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Pixel 8 Pro

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Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#701
post #494

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Finally. The planned obsolescence conversation seems to revolve around Apple (the only self-interested greedy company on the planet according to the detractors) but they hold the record for software updates on smartphones - 10 years for the iPhone 5s. Here we are, in 2023, and Google is coming around to seven years of support. Apple has done at least seven since 2013. In any case I applaud this move and at least five…

There is a slight difference in how OS updates work in iOS and Android. iOS system apps release with the OS on an annual cycle, but in Android system apps are upgraded independently. Meaning, even without Android OS upgrades the device would get new system apps.

I have to repeat this in every discussion about Android updates :(

It is almost as people in these Apple vs Android arguments have no idea how Android actually work...

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#703

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Opening the Camera app on iPhone is one of the most demanding tasks it can possibly do. Doing it and doing it fast means powering up the image sensor and its supporting hardware (ISP, ML hardware, etc.) and immediately terminating all non-essential tasks on the device so it can dedicate it to this. If you don’t believe me, there are paths hardcoded in the kernel (I’m not joking: https://github.com/search?q=repo%3Aapp…

But it also did all that when new, and the camera still opened fast.

There’s a lot more going on in the background on your phone now.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#704
Maybe we should go back to pay for software. I'm willing to pay for new Android releases if I could use my phone longer. This would be fair for both sides: the manufacturer would earn money with the software and I would save money for a new phone and the environment would be saved from a lot of waste. Win-win-win!

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#705

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.

I'm glad all of the years of work that ifixit put in to publishing guides and selling tools is paying off so hard.

I assume it's standardization that prevents any notable competitors to them from popping up. Since others can just sell tools/parts.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#706

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…

For my point of view they can release as often as they wish, I will only replace my phones when they die or get stolen.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#707

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> From where I'm sitting software is millions of times better today than it was in the 90s I feel compelled to bring up this tweet from John Carmack I just saw a few hours ago. The most popular editor on the planet feels laggier than stuff Borland made in the 90s, on hardware probably a thousand times as fast. I don't know how anyone can say software is great with a straight face. We have supercomputers in our pocket…

Turbo C++ was my first IDE(a birthday present when I was a kid) and I will always be grateful of it for triggering my love of programming but to say that is even in the same category as a modern IDE is a huge stretch. Of course modern stuff is laggier for most IDE's as it's doing real time analysis on your code as you type. If you want to compare it with a Borland IDE from the 90s open up notepad and start typing.

Borland IDEs were definitly better than Notepad.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#708

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I don't get are these price tags. My last flagship phone was a Google Nexus 6P where the base model was $499. Amazing phone, too bad after 3 years it had a battery issue but the manufacturer gave me a new one. But the thing is: it was $499. That was the greatest thing about the Nexus lines - good hardware (maybe not the latest SOC) with regular updates and a good OS experience. I miss those phones. Google with t…

I think marketing is a big part of it. If they price it cheaper than the iPhone then people will view it as inferior.

But that's the thing with the consumers of the Nexus line - they were fun phones and people knew they weren't "inferior".

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#709

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I do visit sites with a phone with latest firefox with ublock origin. Browsers get updates regardless whether android itself is updated to latest version.

I am not defending unpatched phones just to be clear, but its not end of the world if you use unsecure device, just keep all your money and other important stuff away from it. Which is fine for many people.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#710
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?

> Do you really get 40% more phone?

No, but euros are worth ~30% less.

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