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Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s iPhone

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Re: Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s iPhone

#301

Post by maxsilver »

noobermin wrote: post #78
kogepathic wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I've been on android for a while, so I'm sure I'm biased, but stock AOSP Android is pretty much perfect for me. Very minimal and aesthetically beautiful, but still powerful and customizable. You can get AOSP on a lot of phones, you just have to be comfortable flashing a custom ROM. I don't understand why anyone would pay iPhone prices for an Android phone. Even if the hardware quality is similar (which it won't be,…

>(which it won't be, because Apple SoCs are at least a generation ahead of everyone else) Can anyone confirm if this is true? I thought the general advantage for i[a-zA-Z0-9]\+ is a well defined small N number of targets, which allow great optimization. Generally, the parts on apple things are a bit older than the competition but they pull off more (at least in user's eyes) compared with Android due to that optimizat…

Part of that is not so much just that Apple is "way ahead" as it is that Qualcomm is falling far behind -- and Qualcomm's roadmap is effectively Android's roadmap, for many OEMs.

Re: Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s iPhone

#302

Post by richardboegli »

duaneb wrote: post #296
andrewpi wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

VR headsets greatly benefit from a higher resolution. Even the 2K display on the late model Samsung phones produce low resolution when paired with a Gear VR. Supposedly this won't be resolved until 8k or even 16k mobile displays.

Why would you use a phone for vr? Seems hugely expensive to upgrade the screen for the sake of a niche hobby. Most people wouldn't even use it.

This is not what Google is betting on, hence the DayDream VR.

Re: Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s iPhone

#303

Post by Certhas »

joezydeco wrote: post #126

“Google is now the seller of record of this phone,” And who is the servicer of broken phones? Is there a warranty? Can I get a customer service agent on a real voice line? Given Google's track record of hardware they could have answers for all of this and I still wouldn't own one.

I'll add my voice to those who've had only excellent experience with Google Nexus customer service. Real person on the line, went out of their way to fix a problem that was entirely my fault.

Re: Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s iPhone

#304

Post by lmickh »

loeg wrote: post #191
jknightco wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Galaxy Nexus had a bit of VZW bloat, but that was the only one I can remember having any.

Yeah, Galaxy Nexus did. And HTC One (m8) did as well.

Was only true of the Galaxy Nexus purchased directly through Verizon and one of the reasons Google immediately changed how the Nexus line was handled in the subsequent releases.

Re: Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s iPhone

#305

Post by khedoros1 »

jray wrote: post #74
kentosi wrote: post #46

With the trend of bigger smartphones I'm really surprised by the sizes of 5" and 5.5".

The ideal size: between 4.5" - 4.7"

That's what I've been saying for years. My last phone was a Galaxy Nexus, and my current is a Nexus 5. The change from 4.65" to 5", along with less-rounded edges, meant that the new phone was really a mixed blessing for me. I'd really prefer something that fits in my pocket without me noticing and that I don't need 2 hands to be comfortable using. People still think I'm crazy when I tell them that 5" is too large for a really usable phone.

Re: Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s iPhone

#306

Post by technofiend »

bobajeff wrote: post #137
davidw wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My Nexus 4 from several years back keeps getting timely updates. And still works pretty well.

My Nexus 6 from only a couple of years back however doesn't have Nougat and doesn't look like it's going to. It still work great though.

You're just waiting on the push to happen, then.

Full Image https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images#shamu? (Direct link) https://dl.google.com/dl/android/aosp/shamu-nbd90z-factory-9...

Over the air update https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/ota#shamu (Direct link) https://dl.google.com/dl/android/aosp/shamu-ota-nbd90z-78a93...

Re: Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s iPhone

#307

Post by maxsilver »

dman wrote: post #178
rayiner wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Recently, Apple has been about a year ahead. Compare the A9 (which shipped in the 6s in fall 2015) with the Snapdragon 810 (which shipped in the Nexus 6p at the same time). http://www.anandtech.com/show/9837/snapdragon-820-preview/2 http://www.anandtech.com/show/9686/the-apple-iphone-6s-and-i... . Heck, in many cases the A9 leaves the Snapdragon 820 behind, and that hasn't even shipped in a Nexus phone yet (the Pixel…

Wish apple was as enthusiastic about processor specs for the mac lineup as they are for the iphone lineup.

Especially since there's not much effort from Apple needed to keep the Mac lineup modernized. Intel does much of the work for them.

Apple could just drop new Intel chips into their existing MacBooks as they get released, and easily be getting improved speed + efficiency each year. The new Kaby Lake chips even do hardware 4K video and VP9. http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/08/intel-unveils-kaby-la...

sigh

Re: Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s iPhone

#308

Post by anfogoat »

x0x0 wrote: post #243
anfogoat wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had the worst time since switching to the OnePlus 3 and from what I've read the OS on this phone is very close to stock Android. The only way to have a good experience with email, calendars and contacts is to use Google Apps – which I refuse to migrate to. The stock apps have no support for IMAP IDLE, CardDAV, or CalDAV. You have to resort to 3rd party apps for these and they are without fail either slow, buggy,…

This is absolutely true -- I'm on a nexus 5/android 6. There's no native caldav. I use a paid client called caldav-sync which is mediocre. For a while on android 5/lollipop, you had to install a second app (free from the same author) to prevent settings being wiped during OS upgrades/patches. When I upgraded to android 6 I couldn't figure out why calendars weren't syncing until I discovered caldav-sync decided to syn…

I should clarify. Except for Android's lack of support for good email/cal/contact syncing, I've got no major complaints about the OnePlus itself.

Re: Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s iPhone

#309

Post by notatoad »

Veratyr wrote: post #269
Fej wrote: post #95

What is the draw here? I have been running my Nexus 5 into the ground (soldered on a new power button when the original broke) in anticipation of the next Nexus phone. Pixel is no Nexus. Seriously, what does this have that the year-old Nexus 6P and 5X don't, other than incremental hardware improvements? And a massive price hike? Why should I buy this? (Seriously, Google? You want $650 for a phone with a 1080p screen?…

> what does this have that the year-old Nexus 6P and 5X don't, other than incremental hardware improvements? As someone who owns a 5X: - The Pixel is a premium 5" phone, not a budget one. It has a flagship SoC rather than a mid-tier SoC. - The camera is better and more responsive (the camera on the N5X is slow and annoying). - The body isn't plastic, which means there will be less issues with heat and CPU throttling…

>The Pixel is a premium 5" phone, not a budget one.

what makes it premium other than the fact that they're charging lots of money for it? i can't find a real differentiator over something like the oneplus 3, which costs half as much.

i agree with you that it's better than the 5X, but comparing it to this year's competition, it doesn't look so good.

Re: Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s iPhone

#310

Post by anfogoat »

w1ntermute wrote: post #252
anfogoat wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had the worst time since switching to the OnePlus 3 and from what I've read the OS on this phone is very close to stock Android. The only way to have a good experience with email, calendars and contacts is to use Google Apps – which I refuse to migrate to. The stock apps have no support for IMAP IDLE, CardDAV, or CalDAV. You have to resort to 3rd party apps for these and they are without fail either slow, buggy,…

Have you tried using third party apps on the iPhone? You can't change the default browser, mail client, maps app, etc. on iOS. At least it's possible to switch the defaults to 3rd party apps on Android.

You're right about the core apps on iOS. In principle, Android seems preferable to iOS.
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