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Pixel 8 Pro

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Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#511

Post by dghlsakjg »

kimbernator wrote: post #316
sanswork wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An improved camera can't be something applied in software, a faster chip can't be applied in software. So by your own standard every version is warranted.

"significant" is the key word here. I'd be hard pressed to think of a generational release of an existing phone line in the last 5 years that I would describe as a "significant" improvement. The things you listed (camera and chip speed) are basically the only things left that these companies can claim is better than last year's model, but only because it's so easy to use synthetic benchmarks and numbers that mean not…

Depends on your use case.

For me, the addition of satelite SOS introduced on iPhone 14 is a game changer. I do enough out of cell range activity that I carry a SPOT device.

The ability for one more device (and pricy subscription) to be eaten by my phone is fantastic.

For others it might be onboard ai capabilities.

Each incremental hardware update to an iPhone tips the utility scales for someone, and is a completely ignorable change for others. Some people don’t care a bit that the new iPhone has a 2k nit brightness, for others, that is the feature they’ve been waiting for to upgrade.

I don’t pay attention to androids much, but it is pretty rare for iPhone full number bumps not to have a hardware feature that is new.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#512

Post by bpye »

redeeman wrote: post #482
vel0city wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If we're looking at older phones with removable storage, it usually limited what could be put on the SD card. And in the end the OS and system libraries were still on the on-board storage which would wear out over the years. And there's good reason for the OS not being on a microSD card. Run a Raspberry Pi without locking the storage and see how fast it'll corrupt itself. Most SD cards have pretty miserable reliabili…

should just use m.2 2230 nvme. should be user replacable, its okay if it needs to be disassembled and its a 30 minute job, but that would solve a whole lot.

SD Express is PCIe and much smaller, but a full sized SD card still isn’t small. Supposedly microSD Express exists but I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen it…

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#513

Post by bradgessler »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #462
bradgessler wrote: post #384

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try this: don’t upgrade your phone for five years. The annual incremental release cycle is fine—what’s silly is thinking phones need to be upgraded every year.

> Try this: don’t upgrade your phone for five years. Try that and monitor your quality of life. See if you can avoid therapy. It's not that people think they need to upgrade their phones every year, or two, or three. It's that the phones are designed for short usable life on hardware side, and on software side, neither first-party nor third-party developers give a damn about performance.

I upgrade once every 2-3 years on average and my quality of life is great. It’s not on principle either—I will walk into an Apple Store with my existing phone and use it side-by-side with whatever is their latest. If think the new thing improves my life I’ll buy it.

Currently I’m using an iPhone 12 Pro Max. Last year when I compared its “lesser camera” to the latest and greatest, I couldn’t tell much of a difference so I kept the old phone.

The specs they throw out are always better on paper, but practice upgrading each year will yield very little improvement in quality of life.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#514

Post by xyzelement »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #462
bradgessler wrote: post #384

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try this: don’t upgrade your phone for five years. The annual incremental release cycle is fine—what’s silly is thinking phones need to be upgraded every year.

> Try this: don’t upgrade your phone for five years. Try that and monitor your quality of life. See if you can avoid therapy. It's not that people think they need to upgrade their phones every year, or two, or three. It's that the phones are designed for short usable life on hardware side, and on software side, neither first-party nor third-party developers give a damn about performance.

What is the evidence of this claim?

My wife just got to a place where her iPhone got unusable because it's running out of space - mainly having to do with her massive Messages history and photos/videos. We didn't even know until I checked, her phone is the iPhone X which was released 6 years ago and technically nothing is stopping her from using it longer except the lack of desire to prune her message history/photos/vids.

My wife is someone who's not going to suffer with a poorly functioning piece of technology nor someone who is going to work hard to optimize it or prolong its life, so the fact that her 6 year old phone works just fine is a good sign that it can, in the average case.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#515

Post by synergy20 »

brewtide wrote: post #408
synergy20 wrote: post #354

still using pixel3, except they stopped upgrading the software a while ago, still it's usable though some apps refuse to be upgraded, sigh

Same here, but Ive been using lineageOS on mine for a year or so now? Works great, minus the battery life. On first 'amazon' battery replacement and debating a 2nd. Broke the rear glass changing it last time -- but now I have a pixel 3 'panda'. Was really hoping to see a similarity sized phone. Also, do you use the squeeze feature of the phone? I use it all the time - to activate assistant in my pocket, squeezing thr…

thanks! did not use the squeeze though, will try.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#516

Post by goles »

wnevets wrote: post #206
nicbou wrote: post #12

6.7 inch screen. My Pixel 5 is already big. This one is an inch bigger in my hand and in my pockets. Price increase. 875€ in Europe. The Pixel 5 was 630€. Do you really get 40% more phone?

Maybe I have abnormally large hands & pockets but the Pixel 6 Pro w/case size is really good. I am always annoyed when I have to use someone's phone and their tiny screen.

You're not abnormal. I can one hand a pixel 6 pro. People who are small can sometimes be as less aware of their space as big people are of theirs.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#517

Post by CobaltFire »

0x457 wrote: post #399
Gigachad wrote: post #370

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cars still release on a yearly schedule decades later and they change almost nothing each year.

Well no. Car models have generations and mid-generation updates (aka facelift). It's very rare that there are any updates at all within the same generation. Year in model designation is just "ha, look at his looser driving last year BMW" and to show when car left assembly line. There are some examples where the same generation had a significant upgrade without a facelift, but those are rare. One example I could think…

There are also the odd ones due to the pandemic; the 2024 MY I just bought technically had almost no changes from 2023 MY but the reality is that several options that were TECHNICALLY available for the 2023 refresh weren't actually produced in any significant numbers due to supply constraints. Now in 2024 those options are actually hitting, making it almost a mini tech update.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#518

Post by lazycouchpotato »

bigstrat2003 wrote: post #440
makeitdouble wrote: post #395

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Getting access to the Apple ecosystem has inherent value that comes on top of the phones themselves. Green bubbles can be worth a few hundred dollars. Or why some people keep a busted iPhone around just to manage the parental controls. Android doesn't have much of those restrictions or it applies less.

> Green bubbles can be worth a few hundred dollars. I'm sorry, but what ? To whom? I have an incredibly hard time believing it's actually something which makes a concrete return on investment, but maybe I'm wrong and the world is even dumber than I thought.

I think they meant blue bubbles? Green bubbles are SMS.

https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/10/22876067/google-apple-ios...

My teammates for a university assignment let out an audible groan when they found out I was the only one on an Android. I do have an iPad, so thankfully I was able to maintain communication regarding our team project.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#519

Post by stickfigure »

heroiccocoa wrote: post #495
kimbernator wrote: post #178

It's starting to feel silly, having a yearly release cycle for smartphones. So much of this product page is focused on new software functions that may have some vague relationship with the slightly upgraded hardware, but that could mostly be released to existing phones. Every new iPhone, Pixel, or Samsung phone basically claims the camera is marginally better and hey, look at these software features that have very li…

But phones are manufactured regardless, so why not let the people who are currently in the market for a new device get something current? The yearly release cycle isn't meant to be kept up with every year, in fact I think that that notion is so hilariously out of touch basically everywhere except the US (and a small international wealthy elite elsewhere) that it would be ridiculed. Remember, the global median per-cap…

I've been consistently upgrading every 3 years since the Nexus days and I really don't think I'm missing anything. With trade-in, it ends up being something like $50/yr (I always go for the budget versions). Unless you're already sitting on FU money, I don't understand why anyone would spend more.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#520

Post by TylerE »

mtreis86 wrote: post #380
kimbernator wrote: post #178

It's starting to feel silly, having a yearly release cycle for smartphones. So much of this product page is focused on new software functions that may have some vague relationship with the slightly upgraded hardware, but that could mostly be released to existing phones. Every new iPhone, Pixel, or Samsung phone basically claims the camera is marginally better and hey, look at these software features that have very li…

It makes sense for gaming consoles, I don't see what is so different (these days) about phones.

Game consoles don’t have all the peripherals including the screen soldered directly on.
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