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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

#441

Post by asdf333 »

erikpukinskis wrote: post #367
adamweld wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Now, Google is no Samsung, but they're a long way from Apple or even Microsoft on the UX front. Not sure I agree with this. 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.

Honestly, in terms of staff UI design cred Android is in better place than iOS right now. With the Sidekick, PalmOS, and then Material Design, Matías Duarte has been consistently at the forefront of mobile UI design. Jony Ive is probably the most brilliant consumer electronics hardware designer in the world, but I have yet to see any indication that he has any idea how to lead a platform UI design project. I had issu…

I don't think UI is the issue.

Coming from someone who WANTS to love android for philosophical reasons and bought the google nexus, google nexus 5x. I always went back to iphone. The biggest issue is the device is not very good in comparison to the current gen iphone. It feels 1-2 gen behind in performance.

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

#442

Post by hammock »

neals wrote: post #208

I don't like Google because they're gonna use my data against me. I don't like Apple because it's a walled garden and millions other reasons. I don't like Samsung because they bloat Android. I don't like Huawei because I don't trust the Chinese government to not do stuff to it. I don't like LG and HTC because the smartphone market is slipping away from them. Am I just getting old?

Check out https://oneplus.net/

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

#443

Post by ssijak »

zepto wrote: post #344
lumenwrites wrote: post #331

It blows my mind that there's not a single positive top level comment yet. Seriously, guys, what's up with the culture of entitlement and complaining? We're hackers, let's get fucking excited about the new cool gadgets! This phone is awesome . How about, before nitpicking and criticizing, we take a moment to appreciate and celebrate the new technology developed by our colleagues?

Because it's not new technology.

New in what way? Finally it looks like that Google consolidated it`s efforts in something meaningful. With google home, wifi, casts, pixel (for which they control manufacturing), AI in the front, google photos for free (unlimited full-res storage for pixel phones), you can not say that they are not going in the right direction. Complaining because of some price bump or some nitpicking is closing the eyes on the big picture. This is the first nexus(now pixel) phone that I am excited about after the first one was announced.

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

#444

Post by hammock »

notatoad wrote: post #309
Veratyr wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Oneplus 3 not available on verizon

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

#445

Post by technofiend »

kllrnohj wrote: post #333
technofiend wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As always the most compelling thing about the phone is Google's support - fast releases and minimal carrier bloat. You have a nice list of positives and I'm not disputing them. But the feature list for what is now Googles top phone is underwhelming. 4 GB of RAM is barely adequate - it should be 6 GB like the other Snapdragon 821 flagship. No water proofing? That's the new black. Bottom-facing speakers? Complete regre…

> Including a smoking camera but no optical image stabilization? Make up your mind - is it a digital camera competitor or not? Why does it need OIS if its EIS produces a stabilized image better than anyone else's image stabilization? The feature is image stabilization - whether or not it's done optically or electronically is irrelevant, all that matters is how good the end product is. And DXO's review claims that the…

>Why does it need OIS if its EIS produces a stabilized image better than anyone else's image stabilization?

That's a fair point. If it indeed does produce a great image I have no complaint.

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

#446

Post by throwaway41597 »

buckbova wrote: post #217
neals wrote: post #208

I don't like Google because they're gonna use my data against me. I don't like Apple because it's a walled garden and millions other reasons. I don't like Samsung because they bloat Android. I don't like Huawei because I don't trust the Chinese government to not do stuff to it. I don't like LG and HTC because the smartphone market is slipping away from them. Am I just getting old?

Got a moto g4 for under $250. Works perfectly for me. Good specs, stock android more or less, unlocked. http://www.motorola.com/us/products/moto-g

Isn't its bootloader locked? Last time I checked you needed to go to Motorola's website to download a key specific to your phone so you could unlock it, but it voided the warranty.

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

#447

Post by Larrikin »

rib3ye wrote: post #404
erikpukinskis wrote: post #367

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, in terms of staff UI design cred Android is in better place than iOS right now. With the Sidekick, PalmOS, and then Material Design, Matías Duarte has been consistently at the forefront of mobile UI design. Jony Ive is probably the most brilliant consumer electronics hardware designer in the world, but I have yet to see any indication that he has any idea how to lead a platform UI design project. I had issu…

It's hard to buy that argument. It doesn't appear Material ever attempted to be better than iOS, just different. And now Google Design is quietly backtracking (dialogs are transitioning to iOS action sheets, hamburger button is being phased out for bottom tab navigation). And now the phone even looks even more like an iPhone. Let's be honest, there are only two rules for design at Google: "Not Apple" and "good enough…

Honestly I notice more Android on my iPad than I notice iOS on my phone. iOS finally got custom keyboards so I can use a proper mobile keyboard like Swype, the notification panel isn't as useless as it was and is a lot richer like on Android. Its really only a matter of time until iOS introduces widgets on the home screen. I've convinced more than a couple people to switch to Android for their phone simply because you can have your calendar and todo list right where you can always see it.

Were hamburger buttons an Android thing? I noticed them everywhere, including on the web.

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

#448

Post by criddell »

rib3ye wrote: post #404
erikpukinskis wrote: post #367

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, in terms of staff UI design cred Android is in better place than iOS right now. With the Sidekick, PalmOS, and then Material Design, Matías Duarte has been consistently at the forefront of mobile UI design. Jony Ive is probably the most brilliant consumer electronics hardware designer in the world, but I have yet to see any indication that he has any idea how to lead a platform UI design project. I had issu…

It's hard to buy that argument. It doesn't appear Material ever attempted to be better than iOS, just different. And now Google Design is quietly backtracking (dialogs are transitioning to iOS action sheets, hamburger button is being phased out for bottom tab navigation). And now the phone even looks even more like an iPhone. Let's be honest, there are only two rules for design at Google: "Not Apple" and "good enough…

IMHO, Google should use Material Design for their Android applications, but it doesn't belong in iOS applications.

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

#449

Post by ngrilly »

gnicholas wrote: post #399
nindalf wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, the article links to the review of the camera by DXOMark [1], who rate it very highly. In my opinion, they're the most reliable reviewers of cameras out there so if they say its the best phone camera, then it is. [1] - https://www.dxomark.com/Mobiles/

Yes, though interestingly DXOMark seems not have reviewed the iPhone 7 Plus yet. Perhaps they're waiting for Portrait mode to be publicly released? Regardless, Google is on slightly shaky ground to claim that they have the best smartphone camera when a top contender hasn't been reviewed yet.

DXOMark has already reviewed the iPhone 7, which has the same "main" wide-angle camera as the iPhone 7 Plus:

https://www.dxomark.com/Mobiles/Apple-iPhone-7-camera-review...

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

#450

Post by criddell »

winter_blue wrote: post #417
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,…

I picked up a used Nexus 6 (in excellent condition) recently, and it is an incredible device. I'm also on the bleeding edge OS-wise, as I get Android Beta/Preview releases. My primary device is an iPhone 6 Plus, and I have to say, Nexus 6 and Android N is really impressive from both a hardware and software perspective. That being, I wish Google decoupled device drivers from the Android image. If they adopted the Wind…

Do you think they could decouple and still get decent battery life?
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