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Google’s Pixel Pass service is dead. If you’re not sure what Pixel Pass was, it was a subscription service Google offered that allowed people to split up the payments of their phone over a two-year period. Just like installment plans from Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, the Pixel Pass portioned out your payments monthly.
This was an easy way for people to upgrade to the latest Pixel smartphone. But the opportunity to do so is no longer available. Google doesn’t have an official announcement for this. Instead, the discontinuation of the service went under the radar and is only brought up on the support page (spotted by Droid Life) for it. Google says new subscribers won’t be able to sign up for Pixel Pass going forward. However, those who already have an active Pixel Pass subscription will continue to use the service as normal. At least until the subscription ends two years from the purchase of the phone.
Pixel Pass is dead as of August 29, 2023
The service is officially ending today. So as mentioned above, there’s no way for people to sign up for a new membership and you can’t renew an active one.
It is possible that Google chose to end Pixel Pass because it wasn’t really being utilized. Or perhaps not to the extent Google was hoping. Google doesn’t offer up much information as to the reasoning for the shutdown either. One might assume Google has a replacement in the works. It will after all be launching the Pixel 8 series phones later this year. And their unveiling would make for a good time to reveal an alternative to Pixel Pass.
For the time being though, there is no real alternative directly from Google. That doesn’t mean there’s no way to avoid paying for a new Pixel phone up front. As Google still offers its trade-in programs that could help bring the price of the phone down. At the end of the day, you can still get a new Pixel device. It just might cost you more up front.