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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

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.

sho_hn 3y ago
My impression is that the flagships have become fairly interchangeable (aside from perhaps the new Xperia, which still has its own character to some extent) and which one "is the one to buy" is now mostly down when you're in the market to buy. As in, this one is debuting the new Samsung GN2 cam sensor and I think the SoC manufacturing process node, ahead of whenever Samsung and the others post their new updated devices. So for a few months this is probably the one to get, until a competitor drops the next set of updates from the HW supply chain, and so on. Three years of updates and iFixit are great and could be differentiating for now, but hopefully the rest of the ecosystem will catch up to that standard.
- Scene_Cast2 3y ago
  I know GN2 might have been just an arbitrary example, but it looks like GN2 didn't make it to the 8 pro (contrary to the rumors).
  - sho_hn 3y ago
    Oh, do you have a source? The pre-release coverage still talked a lot about the GN2 even days ago, and to me it was more or less the defining new HW drop in this phone. It's a lot less exciting without a sensor upgrade and would be mostly playing catch-up otherwise.
    - Scene_Cast2 3y ago
      Not the strongest sources, but: https://www.gsmarena.com/newscomm-60107.php https://www.gsmarena.com/newscomm-60107.php - comments tipped me off; then googling for "pixel 8 GN2; last hour" gets me links like https://www.androidauthority.com/google-pixel-8-pro-release-date-price-specs-rumors-leaks-3267400/ https://www.androidauthority.com/google-pixel-8-pro-release-... where the cache has the reference but the current page doesn't.
- WillAdams 3y ago
  Except for stylus support --- Samsung is thankfully continuing with S-Pen support (which also works on the Kindle Scribe and Wacom One and various other devices).
thesuitonym 3y ago
>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?
- dagmx 3y ago
  Most of the time you can direct update, but I believe Verizon has a special carve out.
- panarky 3y ago
  Pixels get updates direct from Google, doesn't depend on your carrier.
  - fullstop 3y ago
    This isn't entirely true. I have a Pixel 7 Pro and T-Mobile -- updates can be delayed by the carrier. https://9to5google.com/2023/01/12/google-pixel-t-mobile-update/ https://9to5google.com/2023/01/12/google-pixel-t-mobile-upda...
    - sphars 3y ago
      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.
      - fullstop 3y ago
        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 gives the green light. The factory image can still be sideloaded. The P7P is the first phone that I've not purchased outright, and that's because TMO was willing to give me a ridiculously generous offer to trade in a OnePlus 7t. edit: another link -- https://www.androidpolice.com/pixel-t-mobile-update-delayed/ https://www.androidpolice.com/pixel-t-mobile-update-delayed/
Alacart 3y ago
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 googling it's apparently a very widely seen issue). The service with iFixit was unhelpful, they told me "We keep seeing this and Google says this is wear and tear. We can't submit it for a warranty repair, and if we try we end up eating the cost". After finally complaining on twitter I was contacted by some support person who said to give iFixit this email and they would fix it. They still refused, and after a few more rounds of interactions like that I eventually bought some replacement buttons on Amazon, popped them in, and put a case that covers them on it. I'm fully expecting this to randomly die some time before 2 years is up. Combine that with Google's extremely strong tendency to abandon everything, promises like these seem well, worthless. Meanwhile my daughter is using my wife's old iPhone from 8 years ago. My Samsung note 3 and my s8 still boot up and work just fine (though I cracked the screen on one about 5 years ago). It's just so obvious that these phones are very low priority to Google, while other companies base their business around their phones.
- shopvaccer 3y ago
  I have had a pretty similarly bad experience repairing my pixel 4a the other month. Purchased a new screen and kit from ifixit for 1/3 the cost of buying a new phone, even had to get a heat gun to unglue the old screen, and guess what? she dies a week later anyways due to some other issue. The problem with all these phones is that they're kind of built to be disposable. They're just glued together plastic. And even if you can repair the phone or it survives 5 years or so, the vendor is just going to stop supporting the chipset anyways. Just got a fairphone 4, optimistic but the build quality is shit and they're already rolling out a fairphone 5 now... whatever, I use AOSP. I can't stand samsung anyways with all the crapware they put on stock android.
- matheusmoreira 3y ago
  Yeah. I didn't want to buy a Google phone but they're the only ones supported by GrapheneOS. From what I've read they've got pretty good reasons for supporting them too. Why can't Samsung step up and offer the same security features and firmware update schedules? I'm using a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and it's been excellent for many years but it doesn't matter if it doesn't run the software I want.
eitland 3y ago
It is soon 5 years ago since I switched after using Android since almost since HTC Hero. Something like this could have kept me on Android for a longer so I am thankful it did not show up until I had left Android behind. After years of phones that became slow after a few weeks, having a phone that is still fast after 3-4 years is incredible.
wraptile 3y ago
If only this support existed outside US. For a "global" company Google surely fails to deliver outside the borders of it's headquarters.
extraduder_ire 3y ago
I'm glad all of the years of work that ifixit put in to publishing guides and selling tools is paying off so hard. I assume it's standardization that prevents any notable competitors to them from popping up. Since others can just sell tools/parts.

sho_hn 3y ago

My impression is that the flagships have become fairly interchangeable (aside from perhaps the new Xperia, which still has its own character to some extent) and which one "is the one to buy" is now mostly down when you're in the market to buy. As in, this one is debuting the new Samsung GN2 cam sensor and I think the SoC manufacturing process node, ahead of whenever Samsung and the others post their new updated devices. So for a few months this is probably the one to get, until a competitor drops the next set of updates from the HW supply chain, and so on. Three years of updates and iFixit are great and could be differentiating for now, but hopefully the rest of the ecosystem will catch up to that standard.

Scene_Cast2 3y ago
I know GN2 might have been just an arbitrary example, but it looks like GN2 didn't make it to the 8 pro (contrary to the rumors).
- sho_hn 3y ago
  Oh, do you have a source? The pre-release coverage still talked a lot about the GN2 even days ago, and to me it was more or less the defining new HW drop in this phone. It's a lot less exciting without a sensor upgrade and would be mostly playing catch-up otherwise.
  - Scene_Cast2 3y ago
    Not the strongest sources, but: https://www.gsmarena.com/newscomm-60107.php https://www.gsmarena.com/newscomm-60107.php - comments tipped me off; then googling for "pixel 8 GN2; last hour" gets me links like https://www.androidauthority.com/google-pixel-8-pro-release-date-price-specs-rumors-leaks-3267400/ https://www.androidauthority.com/google-pixel-8-pro-release-... where the cache has the reference but the current page doesn't.
WillAdams 3y ago
Except for stylus support --- Samsung is thankfully continuing with S-Pen support (which also works on the Kindle Scribe and Wacom One and various other devices).

thesuitonym 3y ago

>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?

dagmx 3y ago
Most of the time you can direct update, but I believe Verizon has a special carve out.
panarky 3y ago
Pixels get updates direct from Google, doesn't depend on your carrier.
- fullstop 3y ago
  This isn't entirely true. I have a Pixel 7 Pro and T-Mobile -- updates can be delayed by the carrier. https://9to5google.com/2023/01/12/google-pixel-t-mobile-update/ https://9to5google.com/2023/01/12/google-pixel-t-mobile-upda...
  - sphars 3y ago
    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.
    - fullstop 3y ago
      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 gives the green light. The factory image can still be sideloaded. The P7P is the first phone that I've not purchased outright, and that's because TMO was willing to give me a ridiculously generous offer to trade in a OnePlus 7t. edit: another link -- https://www.androidpolice.com/pixel-t-mobile-update-delayed/ https://www.androidpolice.com/pixel-t-mobile-update-delayed/

Alacart 3y ago

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 googling it's apparently a very widely seen issue). The service with iFixit was unhelpful, they told me "We keep seeing this and Google says this is wear and tear. We can't submit it for a warranty repair, and if we try we end up eating the cost". After finally complaining on twitter I was contacted by some support person who said to give iFixit this email and they would fix it. They still refused, and after a few more rounds of interactions like that I eventually bought some replacement buttons on Amazon, popped them in, and put a case that covers them on it. I'm fully expecting this to randomly die some time before 2 years is up. Combine that with Google's extremely strong tendency to abandon everything, promises like these seem well, worthless. Meanwhile my daughter is using my wife's old iPhone from 8 years ago. My Samsung note 3 and my s8 still boot up and work just fine (though I cracked the screen on one about 5 years ago). It's just so obvious that these phones are very low priority to Google, while other companies base their business around their phones.

shopvaccer 3y ago
I have had a pretty similarly bad experience repairing my pixel 4a the other month. Purchased a new screen and kit from ifixit for 1/3 the cost of buying a new phone, even had to get a heat gun to unglue the old screen, and guess what? she dies a week later anyways due to some other issue. The problem with all these phones is that they're kind of built to be disposable. They're just glued together plastic. And even if you can repair the phone or it survives 5 years or so, the vendor is just going to stop supporting the chipset anyways. Just got a fairphone 4, optimistic but the build quality is shit and they're already rolling out a fairphone 5 now... whatever, I use AOSP. I can't stand samsung anyways with all the crapware they put on stock android.
matheusmoreira 3y ago
Yeah. I didn't want to buy a Google phone but they're the only ones supported by GrapheneOS. From what I've read they've got pretty good reasons for supporting them too. Why can't Samsung step up and offer the same security features and firmware update schedules? I'm using a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and it's been excellent for many years but it doesn't matter if it doesn't run the software I want.

eitland 3y ago

It is soon 5 years ago since I switched after using Android since almost since HTC Hero. Something like this could have kept me on Android for a longer so I am thankful it did not show up until I had left Android behind. After years of phones that became slow after a few weeks, having a phone that is still fast after 3-4 years is incredible.

wraptile 3y ago

If only this support existed outside US. For a "global" company Google surely fails to deliver outside the borders of it's headquarters.

extraduder_ire 3y ago

I'm glad all of the years of work that ifixit put in to publishing guides and selling tools is paying off so hard. I assume it's standardization that prevents any notable competitors to them from popping up. Since others can just sell tools/parts.