4 ms·

This is confusingly written. It makes it sounds like you'd get a free phone after 24 months, but it's just really a 2-year subscription plan that bundles the h

This is confusingly written. It makes it sounds like you'd get a free phone after 24 months, but it's just really a 2-year subscription plan that bundles the hardware and a selection of Google services in a single monthly fee. What you get after 2 years is the chance to sign up for another 2-year subscription, which includes a new phone, paid monthly over another 2 years. Google has not just deprived a bunch of people of free phones, they are just eliminating this subscription bundle plan. More info: - https://blog.google/products/pixel/introducing-pixel-pass/ https://blog.google/products/pixel/introducing-pixel-pass/ - https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/pixel-6-with-pixel-pass-how-google-bundle-works-and-if-it-saves-money/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/pixel-6-with-pixel-pass-how...

znpy 3y ago
> What you get after 2 years is the chance to sign up for another 2-year subscription, which includes a new phone, paid monthly over another 2 years. Does it really matter? Most TOSes that i've read clearly include the possibility of the service provider to interrupt the contract at any time without any consequences. Which really means that the "what you get" above is really just an agreement on how much to pay and how often.
- ertian 3y ago
  I'm sure they're legally allowed to do it. They wouldn't be doing it otherwise. But it's something customers are going to want to keep in mind when picking Google products or services: they have a track record of ditching you. If you're looking for long-term products you can rely on, maybe Google isn't the best choice.
MisterBastahrd 3y ago
Let's just look at the phone that the 5a adopters (me) would be getting from their store. You start off with the Pixel 7a at $499. There's an immediate $250 credit that is applied over the next 2 years. This drops that price to $249. Pixel Pass users get a $100 bonus credit. Now it's at $149. Then there's an immediate $85 trade-in bonus. So now we're at $64. Gosh, Google sure is doing me dirty by charging me $2.67 instead of $12 a month.
- incrudible 3y ago
  I don't see how your math checks out. From the article, let's say you started the service at introduction with the Pixel 6 (22 months ago) and it cost $45 per month. Today, you would have spent a total of $990 on that phone (which was worth way less than that at launch) plus services. You now have a used phone worth $200 tops and $100 in "store credit". That seems like a crappy deal unless you value premium Google services a lot.
  - MisterBastahrd 3y ago
    ... read what I wrote instead of attempting to put your own spin on it. It's LITERALLY my current deal.
    - incrudible 3y ago
      There is no way I can not make sense of it. For how many months have you paid, how does that add up? How does your case relate to the average case?
hysan 3y ago
Hard disagree (edit for clarity - on it being "just" ending a subscription service). Presumably, the benefit of such a bundling service is that the cost of the subscription + upgrade path is more beneficial than the separate cost of the services + a carrier subsidized phone / other separate phone payment plan. Ending this so close to the 2 year mark means that you lose out on being able to do a similar phone trade-in plan. You also get stuck with a phone that potentially has a shorter EOL span (security updates) than another phone that you could have purchased. This is also not considering users who made a service choice (or switch), for example, using Google Music over Spotify. You are now 2 years into being embedded into the Google ecosystem and the switching costs are much higher (effectively a form of vendor lock-in). To me, this is a massive rug pull and actually worse than the article paints.
- donalhunt 3y ago
  Agree. Probably legal in the US - strongly suspect Google would get pulled over the coals if they tried to do the same thing in Europe where consumer protections are better (Pixel Pass was not available in Europe afaik). Won't stop some cases being filed in the US anyway (but the terms were most likely worded specifically to allow such an outcome as others have pointed out). :/ For a company that fully understands their success is linked to customer trust, they sure like to push their luck…
ghusto 3y ago
The original wording seems more accurate to me. You get your phone upgraded every two years (plus all the other crap), just like with iPhone Upgrade Programme.
- pimlottc 3y ago
  It’s upgraded as long as you stay with the program. It’s not a reward that you get scot free that you can walk away with. Of course, phone companies promote it that way, but the reality is you’re just paying for it over time. Nobody was about to get a phone without committing to pay for another 2 years of pixel plus.

znpy 3y ago

> What you get after 2 years is the chance to sign up for another 2-year subscription, which includes a new phone, paid monthly over another 2 years. Does it really matter? Most TOSes that i've read clearly include the possibility of the service provider to interrupt the contract at any time without any consequences. Which really means that the "what you get" above is really just an agreement on how much to pay and how often.

ertian 3y ago
I'm sure they're legally allowed to do it. They wouldn't be doing it otherwise. But it's something customers are going to want to keep in mind when picking Google products or services: they have a track record of ditching you. If you're looking for long-term products you can rely on, maybe Google isn't the best choice.

MisterBastahrd 3y ago

Let's just look at the phone that the 5a adopters (me) would be getting from their store. You start off with the Pixel 7a at $499. There's an immediate $250 credit that is applied over the next 2 years. This drops that price to $249. Pixel Pass users get a $100 bonus credit. Now it's at $149. Then there's an immediate $85 trade-in bonus. So now we're at $64. Gosh, Google sure is doing me dirty by charging me $2.67 instead of $12 a month.

incrudible 3y ago
I don't see how your math checks out. From the article, let's say you started the service at introduction with the Pixel 6 (22 months ago) and it cost $45 per month. Today, you would have spent a total of $990 on that phone (which was worth way less than that at launch) plus services. You now have a used phone worth $200 tops and $100 in "store credit". That seems like a crappy deal unless you value premium Google services a lot.
- MisterBastahrd 3y ago
  ... read what I wrote instead of attempting to put your own spin on it. It's LITERALLY my current deal.
  - incrudible 3y ago
    There is no way I can not make sense of it. For how many months have you paid, how does that add up? How does your case relate to the average case?

hysan 3y ago

Hard disagree (edit for clarity - on it being "just" ending a subscription service). Presumably, the benefit of such a bundling service is that the cost of the subscription + upgrade path is more beneficial than the separate cost of the services + a carrier subsidized phone / other separate phone payment plan. Ending this so close to the 2 year mark means that you lose out on being able to do a similar phone trade-in plan. You also get stuck with a phone that potentially has a shorter EOL span (security updates) than another phone that you could have purchased. This is also not considering users who made a service choice (or switch), for example, using Google Music over Spotify. You are now 2 years into being embedded into the Google ecosystem and the switching costs are much higher (effectively a form of vendor lock-in). To me, this is a massive rug pull and actually worse than the article paints.

donalhunt 3y ago
Agree. Probably legal in the US - strongly suspect Google would get pulled over the coals if they tried to do the same thing in Europe where consumer protections are better (Pixel Pass was not available in Europe afaik). Won't stop some cases being filed in the US anyway (but the terms were most likely worded specifically to allow such an outcome as others have pointed out). :/ For a company that fully understands their success is linked to customer trust, they sure like to push their luck…

ghusto 3y ago

The original wording seems more accurate to me. You get your phone upgraded every two years (plus all the other crap), just like with iPhone Upgrade Programme.

pimlottc 3y ago
It’s upgraded as long as you stay with the program. It’s not a reward that you get scot free that you can walk away with. Of course, phone companies promote it that way, but the reality is you’re just paying for it over time. Nobody was about to get a phone without committing to pay for another 2 years of pixel plus.