When did Google become stingy like Apple?

At Apple hardware events, it's almost become a ritual: The company shows off new, pricy gadgets which come without a near-essential accessory that you need to purchase separately, like a quick charger or a monitor stand.

Now, it appears Google has been reading from Apple's playbook.

At first glance, the company's new Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL, launched at an event in New York City Tuesday, are competitively priced: $799 for the smaller Pixel 4, and $899 for the Pixel 4 XL. But these starting prices are for the models with 64GB of memory, which is quite pitiful compared to most Android smartphones these days. For comparison, Samsung Galaxy S10, OnePlus 7 Pro and Huawei P30 Pro all start with 128GB. In fact, the only other flagship that starts with 64GB of storage is — you guessed it — Apple's iPhone 11/11 Pro.

Pixel's low starting storage is made even worse by the fact that, just like on Apple's iPhones, you can't expand it with memory cards — if you buy the 64GB model, you're stuck with 64GB. And while with previous Pixels you got unlimited cloud storage for full resolution photos from Google, you don't get this same deal with the Pixel 4. Ouch.

The really nasty surprise comes when you open the Pixel 4's packaging. The phone doesn't come with earphones — any earphones, wired or wireless. And there's no USB-C to 3.5mm adapter in the box, either, which means that even if you have a pair of 3.5mm headphones lying around, you'll still need to buy a new adapter, or find your old one (good luck with that).

You could call the move tactical; perhaps Google wants buyers to also get their new, fully wireless Pixel Buds. But those won't launch for six more months, so if you do get the Pixel 4 or 4 XL, you'll have to figure something out in the meantime. Furthermore, the Buds cost $179 — if you add that to the price of Pixel, it's $978 for the Pixel 4 and $1,078 for the Pixel 4 XL.

The parallels with Apple are obvious because this is the sort of thing Apple would do — but it's worth pointing out that even Apple didn't do that, even though it offers a pair of wireless buds of its own.

To be fair to Google, the company is running a promotion for pre-orders of the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL, with every buyer getting a $100 in Google Store credit (you also get a $100 credit when you buy the phones from Amazon). And during the event, Google did point out the environmental impact of smartphones, and reducing the amount of stuff in the box makes sense. Instead of jamming the earphones into the box, Google gives you a decent amount of credit to buy earphones if you need them, or to buy something else if you don't. There are caveats, though. The Google Store credit will arrive within eight weeks of your order, meaning you might not be able to get those earphones right away. Also note that it expires before the new Pixel Buds launch, so you won't be able to use it towards that purchase. Thanks, Google, for making this simple.

The pre-order deal is nice, but other flagships (that aren't called iPhone) come with pre-order deals, too. I guess it boils down to whether you believe Google's story about environmental impact, but it doesn't really explain the 64GB starting storage or the lack of unlimited cloud storage deal.

Ultimately, buyers will decide whether they like this approach — personally, I have a dozen earphones, chargers and adapters lying around, so I could do with just the phone in the box, but I'm not sure everyone feels the same. One thing is certain: with earlier Pixels, it felt like you were getting more for your money. Now, I'm not so sure.