Google’s upcoming Pixel phones are for the fans, even if its launch event isn’t
Google’s upcoming Pixel phones are for the fans, even if its launch event isn’t
谷歌即将推出的 Pixel 手机是为粉丝准备的，即便其发布会并非如此
Last year’s Made by Google event for the Pixel 10 resembled a late night talk show, complete with Jimmy Fallon as host, and it aired an hour after the phones were revealed. Spec dives and executive appearances were replaced with celebrity cameos and awkward skits, to the confusion of many diehard Pixel fans. But it served its purpose in reaching a broader audience: Last year’s stream racked up 8.4 million viewers on YouTube; the launch the year before only managed 1.4 million.
去年为 Pixel 10 举办的“Made by Google”发布会看起来更像是一档深夜脱口秀，由吉米·法伦（Jimmy Fallon）担任主持人，且在手机正式发布一小时后才播出。规格参数的深入解析和高管登场被明星客串和尴尬的短剧所取代，这让许多 Pixel 的铁杆粉丝感到困惑。但它确实达到了触及更广泛受众的目的：去年的直播在 YouTube 上获得了 840 万次观看，而前一年的发布会仅有 140 万次。
This year, Google has only escalated matters. For tomorrow evening’s livestream, Fallon has been replaced by Trevor Noah, who will lead a “stacked” lineup of celebrities including basketball star Stephen Curry, podcaster Alex Cooper, and DJ Peggy Gou. What the event won’t have is many surprises. While the launch event kicks off at 6PM ET, the Google Store’s preorder countdown is set to end eight hours earlier, presumably when the phones will be revealed in full.
今年，谷歌进一步升级了这种做法。在明晚的直播中，法伦被特雷弗·诺亚（Trevor Noah）取代，他将带领包括篮球明星斯蒂芬·库里（Stephen Curry）、播客主亚历克斯·库珀（Alex Cooper）和 DJ 佩吉·古（Peggy Gou）在内的“豪华”明星阵容。这场活动不会有太多惊喜。虽然发布会定于美东时间下午 6 点开始，但谷歌商店的预购倒计时提前八小时结束，届时手机应该就会被全面揭晓。
By the time Google’s stream starts, its most avid fans will know exactly what’s coming. Then again, for the most part, they already do. In a world where almost every spec leaks ahead of time, it makes sense that Google’s celeb-centric launch event won’t be targeted at Pixel power users.
当谷歌的直播开始时，最狂热的粉丝们早已清楚会有什么内容。话说回来，在很大程度上，他们其实已经知道了。在一个几乎所有规格都会提前泄露的世界里，谷歌以明星为中心的发布会并非针对 Pixel 的资深用户，这也就不足为奇了。
Google’s been one of the most adaptive companies when it comes to the modern proliferation of phone leaks. Last year it took the unusual step of simply revealing the Pixel 10 design in full almost a month ahead of the launch. This year it’s only showed glimpses of the Pixel 11 series, but in the process has revealed something that should excite most power users more than the launch itself: a notification light.
在应对现代手机泄密泛滥的问题上，谷歌是最具适应性的公司之一。去年，它采取了不同寻常的做法，在发布前近一个月就完全公布了 Pixel 10 的设计。今年，它虽然只展示了 Pixel 11 系列的冰山一角，但在此过程中透露了一个比发布会本身更让资深用户兴奋的功能：通知灯。
The light is built into the camera island of the Pixel 11 Pro (though perhaps not the regular model), where the flash normally is, suggesting that it serves as the flash and flashlight too. It’s a small feature, but a surprisingly big part of Google’s smartphone heritage. The majority of Google’s Nexus phones included hardware notification LEDs, and Google was one of the last manufacturers to drop the feature, which saw a brief resurgence in 2017’s Pixel 2 before Google binned it off again — we thought for good.
这个灯集成在 Pixel 11 Pro 的摄像头模组中（普通版可能没有），位于通常闪光灯的位置，这表明它同时也兼具闪光灯和手电筒的功能。这是一个小功能，但却是谷歌智能手机历史中令人惊喜的重要组成部分。大多数谷歌 Nexus 手机都配备了硬件通知 LED 灯，而谷歌也是最后放弃该功能的制造商之一。该功能曾在 2017 年的 Pixel 2 上短暂回归，随后又被谷歌砍掉——我们本以为它彻底消失了。
The RGB lights could be used to show the phone’s charging status, flash when notifications come in, and activate in different colors. Open-source Android skins like CyanogenMod and apps like Light Flow gave even more flexibility, letting users set specific colors and blink rates for specific apps or contacts.
RGB 灯可以用来显示手机的充电状态，在收到通知时闪烁，并以不同颜色激活。像 CyanogenMod 这样的开源 Android 系统和 Light Flow 等应用程序提供了更高的灵活性，允许用户为特定的应用程序或联系人设置特定的颜色和闪烁频率。
Notification LEDs went out of fashion about the same time that the always-on display came in. Who needs a little light when you can have the actual notifications on the screen at all times? Some Android phones instead include the option to have the edges of the display flash a certain color when notifications come in, which can even be visible when the phone is face down, depending on the design, but dedicated lights have been few and far between.
通知 LED 灯在息屏显示（Always-on Display）出现时就逐渐过时了。既然屏幕上可以随时显示实际通知，谁还需要一个小灯呢？一些 Android 手机转而提供在收到通知时让屏幕边缘闪烁特定颜色的选项，根据设计，即使手机正面朝下也能看到，但专门的指示灯已经非常罕见了。
The most prominent recent examples have all come from Nothing, which has elevated the LED into an art form. Ever since 2022’s Nothing Phone 1, it’s incorporated complex light arrays and dot-matrix displays into the back of its phones, allowing not just quick flashes but complex, customizable patterns or icons that can vary by contact or app. There’s only one other recent phone I can think of to feature a dedicated LED, though in the case of the Trump phone, it felt like proof of its dated, recycled design rather than a forward-thinking feature.
最近最突出的例子都来自 Nothing 公司，它将 LED 灯提升到了一种艺术形式。自 2022 年的 Nothing Phone 1 以来，它将复杂的灯光阵列和点阵显示屏融入手机背面，不仅能实现快速闪烁，还能根据联系人或应用程序显示复杂、可定制的图案或图标。我能想到的最近另一款配备专用 LED 灯的手机只有一款，但就那款“特朗普手机”而言，它更像是其陈旧、循环利用设计的证明，而非前瞻性的功能。
The small light shown in the camera bar of the 11 Pro is more subtle than most of Nothing’s designs, though seemingly more colorful. Google hasn’t said what the light can do, though since the pulsing, multicolored animation resembles some of the Gemini design language, it seems a smart guess that it relates to Google’s AI assistant. Leaks suggest it may light up when you talk to the chatbot or receive calls from certain contacts, though I hope Google has more in mind for it than that, with the same customizability by app and by contact that Nothing phones support. The cruelest trick of all would be to bring back the notification light and then not have it light up for notifications.
11 Pro 摄像头条中显示的小灯比 Nothing 的大多数设计更微妙，尽管看起来色彩更丰富。谷歌尚未说明该灯的具体功能，但由于其脉冲式的多色动画类似于 Gemini 的部分设计语言，猜测它与谷歌的 AI 助手有关似乎很合理。泄露信息显示，当你与聊天机器人交谈或接到特定联系人的电话时，它可能会亮起。但我希望谷歌对它的规划不止于此，并能提供像 Nothing 手机那样针对应用程序和联系人的自定义功能。最残忍的恶作剧莫过于把通知灯带回来，却不让它在收到通知时亮起。
Perhaps it’s odd that on the eve of Google’s flagship phone launch I’m most excited about the apparent resurrection of a feature Google sent to the graveyard nine years ago. I presume the new Pixel phones will also be interesting in other ways, with the usual chipset bumps, camera upgrades, and design language tweaks.
也许很奇怪，在谷歌旗舰手机发布前夕，我最兴奋的竟然是谷歌九年前“埋葬”的功能似乎要复活了。我想新的 Pixel 手机在其他方面也会很有趣，比如常规的芯片组升级、摄像头提升和设计语言的微调。
But as the company pushes into entirely new ways of launching its phones to entirely new audiences, there’s a charm in it giving its oldest fans what they want when it comes to the hardware itself. Somehow I doubt it’s going to dig any further and reveal a Pixel 11 with a 3.5mm headphone jack, microSD card slot, or replaceable battery, but at least we can dream.
但随着该公司以全新的方式向全新的受众群体推广其手机，它在硬件本身上满足老粉丝的需求，这本身就有一种魅力。虽然我怀疑它不会更进一步，推出带有 3.5mm 耳机插孔、microSD 卡槽或可更换电池的 Pixel 11，但至少我们可以做个梦。