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In my household, we have decided to never purchase another Google device again. No Home Hub, No Cameras, No Pixel phones, No TV's running Android. I still have

by adoxyz 3y ago

In my household, we have decided to never purchase another Google device again. No Home Hub, No Cameras, No Pixel phones, No TV's running Android. I still have some legacy stuff that works, but will not give google another dollar. They have shown time and time and time again that they simply don't care. For the record I used to be a huge Google fan. Had many of the Pixel phones, had Nest cameras, doorbells, nest secure, nest protects, multiple TV's running Android TV, Stadia (lol), and more.

wffurr 3y ago
What was the final straw? Did you go full Apple instead?
- baggachipz 3y ago
  I did. Outright killing the Nest Secure without warning nor compensation was my final straw. Say what you will about Apple, at least they support their products for a reasonable amount of time. I have since removed all Google apps from my phone. I purchased a Starling Home Hub[1] (works great btw) which controls my Nest thermostats, which will not be replaced with a Nest product when Google inevitably kills them too early. Nest was such a great product and brand, and Google completely fucked it up. [1]https://www.starlinghome.io/ https://www.starlinghome.io/
  - cjrp 3y ago
    I had no idea this existed, that's awesome for Nest users - thanks!
  - 6sp 3y ago
    Reasonable amount of time is an understatement I purchased an Apple Airport router probably over ten years ago for my parents and it still works flawlessly to this day and receives security updates despite it being discontinued for five years now. The older version has been discontinued longer and it too still receives iirc.
  - nunez 3y ago
    I recommend Ecobee for thermostats. Excellent product, excellent app, and from what I understand, excellent customer support.
    - baggachipz 3y ago
      Compared to the Nest ones about 7 years ago, I wasn't blown away by Ecobee. However, it'll probably be what I get when Google bricks my Nests.
  - jsbisviewtiful 3y ago
    We are in the same boat, my friend. We bought a Nest Secure, Cameras and the Nest Yale Deadbolt because of their connectivity... Then Google randomly axes support for the Secure, instantly nixing the reason why we bought the Deadbolt. The Nest app is also CONSTANTLY bugging us to switch to the Google Home app. I didn't purchase Nest items to use with the Google Home app!
- adoxyz 3y ago
  Yeah went full Apple instead. I wouldn't say there was a definitive final straw. It was more of a death by a thousand cuts. Everything getting shittier and worse over time. Pixel phones originally were great, but I really wanted a great 1st party watch. Pixel Watch finally came out and it was lightyears behind the Apple Watch. Software integration wise across the entire ecosystem as well. Google has been promising it, but Apple seems to have actually delivered it. The Nest stuff hurts though. I've invested well over $3k in various Nest devices over the years, and to see what Google has done to the ecosystem is a shame.
  - thfuran 3y ago
    But isn't apple moving more heavily into ads now?
    - vineyardmike 3y ago
      Apples “move to ads” is barely noticeable (today)… like Googles product strategy. But yes they’re moving into ads. It seems to be “over the top” revenue for them, not a core revenue stream like Google. Apple is basically taking any free internet connected endpoint they provide and tossing ads in (news in stock app, App Store, etc?). It’s annoying but it’s nowhere near as invasive or impactful as any other advertising giant (Google, Meta, Amazon, etc). They’re also way less invasive at tracking you - but they’re as equally opaque at telling you.
      - thfuran 3y ago
        Yeah, for now. I just think it's a move in the wrong direction and leads me to think that their stuff will be getting worse.
Accacin 3y ago
I'm completely with you, I avoid Google for almost everything except my Pixel phone as I use GrapheneOS and sadly they're the best devices to use.
- andrepd 3y ago
  Yes, the Pixel 4a is the last "compact" phone I can find. Bought it refurbished and slapped LineageOS+microg on it. Google spyware is a no-go!
  - throwaway019254 3y ago
    Isn’t iPhone almost the same size?
    - pipodeclown 3y ago
      Or the Samsung s23
    - j-bos 3y ago
      I don't think GrapheneOS supports iPhone
andrepd 3y ago
Why on earth you would pay to have a spy camera for the world's biggest surveillance company in the first place is beyond me.
soco 3y ago
What are other good options for smart TVs and/or streaming dongles? Are the offers with WebOS or Tizen able to keep up?
- Moto7451 3y ago
  Roku is the best in my experience. I have Samsung, Google (Sony), and Roku devices between my primary home and a rental. The Roku devices are reliable, responsive, and continue to receive updates. In comparison the Samsung UI is laggy though usable. Google TV is unusable for 10-30s of refresh depending on how long it has been since you’ve used the TV. It’s the worst part of an otherwise high end TV. The multiple user UX is odd across Google products. You can haplessly sign in to your account for YouTube TV on another family member’s Google (TV) account without it bringing up an account switcher. About five minutes into you wondering why your settings are off (or being annoyed because you realized what happened) you get Google’s suggestion to press the right combination of buttons on the remote to do so. Then you switch accounts and sit through the 30s of account refresh. It’s death by a thousand cuts. Roku is great. It does what you ask. Settings are remembered. The Roku Ultra 4K upscaler produces a great image. I used it to replace the Samsung experience on one of their first Gen OLED TVs that still produces a great image in spite of its slowly failing software stack. Samsung seems to simply give up on updating the software on the TV at some point. Things start failing over time as services move on past your TV’s software stack. My newer Frame TV is on the newest software stack (for now) and everything works fine in comparison. Probably my biggest annoyance is the laggy UI and that they try really hard to direct you to their free TV channel. You were watching YouTube the last time you watched the TV, but nevermind that. Samsung wants to show you a loud TV show from the 50s on their classic TV channel. Or KPop. Or Hells Kitchen. Not sure why but that is what my Samsung TVs cycle through.
  - ethbr0 3y ago
    Seems like a good place to ask... do people run explicit firewalls for their Roku devices? Realize it's cat and mouse with an updatable controlled platform's data exfiltration, but curious if there are any low-maintenance solutions to do some good? Agree that Rokus are a great solution, but I'm uncomfortable with a one-time-purchase device's long-term revenue priorities.
rolisz 3y ago
What's wrong with Pixel phones though? I find their price/quality ratio to be really good and they come with less crap ware than other Androids.
- Twirrim 3y ago
  I'm new on the "Won't buy another Pixel phone". Both my wife's and my phones (5a) just died out of the blue, within a few months of each other. Hers just a day before warranty expired. I'd had niggles with an earlier generation Pixel that had me starting to ask questions about future purchases, but the 5a experience really put the nail in that coffin. It was a pain to get mine repaired by them. They sent me to a "local" repair shop (40ish minutes drive away), who despite being their only authorized repair shop in the area, couldn't get any parts off Google for it, and wouldn't for months to come (and indicated this is just a constant story for them, and that what I was seeing was very common). Google essentially wasted a bunch of my time driving back and forth to repair shops. Then I had to send it to them and it sat unacknowledged (despite having delivery confirmation) for well over a week. They did at least send me a complete replacement, but my assumption has to be it's going to do exactly the same thing again. For my wife's phone, they argued that because I clicked a wrong button in their repair website despite logging the phone as broken in time that it died after the warranty expired. I had a long argument with them, then gave up and decided I'd take my trade elsewhere. In both cases, their attitude towards me as a customer was absolute bullshit. I've never had to work so hard to get someone to acknowledge that a phone could stop working, without having done anything to it. I like the hardware and the pure Android experience as an end user. I'm not willing to deal with hostile customer support to get it.
  - trbleclef 3y ago
    The 5a has a failure problem[1]. Both of ours failed as well. After the second failure I demanded an Advanced Exchange rather than deal with the repair shop that has no parts in stock. Google replaced my 5a with a 6a immediately. It was a much different experience than waiting a month for the first repair (which failed). I would never accept anything other than an Advanced Exchange at this point. [1] https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/11833075?hl=en https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/11833075?hl=en
nunez 3y ago
It's really sad because, like you, I desperately wanted to run a 100% Google stack years and years ago. I don't understand how a company with basically unlimited resources and the best people in the world just completely flops on product strategy time and time again.
- dariusj18 3y ago
  Constraints are a major part of innovation.
- adoxyz 3y ago
  Yeah. I assumed if any company can really nail this experience long term it would be google. I figured it would take longer but with how game changing many of their products were in the early 2010s, I was ok waiting. That waiting turned into more and more beloved products being shut down, drastically changed to shell versions of themselves, or left to stagnate, while google continued to randomly launch, acquire, shut down other beloved brands.
- ksec 3y ago
  >completely flops on product strategy time and time again. I am not aware of a single product person in Google. They are very much a tech company. They make / research and develop technology and search for a solution.
  - nunez 3y ago
    They have a TON of product people.

by adoxyz 3y ago

wffurr 3y ago

What was the final straw? Did you go full Apple instead?

baggachipz 3y ago
I did. Outright killing the Nest Secure without warning nor compensation was my final straw. Say what you will about Apple, at least they support their products for a reasonable amount of time. I have since removed all Google apps from my phone. I purchased a Starling Home Hub[1] (works great btw) which controls my Nest thermostats, which will not be replaced with a Nest product when Google inevitably kills them too early. Nest was such a great product and brand, and Google completely fucked it up. [1]https://www.starlinghome.io/ https://www.starlinghome.io/
- cjrp 3y ago
  I had no idea this existed, that's awesome for Nest users - thanks!
- 6sp 3y ago
  Reasonable amount of time is an understatement I purchased an Apple Airport router probably over ten years ago for my parents and it still works flawlessly to this day and receives security updates despite it being discontinued for five years now. The older version has been discontinued longer and it too still receives iirc.
- nunez 3y ago
  I recommend Ecobee for thermostats. Excellent product, excellent app, and from what I understand, excellent customer support.
  - baggachipz 3y ago
    Compared to the Nest ones about 7 years ago, I wasn't blown away by Ecobee. However, it'll probably be what I get when Google bricks my Nests.
- jsbisviewtiful 3y ago
  We are in the same boat, my friend. We bought a Nest Secure, Cameras and the Nest Yale Deadbolt because of their connectivity... Then Google randomly axes support for the Secure, instantly nixing the reason why we bought the Deadbolt. The Nest app is also CONSTANTLY bugging us to switch to the Google Home app. I didn't purchase Nest items to use with the Google Home app!
adoxyz 3y ago
Yeah went full Apple instead. I wouldn't say there was a definitive final straw. It was more of a death by a thousand cuts. Everything getting shittier and worse over time. Pixel phones originally were great, but I really wanted a great 1st party watch. Pixel Watch finally came out and it was lightyears behind the Apple Watch. Software integration wise across the entire ecosystem as well. Google has been promising it, but Apple seems to have actually delivered it. The Nest stuff hurts though. I've invested well over $3k in various Nest devices over the years, and to see what Google has done to the ecosystem is a shame.
- thfuran 3y ago
  But isn't apple moving more heavily into ads now?
  - vineyardmike 3y ago
    Apples “move to ads” is barely noticeable (today)… like Googles product strategy. But yes they’re moving into ads. It seems to be “over the top” revenue for them, not a core revenue stream like Google. Apple is basically taking any free internet connected endpoint they provide and tossing ads in (news in stock app, App Store, etc?). It’s annoying but it’s nowhere near as invasive or impactful as any other advertising giant (Google, Meta, Amazon, etc). They’re also way less invasive at tracking you - but they’re as equally opaque at telling you.
    - thfuran 3y ago
      Yeah, for now. I just think it's a move in the wrong direction and leads me to think that their stuff will be getting worse.

Accacin 3y ago

I'm completely with you, I avoid Google for almost everything except my Pixel phone as I use GrapheneOS and sadly they're the best devices to use.

andrepd 3y ago
Yes, the Pixel 4a is the last "compact" phone I can find. Bought it refurbished and slapped LineageOS+microg on it. Google spyware is a no-go!
- throwaway019254 3y ago
  Isn’t iPhone almost the same size?
  - pipodeclown 3y ago
    Or the Samsung s23
  - j-bos 3y ago
    I don't think GrapheneOS supports iPhone

andrepd 3y ago

Why on earth you would pay to have a spy camera for the world's biggest surveillance company in the first place is beyond me.

soco 3y ago

What are other good options for smart TVs and/or streaming dongles? Are the offers with WebOS or Tizen able to keep up?

Moto7451 3y ago
Roku is the best in my experience. I have Samsung, Google (Sony), and Roku devices between my primary home and a rental. The Roku devices are reliable, responsive, and continue to receive updates. In comparison the Samsung UI is laggy though usable. Google TV is unusable for 10-30s of refresh depending on how long it has been since you’ve used the TV. It’s the worst part of an otherwise high end TV. The multiple user UX is odd across Google products. You can haplessly sign in to your account for YouTube TV on another family member’s Google (TV) account without it bringing up an account switcher. About five minutes into you wondering why your settings are off (or being annoyed because you realized what happened) you get Google’s suggestion to press the right combination of buttons on the remote to do so. Then you switch accounts and sit through the 30s of account refresh. It’s death by a thousand cuts. Roku is great. It does what you ask. Settings are remembered. The Roku Ultra 4K upscaler produces a great image. I used it to replace the Samsung experience on one of their first Gen OLED TVs that still produces a great image in spite of its slowly failing software stack. Samsung seems to simply give up on updating the software on the TV at some point. Things start failing over time as services move on past your TV’s software stack. My newer Frame TV is on the newest software stack (for now) and everything works fine in comparison. Probably my biggest annoyance is the laggy UI and that they try really hard to direct you to their free TV channel. You were watching YouTube the last time you watched the TV, but nevermind that. Samsung wants to show you a loud TV show from the 50s on their classic TV channel. Or KPop. Or Hells Kitchen. Not sure why but that is what my Samsung TVs cycle through.
- ethbr0 3y ago
  Seems like a good place to ask... do people run explicit firewalls for their Roku devices? Realize it's cat and mouse with an updatable controlled platform's data exfiltration, but curious if there are any low-maintenance solutions to do some good? Agree that Rokus are a great solution, but I'm uncomfortable with a one-time-purchase device's long-term revenue priorities.

rolisz 3y ago

What's wrong with Pixel phones though? I find their price/quality ratio to be really good and they come with less crap ware than other Androids.

Twirrim 3y ago
I'm new on the "Won't buy another Pixel phone". Both my wife's and my phones (5a) just died out of the blue, within a few months of each other. Hers just a day before warranty expired. I'd had niggles with an earlier generation Pixel that had me starting to ask questions about future purchases, but the 5a experience really put the nail in that coffin. It was a pain to get mine repaired by them. They sent me to a "local" repair shop (40ish minutes drive away), who despite being their only authorized repair shop in the area, couldn't get any parts off Google for it, and wouldn't for months to come (and indicated this is just a constant story for them, and that what I was seeing was very common). Google essentially wasted a bunch of my time driving back and forth to repair shops. Then I had to send it to them and it sat unacknowledged (despite having delivery confirmation) for well over a week. They did at least send me a complete replacement, but my assumption has to be it's going to do exactly the same thing again. For my wife's phone, they argued that because I clicked a wrong button in their repair website despite logging the phone as broken in time that it died after the warranty expired. I had a long argument with them, then gave up and decided I'd take my trade elsewhere. In both cases, their attitude towards me as a customer was absolute bullshit. I've never had to work so hard to get someone to acknowledge that a phone could stop working, without having done anything to it. I like the hardware and the pure Android experience as an end user. I'm not willing to deal with hostile customer support to get it.
- trbleclef 3y ago
  The 5a has a failure problem[1]. Both of ours failed as well. After the second failure I demanded an Advanced Exchange rather than deal with the repair shop that has no parts in stock. Google replaced my 5a with a 6a immediately. It was a much different experience than waiting a month for the first repair (which failed). I would never accept anything other than an Advanced Exchange at this point. [1] https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/11833075?hl=en https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/11833075?hl=en

nunez 3y ago

It's really sad because, like you, I desperately wanted to run a 100% Google stack years and years ago. I don't understand how a company with basically unlimited resources and the best people in the world just completely flops on product strategy time and time again.

dariusj18 3y ago
Constraints are a major part of innovation.
adoxyz 3y ago
Yeah. I assumed if any company can really nail this experience long term it would be google. I figured it would take longer but with how game changing many of their products were in the early 2010s, I was ok waiting. That waiting turned into more and more beloved products being shut down, drastically changed to shell versions of themselves, or left to stagnate, while google continued to randomly launch, acquire, shut down other beloved brands.
ksec 3y ago
>completely flops on product strategy time and time again. I am not aware of a single product person in Google. They are very much a tech company. They make / research and develop technology and search for a solution.
- nunez 3y ago
  They have a TON of product people.