Certain other quirks will take getting used to or might never be considered valuable. For example, Google has replaced the caps lock key with a dedicated search key on its otherwise excellent keyboard. The keyboard, by the way, is backlit — and the light fades when you take your hands off it and comes up again when you come close.

Image The Pixel features the USB Type-C plug, which Google says supports fast charging.

But all of that said, the Pixel is not really meant to be a device for the masses to buy; its specs, its price and its usability aren’t really the goals. It is, by Google’s own admission, a device meant to test and demonstrate improvements that could eventually find their way into cheaper Chromebooks — whether those are outward-facing hardware improvements like better trackpads or power efficiencies that lead to longer battery life.

In the case of the second-generation Pixel, the big, flashy proof-of-concept feature is its all-in-one connection port, known as USB Type-C (try typing that without a caps lock key).

The new connection replaces not only older USB ports, but also the power input and display-out ports commonly found on laptops. It can charge, transfer data and power an external display, all in one.

The USB Type-C port had a bit of a coming-out party this week, since it’s also featured on the new MacBook that Apple announced — a machine so tiny it has room for only one port and a headphone jack.

Unlike Apple, Google put two USB Type-C ports on the Pixel, one on either side. That lets you charge the device from either side, which is nice when you’re traveling and don’t know where the power outlet will be. But it also lets you attach external devices and charge at the same time.