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Pixel 8 Pro

store.google.com

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Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#761

Post by rtkwe »

elif wrote: post #757

Please Google, get rid of the camera bulge. I've use every single pixel from the Nexus line to the pixel to the 6, and the reason I skipped 7 is that the camera bar on the 6 is soo annoying. It makes the phone 'negatively compatible with wireless charging, that is to say, when I put it on the phone spot in my car, it makes just enough contact with the wireless charger to go in and out of barely-in-range, causing my p…

Unlikely to happen, good cameras is one of the features that draws people to higher end phones and those need the extra space for their lens stacks.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#762

Post by delfinom »

Alacart wrote: post #84
andrewstuart2 wrote: post #3

I'm really glad to see both the partnership with iFixit and the 7 years of support. Because everything else seems mostly meh to me, and while I'm upgrading this year from a Pixel 6 Pro, the continued diminished returns make it seem likely that 2-3 years from now I won't have as much reason to.

My experience with my own pixel 7 pro and a pixel 5 has been that these devices are an order of magnitude lower in build quality than Samsung or iPhones. I really, really wanted to be happy with them but they've been a never ending source of frustration. My pixel 5 just stopped turning on one day about 2 years in, and my pixel 7 pro had the volume and power buttons fall out about 3 weeks in (not due to a drop, after…

>My pixel 5 just stopped turning on one day about 2 years in

My Pixel 3 stopped working because Google fucked up it's kernel boot and mechanical design. They placed a laser focus IC, that's a bare die mounted on a tiny FR4 shim to get it closer to the backpanel, on top of the main PCB. When this tiny laser focus IC inevitably breaks off or loses contact with the pads due to mechanical forces on the back panel, the Pixel 3 linux kernel ends up panicking during boot because the driver can't communicate with it.

I could see this because I had the bootloader unlocked before it bricked and could get the boot logs coming out. In fact it could boot into recovery just fine too but what a PITA to fix this at that point.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#763

Post by postalrat »

Lutzb wrote: post #283

The depreciation between Pixels and iPhones is staggering. Trade-in in Germany on Google Store page: - Pixel 6 Pro 256gb ($999 on release) - 235€ - iPhone 13 Pro 256gb ($1099 on release) - 730€ While I am partial to Googles line of phones (had pretty much every Google phone since the nexus one), the loss of value is something I cannot really ignore any more when deciding to buy a phone.

Googles trade in value is also based on what other deals they are offering. Bad or no deals they often give you better trade in value.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#764

Post by delfinom »

fullstop wrote: post #164
sphars wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you purchase your phone from T-Mobile? I'm on T-Mobile but I always buy my Pixels direct from Google. All updates have come direct from Google, no T-Mobile involvement at all.

In this particular case, yes, but the update can still be blocked by the carrier. People have been successful in updating the device by temporarily putting the SIM from another carrier in the phone. My daughter's Pixel 5a update, for example, was delayed but it was purchased from Google. To be clear, the update _does_ come directly from Google but the device won't show that the update is available until the carrier g…

> People have been successful in updating the device by temporarily putting the SIM from another carrier in the phone.

You can also just update the phone using the OTA Google provides on a page and ADB to side load it.

https://developers.google.com/android/ota#cheetah

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#765

Post by jmprspret »

ColoursofOSINT wrote: post #602
jmprspret wrote: post #566

Earlier quoted context omitted.

GrapheneOS has been the target of ongoing personal attacks against the former lead dev. None of the claims are true. GOS devs have been swatted and harassed on multiple occasions. I suggest you examine the baseless claims against the (former) lead dev more closely - they are fabrication. (He has been harassed so much, with death threats and the like, that he has recently stepped down as lead dev).

I use GrapheneOS, and I've donated to its development. To say that "None of the claims are true" and that they are "baseless" is incorrect. Louis Rossman was a supporter of the project until he and Daniel had a failing out in which Daniel behaved inappropriately [1], all over a Youtube comment. There's proof for that and other claims [2, 4, 5]. Daniel can be a talented developer, privacy advocate and asshole at the s…

I'm willing to believe Daniel is a bit of an asshole, totally.

But I am thoroughly on his side when it comes to the CalyxOS and Techlore drama. However I wasn't aware of any of the Louis Rossman stuff

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#766

Post by delfinom »

kelnos wrote: post #226
thesuitonym wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I'm really glad to see both the partnership with iFixit and the 7 years of support. Damn, it may be time for me to move back to Android. Do Pixels require the updates to be sent by your carrier, or do they allow direct download?

While the downloads do come directly from Google, they work with the carriers, who can delay the updates until they have a chance to look at it and ensure they're happy with it... whatever that means. IIRC you can download the images from Google via web browser and flash manually, but not sure if you can still do that, and I've never tried it myself.

>IIRC you can download the images from Google via web browser and flash manually, but not sure if you can still do that, and I've never tried it myself.

Yes you can still can. https://developers.google.com/android/ota#cheetah

In fact they even host all the images dating back to the Nexus lines still.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#767

Post by rpigab »

kimbernator wrote: post #178

It's starting to feel silly, having a yearly release cycle for smartphones. So much of this product page is focused on new software functions that may have some vague relationship with the slightly upgraded hardware, but that could mostly be released to existing phones. Every new iPhone, Pixel, or Samsung phone basically claims the camera is marginally better and hey, look at these software features that have very li…

When I feel that I have to upgrade because the phone slows down or that newer apps aren't available on my OS version anymore, I move over to the opposing team so as to avoid incentivizing short-lived phones too much.

So far, I only owned 2 phones in my life (didn't need one before the smartphone era), an iPhone 4S and a Google Pixel 3. For now, the Pixel 3 is doing great, battery life is not so good but holds the day.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#768

Post by ThrowawayR2 »

grepLeigh wrote: post #173

This is a meta comment, but I think it's extraordinary that we're only 15ish years from the first smartphone release and we've already reached the "boring" incremental improvement phase for these tiny pocket supercomputers. Consider how long it took PCs to reach the same stage (with a fraction of the adoption). It was like 20 years from Kenbak-1 to the 90s PC era.

In addition to the other comments about pre-iPhone/Android smartphones, another part of the story are the devices that preceded even those, the personal digital assistant (PDA). There's the well known PalmPilot and various Windows CE PDAs like the Compaq iPaq and Dell Axim and even earlier, now largely forgotten devices like the HP 95LX and 100LX, a DOS based palmtop PDA that was really quite capable for 1991, and probably a few even earlier than that. So the evolutionary path to the modern smartphone probably stretches to 30+ years.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#769

Post by delfinom »

bigstrat2003 wrote: post #264
xnx wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Largely invisible once it's in a case

I don't put my phone in a case and don't understand why people do. Dropping your phone is a rare event, not a serious risk.

>Dropping your phone is a rare event, not a serious risk

For you

I drop my phone at least once a day lol

I actually dropped it more before I got a case on the Pixels because the back glass is ridiculously slippery and it'll even slide itself off surfaces that aren't perfectly level. Back glass needs to fucking die.

The insanely polished smooth metal frame doesn't help either when combined with the ultra smooth glass back in my hands.

Re: Pixel 8 Pro

#770

Post by sibit »

jaza wrote: post #479
taway1237 wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm currently using Pixel 4a (just recently EOL), and I'll probably upgrade my phone this or next year. Maybe Pixel has a yearly release cycle, but it doesn't mean I have to upgrade every year, that would be crazy. And they can iterate more often to try some ideas more often than once every 5 years.

I'm using a Pixel 3 (my first Pixel) that I bought new (in original sealed box) on eBay one year ago, for a bit under AUD$300, still works fine, all the apps keep upgrading (the OS won't upgrade as it's EOL, hasn't been an issue for me so far), the camera AI is impressive enough for me, I'm planning to keep on using it for at least another year. That's as close as I get to having a bleeding edge smartphone. No need t…

The Pixel 3 is a good phone. I bought one new and used it for ~5 years. The battery was still going strong and my only issue was the USB-C port stopped working.
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