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Google Pixel 9 Pro

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Re: Google Pixel 9 Pro

#871

Post by Keyframe »

arlort wrote: post #812
Keyframe wrote: post #635

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's Google for you. I bought Pixel 8 Pro when it came out, after I had Samsung (never was into iPhone, my wife has those though). I regretted pretty much right away. Heavy AF compared to Galaxy, cool features US-locked, EU means nothing to that company since it looked like they haven't even applied for licenses for cool shit in EU - had to fake my SIM to be in US just to unlock thermometer etc.. I will not buy any…

> had to fake my SIM to be in US just to unlock thermometer IIRC that's also available in some EU countries, the issue in this specific case isn't google but the fact that devices which could be construed to offer medical info tend to require certification varying by country

you're right, the issue being google hasn't even applied for certification. Aside from that, try buying anything google hardware outside of select core market. Somehow, Samsung and Apple (and a ton of smaller players) are able to have global availability with no issues.

Re: Google Pixel 9 Pro

#872

Post by FrozenSynapse »

hypeatei wrote: post #699
rchaud wrote: post #666

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's happening because nobody cares about phone hardware anymore. The iPhone 15 became a bit of a meme because of how similar it was to the 13 as it pertains to most people's use cases. Phones are like laptops now, most phones regardless of make or model will do what you need it to.

I can't remember ever caring about phone hardware. Most things aren't resource intensive and camera quality doesn't matter that much.

I disagree with my Exynos S22 Ultra... Battery life is abysmal and it heats up instantly, a thing that got extremely better with Snapdragon S23 and S24. Hardware is still important

Re: Google Pixel 9 Pro

#873

Post by nicoburns »

yunohn wrote: post #859
prmoustache wrote: post #850

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess mostly because the only thing new smartphones offer is faster cpu, more memory (which I don't really need, a 10y old smartphone handle my current load correctly) and a better camera and an always bigger footprint. The only thing I like is the possible better camera sensors, but that won't make me shed thousands of dollars for it. If I have the choice I'd rather have a more compact model with the camera qualit…

> which I don't really need, a 10y old smartphone handle my current load correctly Which phone are you using then? I presume your usage is totally non-representative of the average normal user, but curious nonetheless.

I was happily using an iPhone 6S (which is very nearly 9 years old) until recently (when I dropped it and smashed the screen). It definitely wasn't as fast as a modern phone (but it honestly wasn't bad), the camera was much worse, and the battery life wasn't as good. But it some ways it was better: it had a fingerprint reader (modern iphones don't), and it was much smaller and lighter.

Re: Google Pixel 9 Pro

#874

Post by nexxer »

avidiax wrote: post #741
sangnoir wrote: post #736

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have negative desire to get a phone billing itself around AI and LLM features Google has been tastefully integrating AI into phones for a while now using opt-ins. The now-many-years old phone screening feature ensures the fear of spam won't lead to unintentionally missing calls from the doctor/dentist who call from unknown numbers. Screening suspicious calls instead of declining them is a massive quality of life…

There is also "hold for me", where the phone listens to hold music for you, then rings when the operator arrives. And there is a feature now to show you how busy a customer service line is at a particular time, and to give you a text transcript with clickable buttons for the phone tree.

All of that would be great if it was actually available to me in the smaller country/market I live in, which is less of a priority for Google. I still paid for them as part of the phone.

Re: Google Pixel 9 Pro

#875

Post by gvurrdon »

sangnoir wrote: post #736
chc4 wrote: post #707

I have negative desire to get a phone billing itself around AI and LLM features. I turn off every AI assistant feature on my existing devices, I actively don't want a phone that ties Gemini and AI photoshop even tighter into it. If Google wanted to actually improve their phones they would add basic software functionality they're still missing instead like, say, a per-app volume mixer that half the 3rd party Android p…

> I have negative desire to get a phone billing itself around AI and LLM features Google has been tastefully integrating AI into phones for a while now using opt-ins. The now-many-years old phone screening feature ensures the fear of spam won't lead to unintentionally missing calls from the doctor/dentist who call from unknown numbers. Screening suspicious calls instead of declining them is a massive quality of life…

Despite also having no desire to have an "AI" phone, this feature is incredibly useful; however hard I try to avoid it, there are organisations who will insist that they contact me by telephone. Luckily it's available on older devices so I can keep my 6a going for another year.

Re: Google Pixel 9 Pro

#876

Post by MrThoughtful »

chc4 wrote: post #707

I have negative desire to get a phone billing itself around AI and LLM features. I turn off every AI assistant feature on my existing devices, I actively don't want a phone that ties Gemini and AI photoshop even tighter into it. If Google wanted to actually improve their phones they would add basic software functionality they're still missing instead like, say, a per-app volume mixer that half the 3rd party Android p…

I dislike the bundling of hardware and software alltogether.

In the world of laptops, we have a wonderful situation. I can select the hardware that I like, then wipe the whole disk and install the software I like. Which in my case is a Linux distribution and then exactly the applications I prefer.

I wish the world of phones was like that.

Re: Google Pixel 9 Pro

#877

Post by rockskon »

zooq_ai wrote: post #801
peapod91 wrote: post #786

The dominance of the negativity in these comments is noteworthy. Personally, I thought it was a exciting update with major hardware improvements, some compelling AI demos and use cases at a similar price point as the past. Top tech reviewers e.g. MKBHD has similar impressions. Mostly just curious as to why there are ~0 positive comments here. I suspect could be: 1) anti-google HN bias - perhaps deserved? 2) it's simp…

I Use Hacker News for technical input. on an average, HN crowd is pretty clueless about a) running a profitable business b) foreseeing technological progress -- say two iterations down the line. c) mass adoption of features On an average, they tend to be elitist and don't represent the average brand popularity (e.g Google, Meta, Amazon). They only mildly upvote technology that helps their extremely privileged life. E…

> Metaverse

No quicker way to signal how little you know about technology than to promote something niche that doesn't function well on most cheap electronics.

Re: Google Pixel 9 Pro

#878

Post by toyg »

adamomada wrote: post #596
deergomoo wrote: post #453

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I long for the days of being able to reach all four corners of my phone screen with one thumb. I had an iPhone 12 mini which was a wonderful respite, but apparently us small phone fans are a small enough demographic to not warrant serving. What's extra annoying is I never felt the need to use a case when phones were smaller, but one-handed corner reaching upsets the balance of the phone in my hand now to the point wh…

iPhone has this accessibility feature ‘Reachability’ that can help. On the SE you double tap (but not click) the home button, I think on others you swipe up and down quickly from the bottom centre.

I believe that sort of feature got to Android first, and they're still there, but in reality they are no substitute for actual reach. They add cognitive and time overhead to the gesture.

Re: Google Pixel 9 Pro

#879

Post by toyg »

jerlam wrote: post #592
jorvi wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would have been nice if they did a regular size (5.8”) for normal people and 6.8” for the genetic freaks with dinner plate hands. 6.3” is still huge. 5.8” is workable. And it’s not like there’s no precedent, the Zenfone 10 is also 5.8” and is adored for it.

Small display sizes used to mean "cheap phone" for so long that people still won't pay more money for a smaller device. Not for lack of trying, since both Apple and Samsung tried in 2019 with their mini iPhones and Galaxy S10e respectively which were both smaller versions of their normal phones. Neither line continues today. Apple has some precedent with their premium iPad Mini which costs more than their normal iPad…

> Small display sizes used to mean "cheap phone"

It's actually the opposite - big screens inevitably mean "expensive", and phones are status symbols. Unfortunately, vain people outnumber practical people by various orders of magnitude, so the market goes where the money is.

The only way to correct this trend would be to coopt an inordinate amount of celebrities, and make them advocate for smaller phones. That's the only group that vain people will blindly follow.

I suspect in practice we're stuck with big phones until the phone concept actually manages to disappear entirely (turning into wearables or lenses).

Re: Google Pixel 9 Pro

#880

Post by Beretta_Vexee »

mvdtnz wrote: post #720
Beretta_Vexee wrote: post #514

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For years, Google has been promising me a high-performance voice assistant. I find that in 2024 it still can't understand "call mom" and "call my wife's name" unless I'm in a perfectly silent environment. And it usually takes several tries. I'm not going to get carried away with technical announcements.

It's much much worse if you're trying to call someone without an Anglo-Saxon name too. It just outright refuses to call anyone I know with a Thai name, regardless of how I pronounce it.

The same goes for French and Romanian, I call it Starwars name problem. You have to make some sort of strange variation like the name in Starwars so that the device recognises it.
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