My dystopian response is that they know if you're going 'all in' on their branded phone you are either geeky enough to deal with it, or drank too much kool-aid to care.
This inference doesn't make any sense. The Pixel isn't some weird niche project. The Pixel and the Galaxy SXX are perennials on the lists you find from a cursory "best android phone" Google query. This is about as casual as it gets, beyond walking into a Best Buy or Verizon and asking for an Android phone (which will also steer you to these two phones pretty often, assuming they're in-budget)
As casual as it gets ... in 11 countries out of 195. And even in countries where it is sold, it's usually online-only with no physical stores or service centers.
This inference doesn't make any sense. The Pixel isn't some weird niche project. The Pixel and the Galaxy SXX are perennials on the lists you find from a cursory "best android phone" Google query. This is about as casual as it gets, beyond walking into a Best Buy or Verizon and asking for an Android phone (which will also steer you to these two phones pretty often, assuming they're in-budget)