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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

#671

Post by plttn »

technofiend wrote: post #319
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…

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…

The only other Snapdragon 821 is the Mi5s Plus, and that has either 3 or 5 GB of RAM.

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

#672

Post by agumonkey »

Crisco wrote: post #661
agumonkey wrote: post #456

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1 year goes fast, I'm still using 1st gen Moto G, and unlocked it.

My entire family uses different Moto G versions. I have the G4, one of my sisters has a G3, and my parents and my other sister have G1s. They just seem to work and are very good first-time smartphones for my parents. It has been several years since they got them, and I don't even have to provide technical support. Honestly, I see very little reason to unlock the phone.

It wasn't mandatory mostly because Motorola was commited to provide the latest Android which ensures you'll never be out of a new feature. But G1 aren't supported anymore, if today's Google conf apps aren't Lollipop friendly you're stuck with unlocking.

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

#673

Post by twblalock »

massysett wrote: post #663
woodpanel wrote: post #545

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't want to mail my phone in to a repair center and be without a phone for a few days. FYI: I've been a long time Android user and can tell you that the process works different. And is actually not as bad as you think. 1) You call the hotline, they send you a link via mail 2) Clicking this link will place you in their shop with a promo-code 3) You buy the replacement phone 4) Once you've got the replacement you…

I had an HTC One with a defective camera and HTC had no process like this. I would have had to send them the phone and wait. Verizon helped me out and sent a refurb phone without me having to return my phone first. The refurb camera was even worse. After that I went iPhone. No reason to pay the same price for Android and get crappy service, especially when the iPhone has resale value. A used Android has no resale val…

I wonder if the Pixel will have good resale value. It seems just as well-built as an iPhone, but unless Google changes its update policy, the Pixel won't be able to run new versions of Android after two years. That is a huge drag on resale value.

I don't know about you, but if I was in the market for a used phone, I'd go for one that could run the latest OS.

The Pixel seems to me to be a vindication of the Apple model: controlling both the hardware and software can get you a pretty good product, and in the case of upgrades, you only have to support the hardware that you yourself have released. There is no technical reason Google can't support the Pixel phones for years, like Apple does, but I doubt they will do that.

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

#674

Post by jrochkind1 »

atourgates wrote: post #496
criddell wrote: post #451

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might get what you are wishing for. I wouldn't be surprised to see Apple dump Intel chips.

I would - only because of the investment required. Over the past few years, Apple's been very involved in its iOS ecosystem, while investing comparatively little in its Mac lineup. Dumping Intel chips would take a ton of effort and resources, in an area where Apple isn't interested in making an effort or investing resources.

Others are thinking they see clues...

http://macdailynews.com/2016/09/30/macos-sierra-code-suggest...

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

#675

Post by j_m_b »

One thing I like about the iPhone is the strong emphasis on security. Many features in the iPhone are built around it such as password inputs eventually stop working after a certain amount of tries, plane tickets show up on home screen without needing to unlock the phone and default encryption. I like knowing that if I lock my phone, not even the FBI can get into it. This gives me confidence to use services such as Apple pay. How does the Google Pixel compare in security?

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

#676

Post by scott_karana »

mastax wrote: post #288
wmeredith wrote: post #5

I'd like someone to save me from Apple's garbage cloud services, but I just can't get away from their hardware. It's just too good. So... Can anyone convince me that this thing is going to be different from the iPhone killers that are reported on every year in these regurgitated press releases?

What about the iPhone hardware do you think is missing in high end Android phones nowadays? Legitimately curious.

"Secure Enclave" has no parallel on Android.

Plus their SoCs are quite good.

(Maybe not what GP meant, but that's my own take on their hardware)

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

#677

Post by ryanSrich »

adamweld wrote: post #29
mikestew wrote: post #13

And yet not a single hard detail in the article as to why the headline might be true. For going on ten years we've seen the "iPhone killers" come and go, and this article does nothing to tell me why this time it will be different. Perhaps because it won't be. Of what very few details the article outlines, they just go on about nifty hardware. Have we not learned by now that cool hardware still sucks when hamstrung by…

>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.

Usable sure, but aesthetically pleasing? Material design is almost brutalist in its aesthetic. It's the opposite of beauty.

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

#678

Post by x0x0 »

endisukaj wrote: post #405
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,…

> Android app quality is much worse. Where are you basing this on? Out of some social media apps (Facebook and Snapchat) I have found that Android apps are on-par with their iOS counterparts.

I use both. Currently I have an ipad and an android phone.

Android apps are neglected next to ios. Examples:

* spotify is shit on android. They broke audio playback during system announcements (like google maps directions) and just didn't give a damn for two months. It's not like anybody uses spotify and maps in a car or anything.

* most bank apps on android still don't take advantage of fingerprint auth to avoid typing long bank passwords. Four word passwords with punctuation are super fun to type on mobile.

* fitbit: Until about 6 months ago, pushing back from various subscreens would take you out of the app instead of navigating back to the main screen. There's clearly no-one who matters at fitbit that cares about android. It also doesn't particularly reliably connect to the device. Graphs and data desync from each other. I have not seen this on ios.

* there really isn't any reader on android as nice as GoodReader

* games come second, if ever -- eg kingdom rush frontiers

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

#679

Post by confounded »

CaptSpify wrote: post #267
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?

I'd kill for an actual linux phone. I hear good things about Ubuntu's phone, but I've yet to try it.

Purism are working on a Debian phone! https://puri.sm/

(I wish them luck...)

I bought the BQ Ubuntu tablet. I hate to say it, but it's terrible. You have to set up a cloud account with Canonical to download or update apps (no reason given). Most of the apps are pretty bad. It's constantly pinging YouTube and news websites to show me stuff I don't care about, and can't turn off. No easy way to set up a VPN. No CalDAV, CardDAV. Difficult to imagine Shuttleworth himself using one.

Fine for watching films on airplanes, but very little else.

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

#680

Post by sliken »

twblalock wrote: post #673
massysett wrote: post #663

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had an HTC One with a defective camera and HTC had no process like this. I would have had to send them the phone and wait. Verizon helped me out and sent a refurb phone without me having to return my phone first. The refurb camera was even worse. After that I went iPhone. No reason to pay the same price for Android and get crappy service, especially when the iPhone has resale value. A used Android has no resale val…

I wonder if the Pixel will have good resale value. It seems just as well-built as an iPhone, but unless Google changes its update policy, the Pixel won't be able to run new versions of Android after two years. That is a huge drag on resale value. I don't know about you, but if I was in the market for a used phone, I'd go for one that could run the latest OS. The Pixel seems to me to be a vindication of the Apple mode…

Indeed, google on promises 2 years. But are typically much more generous. For instance the nexus 5 came out in Oct, 2013. It got marshmallow, but not nougat. I suspect it would have (it has plenty of ram/cpu), but for whatever reason qualcom didn't update the video driver for the snapdragon 800.

If it really bothers you the open bootloader makes it easy to find AOSP built from whatever community that floats your boat.

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