Google's strategy here might just be "hey, you can buy it now if you like, although it's not ready yet, and still get some use out of it early; but after a few point-releases, it'll turn into what it was supposed to be."
I have a feeling that the code in Android to render a ChromeOS-like UX is sitting nascent on the Pixel-C, just waiting to be patched a few times to smooth out bugs, before being flipped on.
I think that thing works for enthusiast projects targeted towards technical users (like, for instance, linux distros), but I have to imagine doing that with a consumer device is a really really bad idea. I'm not sure if this is a great comparison (because it didn't really work out), but people are going to be a lot more patient with, I don't know, something like Firefox OS compared to Android.
I think the jab is misplaced here since Google obviously has the best track record of Android device makers on updating their products. Nexus 10, the spiritual predecessor of Pixel C, is still getting updates. It won't get Marshmallow, but still active after over three years is way better than any other Android manufacturer I know of.
> Google obviously has the best track record of Android device makers
This is a really low bar. Enough Android device makers never provide updates. Got a Nexus One a few years ago, Google updated it for a grand total of 13 months before deciding it was "too old". Of course I didn't get the Nexus One until most of the way through that time period so my Google phone was updated for perhaps six months, not exactly a great user experiance.
I bought my Note III when it came out in 2013 and have had constant support for it from Samsung. Google dropping support for their own device in their own platform really does not speak well.
That's with mainstream phones, yes. But not with niche products that fail to launch. I have a Nexus Q. Even though it's more powerful and capable than the Chromecast in almost every way, rather than update it to support the new Chromecast protocol, they removed the code that even allowed it to work at all from YouTube and Play Music, effectively bricking it.
I don't think Android TV has ever gotten much love either.
Glass went from monthly updates to completely unsupported, practically overnight. That actually was being openly sold on the Play Store for a while too.
I'm not saying they haven't been on the ball with most of their mainstream products, I'm just saying you should bear in mind that they've let plenty of their failures just die on the table too.
I have a feeling that the code in Android to render a ChromeOS-like UX is sitting nascent on the Pixel-C, just waiting to be patched a few times to smooth out bugs, before being flipped on.