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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

#651

Post by TheLilHipster »

asdf333 wrote: post #441
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…

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.

Eh?

I still use a first generation Nexus 5. SNES/N64/PSP emulators run like a dream. Apps open/transition instantly.

What performance metric are you even using?

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

#652

Post by kobayashi »

mooman219 wrote: post #640
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…

Doesn't the iPhone 7 have only 3 GB of RAM? If 4 GB is "barely adequate" then the iPhone 7 must be pretty bad. /s

Comparing specs between iPhones and Androids is far from simple.

http://www.theverge.com/2016/9/12/12886058/iphone-7-specs-co...

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

#653

Post by interpol_p »

moheeb wrote: post #610
megablast wrote: post #553

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The icon-based home screen is showing it's age and will need a revolution rather than an evolution. Why? It is easy, intuitive, and used by millions of people. Change for changes sake?

It seems very telling to me that the Standard Windows Desktop is generally considered a wasteland of discarded program and file icons, basically where you throw your digital trash...yet iOS decided that this was the design they wanted for the main start page of their OS. No wonder there is such a divide among users. I don't think age has anything to do with it though.

The huge difference here is that on iOS you don't have random files lying around your home screen. The springboard is for apps, with a dock for the most common ones to persist between screens.

On Windows (and macOS) the desktop is fundamentally different, used differently, and is often obscured by your windowed content.

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

#654

Post by sorenjan »

puzzle wrote: post #612
sorenjan wrote: post #585

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm pretty sure this was supposed to be a Nexus phone, everything points to a change of strategy late in the development. They claim that it's designed and developed by Google, but everyone that has been paying attention to the leaks knows it's made by HTC, and it shows. It looks nothing like the other Pixel devices, but it look's exactly like a Nexus phone by HTC. The Pixel launcher was named the Nexus launcher unti…

Do you really think that last year's Nexus 6P was designed by Huawei?

I'm not saying that Google didn't have any input, I'm sure they do the exterior design to some degree and choose which components are in the phones. And while they're not exactly identical, the 6P does have some similarities with the Huawei P8, like the black band on the back. Not as many as the Pixel have with the HTC 10 though.

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

#655

Post by givinguflac »

BoorishBears wrote: post #634
atourgates wrote: post #493

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> WebOS was pretty tacky though an interesting OS design - actually implemented better by LG on their SmartTVs. I've got to stop you there. WebOS was far ahead of its time, and especially considered in the context of a small startup going against established players, was brilliant. It offered in some ways better and more intuitive usability than iOS, along with a great app development ecosystem and philosophy. Palm's…

Preware was one of the most amazing pieces of software I've ever seen on mobile (I remember going out at lunch multiple times to hang around a fast public wifi spot to try and download an LDXE-based chroot that was too large for my home connection). Stuff like Xposed is interesting, but I haven't seen any software for mobile that managed to match the kind of community driven tweaking that Preware fostered.

Ever heard of Cydia?

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

#656

Post by tedunangst »

radiorental wrote: post #635
tedunangst wrote: post #551

Earlier quoted context omitted.

End to end encryption works over insecure networks, but not with insecure endpoints.

I'm sure the NSA has something to say about that, at least with consumer grade encryption.

That's why I always use military grade encryption.

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

#657

Post by RRRA »

They both locked enough people in an ecosystem where they control the competition well enough that they can justify asking twice as much as their device is worth...

I was hoping to upgrade a nexus 5 I paid 399 CAD and this year they want to charge 899 CAD for the base model!

This is insane and I just ordered a OnePlus 3 (519CAD) hoping that we'll see more competition instead of reliving the 90s desktop OS situation...

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

#658

Post by bhouston »

RRRA wrote: post #657

They both locked enough people in an ecosystem where they control the competition well enough that they can justify asking twice as much as their device is worth... I was hoping to upgrade a nexus 5 I paid 399 CAD and this year they want to charge 899 CAD for the base model! This is insane and I just ordered a OnePlus 3 (519CAD) hoping that we'll see more competition instead of reliving the 90s desktop OS situation..…

I just ordered a OnePlus 3 today too (was upgrading also from a Nexus 5) after being disappointed by the Pixel's price. Funny coincidence.

(BTW the LeEco Le Pro 3 also seemed good, has slightly higher specs that OnePlus 3.)

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

#660

Post by JustSomeNobody »

anfogoat wrote: post #218
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.

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,…

K9 mail I find to be tolerable. A shame sunrise calendar is no more.
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