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Pixel 8 Pro

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Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#521

Post by eru »

manicennui wrote: post #496
losvedir wrote: post #491

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think counterintuitively there's less waste this way. With yearly, incremental releases, people will evaluate what's new from their phone and most people will update on their own cycle, probably every few or several years. Meanwhile, with gaming console "generational" releases every few years, that is a strong incentive for everyone to upgrade. If I have a 3 year old phone which I'm on the fence about updating, the…

A lot of people are on 2-year payment plans through their provider and just switch every time.

Yes, but those plans cost extra compared to one that doesn't have this feature.

(And don't many plans come with some sort of discount, if you don't upgrade your phone?)

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#522

Post by XCSme »

grepLeigh wrote: post #173

This is a meta comment, but I think it's extraordinary that we're only 15ish years from the first smartphone release and we've already reached the "boring" incremental improvement phase for these tiny pocket supercomputers. Consider how long it took PCs to reach the same stage (with a fraction of the adoption). It was like 20 years from Kenbak-1 to the 90s PC era.

> how long it took PCs to reach the same stage

I think PCs still have revolutionary improvements, not only tiny incremental changes: huge core counts, tensor cores, ray tracing, SSDs, etc.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#523

Post by CydeWeys »

matsemann wrote: post #263
yccs27 wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, it feels like smartphones are finally maturing, and they are no longer new enough to justify the fast release cycles and short support times.

I feel it's a decade since I was excited about a new phone. Now I just copy over my settings and app, and act a bit disgruntled for a week that things are slightly different.

I have a Pixel 7 Pro that I was pretty excited to get, mainly for the 5X optical zoom lens. First time I've had anything like that on a phone. Super nice!

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#524

Post by lazycouchpotato »

huehehue wrote: post #420
valzam wrote: post #411

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On my Samsung S23 I can use the fingerprint reader without "tap to wake" just on the black screen. Is that not possible with pixels?

Not on the Pixel 6a, at least.

Hello fellow Pixel 6a'er.

If you go to Settings > Display > Lock Screen > "Always show time and info" and turn it on, it'll always show the time, notification icons and the fingerprint icon to show you where to position your finger. It does say that this reduces battery life.

I keep "Lift to check phone" on as if I need to unlock my phone, I'm usually going to lift it up into my hands. Unfortunately it and "Tap to check phone" are a bit buggy and don't always work correctly.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#525

Post by 8jef »

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…

As someone who's mostly buying used tech, or newish at deep discounted price from classifieds or ebay, I appreciate not having to wait 5 years cycles for stuff. Yearly release cycles means people let go sooner of perfectly functioning high end tech very fast, selling for very cheap, and I'm very grateful for that.

Great many containers filled with stuff from rich countries find their way to poor countries, some include stolen goods (like cars), others include garbage, most include goods that still have some value for other people, including tech.

Maybe the problem should be looked at from that angle, and maybe there's no problem, really. One's garbage will always be another one's treasure.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#526

Post by iamwpj »

mrinterweb wrote: post #250
grepLeigh wrote: post #173

This is a meta comment, but I think it's extraordinary that we're only 15ish years from the first smartphone release and we've already reached the "boring" incremental improvement phase for these tiny pocket supercomputers. Consider how long it took PCs to reach the same stage (with a fraction of the adoption). It was like 20 years from Kenbak-1 to the 90s PC era.

I hear what you're saying, but I feel this release is less boring than other recent smart phones. It seems that they are really at an inflection point where they are able to start really utilizing their AI chips for deeper integration. From a hardware perspective, I agree this release might be boring. I don't think the Tensor3 is a far faster chip than the Tensor2 (for general purpose CPU tasks), but the AI processin…

Yes, I think it's kind of odd to see people disregarding some of the pretty impressive efficiency, security, and reliability improvements the phone hardware has undergone. Smartphones are astoundingly good at their jobs.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#527

Post by ccooffee »

stickfigure wrote: post #519
heroiccocoa wrote: post #495

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> Unless you're already sitting on FU money, I don't understand why anyone would spend more [than $50/yr on phone upgrades].

Among the people I know, there's more people living paycheck to paycheck and getting annual phone upgrades than people with FU money doing upgrades. That said, the percentage of FU money upgraders is higher than the percentage of paycheck-to-paycheck upgraders.

Google/Samsung/Apple/etc may be making more total money from the not-well-off than the well-off, at least thinking about people I know.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#528

Post by xyzelement »

doobiedowner wrote: post #410

Just switched my work phone to a flip phone. Fuck smart phones. My life and job aren't that important for immediate email updates. I've got automated SMS texts for critical alarms. if something else is burning down, someone will call. I miss email on my phone, but it just makes me use the phone for what it is for: Talking

I mean that's cool. But sometimes it's cool to video call my wife and kids when I am away, or to use Google maps to navigate / find something in a new area, make a quick video when the kids are doing something cute, etc.

If none of these are your use case, totally cool but it does make life better for a lot of people.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#530

Post by Clent »

kimbernator wrote: post #320
tap-snap-or-nap wrote: post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People on average change their phones every 3 years People in my circles seem to use their phones for 6-7 years atleast.

This figure sourcing gallup has nearly half of Americans replacing their phone "as soon as their carrier allows it": https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/07/15/how-often-...

That article is from 2018. 2 Year Contracts were still a thing back then. The contract included a hidden fee that covered the cost of the device spread out over the length of the contract.

That is all gone now. Carriers have post-paid plans where the monthly device cost varies based on device. These are 0% interest loans from the carrier. At the same time, people have started holding their phones longer. Renewal periods when to 30 months, then 36 months.

Some people will never be happy but cellphone customers are never happy.

Why can't people just enjoy our pocket computers with their always on connections?

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