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Google announces Pixel 5, Pixel 4A 5G, and Pixel 4A

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Re: Google announces Pixel 5, Pixel 4A 5G, and Pixel 4A

#301

Post by jorvi »

foobarian wrote: post #202
mcaswell wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It came with my 11 pro! Although I did immediately lose it...

And you can't charge the phone while it's plugged in.

You can if you order a Chinese splitter. All it does is split your lightning into two ports: the charging pins and all the other pins. Because the sound is sent digitally from your lighting port to the splitter, then digitally again to the lightning-to-3.5mm dongle you have no quality loss from a subpar splitter chip.

Edit: to be clear, this shouldn’t be needed, but alas, we cannot steer Apple.

Re: Google announces Pixel 5, Pixel 4A 5G, and Pixel 4A

#302

Post by ehsankia »

joncrane wrote: post #267
trulyrandom wrote: post #50

Can vouch for the Pixel line. I've had a Pixel 3a XL for a little over a year and it's been great. Stock Android, good display, great battery life, great camera, great security, reasonably fast and 3 years of updates. That's all I need from a phone. The Pixel 4a seems like a logical upgrade from the previous generation, sticking to the same principles.

my pixel 3a xl is also stellar. Where's the 4a xl?

They went for a single model, which is an in between. 3a was 5.6", 3a XL was 6", the 4a is 5.8" They also got rid of storage SKUs too, there's now only a single 128GB version. Even the color too, down to a single color instead of 3.

Maybe it's due to COVID-19 and supply chain issues, but they're getting rid of all variations and focusing on delivering a single version.

Re: Google announces Pixel 5, Pixel 4A 5G, and Pixel 4A

#303

Post by orliesaurus »

ss3000 wrote: post #240
droidno9 wrote: post #68

This is an awesome phone at $350. I currently have the Pixel 4, but if this was available when I was making my purchase decision, I'd probably have gone with it. That said, the Pixel line of phones isn't known for having long lasting battery. A feature that I've found to be indispensable is wireless charging. I just rest my Pixel 4 on a vertical charging base throughout the day. Otherwise, I'd have to have to constan…

I'm not a huge Apple fanboy by any measure, but one thing I do appreciate is that they consider wireless charging to be a table stakes feature, and include it even in their "budget" phones. They clearly understand how dramatically it elevates the user experience. Compare that to every Android manufacturer who either don't offer wireless charging at all or gate it to flagships, it's a really sad state of affairs for s…

Is wireless charging like this having any negative impacts on phone battery with daily usage/charging patterns?

Re: Google announces Pixel 5, Pixel 4A 5G, and Pixel 4A

#304

Post by ehsankia »

xenocyon wrote: post #109
acdha wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For something most people use many times a day with a multi-year lifespan? There’s a fascinating economics lesson in how many people are concerned by the cost of a phone but never mention the service plans which almost always cost more.

"Multi-year" is technically correct but a little rosy: Google cuts off software updates including security updates after 3 years, by which time one can also expect the hard-to-replace battery to be degraded, and increased probability of screen damage. Phones aren't really designed to be durable objects. That said, I do appreciate Google's "a" variant of their recent phones for the emphasis on practicality and usabili…

2+ years is by definition multi-year.

At 350$, if you use it for 3 years (which is the minimum number of years it gets updates for), you would basically be paying more for your Netflix subscription than for your phone. And I'd wager most people use their phone much more than they do their Netflix.

Re: Google announces Pixel 5, Pixel 4A 5G, and Pixel 4A

#305

Post by hocuspocus »

detaro wrote: post #298
hocuspocus wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there are several reasons: - The pricing for their flagship models made absolutely no sense given the specs, poor battery life and questionable QA. - Samsung and the big Chinese manufacturers advertise everywhere, you can get their phones at the shop around the corner. At least now in Germany you can find the Pixels at Saturn and Mediamarkt (and often at a discount). - Most people don't care about software up…

Always seemed weird that they didn't continue a Nexus series below the Pixel. Those had a good reputation as solid phones, whereas the Pixels didn't seem worth the money - and probably got anchored as that in peoples mind, even when their prices fall.

I've had many Nexus models and honestly they weren't any better. But I saw it as a trade-off. I agreed to do the beta testing in exchange of good specs for the price. Hardware QA was also shit but the customer service would send you a new device before you'd return yours, almost no questions asked.

I've heard it's gotten worse with the Pixels even though they're much more expensive. And some models have shown insane bugs/defects, for instance calling issues (!) with the Pixel 3.

Re: Google announces Pixel 5, Pixel 4A 5G, and Pixel 4A

#307

Post by mderazon »

amanzi wrote: post #193

Why can't Google sort out its global distribution? The Pixel phones have only ever been (officially) available in a handful of countries and this one is no different: "Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India (coming soon), Ireland, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States".

I have a first gen Pixel XL. Love this phone but the battery lasts 10 min so it's actually taped to power bank.

I have been waiting for this phone, but I live in Europe which will only be getting this somewhere mid September

I think I'll just give up and buy a OnePlus Nord

Re: Google announces Pixel 5, Pixel 4A 5G, and Pixel 4A

#308

Post by mehrdadn »

droidno9 wrote: post #299
mehrdadn wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Never used wireless charging but also never really understood what is so dramatically elevating about it. Is it just the requirement for 1 hand vs. 2 hands that people find so life-changing? Doesn't it waste a ton of power in the process?

It's one of those things that you don't think you'd need until you have had it, and then wonder why you've gone so far in life without it. As someone who constantly has to step away from my desk during the day, I don't have to think about charging the phone anymore. It automatically goes on the wireless stand (directly in front of me) when I'm back at my desk. I can be certain that if I choose to go out for the eveni…

Oh I see. But putting it in the charger all the time just makes the battery die more quickly, right? Though I see the value now if you don't care about that.

Re: Google announces Pixel 5, Pixel 4A 5G, and Pixel 4A

#309

Post by ehsankia »

zerocrates wrote: post #90
duxup wrote: post #5

I held on to an old 5x for what felt like forever until the 3a came around. I've zero interest in the high end phone market, I'm sort of horrified at 6, 7, $800+ the prices, and I feel like I use fewer and fewer apps all the time. Hopefully google with the 'a' models and Apple with the SE will stick with the mid range products.

Relatively lucky of you to have a 5X that lasted that long: mine succumbed long ago to the "boot loop" issue, apparently due to soldering issues endemic among 5X phones.

Mine (which I had given to my dad) lasted until 8 months ago until it finally started boot looping. Put a bootloop fix on it (which disables a few cores I think?) and it lasted a few month months, but then he got a 3a XL.

Re: Google announces Pixel 5, Pixel 4A 5G, and Pixel 4A

#310

Post by p1mrx »

rowanG077 wrote: post #168
partiallypro wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd prefer one made by Google that just matches the phone and the curvature of the end. I don't know why I was downvoted...but some people don't need the headphone jack, but still want a reasonably priced phone. A simple fix is to just sell a plug that matches the phone.

It's really quite simple to make yourself. Just put some epoxy in there and shape it to the Phone.

How on Earth would you remove an epoxy plug?
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