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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

#791

Post by bergie »

dlubarov wrote: post #722
anderber wrote: post #512

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The phones are available on Fi and at Google Store for full value or financing. I think Google Now On Tap is gone.

Did you see the stream? One of the presenters used Now on Tap (or something similar) to look up a restaurant which was mentioned in an SMS.

It looked like the Now on Tap functionality was merged with the assistant.

Start assistant from homescreen: blank conversation.

Start assistant from screen with something on it: conversation with context grabbed from the screen.

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

#792

Post by vetinari »

simonh wrote: post #753
nvarsj wrote: post #741

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Google will drop support for after 2 years I agree with this as an Android user. The lack of device support from Google is appalling. And all my nexus devices (4, 7) have had major hardware flaws that never get fixed - once you're past the warranty, you're SOL. The 7 had many touch screen problems, and a very flimsy charger port (which broke under warranty, then broke again after - so I can't charge it anymore :|).…

I match your 1st gen iPad and raise you an iPhone 3GS. My youngest just upgraded to a hand-me-down iPhone 4 a few weeks ago, but my old 3GS is still working fine and even still works with the App Store. I can still download apps on to it that I bought back in 2009 and don't even show up in the store on modern devices, but they're still there for the 3GS. She used it for Whatsapp a lot. Gobsmacked.

I match your iPhone 3GS and raise an 3G. That thing had last iOS release 4.x, which made it unusable and I was scrambling to return it to 3.x. It wasn't capable to download anything from Apple Store for years. It still works as a phone though, also most of the built-in apps work, (except for syncing with Google account, since Google disabled ActiveSync support).

What a difference one year of device age can make.

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

#793

Post by vetinari »

winter_blue wrote: post #615
criddell wrote: post #450

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

The battery-conserving mechanisms of Android are not particularly hardware-specific on most devices. Ideally, Android (or their patched version of the Linux kernel) would expose an API for each different kind of device. An general API for cameras, an API for audio, etc. The manufacturers would then write device drivers that implement / fulfill the functionality of these open/generic APIs. (This is how things are done…

> The manufacturers would then write device drivers that implement / fulfill the functionality of these open/generic APIs. (This is how things are done on PCs.)

This is not a full picture how things work on PCs. There are also dependencies - i.e. you cannot power down the bus, while the device on the other end is not powered down. Things get more interesting, when you have SoC that implements multiple functions and there are interdependecies, where you would not expect them. The entire problem with Skylake mobile chips is, that nobody knows how to properly change the power states and Intel isn't telling anyone.

Even linux distros are on their way to manage the system in image-like way. See project atomic, or this video: https://youtu.be/XNLPkMDf9LI

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

#794

Post by BoorishBears »

givinguflac wrote: post #655
BoorishBears wrote: post #634

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Yes, but Cydia requires jailbreaking which limits how similar I'd say it is to Preware, as the average iOS user probably isn't jailbreaking

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

#795

Post by andybak »

esotericsean wrote: post #340

Apple innovates while other companies imitate. This looks exactly like an iPhone without a home button. I'm sure the hardware is fast and it's probably a very good phone. But what does it do better than iPhone? Unless it runs iOS, there's no way Android will ever catch up to iPhone.

You can't stretch your imagination to think of any reason someone might prefer another mobile OS to iOS - even if you disagree?

So all non-iOS users are either deluded, misinformed or purchasing solely on price?

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

#796

Post by shostack »

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.

Did you watch the announcement? There is a built in support function that lets you call or chat with support AND share your screen with them to troubleshoot.

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

#797

Post by V-2 »

Nursie wrote: post #583

Why, in 2016, is anyone still talking about "iPhone killers" or threats to the iPhone? Outside the US it is not the dominant platform. Sure, it has a good share of the market, but it's not like Apple even outsell Samsung's Galaxy range.

Not just the US, it dominates in other Commonwealth/Anglosaxon countries as well, plus Japan, France, Scandinavia - quite a chunk of the world, and in a great many countries both platforms are roughly head-to-head

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

#798

Post by andybak »

newman314 wrote: post #502

My killer feature for the iPhone is seamless upgrades. Until Android has this (Play Services don't count), it's not going to be a real threat IMO. Vertical integration FTW.

Just to quibble - Android upgrades are fairly seamless. It's just that they are rarer than hen's teeth. :-(

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

#799

Post by lmm »

zepto wrote: post #341
KirinDave wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Besides "using iOS apps" what exactly is the iPad's use case? Certainly the Surface line as a whole has seen a really big uptake from the art community. So while the pen specs are slightly better on the iPad side it doesn't seem to influence consumer behavior.

Besides 'using windows apps that weren't designed for a tablet' what exactly is the Surface's use case?

There's a hell of a lot more "windows apps that weren't designed for a tablet" - 20+ years' worth - than there are "iOS apps". And not just apps but also a lot of hardware peripherals. I play '90s games at lan parties (which aren't really substitutable - iOS might have strategy games, but it won't have Supreme Commander and that's what my friends are playing). I run eclipse (is there any kind of Java IDE on iOS?). I run the vocaloid software (which iOS doesn't have, though it might have other music synthesis software), and the fan-made 3d modelling software that people use to animate the characters (which definitely won't exist for iOS); I render and encode the resulting video. If a program hasn't got a windows release I can compile it on the surface itself and run it there (can iOS do that?). If I want to run a program for a different platform I can run an emulator on the surface (which the iOS app store disallowed last I knew).

How many non-crossplatform apps does iOS have? How many of those don't have acceptable substitutes for at least most use cases?

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

#800

Post by V-2 »

tux1968 wrote: post #170
tomtheelder wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depends how big your hands are. I have a 5.0" inch and can use the whole screen no problem one handed no problem. 4.5-4.7" would exclusively be a downgrade for me.

It's not just how it feels in your hand, it's how easy it is to tuck away in a pocket. Unless you carry a purse or wear some sort of belt clip, a phone can get quite annoying to tote around.

I got used to Nexus 6P (5.7") quite quickly, and I don't wear purses or belt clips. It did feel a little uncomfortable at the beginning.
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