Pixel 8 Pro • Hacker News Board

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#551

Post by devoutsalsa » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 2:33 AM UTC

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.

I like to get a nice laptop and phone because I spend so much time on them. An iPhone is worth it for me, as I like a predictably good camera. Before I went iPhone, I had a Pixel 3a, and it took perfectly fine pictures. I just like the iPhone cameras more, although I’m starting to get a little jealous of the better zoom capabilities on some Samsung phone cameras I’ve seen recently. Lately I’ve been upgrading every two years, but every three would also be fine.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#552

Post by HardlyCurious » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 2:37 AM UTC

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.

Maybe I'm an idiot, but I think the expanded AI capabilities are the biggest step forward for phones in like 5+ years or more.

But I'm someone who is still using a pixel 3, so maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel better about purchase I need to make because my phone's battery is pretty close to useless.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#553

Post by interpenetrate » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 2:39 AM UTC

8jef wrote: post #525

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 inclu…

[flagged]

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#554

Post by ethbr1 » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 2:40 AM UTC

TylerE wrote: post #489

admax88qqq wrote: post #485

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's honestly not a good user experience. Having to buy a new sd card routinely, and better hope you system can detect impending as card failures accurately. Compared to 5 years of good on board storage performance, with no little bits to accidentally lose. And a gradually degradation of performance after that. They could possibly design a phone the way you outlined, but people won't buy it.

Not to mention what it’ll do the waterproof rating.

Do that many people need their phone to be waterproof rated?

I realize it's mandatory from a marketing perspective, but how often is it used?

Accidentally jumping in the pool/ocean/lake with your phone. But past that, I'm not often in submerged situations.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#555

Post by justusthane » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 2:40 AM UTC

smusamashah wrote: post #477

alxmdev wrote: post #475

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 4A doesn't get security updates anymore though, right? The language on the website says "guaranteed until at least August 2023" so I guess it's up to Google's good will.

Do security updates really matter that much? May be they do depending on your usage patterns. I think anyone will be fine without most of those security updates. Also most of the slowdowns are caused by automatically updating apps which keep gaining weight with every update.

Yes, security updates absolutely matter regardless of your usage pattern. You could unwittingly visit a website that has been compromised to exploit a zero-day in your browser. Or receive a malicious text message. Or open a PDF. Or or or.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#556

Post by hyperhopper » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 2:41 AM UTC

kaba0 wrote: post #275

TaylorAlexander wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's funny because if they did not release a new phone every year, the old phones would be useful for longer. I recently had to replace my iPhone 7s plus because it was getting so slow I sometimes could not get the camera to open as it loaded the system down too much. This was despite the fact that the system said my battery was not degraded (it had been replaced with Apple Care a couple of times). Of course when it…

> And then Apple made their OS more heavy weight every year until my phone slowed to a crawl. I mean, it is a bit unfair against Apple - some of the reason behind the OS getting more heavyweight is actually backporting new features in 7 year’s distance, many which actually has dedicated hardware in case of the more modern lineup. Also, there is a big aspect which is independent of Apple: every app is getting more and…

When a company is the first to be worth 1 trillion, maybe the business model is exploitative and should be forced to be worse.

They make so much money, why should their business model have to be any better?

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#557

Post by vore » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 2:45 AM UTC

oceanplexian wrote: post #538

A decade selling phones and these guys still can't advertise their way out of a paper bag. GOOGLE ONE 10% CREDIT, FITBIT SUBSCRIPTION, 24 MONTHLY BILL CREDITS from GOOGLE FI. YOUTUBE PREMIUM. Wow am I pumped for all the SUBSCRIPTIONS I can now purchase.

Isn’t this the same thing Apple does? Carrier bill credit, Apple TV+ trial, Apple Fitness+ trial, Apple Arcade trial etc. Seems like any other kind of phone marketing to me.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#558

Post by HardlyCurious » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 2:46 AM UTC

Alacart wrote: post #84

andrewstuart2 wrote: post #3

I'm really glad to see both the partnership with iFixit and the 7 years of support. Because everything else seems mostly meh to me, and while I'm upgrading this year from a Pixel 6 Pro, the continued diminished returns make it seem likely that 2-3 years from now I won't have as much reason to.

My experience with my own pixel 7 pro and a pixel 5 has been that these devices are an order of magnitude lower in build quality than Samsung or iPhones. I really, really wanted to be happy with them but they've been a never ending source of frustration. My pixel 5 just stopped turning on one day about 2 years in, and my pixel 7 pro had the volume and power buttons fall out about 3 weeks in (not due to a drop, after…

I must be lucky. I'm still rocking a pixel 3. It's got multiple breaks in the screen, the back of the phone is pretty cracked, the camera cover is completed smashed out. Hey somehow this thing still works and takes ok pictures.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#559

Post by hyperhopper » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 2:48 AM UTC

chaostheory wrote: post #284

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…

The status quo is great. You have yearly releases that are stable and allow anyone to upgrade without fear of the new model coming out like with traditional video game consoles. No one is forcing you to buy anything you don’t want. Also, the OS and apps need to take advantage of new hardware, so it’s not a surprise if your seven year old phone becomes slower. If you don’t like the status quo then I would go with a no…

> No one is forcing you to buy anything you don’t want.

Yes they are, by refusing to release security updates for older models.

I don't want to buy a new phone, but likely will have to due to support ending so they can sell more high margin hardware.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#560

Post by hparadiz » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 2:48 AM UTC

izacus wrote: post #377

hparadiz wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why does no one ever consider Sony? They let you unlock the bootloader and the hardware is excellent.

I stopped when they started permanently breaking camera procesing on bootloader unlock.

I thought they stopped doing that in 2019?