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Google Pixel 9 Pro

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Re: Google Pixel 9 Pro

#921

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I usually sell my $1k phone after a couple years so I end up paying much less than $1k in the end, while getting a better phone out of it than had I just bought the $500 phone up front. It blows me away that people actually care how much other people spend on something at all. Want a $50 flip phone? Cool. Want a $1300 fancy fold phone? Also fine. When I had my last kid we got a Snoo bassinet, $1300 or so. Anyone that…

> It blows me away that people actually care how much other people spend on something at all. It's an idle discussion thread about consumer electronics. Not an attack on the core of your personal identity.

It blows me away that even with the investiture of 100% of your intelligence and effort, at the peak of your personal ability, that you couldn't realize that I only said "It blows me away" because I was mocking the comment I replied to.

Re: Google Pixel 9 Pro

#922
post #324

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I usually sell my $1k phone after a couple years so I end up paying much less than $1k in the end, while getting a better phone out of it than had I just bought the $500 phone up front. It blows me away that people actually care how much other people spend on something at all. Want a $50 flip phone? Cool. Want a $1300 fancy fold phone? Also fine. When I had my last kid we got a Snoo bassinet, $1300 or so. Anyone that…

> It blows me away that people actually care how much other people spend on something at all Well you can dislike this fact but there is nothing seems to be blown away about it. Because this is such a mundane fact about people.

Bro I'm not blown away, I just copied the parent comment to be equally hyperbolic about said mundane topic.

Re: Google Pixel 9 Pro

#923

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I usually sell my $1k phone after a couple years so I end up paying much less than $1k in the end, while getting a better phone out of it than had I just bought the $500 phone up front. It blows me away that people actually care how much other people spend on something at all. Want a $50 flip phone? Cool. Want a $1300 fancy fold phone? Also fine. When I had my last kid we got a Snoo bassinet, $1300 or so. Anyone that…

Have you looked into leasing your phone? You pay more per month but always have the latest upgrade. I'm curious about it too and am hoping you've done the numbers on it.

No I haven't. I typically just buy them up front every 2 or 3 gens and use them on whatever cheap provider I'm on at the time. Currently using Spectrum (also my home internet provider) for service.

Re: Google Pixel 9 Pro

#924

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm very bullish on genAI, and I bought the new phone, but I really don't think the features shown are that exciting yet. It feels like they're laying the groundwork for more powerful AI to be ready to do things in your phone apps, and the current features are just paving the way. The killer-app (that isn't porn) is going to be asking your phone to order food and it guesses correctly what you want while cross-checkin…

> The killer-app (that isn't porn) is going to be asking your phone to order food and it guesses correctly what you want while cross-checking availability, pricing, and discounts. Then a Waymo or Wing Drone delivers it. If this were a "killer-app", then Amazon would still be selling those quick-buy Amazon Dash[1] buttons, and Alexa would be making a profit[2] [1]: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47416440 [2]: h…

I think Amazon prefers "Subscribe and Save" over Dash. (I agree with you that AI for ordering is not a killer-app.)

Re: Google Pixel 9 Pro

#925
post #707

I have negative desire to get a phone billing itself around AI and LLM features. I turn off every AI assistant feature on my existing devices, I actively don't want a phone that ties Gemini and AI photoshop even tighter into it. If Google wanted to actually improve their phones they would add basic software functionality they're still missing instead like, say, a per-app volume mixer that half the 3rd party Android p…

> If Google wanted to actually improve their phones … … they would enable swapping button order. … they would remove gestures. … they would improve OS stability. … they would add a hardware do not disturb switch. … they would add hardware camera and microphone switches. … they would add a headphone jack. Their phones are still preferable to iPhones, because at least with a Pixel one owns one’s own phone.

I think the best reason to use a Google phone is that turns out it's one of the easiest to Un-Google by installing GrapheneOS.

Re: Google Pixel 9 Pro

#926
post #800

The dominance of the negativity in these comments is noteworthy. Personally, I thought it was a exciting update with major hardware improvements, some compelling AI demos and use cases at a similar price point as the past. Top tech reviewers e.g. MKBHD has similar impressions. Mostly just curious as to why there are ~0 positive comments here. I suspect could be: 1) anti-google HN bias - perhaps deserved? 2) it's simp…

Out of (genuine) curiosity, what major hardware improvements are you referring to? On paper, it’s largely the same as prior years for the SoC at least. I think the fold has the most obvious upgrade but nothing I’d consider really major. Other than that, it seems like mostly a camera bump year?

I thought the upgrade to metal/glass + new design looked great which I included in "hardware".

Beyond that https://www.phonearena.com/reviews/Google-Pixel-9-vs-Pixel-8... shows:

- Much brighter screen - Next gen tensor chip - 50% ram upgrade - Better camera + battery - SOS functionality - Better ultrasonic fingerprint sensor

Holistically felt like meaningful improvements across the board to me, but I understand where you're coming from. I think maybe I have lower expectations for improvements year to year

Re: Google Pixel 9 Pro

#927
post #859

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess mostly because the only thing new smartphones offer is faster cpu, more memory (which I don't really need, a 10y old smartphone handle my current load correctly) and a better camera and an always bigger footprint. The only thing I like is the possible better camera sensors, but that won't make me shed thousands of dollars for it. If I have the choice I'd rather have a more compact model with the camera qualit…

> which I don't really need, a 10y old smartphone handle my current load correctly Which phone are you using then? I presume your usage is totally non-representative of the average normal user, but curious nonetheless.

I'm using a Pixel 4a myself, prior to that was a Pixel 2XL and I had about every third Nexus and a few other phones before that as well as a One-Plus phone somewhere in there. My current phone still runs fine, and I'll probably upgrade when the 9a comes out, I do think they're priced more than I would like.

I've tended to like the close to stock experience, but I do turn off all. the assistant features that I can.

Re: Google Pixel 9 Pro

#928
post #800

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of (genuine) curiosity, what major hardware improvements are you referring to? On paper, it’s largely the same as prior years for the SoC at least. I think the fold has the most obvious upgrade but nothing I’d consider really major. Other than that, it seems like mostly a camera bump year?

I thought the upgrade to metal/glass + new design looked great which I included in "hardware". Beyond that https://www.phonearena.com/reviews/Google-Pixel-9-vs-Pixel-8... shows: - Much brighter screen - Next gen tensor chip - 50% ram upgrade - Better camera + battery - SOS functionality - Better ultrasonic fingerprint sensor Holistically felt like meaningful improvements across the board to me, but I understand where…

Ah, fair. I usually don’t include form factor too much because it’s so subjective.

I think perhaps one of the reasons for the negativity here is that the price is approaching flagship from other companies, but that Tensor G4 performs like chips from four years ago.

I think that overshadows a lot of the improvements. Perhaps if the whole package was significantly cheaper, the reception would be more balanced.

Re: Google Pixel 9 Pro

#929
post #889

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, exactly. Phones aren't going in a positive direction at all. What I want is a phone with excellent battery life, a great OLED screen, a great camera, plenty of local storage (and expandable with a microSD card), durable/rugged, and fast enough to feel snappy and not laggy. I don't want AI bullshit, stupid features that tie me to cloud services and help advertisers build profiles of me, can't-delete bloatware, s…

You're describing an iPhone. I've switched from Android to SE2 in 2020, and bought 15 last year on release day to get the type-c charging. I feel it ticks most of your boxes: * excellent battery life - can't complain about it. I'm not streaming YouTube on 5G on the phone, and I've found out that it can last about two days per charge with light use - messenger apps, phone calls, emails. YMMV of course. * a great OLED…

No headphone jack, no expandable (microsd) storage.

Not listed on software, is the ability to install whatever I want, not what Apple decides I'm allowed to install.

Re: Google Pixel 9 Pro

#930
post #243
post #29

There's also the obligatory non-Pro model, and a refresh of the Pixel Fold: https://store.google.com/us/product/pixel_9 https://store.google.com/us/product/pixel_9_pro_fold Usually the Pro is bigger than the non-Pro but this time they're exactly the same size, and they've added a bigger Pro XL variant. https://www.phonearena.com/phones/size/Google-Pixel-9,Google... The Pro and Pro XL appear to have identical specs as…

Would have been nice if they did a regular size (5.8”) for normal people and 6.8” for the genetic freaks with dinner plate hands. 6.3” is still huge. 5.8” is workable. And it’s not like there’s no precedent, the Zenfone 10 is also 5.8” and is adored for it.

There's usually a #a model like that around April/May. I think they stagger the release as many(most) would probably just opt for the a model most of the time.
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