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Google Pixel 9 Pro
- microflash 2y agoDo these phones have an upgrade to the "phone" part? My Pixel 8 Pro keeps dropping networks every few days and takes minutes to reconnect.
- wilsonnb3 2y agoThey are using a new modem this year but it is still Samsung rather than Qualcomm. Pixel 7 and 8 used the Samsung 5300 which wasnt very good so the new 5400 might be better but we will have to wait for reviews and what not. Google is switching from Samsung to TSMC for chip fab next gen, so the Pixel 10 might end up with a significantly better modem.
- Xeamek 2y agoTsmc is manufacturer, but whose design will they be using?
- xxmarkuski 2y agoLeaks say that tensor G5 is designed in-house based on ARM softcores [0]. [0] https://www.notebookcheck.net/Google-Pixel-9-successor-First-proof-of-a-Samsung-free-Tensor-G5-chip-in-the-Pixel-10.841431.0.html https://www.notebookcheck.net/Google-Pixel-9-successor-First...
- Xeamek 2y agoWhat about modem tho?
- twp 2y agoIs it possible to buy the phone without the Gemini/AI crapware for $239 less?
- throw0101b 2y agoWhat's the policy on the length of security updates on recent Google-branded phones these days?
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- MostlyStable 2y ago7 years, until 2031[0] [0]https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/4457705?hl=en#zippy=%2Cpixel-pixel-pro-pixel-pro-xl-pixel-pro-fold https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/4457705?hl=en#zippy=...
- ortusdux 2y ago"Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro XL will receive updates for 7 years from when the device first became available on the Google Store in the US. See g.co/pixel/updates for more information."
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- idle_zealot 2y ago7 years for the 8 (of full OS updates). I'd be surprised if it's less for the 9. https://store.google.com/intl/en/ideas/articles/newest-pixel-updates/ https://store.google.com/intl/en/ideas/articles/newest-pixel...
- Glant 2y ago7 years from release date for this and last generation.
- nope1000 2y ago7 years, also Android version updates: https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/4457705?hl=en#zippy=%2Cpixel-pixel-pro-pixel-pro-xl-pixel-pro-fold https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/4457705?hl=en#z...
- the_duke 2y ago
- bloggie 2y ago"Unlock Gemini Advanced for a year on us ($239 value)" Who thinks they are booking phone sales as AI revenue to juice the numbers?
- HumblyTossed 2y agoProbably. And we're probably going to see more of that later with other companies.
- renewiltord 2y agoIt’s total trash AI. I keep forgetting to unsubscribe. Can’t do anything.
- singhrac 2y agoI mostly agree, but partially because I can't tell (even though I'm paying $20/month) what tier of Gemini I am getting. I know most people won't care, but because they won't tell me, I will assume I'm getting Gemini Flash from 6 months ago, and I'm not paying $20/month for that. I'm sure if they were honest about the model people wouldn't pay for it. They're making the mistake of optimizing for general case users (who don't care about model version) when they need to attract power users so that they can find product-market fit.
- lagniappe 2y ago20 bucks a month for Gemini is bonkers.
- dudus 2y agoThe 20 bucks a month is actually for 2TB of storage. Gemini advanced is just a plus. https://one.google.com/about/plans https://one.google.com/about/plans
- jsheard 2y agoThere's a vanilla 2TB plan for $10/month, the plan with 2TB and Gemini is $20/month. You could say that Gemini is $10/month then, but if you don't actually need 2TB or the other benefits then you're effectively paying $20/month because you can't unbundle Gemini from everything else.
- royal__ 2y agoLooks like an iPhone...one of the things I like about the other pixels is the curved bezels..
- smokeyfish 2y agoIt looks like Bender.
- geek_at 2y agoI have heard this for years. Not much you can do with a rectangle that's basically just a screen in front. It's more about the software than anything. Maybe the camera too
- AdmiralAsshat 2y agoI submit the HTC 10 as an example of a smartphone that did not look like an iPhone but had its own sleek design language: https://dev.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/s9wsHkNaq6sKCSAzKvfZKo.jpg https://dev.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/s9wsHkNaq6sKCSAzKvfZKo.jpg
- katzinsky 2y agoThe only thing that would make a new phone interesting is Linux support. Otherwise email works, the web works, mms works, and the camera, screen, and RAM, on phones ten years ago was already way more than you need. The phone specific software barely justifies maintaining a phone (and doesn't for me so I don't even own a modern smartphone.) There's certainly nothing to justify upgrading it.
- mnmalst 2y agoStill using my pixel 4a. I refuse to discontinue a perfectly good phone just because the manufacturer decides it's not supported anymore. Hopefully the EU does something about planned obsolesce one day.
- nasdaq-txn 2y agoYou're using a device that hasn't received security updates in a year to stick it to Google?
- UncleSlacky 2y agoLineageOS for the 4a was last updated on 8/8/24: https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/sunfish/ https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/sunfish/ https://download.lineageos.org/devices/sunfish/builds https://download.lineageos.org/devices/sunfish/builds
- mnmalst 2y agoI don't do it "to stick it" to anyone. I am just not willing to spend 500$+ since my current hardware is perfectly fine and does what I want. Saving money and avoiding unnecessary e-waste is more important to me.
- zaptrem 2y agoWould you pay for continued software support? IIRC Windows upgrades were $100-200 back in the day. More helpful answer: I think Graphene OS still has security updates for your model (assuming Google doesn't?)
- sergiotapia 2y agoCall summary is such a good feature. How many times has your wife snapped her fingers for you to jot something down when she's on the phone with the pediatrician? you go crazy looking for a pen or something This is why I love my pixel. They build stuff that affects my life day to day. My biggest vote of confidence: since buying my wife a pixel, I've had zero tech support requests. it really just works.
- xlbuttplug2 2y agoAccording to the keynote, it notifies the other party that you're using it, which makes sense, but also makes things awkward.
- geraldwhen 2y agoLiterally never? Do you live in a sitcom?
- urda 2y agoNever because clear communication and good lines of understanding make a positive and stable relationship? Snapping really? Your comment literally reads like a classic "I hate my wife" boomer meme and it comes off as kind of gross.
- vundercind 2y agoNone of the post involved a lack of clear lines of communication. Sometimes someone on a call could use help making a note and it can be tricky to find pen and paper. Communicating better with your spouse won’t make the kids put the kitchen pen back where it goes or make it easier to both listen and hunt for things at the same time.
- sergiotapia 2y agoyou are projecting something gross on a total stranger online. check yourself.
- urda 2y ago
- blackeyeblitzar 2y agoIs there a new camera system? As I recall the physical hardware of Pixel cameras have not changed in years.
- Grazester 2y agoThat was true up until the Pixel 7 or something.
- ianburrell 2y agoIt was Pixel 6 that made a big jump in quality. From 8 MP in Pixel 5 to 50 MP in Pixel 6. They also added ultrawide and telephoto on Pro. They have a big jump in sensor size to larger than most compacts. The Pixel 8 has even big sensor. The big sensor is the reason for the camera hump on the back.
- xd1936 2y agoThey said they've rewritten the HDR+ image processing pipeline from scratch for the first time in their live event. Not sure about the Pixel 9 hardware... I think the Pixel 8 was the first new sensor in a while though.
- izacus 2y agoThe sensors are supposed to be new (except for the fold)
- spankalee 2y agoThe front camera is a big upgrade: 10.5 MP to 42 MP from the 8 Pro to 9 Pro. The rear wide camera looks the same, but the rear ultrawide seems like it has a small upgrade. Better aperture at least.
- DataDive 2y ago> The front camera is a big upgrade: 10.5 MP to 42 MP from the 8 Pro to 9 Pro. 42MP??? Wouldn't that just rapidly fill up the storage for most of their users with little if any other tangible benefit ... maybe that is part of the plan :-) ... the profit
- bhhaskin 2y agoI don't want AI on my phone, so will pass on this one.
- katzinsky 2y agoIt would be nice to be able to run llama.cpp on my phone but if I had the choice between that and a root shell and c compiler I'd definitely take the shell.
- ValleZ 2y agoPrivate AI app in play store wraps llama.cpp
- katzinsky 2y agoHeh I guess that's a good point. All I have is a ten year old iPhone just to run Cisco DUO for work and there seems to be no way to run llama.cpp on it even with a very small model. Occasionally I'll use i.sh to ssh into a decent computer but it would be nice to be able to just run normal software on it.
- ValleZ 2y agoIt will probably run 2B models, there are many more options for iOS, try it out.
- sigmar 2y agoDo you think the inclusion of AI is some new departure? Google has declared itself as "AI-first" for the past 8 years[1]. There's been neural cores included in every Pixel since the Pixel 4. [1] https://www.businessinsider.com/sundar-pichai-ai-first-world-2016-4 https://www.businessinsider.com/sundar-pichai-ai-first-world...
- Rastonbury 2y agoThe previous camera bulge was questionable but this one looks horrendous
- blackfawn 2y agoCases have helped on past pixels but agreed, this one looks pretty terrible!
- urda 2y agoIt's a really ugly phone, and for sure it's a combination of Google playing "catch up" but not wanting to invest in Industrial Design like Apple.
- mcphage 2y agoIs it? Maybe I've spent too long using iPhones—I look at that, and think "yep, that's a phone". It looks very vanilla.
- TwentyPosts 2y agoI think the much rounder corners, as well as the round camera bulge look terrible. These were significantly better in the previous iterations.
- Someone1234 2y agoAll camera bulges are a poor design. Just make the battery thicker. Either way people are throwing a case on to make the back straight again.
- vundercind 2y agoI think the bulges are because everyone’s using a case anyway, so they may as well bump out. Unless someone’s doing the “I care so little about protecting several hundred dollars that I use an expensive phone without a case” thing.
- 2y ago
- tayo42 2y agoIs there a technical reason for the ai feature to be on this phone and not just like an app, or is it just limited on purpose to this phone?
- xnx 2y agoOften features that are touted as being only for the newest Pixel phones, come to all Pixel phones (or all Android phones) in a few months.
- surfingdino 2y agoNo, thanks.
- fsflover 2y agoWhy?
- surfingdino 2y agoPixels are always pushing the boundaries of invasion of privacy. We need less of it, not more.
- Biganon 2y agoPixels are the only androphones on which you cab install GrapheneOS...
- fsflover 2y agoWhich is why I don't trust GrapheneOS. They seemingly push Google on the privacy and security crowd while ignoring truly freedom-respecting devices like GNU/Linux phones, which would be supported forever. For GrapheneOS, trust in Google is ultimate. If you don't trust it, you're out of luck. My threat model is different.
- temptemptemp111 2y ago[dead]
- jsheard 2y agoThere'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 https://store.google.com/us/product/pixel_9_pro_fold 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-Pixel-9-Pro,Google-Pixel-9-Pro-XL/phones/12284,12285,12379 https://www.phonearena.com/phones/size/Google-Pixel-9,Google... The Pro and Pro XL appear to have identical specs aside from the screen size/resolution and a slightly bigger battery in the XL.
- appel 2y agoI'm glad they finally went this route. I can't be the only one who usually wants the specs of the Pro but always opts for the smallest phone (p1, p3, p5 & now p8).
- nvy 2y agoIndeed, it's a good choice. My wife has been routinely annoyed that the phone with superior specs was/is always uncomfortably large for her hands.
- adamc 2y agoI did that with the Pixel 8. Although I don't really care about the better camera either.
- buu700 2y agoPretty much in the same boat here. The P9P is around the same size as my P8 (0.1" shifted from depth to width), which is great news. I would pay more for a better camera, but I care more about compactness than camera quality.
- Sebguer 2y agoThe funny thing is the Fold is actually the smallest phone by height, and the thickness change isn't as big as you'd think...
- seneca 2y ago"AI" on my phone is so incredibly unappealing. I don't understand who this is for.
- cedws 2y agoAI phone… AI laptop… AI car… AI toothbrush… yeah nobody’s asking for this shit. It’s just uninventive, unimaginative marketing rubbish. Real innovation doesn’t need to go looking for use cases.
- blackeyeblitzar 2y agoTotally agree. Look at the marketing text on the Pixel Fold (https://store.google.com/us/product/pixel_9_pro_fold?hl=en-US https://store.google.com/us/product/pixel_9_pro_fold?hl=en-U...): “An epic display of Google AI. All the magic of Gemini on Pixel's largest screen.“ It is not only completely cringeworthy, but also nonsensical. How does having a bigger display affect AI at all? What sets it apart from other Pixels? Nothing. I am honestly shocked that this company can keep putting out garbage like this. Any smaller company or startup would go bankrupt and cannot afford to be this sloppy and incompetent. This is only possible if your company has enormous cash reserves and monopolistic market position, where you can eat losses and fail repeatedly on epic scales.
- shinycode 2y agoNever in my life I will buy any Google product. They so easily kill products used by millions without second thought. This destroyed my trust in the company, they just don’t care enough, it’s all about profit and their monopolistic position. I hope other smaller companies with better ethics will emerge
- adamc 2y agoWell, from the phone viewpoint people buy them to get a less garbage-filled android experience. Most consumers don't really expect phones to last forever... because they seldom do.
- achow 2y agoCountry availability https://support.google.com/store/answer/2462844?hl=en_US https://support.google.com/store/answer/2462844?hl=en_US
- kyriakos 2y agoRidiculous how a company the size of Google can only support such a small part of the world. What's even stranger is that they don't support most of the strong android markets.
- cube2222 2y agoSo, if I understand correctly this “built-in” Gemini is 100% just calling to the Gemini cloud backend? Honestly, Apple Intelligence is looking much better than this. But I suppose it’s no wonder, I don’t think Pixels are a large market for Google, while iPhones kind of are for Apple.
- tomasff 2y agoThere's Gemini Nano which runs on-device
- iLoveOncall 2y agoI fail to see what is much better about a system where you don't know when it sends your data to the cloud or not (and is likely to do it 90% of the time).
- freedomben 2y agoNo, it's not all just calling to a cloud backend. The newer Pixels have hardware to do some stuff on-board, including non-trivial stuff like realtime audio cleanup (that works amazingly btw). STT and TTS are done mostly locally as well (with some cloud processing used when network connection is available), but can work all offline. The Gemini Advanced stuff is going to the cloud though.
- cube2222 2y agoYeah I was primarily speaking about the LLM part, as apple is doing that (smaller LLM models will handle simpler tasks on device and hand over to cloud when necessary + apps will be able to efficiently deliver fine-tuned LORAs for the already-available local models). I do remember a lot of other typical "AI" stuff being done locally and well when I had a pixel a couple years ago.
- jph 2y agoI love Google Pixel phones because of Google Fi for traveling; unfortunately Google Fi is facing major service downgrades/outages for travelers (including me) who go on 3+ month trips out of the US. Google Support tells me the Google Pixel 9 Pro has the same limitation. For comparison my iPhone works fine on Verizon. The issue is now described in the Google Pixel T&C, and I hope Google will eventually offer a way to buy a Google Pixel phone and Google Fi that offers full functionality for longer trips. Here's a link about it: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tech-tips/google-fi-now-suspends-data-roaming-after-90-or-fewer-days-outside-the-us https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tech-tips/goog...
- ericpruitt 2y agoDo you have a link with more information on the pending changes?
- jph 2y agoAdded link above. The changes took effect last year.
- meowster 2y agoI know it's not a good solution, but I wonder if you can send the Google Fi eSim to a friend back in the states to "reset" the 90 day counter then have the friend send you back the eSim.
- drawnwren 2y agofwiw, T-Mobile also have the 90 days restriction. I'm not entirely sure it's a company policy vs a US policy.
- jph 2y agoGoogle Support tells me it's a Google company policy, not a U.S. policy. And for comparison, Verizon works fine, just by paying a bit extra for extended roaming.
- 999900000999 2y agoI have never been less excited for a phone. Maybe it's the One Plus 12 I'm holding, but this is a hard pass by me. All I want is a flagship chip, Esim support and a headphone jack. But since earbuds are almost all profit we won't see jacks coming back.
- Ayesh 2y agoSony flagships fit these requirements (micro SD card slot, swim, flagship chip, esim, etc) but they unfortunately don't feel as polished in the software end. Not to mention Sony phones being very difficult to find.
- 999900000999 2y agoI don't think Sony is releasing new phones in the US anymore.
- robotnikman 2y agoYou can still order them online and they work fine.
- Klonoar 2y agoThey work fine depending on where you live, because they don't have the necessary band support for everywhere in the US.
- blackeyeblitzar 2y agoOne big concern I have is getting security updates quickly. If there’s a zero day issue, how would Sony act?
- MostlyStable 2y agoI'm looking at either a 5a, or one of the Samsung budget phones since I don't care about the flagship chip. But I wouldn't be surprised if this is the last time getting a new phone where headphone jack is an option at all.
- solatic 2y agoIs there new hardware in the phone for the forehead thermometer? Any chance this comes to earlier models?
- Ayesh 2y agoYes it's new hardware. Pixel 8 also had it.
- jerlam 2y agoClicking on "Explore the Thermometer app" in the Pixel 9 Pro page leads to ... a Pixel 8 Pro page.
- blackeyeblitzar 2y agoIs it approved for forehead use now? My recollection is it was a gimmicky thing because they could not add human temperature functionality without some kind of regulatory thing (FDA?).
- Fire-Dragon-DoL 2y agoI was waiting for this to figure out if i want this phone. The answer is, I'm not willing to pay $1000 CAD. I would like a phone with 7 years of updates, that's the reality. This is so annoying because I would go to LineageOS since it keeps getting updates, contrary to manufacturers roms.
- jsnell 2y agoIf those are your only criteria, the Pixel 8a is $400 and has guaranteed updates until May 2031 (same 7 years, but released three months ago).
- Fire-Dragon-DoL 2y agoMy real criterias would be way more, but if I put all of them together, the answer is there is nothing. I ABSOLUTELY need to be able to use a glass screen protector, because my phone falls a lot, so I'm really concerned about the fingerprint reader on the screen. One criteria I won't be able to satisfy is: I like fingerprinting on the back. I don't think there are recent phones with that feature at all.
- jerlam 2y agoThe upcoming 9a is where Google has to make some tough business decisions whether it's going to have all the AI features of the main line, at half the price. It's rumored that Apple's new SE will have the full suite of Apple AI features, and that might put some pressure on Google to match.
- bjoli 2y agoI got a _spectacular_ deal on the pixel 8 when I called to complain on my phone plan, otherwise I would have still used a Motorola. The phone was $200, and I got a pixel watch 2 LTE as well that I flipped for $250. The only thing I had to do was keep using the phone plan I have used for 8 years for another year.
- jerojero 2y agoI like that there's a smaller "pro" model. The Fold 2, sorry Pixel 9 Pro Fold, is the most interesting one for me but the price is too high. I've been waiting for a while for these foldables to go down in price but they still haven't. Other than that, it's all about the "AI". Which I don't have much interest in, plus, didn't they already said last year that the Pixel 8 was "all about AI". At this point, there's no use in buying a phone to have these features when the following year your phone that's supposedly made with AI in mind is phased for for a new phone that this time around for real is the one that's "made for AI". Eh.
- JTyQZSnP3cQGa8B 2y agoI’m still bitter about my last Pixel with the stuttering display (no real-time thread for the graphics), the settings all over the place (I counted 4 different addresses for my home, and 1 was deeply hidden in their assistant), and the debug strings in UPPER_SNAKE_CASE in the Google apps, which is unacceptable for a device that is sold to everyone.
- nicbou 2y agoMy Pixel 5 is an amazing device, but it's slowly falling apart, software-wise. Bugs bugs and more bugs! It's also no longer getting software updates, and its successors have a laundry list of issues. The alternative is Samsung, the company that doesn't understand privacy nor consent, or Apple, whose phones lack uBlock support.
- otachack 2y agoHold strong! I replaced my 5's battery about a year ago after it started bloating. I usually draw the line though when security updates cease. Staying with the Pixel line is easier but I'm trying to divest from Google in general and moving to a different phone would be a big step.
- coder543 2y agoAdGuard has worked well enough on Safari on iOS for years now.
- 2y ago
- throwaway48476 2y agoAm I the only one that thinks pixels have always been ugly?
- ajross 2y agoThe bulk of consumers can't even tell the difference between a Pixel, Galaxy and iPhone. So, yes, probably, at least to first approximation.
- kingofthehill98 2y agoThe Nexus 4 was beautiful, IMO one of the coolest smartphones ever made. It was manufactured by LG, but AFAIK Google was responsible for the design.
- spankalee 2y agoI hated the Nexus 4... it was slippery and broke waaaay to easily. I think the Moto X with the wood back was one of the coolest looking phones ever though.
- spankalee 2y agoI think the Pixel 1, 4, and 7 are very nice looking. This one too.
- zzleeper 2y agoI'm still salty about my Pixel 8 dying out because of the "green screen" bug (basically, screen just progressively turns greener until it stops working). Very common according to reddit, and the ubreakitifixit guy acknowledged it's a common problem as well. My Pixel 5a also had some shenanigans and my dad's pixel 6 as well No idea why they don't do proper Q&A. Looks like a good phone but yet fails in ways my work iphone never has.
- jsheard 2y agoIt's still a running theme that their in-display fingerprint readers are uniquely terrible for many people, even 3 (now 4) generations after they started using them instead of rear-mounted capacitive sensors. I don't know why they struggle so much with that compared to every other manufacturer using exactly the same sensors from the same handful of suppliers.
- TwentyPosts 2y agoI had some issues with this very early when I got mine, but I think this went away completely. I feel like this was a software issue, and is now fixed (well, at least part of it).
- eitally 2y agoI don't think these anecdotes (yours or the guy above with the green screen issue) are useful. Fwiw, I haven't had either issue with my P8 Pro and it's definitely the best phone I've ever used, both on Android 14 and running the Android 15 betas.
- oezi 2y agoThese anecdotes are useful to highlight the low quality of Google devices. Certainly case reports cannot replace defect rates and other meaningful statistics, but if manufacturers are deaf about the issues then it doesn't bode well for instance for security related issues. I had similar bad issues with the fingerprint tech and would assume that the issue has at least 20% prevalence among the affected Pixel models.
- retskrad 2y agoMost people, from a person on welfare to all celebrities and almost all CEO’s, including Elon Musk, use iPhones. The Pixel and Android in general is simply not cool like the iPhone. Google has been making their own phones for over 10 years now and they’ve barely made a dent. What’s Google’s goal here?
- rvnx 2y agoTheir objective is simple, get the hardware in place, so they can force-feed Google Search, YouTube and Google Gemini. Yes it's true, iPhone are popular, but it's a US-centric answer, because most of the rest of the world runs Android (Android has a 70.69% market share worldwide). So Google has a really valid plan there. Google claims their target is the "next billion people". Also iPhones are very expensive, just relatively less expensive in the US (due to wages, low taxes, less intermediaries, etc). Even a poor US citizen is often some sort of rich citizen in other parts of the world. Of course, there are exceptions, for example, Kim Jong Un uses iPhone and MacBook Pro.
- jensensbutton 2y agoWhat kind of low budget commentary is this? Why put it on HN? What's _your_ goal here?
- kylehotchkiss 2y agoUSA is not the only market for pixel phones. In places with higher concentration of Android users, there's a premium market that the pixel fits into.
- meiraleal 2y agomaybe use it to have a controlled product in the market to test Android? I had one Google Pixel 8 and couldn't regret more. It broke (my mistake) so I'm already free of it.
- deadbunny 2y agoThe USA is not the World. https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/worldwide https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/worldwide
- awill 2y agoRemember when Google used to do live benchmarks showing it beat the iPhone (and even the iPad). Those were the days. Now Tensor is bottom of the pack for high-end phones.
- 2OEH8eoCRo0 2y agoRemember when average people cared about benchmarks? Because I don't.
- awill 2y agoThere's a reason Apple is doing so way. The A and M chips are a huge reason for that. So sure, benchmarks don't matter, but performance does, and Tensor is way behind.
- nightski 2y agoIt's so weird to me that an advertising company would sell a phone. It feels so dystopian.
- electriclove 2y agoDid you also feel this way when Amazon and Facebook/Meta were making (or close to making) phones?
- nightski 2y agoYes, why would I not? I don't buy computing devices from any of them... Google phones are straight up a data harvesting device for Google lol.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- HumblyTossed 2y agoYou should be happy. If Google didn't produce Android*, we would only have a single phone operating system and thus only a single provider of phones. *And why produce Android without also producing a showcase phone?
- nightski 2y agoI'm really not happy tbh. Android started out as a relatively open thriving open OS/ecosystem. It's since evolved into something much different due to Google and it's objectives. It's also just plain not realistic. The industry would of evolved differently had it not been for android and other operating systems may have been picked up by the alternative manufacturers such as Samsung.
- appel 2y agoGoogle's trade-in estimates for the P9 Pro: Pixel Fold (256/512): $760 Pixel 8 Pro (128/256/512/1TB): $699 Pixel 8 (128/256): $490 Pixel 7a: $300 Pixel 7 Pro (128/256/512): $540 Pixel 7 (128/256): $360 Edit: there's a complete overview of all trade in estimates in this post: https://slickdeals.net/f/17689866-buy-pixel-9-pro-or-pixel-9-pro-xl-and-get-200-in-google-store-credit-or-200-best-buy-gift-card https://slickdeals.net/f/17689866-buy-pixel-9-pro-or-pixel-9...
- eitally 2y agoI have a P8Pro and it may well be worth the money to trade it in, especially to get a slightly more manageable sized phone.
- appel 2y agoYeah, that sounds perfect. To go from my 256GB P8 to a 256GB P9 Pro would cost me about $610 + 10% tax after trade-in which I don't think I'll have the stomach for.
- j_timberlake 2y agoI think it's a good deal. After-tax price is ~$1082, trade-in is $699, with a $200 store credit ($300 with a Google 1 sub), and $21 back from 2% credit card rewards. So ~$162 cost, which is not much more than the increase in trade-in value. Plus the 1 year of Gemini Advanced and maybe some YouTube premium months. The main downside is that store credit expires in 1 year. Also I hate buying new phone cases.
- E39M5S62 2y agoIf you're a Google Fi member, they have a nice discount on the price of the phone - but the trade-in value of your existing phone looks to be halved. I can get the Pixel 9 Pro XL with 256GB of storage for $750, but I only get $150 towards my Galaxy S22+.
- scottlamb 2y agoNot bad, really. My Pixel 6 was being flaky a month ago (not playing sounds reliably), and I needed to fix it right then, so I bought a Pixel 8 from Best Buy for $549+tax and got $220+tax back (described as $70 valued price + $150 promotional) for trading in my Pixel 6. If you consider the $70 as the true value of my flaky Pixel 6, you could say I only paid $399 (plus tax) for the Pixel 8, and now Google's offering me $490 for it if I buy a Pixel 9. Even so I'm not sure the Pixel 8 -> Pixel 9 upgrade is worth $799 - $490 = $309 (plus tax) to me when the Pixel 8 is brand new and working well.
- spankalee 2y agoI'm very happy to see the good Pro camera setup in the smaller size. I've always gotten the non-pro Pixel, but missed the better camera. I might upgrade my Pixel 7 just because of this.
- burkaman 2y agoI've never seen a temperature sensor on a phone before, I thought that was kind of cool. Sounds like it doesn't really work though: https://www.androidcentral.com/phones/google-pixel-8-pro-thermometer-test https://www.androidcentral.com/phones/google-pixel-8-pro-the...
- praisewhitey 2y ago>when done correctly, the Pixel 8 Pro's temperature readings are very accurate. Clinical trials revealed that the Pixel 8 Pro could successfully calculate body temperatures between 96.9°F and 104°F to within a margin of error of ±0.54°F. https://www.androidcentral.com/phones/google-explains-pixel-8-pro-body-temperature-sensor https://www.androidcentral.com/phones/google-explains-pixel-...
- cryptoz 2y agoSamsung Galaxy S4 had one a decade ago. Also had a humidity sensor! A true weather station (barometer and light sensor too!)
- nogridbag 2y agoThe "human body measurement" test in that article seems flawed. When you launch the Thermometer app, there's only two buttons: Object temperature and Body temperature. So I'm not sure why the author tried to measure body temperature by using "Object temperature" mode with "default" setting and measuring the temperature under the tongue. The Body Temperature test has always been accurate for me and matches my higher end forehead thermometer.
- stonethrowaway 2y agoWhere did the “{our, the} most {adj} yet” marketing thing come from? I remember apple using it for a long time. Did everyone just decide to copy it? It sounds so lame to see it during every tech product announcement.
- frankhorrigan 2y agoOur most derivative advertisement yet.
- Veuxdo 2y agoVery telling that the first two pictures are of the camera lenses. Is that where most of the $999 price tag is going?
- lofaszvanitt 2y agoHoly shit, they have moved the design in the right direction, but it still looks awful. Maybe not the ugliest phone on the market, but still bears the hallmark of designed by an engineer. Hire a friggin industrial designer or smack the current one in the head by a frying pan until something cool pops up.
- georgeecollins 2y agoIt blows me away that people will spend $1k for a phone when there are good options for $500 or less. I will grant that Google's phone is probably the best. But in my experience the difference in quality does not correlate to the difference in price. Apple has a monopoly and they set price expectations. Also, I think buyers think if you have a cheaper phone strangers may think you are poor. Personally I want people to think I am poorer than I am.
- grogenaut 2y agowhat are your favorite $500 or less options
- setgree 2y agoiphone se 2022 is $429
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- jablala 2y agoHoping the SE 4 in the new year will be sub $500/£500.
- nordsieck 2y agoI got the SE 2 used, a year after it came out for a serious discount[1]. If that's something you're comfortable with, you can get a really good deal if you pay attention to what's posted on FB Marketplace. More than anything, I'm most impressed by Apple's OS support. I'm pretty convinced that SE phones are some of the best deals in the industry if you keep them until they run out of support. They have the same guts (minus cameras) as tier 1 flagship phones. Apple is a bit tight with ram, but the processor is faster than any Android phone. And the support - 7 years is standard right now, and it could very well go longer. --- 1. I think I paid $150 for it. It has a small crack in the screen, but just the part that's over the chin, not anything that affects the display. If I wanted a pristine phone, I'm sure I could have found one for a bit more. But after several years, I'm happy with my decision.
- varispeed 2y ago4k still only at 60Hz. Weak.
- bityard 2y agoSerious case of sticker shock here. My current Android phone was free from the provider in exchange for buying around 3 months of service in advance. It is no speed demon but certainly does all of your average phone stuff just fine.
- garciasn 2y agoI absolutely refuse to pay for a phone; call me old-school, but I am still stuck in the memory of the days when they came 'free' with service contracts. Me? I will happily take a slightly outdated phone with a new provider/contract where I don't pay anything on top of the expected monthly fee. I have 8 months left on my iPhone13 mini (128GB) w/VZW and will happily change to one of the other Big Threes to make it happen again.
- vel0city 2y agoA regular Verizon plan with tethering that supports the "free" phones costs the same in three months for what I pay for a year of service on Mint. But sure, the phone was "free". $2,880 for a Verizon plan with a "free" phone (3 year commitment after all), $720 for three years of my current Mint plan. I could spend $2k on a phone over those three years and I'd still have spent less money.
- garciasn 2y agoBased on the Mint website, it appears to be $360 up-front + $360 or $720 for their 'unlimited' annual which I don't know if it includes tethering. I pay ~$684 for VZW for the year, for unlimited w/tethering and HBO Max + Netflix.
- vel0city 2y agoMint's unlimited is $30/mo when purchasing a year up front. The only "plus" is taxes and fees. It includes tethering. So even with whatever deal you've got going on its still $324/yr cheaper, $972 cheaper after a three-year commitment (if applicable in your case). The "free" phone only applies to Unlimited Plus and Unlimited Ultimate. At a single line for Plus that's $80/mo. $960/yr. $2,880 over that three-year commitment. But either way, I don't bother with the "unlimited" plans. You're going to get de-rated after 30-40gigs anyways on Verizon. > Unlimited data is restricted to on-device smartphone usage. After exceeding 30 GB/mo of 5G Ultra Wideband, 5G, or 4G LTE mobile hotspot data, mobile hotspot data reduced to speeds up to 3 Mbps when on 5G Ultra Wideband and 600 Kbps when on 5G / 4G LTE for the rest of your monthly billing cycle. https://www.verizon.com/support/important-plan-information/ https://www.verizon.com/support/important-plan-information/ "Unlimited" plan you're paying $80/mo for that you're going to get 600Kbps if you really treat it as "unlimited". I personally don't even use all of my 15GB a month. I get lots of people live different lifestyles, but a lot of people don't need "unlimited". So really, I'm not even spending $360/yr, I'm spending $240/yr. $444/yr cheaper than your plan. $1,332 cheaper after three years.
- rareitem 2y agoAmong Us
- TwentyPosts 2y agoThank you
- jijji 2y agoit doesn't even say the CPU speed on their spec sheet....whats the speed of the CPU? how many cores?
- canucker2016 2y agoThat's how you know that they're not proud of the CPU specs. They went with the Samsung foundry so they could get a bespoke CPU design because Qualcomm doesn't have time for that type of stuff. Turns out that the Samsung ARM cores aren't as performant as the Qualcomm/Apple ARM cores. But at least Google has these Tensor thingies... [edit] in Dave2D's video about the Pixel 9 Pro XL, https://youtu.be/67hVZOJDFxQ?t=323 https://youtu.be/67hVZOJDFxQ?t=323 , he shows a Geekbench comparison of recent Android CPUs, the new Tensor G4 is still slower in multithread GeekBench than SnapDragon 8 Gen2 & Gen3.
- drewg123 2y agoHow reliable is the Pixel fold? I jumped ship from Nexus/Pixel in 2019, and the only thing that could bring me back to Pixel would be the larger screen of the fold. But my personal experience with Nexus/Pixel quality 2010-2019 is pretty bad, and adding in the folding screen makes me think getting one is a Bad Idea. Sadly, due to my employer, only Apple and Google are options, so none of the other folding phones are options. I wish Apple would do a fold..
- nblgbg 2y agoOne of the big problems with Pixel phones is their lack of thorough testing. You upgrade and suddenly you encounter strange Bluetooth issues, call problems, or other features that were working fine before but suddenly stop functioning. Tons of people will be complaining about this in forums, and you won't receive any updates to fix them for months. IMHO all Pixel phones are just developer devices and you can't seriously use them as daily drivers. Adding more AI features won't help unless they start taking their customer service seriously!
- ascorbic 2y agoI've had a Pixel 8 Pro since launch day and have had zero issues with it. Really great phone.
- olyjohn 2y agoI had a Pixel 4XL that could not do basic phon calls. 7/10 tries I would get no audio but the other person could always hear me. I wiped the phone and it magically started working, then about a week after that it was back to not working again. Also the back cover started peeling off the phone since all they did was use a tiny bit of glue to keep it on.
- wordofx 2y ago[flagged]
- jerlam 2y agoNot doubting your experience, but you've had the phone for less than a year and haven't had a major Android version update. You are 1/7th of the way of your total support period. If you can say you have no problems in 2030, that would be much stronger evidence.
- sigzero 2y agoWow, talk about an unrealistic expectation. 2030? lol
- raviisoccupied 2y agoIt's incredible to me how much worse this web page is than a comparable Apple one. Just from a cursory glance, I've seen some late loading elements, weird and confusing pricing before I've even seen the whole phone, and a weirdly masked and slightly pixelated video.
- therein 2y agoDefinitely a page full of eye sores. Also the branding is all over the place, the page itself feels more like it fits BestBuy's branding than Google's.
- jerjerjer 2y agoThey could have removed half of the "AI" references and it would still be overused.
- ilrwbwrkhv 2y agoGoogle is terrible at both UX and UI. I have said this for a long time that thank god Google search was a simple textarea. If they had done anything else, they would have blown it.
- netbioserror 2y agoI bought a refurbished Pixel 3A for $150 and dropped Graphene on it. Has worked like a charm. Incredible 4-day battery life thanks to the absence of Google Play Services. Might move to /e/ soon now that Graphene has dropped support.
- meonkeys 2y ago/e/ is nice. Pairs well with Nextcloud.
- fsckboy 2y agoBit of advice I'm looking for, if my question resonates for you: I've had Pixels in the past (pretty distant past at this stage) but I generally found the experience to be too "beta" or "experimental", in that various features would not carry over to a new Pixel, and I'd have to get used to something entirely different all over again. In contrast, I've enjoyed the Samsung approach, and I love the Fold. (I also carry iphones, I like gadgets) Should I try the Pixel Fold, might I like it? (looking for opinions from people who recognize my story; no need to tell me things like "nobody can answer that for you")
- cogman10 2y agoI've never used the fold, I'd be a bit concerned about the screen wearing at the crease. Damage is another thing to be worried about. As for the pixels, my advice is to hold off buying the latest until like Feb or even May. Google pretty aggressively drops the prices after release so waiting just a little bit will save you several hundred dollars. By Feb, generally the phones have been pretty stable.
- freedomben 2y agoBlack Friday usually gets a couple hundred $ off as well. Only risk is that if the phone (or watch, etc) is selling well then they won't discount it, so you might end up waiting a long time or waiting a couple months and still paying full price. I always try to hold out for Black Friday though unless my old phone is broken.
- SushiHippie 2y agoI only bought a Pixel because of GrapheneOS. I think I've never had this few issues with a phone. (I only had Samsung phones before this) It feels even better than the Android that the Pixels ship with, I used it for a day before I flashed GrapheneOS, and I can completely understand why one would not buy a Pixel again if they only experienced the Stock OS.
- fsckboy 2y agoI'm always interested in trying things like that, but I'm not that into playing some sort of "jailbreak cat and mouse" over time. If I install GrapheneOS, is it automatic after that for security updates and whatnot, or do I have to do some weird two-hands-three-fingers reboot and manually download, etc?
- taeric 2y agoI'm kind of sad that the world seems to have given up on the smaller phones. The marketing of the masculine hand holding the larger phone is amusing to me, and I can understand wanting to have a larger screen. I do not like the amount of space these things take in my pocket, though.
- pdxandi 2y agoI broke my iPhone 12 mini and part of me died that day. A tired dad moment – set the phone on the trunk lid when getting my kid in the car and then later opened the trunk. It slid down and crunched in the hinge. I could replace it with another mini but have been holding out hope for another updated version. I love the small form factor, even at the expense of battery life and camera quality. I just want a reasonable phone with solid hardware that fits in my pocket.
- eBombzor 2y agoDidn't they basically confirm that they're discontinuing the mini series? The 15 is still your best bet.
- MBCook 2y agoThey never say. The 13 mini was the last one. Maybe there will be a 17 mini, maybe never again.
- dijit 2y agobought a 15- bearing in mind that the 12 mini was also too large for me (5s was perfect). 15 Pro has been dropped many more times, can’t be operated with one hand at all. It’s the first time I had to have a replacement screen actually- after owning iPhones for 15 years. Anyway… I’m considering going back to the 5s. I would only miss wireless charging and apple wallet I think. (and apps are now made for the larger screen and will have elements that are inaccessible due to going passed the edges of the display).
- 2y ago
- pieresqi 2y ago[dead]
- Eumenes 2y agoI'm happy with my Pixel 6a. Think with my previous trade-in (some older pixel), it was like $299. Gotta time things right to get the next one at a similar price point. I def don't want that Gemini stuff on there though. The cheapest new phone being $800 seems to be a step up though.
- NotSammyHagar 2y agoPixel 9 also says satellite emergency support ("Satellite SOS"). Search for info gets you to https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/15254448?hl=en&sjid=2164269888057418501-NC https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/15254448?hl=en&... It looks like it's coming "later this year". Lots of chatter about it, see a few details at https://www.androidauthority.com/pixel-9-satellite-sos-3467698/ https://www.androidauthority.com/pixel-9-satellite-sos-34676... * apparently coming with android 15, but they are shipping android 14 * turning on satellite sos later, but this year * us only * free for 2 years on pixel 9 phone, but probably would cost more later? If you go on a lot of backcountry trips, maybe you already have something like a Garmin device with paid in-reach service with texting and emergency service button - no voice support. I have this, it works well. You can do 2 way texting, also you can have your location uploaded as you travel if you wish.
- S201 2y agoPlus Garmin devices use the Iridium network which has truly global coverage (as opposed to Globalstar which is only in select areas of the world) as well as other features useful for non-emergency backcountry travel. I won't be dropping my Garmin InReach any time soon.
- DebtDeflation 2y agoCorrect. Globalstar is a "bent pipe analog repeater" network. They have ground gateway stations that provide connectivity from their satellites to the public switched telephone network and internet. In order for your handheld to work, you need a satellite in view and that satellite must have a ground gateway station in view. Iridium doesn't have that latter requirement. I won't be getting rid of my InReach Mini anytime soon.
- lxgr 2y agoOn the other hand, that "bent pipe" nature is what allowed Globalstar to support a (presumably) completely new type of protocol and modulation over existing, decades-old satellites! Apple has also been adding new ground stations as part of their agreement with Globalstar, which has, among other things, added coverage to Hawaii. I'm pretty sure they have much larger plans for this than just emergency texting.
- roughly 2y agoI'm an iPhone guy, but - there _are_ other designs for phones, right? The squircle corners, the shiny metal band surrounding the matte back, the aqua-pill-shaped buttons, the colors - Google is a $2T company, there's gotta be an industrial designer somewhere in the building or some process for phone design that doesn't take place in Cupertino, right?
- supertrope 2y agoProfitable products attract copycat designs. Samsung copied no removable battery and the metal used. The first Google phone was a Blackberry style layout until Apple popularized the all touchscreen design.
- supertrope 2y agoApple copied bigger screens and Android’s notifications.
- queuebert 2y agoMobile phone design peaked with the Nokia 3110 and the Motorola MicroTAC, and it's been downhill ever since.
- lysace 2y agoMy fav iconic Nokia design was the 7600: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_7600 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_7600 ;)
- greenchair 2y agomind blown
- roughly 2y agoDon't forget the 7280! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_7280 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_7280
- 2y ago
- figmert 2y agoNo desktop mode?
- cogman10 2y agoNo Qi2 is really silly. A full year to integrate this in your phone design and you punted. It's really just adding a few magnets google, come on.
- bfrog 2y agoI went through many moto/samsung/google phones. Every single one sucked ass after about a year or two. Wasn't a big deal when the phones came with contract renewals. Became a major deciding factor to abandon them when I had to hand over my own cash. If I'm paying 500+ for a device it needs to you know... last more than a few years.
- ranza 2y agoIm still on a pixel 5 pro and it works great. Thats a 4 year old device. Im actually surprised how well it still holds up today
- bcook 2y agoI paid $1000 cash for my Samsung Galaxy S10+ and the 5½+ years with it have been flawless. I was very hesitant to spend $1000 on my first smartphone but if it can easily last 5 years, I'm impressed. Even now, I can't think of a reason to upgrade aside from wanting a new, shiny gadget.
- ayoisaiah 2y agoThis hasn't been a problem on Android in 7-8 years. I bought my S10+ brand new in 2019, and it still works flawlessly till today (well, except the battery). The S7 Edge was the last time I experienced slowdowns after 1-2 years.
- kokada 2y agoI may switch this time since they're finally offering trade-in offers here in Ireland. I like my Pixel 6, but wanted a better camera for a while (to be clear, the Pixel 6 camera is really good, especially considering the price the phone was, but I still miss things like e.g. better optical zoom), so I may get a Pixel 9 Pro. BTW, for those talking about issues: I bought my Pixel 6 at release, and yes, I had some strange Bluetooth issues during a few months. Not anymore, and for a while the phone is solid. Also, this is probably the first phone that I have that I don't feel the battery got worse after 2+ years of usage, maybe thanks to the Adaptive Battery. My wife iPhone 12 (that she bought around at the same time as me) already had a ok-ish battery when she bought, but nowadays the battery is just plain sucks (battery health is 87%, that doesn't explain the whole story), one of the reason that she may switch to a Pixel too. Another thing I like from my Pixel is after those 2 years, the phone still feels snappy. I know people like to say that Tensor CPUs are bad, but I never had any issues with them. I don't like the fact that Google increased the prices though: Pixel 6 was an amazing value for EUR649, but at EUR919 the Pro looks a more interesting choice since the gap reduced between the two. I think the reason is because the Pixel a series is such an amazing value that nobody care about the normal Pixel anymore, but if anything this is Google's fault.
- cogman10 2y agoI'm currently on the 6 and one issue it has is a pretty bad battery drain. Every so often it gets into superheating mode where the CPU is doing... something... and the phone gets wicked hot. I've even replaced the battery and the problem persists. I don't care much about photos so the 9 really just doesn't have anything that would make me want to buy it. I'll probably be holding on to my 6 until it reaches the end of its security updates.
- nixosbestos 2y agoDo you think this is recent? I've been using a Pixel 6A for over a year, this current one only a few months. In the last few weeks it has started (seemingly) randomly getting quite warm.
- 2y ago
- etempleton 2y agoLooks great. Really nicely designed except that camera bump is intense. I like having nice cameras on my phone, but I wish we could go back to the flush camera design. I guess they know you will put a case on it anyway.
- wnevets 2y agoThese price increases for what appears to be marginal upgrades is such a splash of cold water.
- ein0p 2y agoNutty pricing. Google is not, and will never be, a “premium brand”.
- pphysch 2y agoGood
- SideburnsOfDoom 2y agoDo they have an Apple Airtag / Samsung SmartTag style tracking dongle, and an UWB model phone that works with it? Phone tech specs: both models have "Ultra-Wideband chip for accurate ranging and spatial orientation" Tracking tag: ?? Any experiences with that?
- jmakov 2y agoHow does GrapheneOS perform on the fold?
- RigelKentaurus 2y agoI don't see anything that wants me to upgrade my four-year old iPhone 12. (TBH, it's not just about these new Pixel phones; I don't know whether I will upgrade in the next 3-4 years.) Minor rant: All of this powerful technology, and yet the examples they can come up with are always about e-commerce/shopping, photos, calendaring etc. Why can't they talk about something more fundamentally useful, like a feature that would reduce your phone usage or budget better, etc.? I guess I can dream.
- blfr 2y agoHow much of a limitation is that Tensor processor? Seems like the last of its line and below the performance of other flaghship phones.
- atum47 2y agoI have a pixel 8 pro and the camera is amazing
- SlavikCA 2y ago> Video formats: HEVC (H.265), AVC (H.264) So much for supporting Open Source AV1...
- ksec 2y agoI think the word you want to use is royalty free. Because there are open source implementation of HEVC and AVC.
- eBombzor 2y agoTerrible prices, rather get a iPhone 15 at this point
- epolanski 2y agoLack of proper dual sim (with two nano sims) is what made me not buy the previous gen and I guess this as well gets skipped. It such a small feature that 200$ Xiaomi phones have and Google's flagship do not, because people in their silicon valley bubble can't understand there's many carries in the world that don't support esims properly or the issues that people that live in two countries need to face.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- richardmuhn 2y ago[flagged]
- oezi 2y agoCan someone explain why we get 12GB and 16GB RAM in these phones, but Apple sells its MacBook Air M3 with 8GB as the starting configuration. Shouldn't mobile phones require much less RAM?
- jmole 2y agoThis is what happens when your phone and all it's apps are written in a garbage collected language.
- trompetenaccoun 2y agoYep. I still use the iphone 7+ as a backup phone, it still gets security updates and runs modern apps fine with 3GB! Slow compared to modern phones, but that's not down to the RAM, the memory management is amazing, never had an issue.
- kaba0 2y agoThat’s a gross misrepresentation, and far from the whole truth. (Besides, ref counting is also a garbage collection algorithm) A huge chunk of the OS runs native stuff. Add to it that android is less strict at putting apps/processes to sleep, it’s become a much less black and white question.
- jmole 2y agoYou are missing the point here – garbage collected languages (the "allocate it and forget about it" style, not refcounting like Objective-C) require much more memory to perform at the same level as a language where memory is explicitly allocated and deallocated.
- kaba0 2y agoYes, I’m fairly familiar with garbage collectors and these are called tracing GCs. My point is that a big chunk of the system doesn’t use these, so you can’t just put the blame on one thing. Would one percent be responsible for a system’s bad performance if that is “slow”?
- hereforcomments 2y agoI'm still on Pixel 2XL. The battery is not that good anymore but has no issues with the phone. I'd definitely not spend 1k on a phone. A Pixel 7 Pro is now a much better deal.
- magincap 2y ago[dead]
- fidotron 2y agoI don’t know how anyone could possibly trust a premium product from Google, regardless of how good the specs are. Their entire approach to QA and privacy is anti-premium. When Google bought HTC the idea was the best of Google software and the best of HTC hardware, but we have Google level hardware and HTC level software. The glory days of the HTC One were a decade ago.
- wavemode 2y agoReminds me of that old joke: "Canada could have had British culture, French food, and American industry. Instead they ended up with American culture, British food, and French industry."
- Al-Khwarizmi 2y agoHTC software wasn't bad at all IMO, it was among the less bloated Android layers of the time. I had three HTC flagships back in the glory days and they were amazing machines, their only problem was that most people preferred to buy the likes of Samsung despite being much worse in almost every respect (software, camera, design, durability, etc.). I don't know if due to bad marketing by HTC or just because they bought reviewers less (they used to have a blatant pro-Samsung bias). Then of course quality actually degraded when they had to make huge personnel cuts due to bad sales.
- denysvitali 2y agoReminds me of an issue I had with the Nexus 6P: when I wanted to get it fixed (I think it was an issue with the ambiental microphone) Huawei said it was a software issue and Google said it was a HW issue. In the end, none of the two companies fixed the problem, and my 6P eventually died randomly one day. So, this Google software and X hardware story is very similar to yours w/ HTC, except that if they don't buy the company it's better for them as they can just throw the problem over the fence to the other company. What a clown show
- underlogic 2y agoWouldn't accept it as a gift after having several generations of Pixel phone. Half baked software. Also Apple has hammered Google on privacy and rightfully so. There's a 0 chance I'll use android handsets again regardless of the hardware.
- kaba0 2y agoGrapheneOS is a thing.
- DebtDeflation 2y agoThe Pixel 10 will have a TSMC manufactured chip. I'm keeping my Pixel 6 Pro for another year.
- modeless 2y agoYeah, Pixel 7 Pro here and ditto.
- cipheredStones 2y agoMy current phone, a Pixel 6 Pro, is becoming unusable due to screen flickering.* I have an unopened Pixel 8 Pro on my desk that I got for ~$700 after cashback during Prime Day last month, and I've been waiting for this launch so I could consider the possibility of returning it and getting the new model. So far, looking at this, I can't find any differences between the 8 Pro and the 9 Pro XL that I think I'd actually notice. It would be kind of nice to get the smaller 9 Pro for the sake of my wrists, but not enough to pay an extra $400 for. Am I missing anything? Or is this just a heavily hyped release of a tiny incremental upgrade? *I'd be more inclined to hold this against Google and not get another Pixel if my previous phone, a Samsung flagship, hadn't died in approximately the same way after approximately the same lifespan.
- baggachipz 2y agoI have to log in with a google account to view the product in their store? Kthxbye.
- paxys 2y agoNo you don't
- baggachipz 2y agoIt asked me to. Guess it's because I have logged in to a google property before. I'm sure they wouldn't be tracking my views.... right?
- H1Supreme 2y agoI was initially excited at the announcement of the "fold" phone, but then I saw it's effectively two phone screens, instead of one folded in half. Sigh... I have a Pixel 3a, and it's still larger than I'd like. I realize that the market for folks who would prefer something smaller is, well, small. But, I look at the phone landscape, and I hate every one of them. I like the Pixel, because it's stock Android. I wish they would release a Pixel "Basic" or something. 5.5" screen, basic camera, no AI bullshit. Just a no-frills basic phone.
- spondylosaurus 2y agoOne of the folding Samsung phones is the "single screen that folds in half like a flip phone" style! Played with one for a minute in Best Buy and it was pleasantly compact.
- freedomben 2y agoIf those weren't so expensive, I'd get one in a heartbeat. It's downright luxurious!
- spondylosaurus 2y agoYeah, the main dealbreakers at this point seem to be (1) price, (2) battery life, since it's literally a smaller battery, and (3) vulnerability to debris. I've heard people say that you shouldn't take a folding phone to the beach because the sand can wreck those flex screens.
- strongpigeon 2y agoWhat's your concern about it being two screens?
- astrodude 2y agoLove the camera on pixels, hopefully this one takes it to next level.
- mrnaught 2y agoDesign looks almost like iPhone. Seems like the design patents have expired.
- roschdal 2y agoWhy is it so big, heavy and expensive?
- vicek22 2y ago> Plus, your phone comes with 7 years of OS and security updates. Way to go, the 7 years of updates was the reason I bought my Pixel 8 Pro
- devit 2y agoIt would be nice to have some competition. Right now basically you are forced to buy a Pixel phone, because if you don't buy an iOS or Android device you don't have apps, if you buy an iOS device you lose your freedom, and if you don't buy a Pixel phone you don't have timely updates and GrapheneOS and thus don't have an open source, frequently updated and well-engineered OS.
- ruthmarx 2y agoYou could use e/OS or compile graphene cutting out the pixel specific hardware requirements.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- summerlight 2y agoI'm surprised that no media outlet is seriously talking about its on-device inference capability, which is the biggest next thing for LLM. Apple did a better job on its PR here, but they didn't also get all the attention that it deserves. On-device inference improves not just its latency, this also removes a huge chunk of LLM's economical constraints from software companies. The biggest advantage of software is its marginal cost being nearly zero. LLM hasn't enjoyed this luxuries but the dynamic is going to change.
- pvarangot 2y agoIt's good for privacy so media companies probably don't want you to know it exists.
- jasonvorhe 2y agoLet's wait until it actually ships and if it'll work offline. Last few times Google sold Pixels on dedicated AI hardware it wasn't even used and instead offloaded to their cloud services, making them slow and often blocking app UI until it's either finished or timed out.
- Beretta_Vexee 2y agoFor years, Google has been promising me a high-performance voice assistant. I find that in 2024 it still can't understand "call mom" and "call my wife's name" unless I'm in a perfectly silent environment. And it usually takes several tries. I'm not going to get carried away with technical announcements.
- lxgr 2y agoWhat's even worse for me is that it regularly "forgets" how to respond to queries that it could serve perfectly well before, especially related to smart home things. "Play <local radio station x> on living room stereo" has been hit and miss for my parents to the point where I regret setting them up with a Chromecast-supporting AV receiver and Google Nest speaker. They now just use the regular remote and listen to the station via FM.
- stronglikedan 2y agoI wish they'd make one to compete with Samsung Galaxy, so I could ditch the Samsung ecosystem.
- maxglute 2y agoPixels were great phones at half the price.
- jjcm 2y agoLots of comments about the camera bump. I'm glad they at least went for a symmetrical bump so the phone lays flat rather than iPhone's "off to the left" style bump. I don't mind a non-flat phone, but at least make it symmetrical.
- greatgib 2y agoThis is a valid point, but in my experience, the further the camera is from the side, the most annoying to use it is. Like sometimes you want to take something in picture with a difficult angle or small opening. Or for example being in the middle means that there will not be space for fingers when holding the phone for a picture.
- ayoisaiah 2y agoThere's no reason to upgrade a phone more than once in five years at least for me. I bought a an iPhone 15 Pro Max few months ago and compared it to my S10+ which I bought in 2019 and still have. There's practically no difference for regular day to day stuff, except for the camera advancements which are notable (but not night & day either). It was only the frustrating battery life, and desire to enter the superior iPhone camera ecosystem that forced me to upgrade.
- denysvitali 2y agoThe keynote seems to only focus on the Pixel 9 software capabilities. Honestly, why is this important? Aside from all the AI hype, I don't see why the event should be so focused on features that are purely software updates that will most likely propagate to other non Pixel devices. It's just a bummer that the event focused so much on the AI features instead of the HW capabilities: probably they don't have much to show this year. I just hope they fixed the numerous HW issues the previous Pixel devices had (e.g: overheating, radio, ...)
- rchaud 2y agoIt's happening because nobody cares about phone hardware anymore. The iPhone 15 became a bit of a meme because of how similar it was to the 13 as it pertains to most people's use cases. Phones are like laptops now, most phones regardless of make or model will do what you need it to.
- hypeatei 2y agoI can't remember ever caring about phone hardware. Most things aren't resource intensive and camera quality doesn't matter that much.
- FrozenSynapse 2y agoI disagree with my Exynos S22 Ultra... Battery life is abysmal and it heats up instantly, a thing that got extremely better with Snapdragon S23 and S24. Hardware is still important
- RealCodingOtaku 2y agoOne day, the pixel and the stock android will have the ability to hide the navigation pill/ gesture bar[0]. On that day, the screenshots of these products pages will be of the complete screen instead of the top half. [0] https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/288400051 https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/288400051
- soganess 2y agoI didn't realize that wasn't available in stock Android until your comment! I'm guessing you know, but for everyone else, it's been available in Lineage OS... Maybe since the switchover to the "thin pill" format? Genuinely, you gotta love those altOS nerds. 'Giving you stuff you didn't even know you needed.
- RealCodingOtaku 2y agoDon't get me wrong, I've been using custom ROMs for years, and even I didn't know about this issue until I switched to GraphineOS where the pill cannot be hidden.
- rozab 2y agoThat's whack, I have this on my Motorola and I thought they were basically stock. The gestures are so frustrating to use I can't believe they were devised by a human being, but at least I don't have to look at a nav bar all day
- mihaic 2y agoI abhor all these phones with a glass back, that look great in the store and then everyone puts an ugly back cover on. I'm still rocking a Pixel 5, which is actually my second Pixel 5. I really like using it without a case. It's light, small, can handle a fall without the back shattering, and I like the matte finish. All I want is a version with more modern specs, but every manufacturer keeps optimizing for the advertising shots, and people keep falling for this. Right now the camera is the only thing tempting me to upgrade, but I'll probably wait another year.
- Auracle 2y agoYou don't need to put a case on phones. I've had an iPhone 11 since it came out, with no case, and quite a few drops onto hard floors. It's still fine. Obviously there's some luck involved but the only time I put a case on a (in that case, Samsung) phone it shattered the first time I dropped it. So, I figured I might as well go without again. I've yet to have an iPhone break from a fall, only from leaning up against something with it in my pocket.
- mihaic 2y agoSure, I won't put a case on my next phone as well, even if it's glass, but most people do use a case, which keeps incentivizing manufacturer to get away with more fragile designs. I'm mostly lamenting on how durability is a niche value for one of the most widely used objects in our lives.
- leokennis 2y agoYou’re right that a case does little against big drops - with or without case, either you’re lucky and the phone survives or it doesn’t. Cases prevent scratches but, meh, I wouldn’t mind a few scratches on the back of my phone. However the main attraction of a case to me is: grip. My iPhone 15 Pro Max feels more slippery than a bar of soap. Unless I exert a lot of force, it just slips out of my hand while using it.
- standardUser 2y ago
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- tlhunter 2y agoI find it super annoying that the base model's camera doesn't offer RAW photo support. Surely this is just a software limitation since the Pro version shares two of the same cameras.
- stare_spb 2y agoUnfortunately, for PWM-sensitive people like me, Google hasn't taken the hint and improved its PWM rate. The Pixel 9 series utilizes 240Hz PWM dimming across the board, meaning the Pixel now has the slowest PWM rate on any major phone. From AndroidCentral review.
- 8organicbits 2y agoWhat's the selling points here for upgrades? Comparing my five year old A50, I'm not seeing it. Presumably a better camera, and more RAM (why?). I felt compelled to upgrade in past years, but I feel like phone tech reached a plateau. The AI features, front and center, feel like hype. Haven't found them useful at all.
- simonw 2y agoThe AI features. More RAM is needed for those. If you don't care about them then you're probably not going to want to upgrade.
- ajross 2y agoWikipedia tells me the Galaxy A50 got its last security update in February of last year, FWIW.
- RadiozRadioz 2y agoBut its Google Play Services (which includes WebView) + Chrome all receive regular updates independently. People put a lot more weight on the Android security updates than they perhaps should. Unless you're installing random crap, there are very few OS vulnerabilities that you need to be concerned about if you have an up-to-date browser. Things like StageFright are very uncommon (and I can't find evidence of that actually being exploited in the wild)
- 2y ago
- aborsy 2y agoIs Google Pixel (with default Android, not GrapheneOS) at least as secure as iPhone?
- ajross 2y agoThat kind of question isn't really answerable. Patch rates and known vulnerability rates are roughly comparable. Broad hardware capability is similar. Zero days appear for both platforms on the open market with some regularity. Neither is perfect but both are quite good relative to the rest of the market.
- nepger21 2y agoGoogle really needs to improve the core offering of what a phone is supposed to provide instead of using half baked AI as a selling point. I have been using Pixel 7 for almost the past 2 years. But the amount of basic core issues are crazy. Recently,since the July update, every place where the phone cannot catch network signal, it shutdowns. And with the update, somehow i feel it cannot catch network signal as strongly. That is such a crazy thing. Last year, my friend got locked out of all his valuable pictures with Android 14 upgrade on Pixel 6. My experience of Google is so bad with hardware that it has finally pushed me towards buying an iPhone for the very first time in my life after having been exclusive with Android OS for over 10 years.
- dana321 2y agono need to go too crazy, the samsung galaxy is stable
- matheusmoreira 2y agoSamsungs are amazing phones but there'd no GrapheneOS support.
- thebytefairy 2y agoMeanwhile, I'm getting pushed away from iOS when I can't customise basic things and the Phone app (you know, the main use of a phone) takes 30s to open, even after restores.
- schappim 2y ago> the main use of a phone While the phone app remains important for some, it’s no longer the primary means of communication for most folks, especially with the rise of messaging apps and social media.
- itake 2y agothat seems like a hardware failure or perhaps you have too many contacts in your phone book? For 'fun' I created 50k iCloud contacts and it broke my account / phone. I had to call apple support to delete them.
- JohnTHaller 2y agoSize Clarification: The Pixel 9 Pro is a new medium size. The Pixel 9 is a direct successor to the Pixel 8 and the Pixel 9 Pro XL is a direct successor to the Pixel 8 Pro.
- dartharva 2y agoOof, even phones have 16GB RAM nowadays
- SV_BubbleTime 2y ago80% of their “camera” features are just AI tricks. For the size off the phone, that is sort of lame.
- scottyah 2y agoI fell for the Google Home, and it has gotten significantly worse over time. My only hypothesis is they found ways to reduce the cost of running the server-side, and it does not benefit the consumer. My Consumer Report: Do not fall for hardware backed by software that costs the seller money to keep running.
- jascination 2y agoSame, I have nest cameras and nest wifi (now discontinued 2 years later, so can't buy compatible wifi points anymore). Software + Google voice assistant is so goddamn buggy! Wish I went with a TP-Link solution instead
- ThunderSizzle 2y agoI have the Google Wifi pucks because it was only mesh system at the time that offered both wireless and wired backhaul for mesh networks, which was great because I could wire most of it. I used it as wired until I moved, and my current house I started using it wireless. That's when I discovered a bug in the wireless mesh that requires me to basically restart the network every couple days. I also wish I didn't need to app to connect to it. I really don't understand why I can't manage it directly from my PC or phone via IP Address like every other system I've used. I regret it, but it is better than having an upstairs and downstairs network I needed to keep switching between with my netgear routers I had before.
- acdha 2y agoI switched from Google Wi-Fi to Eero a few years ago and discovered that almost everything I’d thought were network limitations was some kind of non-obvious problem with the Google Wi-Fi system. Random daily 20 second hangs for iOS devices disappeared, the DNS proxy is now reliable, etc.
- cameronh90 2y agoThe Nest cameras are infuriating. I’ll get an alert, only to tap it and get “This video isn’t available yet. Check back later.” After all these years, my devices still are split across the Nest and Home apps, and the Home app is still missing features Nest had from day one. Oh yeah and presence sensing doesn’t work since switching to the Google app [0]. I bought an iPhone last year and have been de-Googling since. [0] https://youtu.be/upLSYyprib8?si=ykEmaxmdTDAt3ghz https://youtu.be/upLSYyprib8?si=ykEmaxmdTDAt3ghz
- petabyt 2y agoInteresting that holding down the power button will now launch AI... On my pixel 6 that currently opens up the emergency/power menu.
- apatheticonion 2y agoI'd buy this if it had USB4 that - when plugged into a dock with a monitor, keyboard and mouse - put up a complete desktop OS (preferably full fat Linux). I could then use my phone as a thin-client for work or gaming, perhaps even experimenting with proton locally. Apple already demonstrated that mobile hardware is capable of workstation workloads so I'd see this as a natural step forward. Beyond that, there isn't any compelling reason to upgrade my Pixel 6a. If I broke my 6a, I'd probably upgrade to the 7a for the better screen.
- kccqzy 2y agoI thought the older Pixel 8 Pro already had a "desktop mode" feature for that.
- privacyking 2y agoI'm pretty sure it's half baked and useless
- apatheticonion 2y agoThis. It would be perfect if I could run a Linux DE with full hardware acceleration (within a container or VM?) that replaces the Android desktop mode
- sexy_seedbox 2y agoSamsung DEX still works great with my 4 year old S10e
- blehn 2y agoWhy make two sizes and STILL make the smaller phone enormous? Apple is reportedly making the regular iPhone Pro larger as well. Baffling.
- TheRealNGenius 2y ago[dead]
- matrix87 2y agowhy the price increase? is it really $200 better than the 8 (which already has 6 remaining years of updates)?
- burningChrome 2y agoThis is really cool. Now that Google is offering 5-6 years of updates, you can get a 7 or 8 loaded with Graphene OS and be good for the long haul at about half the price as when they came out.
- blinding-streak 2y ago7 years.
- hwc 2y agoI still can't justify spending more than about $500 on a phone when the perfectly good Pixel 8a is available. I'm still using my Pixel 6a and will probably continue until it fails or the battery life gets really bad.
- deepsun 2y agoStill no dedicated fingerprint scanner, as it was in Pixel 4a :( And it was awesome! Super-fast, tactile feeling, right under the finger, doesn't blind you at night. Cannot understand why they removed it, cost-cutting?
- mdaniel 2y agoI also detest that screen based reader with all my heart, but as a point of observation if you have your phone in a car holder it masks access to the physical fingerprint reader, making a situation where your phone locks while on the road some nonsense to unlock it. I'm aware of the plethora of "keep phone unlocked" settings, but my life experience has been that Google's gonna Google about when it wants "extra sekurity!1" even with all the "smart unlock" toggles on I'm not saying that's a good reason to make the other 99.9% of my life terrible pushing on the glass like I'm trying to suffocate it, but I did notice the one tiny UX improvement with the front reader
- deepsun 2y agoWe can have both at the same time. Turn them on/off in settings. I'd pay for that at least +$100.
- 1oooqooq 2y agohere cames the pixel 5-8 regression bugs! yay!
- chc4 2y agoI 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 phones I've used have added but is still missing from AOSP and Pixel.
- walterbell 2y agoRecent Pixels support Android Virtualization Framework, which theoretically allows Linux or Android VMs alongside the primary Android OS. Could be good for experimentation.
- sangnoir 2y ago> I have negative desire to get a phone billing itself around AI and LLM features Google has been tastefully integrating AI into phones for a while now using opt-ins. The now-many-years old phone screening feature ensures the fear of spam won't lead to unintentionally missing calls from the doctor/dentist who call from unknown numbers. Screening suspicious calls instead of declining them is a massive quality of life improvement, and having an AI assistant answer your phone and do a live transcription is straight from the Jetsons.
- avidiax 2y agoThere is also "hold for me", where the phone listens to hold music for you, then rings when the operator arrives. And there is a feature now to show you how busy a customer service line is at a particular time, and to give you a text transcript with clickable buttons for the phone tree.
- londons_explore 2y agoAm I the only one who thinks these features really don't add much to the experience? If an annoying phone tree is going to take 3 minutes to navigate by listening to the prompts, then it will also take 3 minutes to navigate by letting the AI listen and write little buttons for me. I didn't really save any time. If on the other hand it could say "other users have seen this phone tree before, so here is the whole searchable tree with no waiting", that would be a noteworthy feature.
- juliangmp 2y agoHa... I remember recommending a google pixel 6 to someone for their decent prices, but now even the non-pro model is at 800 USD...
- standardUser 2y agoAt this point I just want a phone that takes unbelievably amazing photos and videos under all lighting conditions and a phone that can zoom WAY the fuck out when I'm taking selfies. I don't even pretend to know what else I'm paying for at this point. I just scan reviews until it feels like I've found a phone that will reward my $1000 (or so) with a significantly better camera. Too soon to say if these Pixels will lore me away from my S23 Ultra. Though I will say I am beyond sick and tired of Samsung's bloatware and associated problems and miss the days when I had a Pixel (or, before that, a Nexus). That, plus the fact that my S23 is almost paid off, might compel me to upgrade.
- Xeamek 2y ago>samsungs bloatware How is it any different then google's bloatware?
- standardUser 2y agoI'm more accustomed to Google's software. And I don't recall ever having to follow elaborate tutorials to uninstall/stop notifications for shit I don't want, like I do with every Samsung phone.
- Xeamek 2y agoBeing accustomed to one over another is fine, but there is no objective reason one would prefer google's calculator over samsungs one, or calendar or whatever. I have google's apps included on literally every android phone out there - why do we pretend like somehow it's the samsung that is the only one forcing bloat on people?
- standardUser 2y agoThe objective reason, as I mentioned, is user control. Samsung makes it too difficult to uproot their apps. Never had anything close to that problem with my many Google phones.
- Geste 2y agoNot paid, not shilling or anything, but the Light Phone 3 looks even better compared to this hill of AI-nonsense. https://www.thelightphone.com/lightiii https://www.thelightphone.com/lightiii
- walterbell 2y agoIs the Google Pixel Tablet going to be refreshed?
- SXX 2y agoWill it blend^W overheat? That is the question.
- acjohnson55 2y agoI'm holding out on my Galaxy S10+ until someone finally makes another flagship phone with an SD card slot an 3.5mm jack.
- bijutoha 2y ago[dead]
- tuananh 2y agoi switched back to samsung after experiencing terrible performance of the tensor chip in Pixel 8 Pro. To be honest, it's probably not their fault though if games/apps are not optimized for that. But I can't wait around, using a flagship phone with sub-optimal performance.
- coin 2y agoOther than the camera bar, the case is a blatant iPhone ripoff.
- modeless 2y agoThe price is higher for two reasons, I think. One, so they can offer ridiculous incentives and trade-in values and discounts all over the place right away. Sadly, this strategy probably performs better than simply lowering the price without incentives. Two, because Pixel 10 is going to be more expensive (TSMC chip, maybe Qualcomm modem?) and they're trying to move the brand upmarket in preparation.
- peapod91 2y agoThe 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 simply more tempting/satisfying/rewarding to complain about rather than to praise big companies 3) any other ideas? I'm guessing the 95% negative comment proportion isn't representative though so I was curious if anyone had any explanations for the HN skew
- oneshtein 2y agoYou see «negative comments» where we see «constructive criticism» and «helpful reviews». It's not a «happy news» site.
- esperent 2y ago> I just hate modern phones, all of them. First sentence of the current top voted comment. What's constructive about that? You could argue the rest of the comment makes up for it, but I don't agree. It reads like a standard negative rant against change to me. I don't see much constructive here. > I just hate modern phones, all of them. I want an adequate one-hand screen size (~6"), a headphone jack, and an even camera bump (just so it lies flat on the table). I love the pixel 8a, the size, curvature and camera bump seems ideal. Ofc they removed a freaking 3.5mm jack, but I can make a compromise here and buy 100 type-c to 3.5mm adapters, but I'm super disappointed with the new 9x series, they are now even more blocky and square-ish which i really don't like, plus no "a" model which is usually looking much better for me than the main one. > Does anyone know the phone which is small, has a headphone jack, even camera bump and is still buyable to this day? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41242944 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41242944
- raxxorraxor 2y agoA release of the 9th model of a phone is not "change", the change lies in the past for devices like this. I believe general statements like this increases the cynicism of those that don't really feel invested in the soft- and hardware landscape of current-day smartphones and there is a lot of reason for that in my opinion. Essentially get the same product with improvements that are only another iteration. The Pixel 9 might be a good device comparatively, but I would be more surprised if people were too hyped about it. The larger context of hype and Google is relevant here as well. First question I had when hearing about a Google phone is, if they try to make it harder to block advertising. I don't believe the thought is too unreasonable, is it?
- dgan 2y agoSomeone mentioned Bender from Futurama, and now I can't unsee it
- WuxiFingerHold 2y agoDamn, I want this hardware. No thanks to anything else coming from Google (Meta, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix ...). Have you noticed how they improved their Youtube recommendations in the last year? Creepy, how well it works. Unfortunately, all this tech paired with state of the art psychological research is not used to help people, but to make them media junkies. Everything AI follows the same pattern. The tech is amazing and can be indeed helpful used the right way, but at the end of the day it's used to gather data to make us using their services more and more and to than extract money from us (mostly still via ads). Decades ago, this industry was kind of innocent. Today, they all know exactly what they do and what damage they cause in esp. younger peoples brains. Healthy kids and young people need to be creative, explore the real world, be proactive. Not muted screen zombies. The extend of emotional and general mental illness in young people is heart breaking. We all see it. They don't care. I hate you, Google, Meta, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, Amazon, TicToc ... the world was a better place without you.
- xedrac 2y agoI jumped ship after they stopped using Qualcomm chips and the battery life went way down. The S24+ has been a much better phone.
- gloosx 2y agoI just hate modern phones, all of them. I want an adequate one-hand screen size (~6"), a headphone jack, and an even camera bump (just so it lies flat on the table). I love the pixel 8a, the size, curvature and camera bump seems ideal. Ofc they removed a freaking 3.5mm jack, but I can make a compromise here and buy 100 type-c to 3.5mm adapters, but I'm super disappointed with the new 9x series, they are now even more blocky and square-ish which i really don't like, plus no "a" model which is usually looking much better for me than the main one. Does anyone know the phone which is small, has a headphone jack, even camera bump and is still buyable to this day?
- od1nos 2y agoHistorically, the a-versions came a year after initial release.
- hadlock 2y agoI just want to put my vote in that I'm really glad they're making reasonable sized phones again. Pixel 6, 7 were oversized monstrosities. If pixel 10 is even smaller than the 8, that's fine by me
- prmoustache 2y agoThose prices are bonkers. Also why can't we have decent 5" display smartphones anymore?
- futuramaconarma 2y ago[flagged]
- douglee650 2y agoIt's interesting to compare Pixel vs iPhone product pages. B2B Tech vs Consumer master class.
- Mikho 2y agoOne should consider that Gemini will have a paid version "Gemini Advanced" [1] for phones and whenever one has a phone with free Gemini version, it will constantly be annoyingly reminding about and pushing to the paid Gemini usage. For some reason big tech decided that people want their AI assistants and force them on everybody including requesting to pay for their decision to invest in AI hardware. I really prefer not having AI, not having an AI chip in any of my devices, and not be bothered with AI intrusion into my life. Very soon not having an AI integrated into a phone will be a very good positive differentiation for a phone or PC brand. 1. https://gemini.google/advanced/ https://gemini.google/advanced/
- Daegalus 2y agoUgh, I can't decide what to do. I am moving to Denmark from the US on Sept 3rd. Denmark does not have trade-in deals. But between my wife and I, we can get a whole phone free with the trade-ins in the US. We can also do international shipping and such through forwarding services, and that would eat into the savings, but still do so. Then there is bands. THey are almost identical, except a few here and there, and I can't find a concrete place to get info on Denmark bands (multiple sources have different info or lack of info). Is it worth switching out and going through the hassle and getting US pixels, and just deal with the Denmark prices, and try to sell the Pixel 6s we have. It is annoying.
- iggldiggl 2y ago> Then there is bands. THey are almost identical, except a few here and there, and I can't find a concrete place to get info on Denmark bands (multiple sources have different info or lack of info). Maybe it's part of "multiple sources have different info", but have you tried https://www.kimovil.com/en/frequency-checker/DK https://www.kimovil.com/en/frequency-checker/DK? Another avenue of inquiry: Use https://www.cellmapper.net/ https://www.cellmapper.net/ to see what bands users have actually recorded in the wild in Denmark near wherever you're moving to.
- Daegalus 2y agoYa, Kimovil is my goto for most cellphone info, but unfortunately they are missing a lot of data on DK frequencies, primarily for 5G, and I would contribute to add them or suggest them, but they don't have an option for that. At least I couldn't find it. But Cellmapper is not one I knew and it helped me a TON just now actually. Lots of great info and let me see all the bands currently in use, thanks for that. Seems like a US phone will work mostly without issue in DK based on the 5G and 4G frequencies on Cellmapper. Thanks again.
- koolhead17 2y agoI will avoid google Pixel. Two of it's souvenirs are in my closet currently. The hardware vendor they partner with screws customers and maligns brand google.
- mastergogogo 2y ago[flagged]
- mastergogogo 2y agoI will buy oneplus12 and flash PixelOS into it.
- MisterTea 2y agoDoes the launcher still steal an enormous amount of screen space at the top of the home screen in order to display the date? Maybe I can ask the AI... Though seriously, just bought a pixel 8 pro for the camera as my cheap Samsung whatever camera took aeons to focus and had garbage image quality. Overall the default Google app experience is very unimpressive with frustrating quirks and pointless changes. Though what do you expect from company where your work performance is based on feature visibility meaning useless feature creep is all that matters instead of a quality user experience. Google it's not at all about quality and will never be. AI bullshit being added is more feature visibility metrics so they will keep adding stupid crap and then turning it back on after you've disabled it because someone wants a promotion.
- silexia 2y agoI have owned a Pixel 1, Pixel 2, Pixel 6 pro. The Pixel 6 pro has had its screen break 4x and I have to pay every time despite having the insurance. Terrible, weak screen. The phone feels cheap too. Lots of software errors now. This is the result of Google moving away from merit based hiring. I will never buy another Google phone.
- aagha 2y agoBring back Google Now. That's all I want from "AI": What are the things I should know about that pertain to MY life/schedule.