Earlier quoted context omitted.
I doubt many people will buy a $649 phone with run of the mill specs and only 18 months of updates even if it was made by Google (whatever that means). Google might not remember but nobody bought the Chromebook Pixel or the Pixel C.
All(?) of the top-end Androids in the Verizon store are priced at $650 and above.
I mean with Project Fi the Pixel phones could be a equally attractive deal for Regular Joe but they would still have to advertise it heavily and offer better value through extended updates.