If there’s one thing worth remembering about Google’s Pixel phone, it’s that the device itself — what we see on the surface — is but one piece of a much larger puzzle.

We’ve talked before about how the Pixel is more than the sum of its parts. The phone effectively lets Google have its cake and eat it, too — by leaving Android open to manufacturers while also providing a holistic Google-controlled version of what an Android device ought to be.

Google is giving us an option to enjoy Android at its best, in other words — the way it intended it to be experienced, from end to end — while still giving other phone-makers the ability to use the software as a canvas for their creations.

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