PSA: Google’s “Really blue” Pixel devices are US only, at least for now, as is a sweet Daydream View deal

Google is trying really hard to change its image today, presenting itself as a renewed company that wants to personally tackle hardware end-to-end. However, there are some bad old habits that the Mountain View firm simply does not seem able to shake off…

And, of course, I’m talking about its immortal “US Only” exclusives. For some reason, the United States often gets the best prices, and many are the times when sweet deals of all kinds are reserved for the American customers only. The Pixel and Pixel XL, unfortunately, seem to be no exception.

For one, the long-rumored “Really blue” coloration turned out to be real, but when going to checkout on Google’s Store here in the UK, I noticed that it was missing. And in fact, as none other than Google UK itself reminded us, that flashy (and most of all alternative!) new color will be available for no one out of the US market, at least for now.

You’d think that the only distinctive color for such an important announcement would break such a barrier — even in a limited edition with scarce inventory — but nope, we’ll all have to stick with black and white for the moment. Not to say that they don’t look good (the black one especially is pretty slick in my opinion), but it still doesn’t seem fair.

It didn’t anger me, but it did leave me a tad upset. What did make me furious, instead, was Google’s doubling down on the US exclusivity, which will gently offer a brand new Daydream View VR headset for free with each Pixel and Pixel XL purchase within the next couple of weeks (while supplies last)… if you are lucky enough to be a resident of the United States. Unlike the Blue Pixels, which will likely be expanded to other markets at a later time, this likely won’t make a comeback.

And that, my friends, sucks. It really sucks. Sure, the Daydream View looks like a very promising and interesting piece of hardware, whose $79 price tag is actually encouraging, but considering that my Pixel purchase already costs more than what I would pay in US dollars, why am I being denied the free gift?

If Google truly wants to win the consumers across the pond, it needs to fix stuff like this. Hopefully they will figure that out sooner than later.