Survey says older Pixel owners are divided on Google's fancy cloud-based features

There has been a clear shift in Google’s smartphone hardware strategy over the past few years. From its reliance on the cloud to power various facets of its AI-infused apps, newer Pixel models have leveraged hardware to run a variety of smarts on-device and offline. This allows for immediacy and privacy, both beneficial to the end-user, but also pushes the company to deliver even more impressive hardware with each upgrade. Naturally, with this switch, older Pixel phones no longer receive the cutting-edge features that made the series an attractive long-term handset.

But what if Google changed this? What if it pivoted to offering older Pixel phones that can’t process data locally, with the option to use the cloud instead? This comes with its own pros and cons, of course, but we still believe that consumers should be given the option. So, we asked our readers in a recent poll, “Would you use Pixel 9/10 features on older Pixels if they were cloud-based?” Here’s how you voted.

Just under 2,300 votes were cast on this poll, and one answer stretched away from the three others. Around 41% of readers “prefer on-device features,” even if that means giving up access to Pixel 10 features and future smarts on their Pixel 8 devices and older models. Ultimately, this suggests that Google’s strategy to push local processing does have some merit, and that gradually beefing up hardware for this purpose is what many consumers prefer over opening these smarts up to all devices.

There are practical benefits to on-device processing, as our readers outlined in the comments.

“Without unstable my home internet and mobile both are that is going to be a big NOPE to anything cloud based for me,” writes commenter montisaquadeis.

Others clearly see Google’s increased focus on hardware as overall good, whether it’s primarily for AI or not.

“Forget the eye candy bling stuff that hardly anybody uses. Let’s focus on performance and stability which is something EVERYONE needs,” notes reader cojonesdetoro.

However, on the other side of the fence, some readers do desire access to newer Pixel features on their older phones, even if via the cloud. In fact, the larger overall share of the vote would consider some degree of cloud-processing in certain cases.

In total, 58.7% would like to access features privy to modern Pixel phones through the cloud, but readers in this voting block were sharply divided over certain demands and conditions. Looking at these three answers separately, 22.3% of respondents “don’t mind cloud processing,” 20.2% would only embrace it if “privacy is clearly handled,” while 16.2% note that it “depends on the feature.”

In reality, Google giving consumers the option to opt into cloud processing if necessary would be a positive step. Giving users more choice is always a positive in my book. Whether it makes financial sense for the company to democratize Pixel features is another matter entirely.

Nevertheless, it’s clear that owners of older Pixel phones are mostly happy with their phones’ current capabilities.