naw...you got defensive and wanted to point out all the superlatives of the S20 after I said I prefer the Pixel. Its all good though. Its a hard choice between the 2 phones. Gotta head out to a BBQ. Happy Memorial Day!
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Google Pixel 4/Pixel 4 XL
- Thread starter AustinIllini
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I'll take the smooth fluid OS and minimal simple UI like stock Android on Pixel's or OnePlus's Oxygen all day long over Samsung's UI.
Yes, Samsung has the better hardware, but it's not night and day better. The 2019 Pixel 4 line and 2019 Samsung Galaxy S10 line, share a lot of similar hardware, same Snapdragon processor, and other parts very close.
Yes Samsung puts more RAM in their phones and of course the better display tech. And battery size is different on any Android phone.
To me the Pixel 4 XL would have been the near perfect 2019 smartphone, if Google just gave it;
-8GB RAM
-4,500mAh battery
-Better display tech
-UFS 3.1 storage
Those hardware parts wouldn't have really added much difference in cost, maybe a hair more, but then it truly would have excelled and been one of the best smartphones.
Google's very close to making these Pixel's almost great, they just seem to skimp out for whatever reason.
But they still have the best camera. Smooth and fluid OS. Great software support. Minimal to no bloatware.
I'll take a Pixel over a Galaxy phone any day, until Samsung makes another GPE stock Android phone running on the latest Galaxy phone.
Yes, Samsung has the better hardware, but it's not night and day better. The 2019 Pixel 4 line and 2019 Samsung Galaxy S10 line, share a lot of similar hardware, same Snapdragon processor, and other parts very close.
Yes Samsung puts more RAM in their phones and of course the better display tech. And battery size is different on any Android phone.
To me the Pixel 4 XL would have been the near perfect 2019 smartphone, if Google just gave it;
-8GB RAM
-4,500mAh battery
-Better display tech
-UFS 3.1 storage
Those hardware parts wouldn't have really added much difference in cost, maybe a hair more, but then it truly would have excelled and been one of the best smartphones.
Google's very close to making these Pixel's almost great, they just seem to skimp out for whatever reason.
But they still have the best camera. Smooth and fluid OS. Great software support. Minimal to no bloatware.
I'll take a Pixel over a Galaxy phone any day, until Samsung makes another GPE stock Android phone running on the latest Galaxy phone.
pixel’s main advantages are it’s cameras but the gap is so small between other great flagships it’s not something i would say would be the deal breaker given top of the range samsung devices have far more features from what I have seen. Depending on the picture and how you like a photo you can argue both the S20’s and iphone takes better photos in certain situations. Both those phones are more complete cameras just pixel always gets the edge in better stills.
there’s a reason pixel are struggling so bad with getting people to buy their phones. They are just not offering enough compared to their comp. I could see it stop being a flagship all together at this rate.
Which would be a shame as it has potential to be far better than it is.
there’s a reason pixel are struggling so bad with getting people to buy their phones. They are just not offering enough compared to their comp. I could see it stop being a flagship all together at this rate.
Which would be a shame as it has potential to be far better than it is.
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Ultimately, your regular Joe Bloggs doesn't give a crap about specs. If it runs Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp and Instagram, that's all that counts.
People don't buy the Pixel's because they aren't advertised enough! You never see adverts in the media (tv/newspaper/billboards, etc) anywhere for them.
I can guarantee that I'll pick up a 4XL or 5 later on in the year, and everyone will ask what phone that is.
But you can be damned sure that you can buy an iPhone or Galaxy or they'll know what brand phone you have because their deals are plastered everywhere.
That's the main difference here.
People don't buy the Pixel's because they aren't advertised enough! You never see adverts in the media (tv/newspaper/billboards, etc) anywhere for them.
I can guarantee that I'll pick up a 4XL or 5 later on in the year, and everyone will ask what phone that is.
But you can be damned sure that you can buy an iPhone or Galaxy or they'll know what brand phone you have because their deals are plastered everywhere.
That's the main difference here.
Didn't help the Pixel line was a Verizon exclusive at first, for like 3 phones. So the Pixel 1, and 2, and I think the 3 weren't sold at ATT, T-Mobile, or Sprint, until just last year I believe? So that doesn't help.
And I agree on the advertising, you see iPhone and Galaxy commercials and ads nonstop all the time and everywhere. I only see Pixel commercials it seems the first few months a new Pixel phone comes out then nothing. It's like Google gives the Pixel marketing team 3 or 4 months worth of advertising money, then they shut it off LOL. I see a ton of Pixel ads in October through like January or so, and then it seems to fade away.
And spec's don't mean **** to the 90% of smartphone buyers, majority of people do not hang out on forums like this.
And I agree on the advertising, you see iPhone and Galaxy commercials and ads nonstop all the time and everywhere. I only see Pixel commercials it seems the first few months a new Pixel phone comes out then nothing. It's like Google gives the Pixel marketing team 3 or 4 months worth of advertising money, then they shut it off LOL. I see a ton of Pixel ads in October through like January or so, and then it seems to fade away.
And spec's don't mean **** to the 90% of smartphone buyers, majority of people do not hang out on forums like this.
This is one of the reasons the Pixel line has a great user experience. It is the little things like notifications on AOD. Like showing the current song in such a useful elegant way.
Notifications on lock screen are not a new feature - the Windows Nokia Lumia 925 I had a long time back had that feature.This is one of the reasons the Pixel line has a great user experience. It is the little things like notifications on AOD. Like showing the current song in such a useful elegant way.
i know.....read my post again. I didn't say it was new. I said I loved the way the Pixel display content on the lock screen.
I prefer my phones fashionably late update in the last week of the month. 😂For the June update today
I just unrooted my 4 XL, went back to fresh bone stock. I rooted my phone back in March, haven't done any updates since because it's such a pain in the ass to update when rooted.
At the end of the day all I rooted for was ad blocker and better themes. But it didn't seem worth it, ad blocking wasn't as good as it used to be it seems, I just use Brave browser now I get zero ads. And the themes are cool but anytime an app had an update out that could break the theme and you have to undo the theme and then redo it.
So after a factory wipe and a fresh install of the June update the phone feels faster and smoother than ever.
I used to big a big time rooter and ROM guy, where the options and extra tweaks and behind the scenes performance stuff all made the phone much better. But now a days with monthly updates and it being a pain in the balls to do a monthly security update on a rooted phone is zero fun. And while I was rooted for these few months, I really didn't see a massive improvement, yes the themes are way better, you can get black AMOLED true dark theme which I like, not sure why the Pixel line doesn't have themes on the Play Store for stock non rooted phones, like the Samsung Galaxy line.
But being rooted now, I felt the opposite of the old days, I felt locked down and handcuffed sort of. Now that I am back to stock, and running the June update, and a fresh install, phone is blazing smooth.
At the end of the day all I rooted for was ad blocker and better themes. But it didn't seem worth it, ad blocking wasn't as good as it used to be it seems, I just use Brave browser now I get zero ads. And the themes are cool but anytime an app had an update out that could break the theme and you have to undo the theme and then redo it.
So after a factory wipe and a fresh install of the June update the phone feels faster and smoother than ever.
I used to big a big time rooter and ROM guy, where the options and extra tweaks and behind the scenes performance stuff all made the phone much better. But now a days with monthly updates and it being a pain in the balls to do a monthly security update on a rooted phone is zero fun. And while I was rooted for these few months, I really didn't see a massive improvement, yes the themes are way better, you can get black AMOLED true dark theme which I like, not sure why the Pixel line doesn't have themes on the Play Store for stock non rooted phones, like the Samsung Galaxy line.
But being rooted now, I felt the opposite of the old days, I felt locked down and handcuffed sort of. Now that I am back to stock, and running the June update, and a fresh install, phone is blazing smooth.
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I will say without root, and just stock on the latest monthly update, my Pixel 4 XL, feels smooth and very fluid. No hiccups, zero stutter lag. And I like it's a minimal OS, no bloatware, and simple design. "It just works". For Android phones, to me Pixel and OnePlus are the only ones to get.
Does this feature even truly work? I have it enabled and I'll be reading a story on a web page and not touch my phone or anything and the screen still fades out and turns off after one minute.
I thought the whole point of this option was the phone will know that you're looking at the screen, and no need to have to slightly tap or move the screen up and down to keep the display from turning off?
It's never seem to work for me I'm a Pixel 4 XL
I thought the whole point of this option was the phone will know that you're looking at the screen, and no need to have to slightly tap or move the screen up and down to keep the display from turning off?
It's never seem to work for me I'm a Pixel 4 XL
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I agree on the trying to maintain root and keeping an updated system is a pita. Never used brave. Tried Firefox and it's ad blocker is it was a lag fest, but that was a different device and a while ago.
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Anyone opt in to the 11 beta yet? (It's available right?)
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Anyone opt in to the 11 beta yet? (It's available right?)
I don't think the public beta is available yet.
But you can flash it from here
Ah. Wasn't sure. Shows how little I've been paying attention to devices lately. Will wait for the official beta OTA sign up then.
Yeah black crush is my ongoing issue with my Pixel 2 and 3XL. I’ve read your comments on the hardware situation and find them to be on point.
But what I have to say is that thanks to such complete software updates and lack of bloat, I have been pleasantly surprised at how even my Pixel 2 has kept up. Same with my 3XL.
They’ve aged so well. I am always tickled when I pick either of them back up and tote them around awhile. That’s going to be so important to a lot of us going forward, as we struggle with the turbulence in the economy. “That” being the ability to stretch the useful and enjoyable life of a phone out as long as we can.
I love that an old phone learns new tricks and continues to feel fresh like these two. Lol I’m one of the ones here with a “phone fetish” but now I can’t keep upgrading like I’d done before. I always knew this day would come but it just came a little sooner than expected. Lol, and yet I still got a new iPhone (SE 2020).
Speaking of which, even my iPhones would start getting weird after a year, as hardware and software updates started throwing the whole experience out of whack. Which is why I was always trading up, the worst for me and one of my kids being the iPhone 7 Plus. That was a heartbreaker. We had both gotten them as surprise Christmas presents. It was a huge surprise for me because I’d also gotten a Samsung S7, had already had an S7 Edge and an HTC 10 that year. 😳. That was a fun year for a phone nut!
That 7 Plus phone we both loved at first, but two software updates immediately screwed our phones up permanently. We both wanted to keep our 7 Pluses longer than a year, but had serious issues that had me deciding to trade them in when the warranty was close to expiring.
I’ve had some serious hardware issues in my Samsung S8 and the S10 Plus with the proximity sensor. So while they’re definitely more premium in design and materials and displays and whatnot, the gap between them and the Pixels narrows when the software factors into the whole experience because let’s face it, Samsung can still have quality control and design snafus.
Which, oddly enough, I think you and James were both saying, but somehow the wires got crossed there and one or both of you didn’t see that you were saying sort of the same thing from opposite directions. But excellent points were made on all sides.
I think it depends on the individual’s personal preferences as to whether to value the software side over the hardware or vice versa.
I am still evolving my perspective on that. Ideally, as everyone here would likely agree, the software and hardware would both be top notch.
But the companies always have to prioritize where they’re going to spend their money. And Google, for reasons we don’t seem to know, has to cut corners on some hardware materials and specs we all wish they wouldn’t. I used to just think they were clueless. But they’re too consistent about it for me to think they’re without their reasons.
But I find it fascinating what they can push middling hardware to do.
Sorry for the TL/DR. I’ve cut back drastically on my posting, but when I do post, it’s like several days worth of words all in one. 😝
Despite the Pixel 4's reception, Google Pixel sales were surprisingly strong in 2019
www.phonearena.com
Despite the Pixel 4's reception, Google Pixel sales were surprisingly strong in 2019
Google shipped an impressive 7.2 million Pixel smartphones in 2019, placing it ahead of OnePlus. The company experienced annual growth of 52% thanks to the mid-range Pixel 3a which helped offset the poor Pixel 4 reception.
Despite the Pixel 4's reception, Google Pixel sales were surprisingly strong in 2019
Despite the Pixel 4's reception, Google Pixel sales were surprisingly strong in 2019
Google shipped an impressive 7.2 million Pixel smartphones in 2019, placing it ahead of OnePlus. The company experienced annual growth of 52% thanks to the mid-range Pixel 3a which helped offset the poor Pixel 4 reception.
Yeah, a week ago, I bought the Pixel 3a XL. It's pretty smooth and takes good pictures. I know the 4a is coming soon, but I got a good deal. Also, I wanted the larger version. Probably, I will also upgrade to the Note 20 and have both.
So the Google approved Pixel repair shops in the UK (iSmash) are reopening their stores as of today after being closed for the whole of lockdown.
Booked my Pixel in to have its cracked screen replaced next week which I've been looking forward to for months now.
Booked my Pixel in to have its cracked screen replaced next week which I've been looking forward to for months now.
Beta available as OTA for 2, 3a and 4 (probably 3 also)
Debating on flashing, not sure if I wanna do the 4 or my 3a ?
Debating on flashing, not sure if I wanna do the 4 or my 3a ?
I'm contemplating whether to put it on my 4 Xl also. Though the only thing I'm VERY keen on is the media console moving from notifications to the slide down menu bar.
Having never participated in an Android beta I do wonder how long between this and full release is it usually?
I think they do a new public beta every month until the full release of Android 11 in Sept/Oct