasing stellar industrial design with products like the iPhone. On the other hand, its software efforts have been lacking — just take a look at the struggles iCloud and Apple Maps have been dealing with in the past.

Traditionally, the iPhone’s camera has been better than pretty much every Android camera out there — mostly because of its better imaging sensor and algorithms. If the camera on the Pixel is as good as it seems to be, that means Apple is in big trouble.

This is why: If you buy the Pixel, you get free and unlimited full-resolution storage of your photos and videos on Google’s servers. You don’t have to pay anything to keep making photos until the end of time. It’s an unlimited camera roll — the dream of every photographer.

Also, the camera works with Google Photos, which automatically creates content like slideshows from the pictures you’ve taken. This matters, because people tend to take pictures and never look back at them — but not anymore. Apple’s Photos app recently got a lot better with its iOS 10 update, but it’s still nowhere near Google’s offering.

These two features combined make for the perfect camera device. Never again will your phone pop-up saying you’ve run out of storage. It’s a compelling package, especially for an iPhone owner like me who’s paying $10/month for iCloud.

It really boils down to the camera’s quality — if the Pixel will be able to match or even beat the iPhone’s camera, things are about to get very interesting.