I switched from iPhone to the Pixel 2: One-week report • Hacker News Board

Re: I switched from iPhone to the Pixel 2: One-week report

#271

Post by ubernostrum » Tue, May 01, 2018, 1:37 PM UTC

boudin wrote: post #254

ubernostrum wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple is "better with privacy" because Apple's model is to have you pay for things with your money instead of with your personal data. If you really have a difficult time distinguishing any difference between Apple's and Google's business models, I don't know how to even begin explaining to you.

I'm not speaking about business model but about privacy. That's two totally different subjects. I agree on the business model part, but it doesn't make apple better than google on privacy. Apple still own a lot of your data gathered through the app installed.

So don't use anything, ever, then.

If you want to use a smartphone, you basically get to decide who you trust more with the device that holds a lot of your digital life: Apple or Google. I know how Apple makes its money, and I know how Google makes its money. This makes the decision very, very easy.

Your argument basically is "yeah, I know one of these companies is already actively exploiting my data for profit and the other isn't, but hypothetically they might some day in the future so that means they're indistinguishable from each other today". Which makes it close to impossible to treat you as arguing honestly and in good faith.

Re: I switched from iPhone to the Pixel 2: One-week report

#272

Post by andrewla » Tue, May 01, 2018, 1:38 PM UTC

saagarjha wrote: post #15

> Universal back function: It’s great having a global “affordance” for the super-common thing that people want to do. It works well, too: its meaning subtly changing in the right way, depending what you’re going back from. Funny, I always hated this. I could never figure out just where the back button would take me.

Agreed -- I use an iPhone, but I have a couple of Android tablets at home, and I find this super annoying. It appears not just to be dependent on the app state, but also the path to get there; sometimes navigating into an app through the task switcher means that back will take you to the app you were just using, sometimes it means that you will tell the current app to go back.

There are too many contexts where "back" doesn't make sense or have a single meaning to make including it as a hard button rather than in the app chrome a good decision.

Re: I switched from iPhone to the Pixel 2: One-week report

#273

Post by ivanfon » Tue, May 01, 2018, 1:38 PM UTC

tjoff wrote: post #192

matwood wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Siri is definitely Apples biggest weakness, but the headphone jack? The phone comes with a little adapter. If you're a person who has tons of nice headphones laying around, but a couple more adapters and call it a day. Is it a bit of inconvenience at first? Sure, but don't act like there is no way to plug in headphones or that it's the end of the world. And Duo? I'm a tech person and I can't keep all of the Google co…

Royally disagree with the headphone jack. That is a huge issue that I don't ever see an end to. You never know when you need a headphone jack and there is no realistic way to carry an adapter all the time. And that is even if I'm willing to buy $100 worth of worthless adapters and do my best to sprinkle them out in my life. Friends car? Stereo in the summer vacation house? Buying bluetooth headphones doesn't mitigate…

Another important argument which is brought up in this excellent EFF article is how Bluetooth allows for DRM.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/09/analog-last-defense-ag...

Re: I switched from iPhone to the Pixel 2: One-week report

#274

Post by senorjazz » Tue, May 01, 2018, 1:38 PM UTC

ams6110 wrote: post #234

tjoff wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. Many more don't. Home stereos typically don't. Regular radios typically don't. 2. Bluetooth is pure crap , the UX for connecting and managing temporary devices is absolutely insane on all devices. This is something you do on your own car but is a major hassle to setup for temporary occasions. And hardly something that is done on a whim just to demo something. It is just that bad. And this is even before considerin…

Agree, bluetooth is a knock-out factor for me. I refuse to use it, it's been a total PITA any time I've tried.

same, when it decides to work, it can work well, but most the time it doesn't, or is a hassle. My car just refuses my phone for some reason.

cable > connect > go. Every time without fail

Re: I switched from iPhone to the Pixel 2: One-week report

#275

Post by wilsonnb » Tue, May 01, 2018, 1:39 PM UTC

tjoff wrote: post #232

laken wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not just keep the dongle attached to your headphones?

That's what you do. But what if you have several headphones? (I can barely realistically buy an extra adapter for my phone, never mind the ridiculous cost) I've got two headphones (good sound or active noise cancellation) that I use and every single day I have to keep extra track of the adapter to make sure that I didn't leave it with the other pair - that's even if I don't use it. I mostly use it for long calls but…

The headphone adapters from Apple and Google cost $9 dollars each. If you can afford to buy a $700 phone, you can afford to spend $30 bucks on some extra adapters if you want them. In most cases, at least. I suppose availability of the adapters might be an issue in some areas as well.

Re: I switched from iPhone to the Pixel 2: One-week report

#276

Post by wilsonnb » Tue, May 01, 2018, 1:40 PM UTC

grincho wrote: post #238

laken wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not just keep the dongle attached to your headphones?

Which headphones? And then, when you want to plug them into an (even Apple) laptop, you detach the adaptor and forget to bring it with you.

That is true of the iPhone adapters but a USB C adapter with a DAC inside will work with any laptop that has a USB C port.

Re: I switched from iPhone to the Pixel 2: One-week report

#277

Post by uhhhhhhh » Tue, May 01, 2018, 1:40 PM UTC

YouKnowBetter wrote: post #136

My whole family (parents, sister & her kids, wife & our kids) have switched to iPhones (and macos devices) years ago. Result: 1. no "technical" issues anymore. As the go to IT guy in the family this alone is worth the supposed premium price one pays for the Apple logo. 2. Everything is updated, at all times. 3. "Facebook logs my sms" are a none issues 4. All devices die of old age (even the devices that have since lo…

I've got to say I have the exact opposite experience. It got to the point I now don't do apple/iphone support for family. The number of itunes issues, osx keystore issues, technical issues with phones was taking a lot of time, and user issues with the iphone never ended.

My parents, sisters, and any aunts/uncles nearby that I support are all on windows 10 with android phones.

My results.

1. Time spend supporting family 1/10th compared to before. Android phones just work for us, update often and cost less so the occasional "OMG I dropped my phone and its broken" issues pretty much went away.

2. Android phones are all running the latest OS, give or take a minor update (usually stick with google or samsung flagship or mid-range models). Updating doesn't brick or blow away app settings or cause issues for users.

3. Never had this issue, but most of my family doesn't use facebook on their phones.

4. I have yet to have an apple product last more than 2-3 years. My last iphone lasted 1.5 years before it started randomly crashing/glitching. My current android is 2 years in without any issues.

5. Skype/Duo works great for my family. There is a subset of the family that uses facetime, they don't talk to the rest of us as often anymore.

I use apple products for work. I tend to get a HW replacement for laptops every 18-24 months due to HW failures, I'm on my 4th laptop in 6 years all due to HW issues.

Sometimes its got to be just luck. we have almost exact opposite experiences

Re: I switched from iPhone to the Pixel 2: One-week report

#278

Post by Jedd » Tue, May 01, 2018, 1:40 PM UTC

ntsplnkv2 wrote: post #231

tjoff wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Royally disagree with the headphone jack. That is a huge issue that I don't ever see an end to. You never know when you need a headphone jack and there is no realistic way to carry an adapter all the time. And that is even if I'm willing to buy $100 worth of worthless adapters and do my best to sprinkle them out in my life. Friends car? Stereo in the summer vacation house? Buying bluetooth headphones doesn't mitigate…

Almost every modern car now has USB or bluetooth, even cheap entry level compact cars. > Friends car? Stereo in the summer vacation house? Bluetooth speakers are pretty much ubiquitous nowadays. I don't think I've seen an aux cord in 2 years. Why should a tech company design for old tech? Do you also dislike monitors that don't have VGA just in case? I'm not saying there are scenarios where that would be an issue. Bu…

Not everyone lives in your world.

> Why should a tech company design for old tech?

a) Apple isn't a tech company, it's a style / aspiration company that sells some bits and bobs that occasionally are high-tech, and b) 3.5mm headphone jacks have been around since the 1950's -- so presumably this was 'old tech' when Apple first came up with the iPod ... and yet ... and yet, they still put this 'old tech' into every device since then, up until the last iteration of their mobile phone. 'Old tech' is a canard.

Re: I switched from iPhone to the Pixel 2: One-week report

#279

Post by tootie » Tue, May 01, 2018, 1:41 PM UTC

baldfat wrote: post #163

YouKnowBetter wrote: post #136

My whole family (parents, sister & her kids, wife & our kids) have switched to iPhones (and macos devices) years ago. Result: 1. no "technical" issues anymore. As the go to IT guy in the family this alone is worth the supposed premium price one pays for the Apple logo. 2. Everything is updated, at all times. 3. "Facebook logs my sms" are a none issues 4. All devices die of old age (even the devices that have since lo…

My anecdotal evidence has been the opposite. My daughter has always been an Apple user and she has had so many more issues with her phone. Either she never upgraded her phone due to storage limitations because she refused to uninstall certain apps. He screen twice has twice peeled off. The battery expanded and now it glitches every hour but she is stuck because there is NO HEAD PHONE JACK. So she keeps saying do I bu…

My kids will use voice on Fire TV to search for shows. Other than that, I can't recall seeing anyone use a voice assistant with sincerity.

Re: I switched from iPhone to the Pixel 2: One-week report

#280

Post by randlet » Tue, May 01, 2018, 1:45 PM UTC

zspitzer wrote: post #21

I have a Pixel 2 XL, alas the USB-C headphone adaptor died. There's a request a support call button in settings, I pressed it and 2 mins later a native english speaker called me back, 12 minutes later (which included getting my address details), Google was express shipping a replacement from part which arrived 42 hours later (HK - Melbourne, Australia).

The headphone jack is my only gripe with the Pixel 2 and it is a surprisingly big deal to me. The USB-C dongle is terrible. Easy to lose, doesn't work half the time requiring me to reboot the phone (lightning quick thankfully), stops working if the headphones get yanked out etc. I use my headphones almost every single day with my phone so it's a "big" (in the first world problem sense) deal to me. I love everything else about the phone, but I still kind of wish I bought something else.