This is about the normal for me at home and I'm not near the router upstairs but do have a FiOS extender ...hope you find the issueYeah really odd. I’m annoyed I’ve noticed as I would have just continued in blissful ignorance
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Phones Google Pixel 8/8 Pro
- Thread starter BMox81
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Edit!
I reset network settings again and changed a setting in Privacy under WiFi to "use device MAC" rather than the default "use randomised MAC".
Reset the phone and BOOM! Great speeds!
😁.
I reset network settings again and changed a setting in Privacy under WiFi to "use device MAC" rather than the default "use randomised MAC".
Reset the phone and BOOM! Great speeds!
😁.
...yes. That is a known thing since the Pixel 6. The reason for it is that instead of using the most modern and best Qualcomm modems (like all iPhones have it!) Google uses older Samsung modems, the Pixel 8 series with the new Tensor SoC supposedly has an improved version but unless they stop cost-optimizing to the detriment of their customers iPhones and Samsungs will have better hardware overall. Google should just pay Qualcomm the fees to use their modem but then they'd have to eat the cost as increasing the prices yet again won't be received too well.
If iPhones or Samsung's flagships did everything I needed them to do and didn't cost so much I'd switch immediately to get the better hardware. But with iPhone Pros starting at $999 Pixels still give me the most overall for my money. Not to mentioned that the Pixel 8 phones will soon be the safest phones on the market due to ARMv9 MTE once Google enables it in Android.
I wish people would stop making these types of generalizations. The person with the issue was able to resolve the issue and have great speeds according to them. The Pixel 8 is a lot different than the Pixel 6/7.
The modem is exactly the same model on all three but on the 8 it has a new 4nm process. The modem has been optimized and updated by Google since the Pixel 6. So it is a much better modem in it's latest iteration than ever before. It is not as fast in upload/download speeds on 5g than QC but it is not a bad modem. Anything other than Qualcomm is not going to be as good because it seems QC has a hold on key areas of the tech.
When it comes to hardware on the Pixel 8 Pro you are getting the best hardware available in almost every area. Google sacrificed in some areas like using ufs 3.1 storage over 4.0. Maybe they could have used better camera sensors? Otherwise everything in this phone is top notch.
People can argue about Tensor all day but the fact is that at the end of the day Tensor is a good chip. It does everything a flagship chipset needs to do and is customized to be the first on phone generative AI phone. Now everyone else seems to be jumping on the bandwagon but Google is already an established player with a customized platform and SOC. Google never set out to win benchmarks but to create something that allowed them to create the phone they wanted to. It seems they have succeeded in that vision.
Personally I hope Google and Samsung never end their partnership and Google continues to use Samsung foundry. I just hope that Samsung gives Google access to the most advanced nodes as soon as possible. Samsung is continuing to invest in its foundry and Exynos and they have a monied interest to do so. So it is only in Samsung best interest to make a competitive chip. If they can deliver soon and give Google a cost advantage plus no limits on firmware updates why would they ever go back to Qualcomm??
I’m getting the impression from comments on here that the 8 Pro even with £100 off, that at £899 it’s still over priced for the hardware you get compared to other comparable devices?
Hmm not sure on that. The 8 Pro is a good phone and even at full price it's cheaper than the competition.
l'll be honest though, it's my least favourite Pixel so far the longer I've used it.
But that could be because I have a 15 PM which has been my favourite iPhone so far...
Everyone's opinion will be different. I feel like some of the AI and camera "smarts" are actually getting in the way a bit with the 8. We've all seen my posts re the camera processing which others are now experiencing too. Even with super HDR disabled, directly comparing to the iPhone it leaves a bit to be desired. Something I've never felt about a pixel photo before.
Priced similarly to other premium manufacturer options... too expensive for me.
I waited for a total of $325 off to purchase a P8P 256 GB/12 GB which put it within the range of a discounted S23+ 256 GB/8 GB. Both are excellent devices and have trade-off's:
More RAM or better raw performance
The fastest major updates (not always true with security) vs sloppy seconds
UFS 3 vs 4
Less "window dressing"/customization options from the manufacturer or more with GoodLock and other Samsung freebies (fonts, ...)
No extraneous clutter vs some bloatware that can be clobbered
...
Factoring in the 7 years of updates and 12 GB RAM, P8P is a solid long-term proposition. I can't recall ever using a mobile for more than ~3 years.
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Initial impressions are positive for sure.
P8P feels quite comfortable and grippy (with the factory case) in my hand.
Fingerprint sensor is quite sluggish and takes a "too-long" press. I'm running Nova 7 launcher on both devices- unlock is consistently instantaneous on S23+ (from initial setup on up to now).
Fonts are improved from P6 days but still slightly fat/squatty/somehow lacking compared to either OnePlus (my favorite) or SamsungSans.
Hadn't installed GoodLock or other Samsung specific gadgets on the S23+ til a week or so ago. Noticed things are not quite as snappy with the animations enabled since then... though, still seems more responsive than Pixel. Some may be due to Android housekeeping tasks still sorting things out on P8P.
I changed to from default "high" to full 1344 x 2992 resolution and compared to S23+, not much difference. Pixel display looks a brighter (and slightly washed out) by comparison.
Pixel display definitely has a more tactile feel when tapped (and head butted (/s)).
Cursory camera snaps are fast and yielding good results.
I'm spending time in the woods this weekend so I'll see how well the radio and battery perform in less than ideal (analog cellular) circumstances vs Samsung.
Also plan on taking all sorts of photos with both devices in ideal and quite challenging low-light conditions.
I owned a couple of the early Google devices, one of them manufactured by Motorola. Though the software was good, the couple of models I had the hardware always felt like it left a bit to be desired.
Last year's 7 Pro was introduced at £850 and a couple weeks later was already available for slightly less. So the 7 Pro's regular price (unless you had to have it on day 1) was around £800 over the next months. With the current "sale" the 8 Pro is still an entire £100 more expensive. Of course Google is free to set prices how they see fit but the hardware doesn't entirely justify it. Just take the mediocre fingerprint scanner where people complained on the Pixel 6 series and then again on the Pixel 7 series about it not registering reliably like other phones or even Google's own old Pixel 5 did. What does Google do? Put the same cheap mediocre fingerprint scanner in the 8 Pro.
Both the hardware and software are very solid, but small annoyances like that and the lower sales compared to Apple and Samsung force Google to lower prices very soon after release, like right now. By setting the initial price higher, they can make it look like their current sale is an actual sale even though at £899 it's still £49 more than the 7 Pro launch price. That's all there is to it, try to get more people to buy it even though price over the years has gone up.
The 7 years aren't that helpful for anyone buying it in 2023 or even 2024. It's very good for people who want to buy last year's flagship on sale or even just pick one up in the leftovers bin 2-3 years later. Buying the P8 Pro in 2025 is where the update support will really shine as you'll be able to get it cheap and still have longer software support than some of the flagships released in 2025. I don't use phones for much longer than 3 years, because at that point they are not in great shape anymore, scratched to hell and back even though I never had glass break. The battery will be shot too and at that point many people rather get a new phone instead of just replacing the battery. Not everyone wants to do that on their own and they might not live near a place that does it for them, so mailing in their only phone they need on a daily basis is not viable.
But then when you sell your phone after 3-4 years you know it doesn't have to end up as landfill soon after and the hardware is still good to go for a few more years.
My OnePlus 6 is coming up towards five and half years old and the hardware on that has held up fairly well even the battery, and that was far from the most expensive Android phone when I brought it.
That's awesome. I'd still be using my OP 8T if the USB-C port hadn't got loose and flaky.
I considered OP 11 but it just did not look to be the same sort of high quality construction. The Oppo merger was the other reason to go elsewhere.
That is what led me to S23+ for not much more when both were on sale (after waiting to see what P8/Plus had to offer).
Fair enough, but as you say that device was far from expensive, it was the time where Oneplus phones had fantastic prices and Oneplus were at the height of their success. If you paid extra for the 8/8 Pro to get the longer update support it can make just as much sense to get last year's Pixel 7 as it's been on sale in the UK for under £375 for weeks now and replace it earlier with another older Pixel on sale. That way you get more modern hardware with everything that entails such as better camera sensors and optics as well as a new battery, new warranty, new housing and so on without having to keep the same device until 2030.
For example you could buy a Pixel 7 right now for around £350 on UK Amazon, for the same money you'd only get roughly half a Pixel 8. Replace that 7 whenever you like in 2027 until at the latest October 2027 which is its EOL date. Now use the roughly £300 you saved back in 2023 (by not getting a Pixel 8), add the £50-100 on top (perhaps you can sell the P7 for £40 or so) and buy another cheap older Pixel 10 from 2025 that with 7 years of support will last 4.5 years from the time of your purchase.
About the same price in total or a little bit more, but instead of getting support until 2030 you get to 2032 and you get to replace the phone with a brand new one after 3 years.
I am using this specific example because that's what I did. The Pixel 7 went on that sale back in November and it was even for the 256GB version, I really don't see why anyone would pay extra for the Pixel 8. It was cheaper than any other Pixel I ever had before with the exception of the 4a but that was a budget phone to begin with.
Forgot to mention, you should replace that as it doesn't go beyond Android 11 and does not have support to lock the bootloader with other more up-to-date ROMs. You need to consider the data on your phone to be up for grabs as such old devices have actively exploited vulnerabilities both in Android as well as in firmware and the apps permission model is old as well. Your device likely suffers from one of the lockscreen-skip exploits where anyone can unlock the device without knowing the lockscreen code. Many old Androids are affected. It's unfortunate but until device manufacturers get it together and provide updates for longer you are not doing yourself any favors keeping it going.
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Both my last two Android phones have outlasted any iPhone I’ve owned. But then the iPhones probably get more heavy use. I use a smaller iPhone as a phone, and a larger Android phone more like a tablet. I don’t get on with tablets themselves even smaller ones. I don’t trust this bendy phones still.
The other phone I’ve been looking at is the Nothing phone (2) which is now down to £524 on Amazon UK that’s for the 12/256GB model.
The Pixel modem is still an inferior modem, that’s just a fact. But as you said, most people won’t notice a difference in everyday use. However Google has a track record of cutting as many corners as possible with hardware. In previous Pixels they’ve used inferior storage, modems, radios, etc. it’s worth criticizing, especially since they’re back charging flagship prices.
As for Tensor, I agree that it’s fine for a flagship chip. The latest snapdragon and A series chips are massive overkill for what phones currently need. The one caveat I’ll make where Tensor does fall behind and needs to improve is with efficiency and thermals. Tensor still tends to overheat much easier than competitors and struggles with battery life compared to the others due to it being less efficient. Fix that and they’d be fine.
I do hope that holds up 4+ years down the road with the long update support. The problem I have now with my older Pixels like P4 and P5 is that going into 2024 they are starting to become really sluggish. At times it's impossible to get a quick camera snapshot since the Google camera might take 4 or so seconds before showing anything other than black. By that time the moment I wanted to capture might be over. It's minor annoyances like that that made me upgrade to something more recent. If these still got update support they'd still have to be replaced even though they're far from 7 years old.
Tbf, Google never match the prices of other competitor's flagship prices. Granted, you might claim they are cutting corners... but it's not as if they are placing the cost on the consumer.
If they used the storage, modems, radio, etc that you are criticizing the Pixel over.... then the price might reflect that of the flagship competitors. S23U and 15PM were both launched at $1200, while the Pixel Pro 8 starts at $1k... that's why I kind of push on back the point of cutting corners.
I might be in the minority but I feel like Google truly believes in their modem and not thinking of it as a cost cutting..
Agreed because three comments up it was said that: "most people won’t notice a difference in everyday use". That's probably why Google feels OK with it's modem selection, just as Apple does selling $1500 MacBook Pro's with 8GB of RAM. Sure those choices could be criticized but for the majority of users, they might not see a difference in performance.
I've noticed improved connections and battery with the newest one.. But even now I'm using the G2 on the fold and I haven't had any issues.. also depends on case usage though and most likely location..
Where I live, I find that my Pixel's give me better reception than my iPhone 13. My Pixel's all use Google's official cases while my iPhone 13 has a 3rd party non Mag-Safe case.
I agree on all these points and have felt similarly. The Tensor G3 still has the same issues that Exynos chips have long suffered BUT and this is the main point it is no longer a bottleneck in 99% of use. With the Tensor G2 we had major thermal throttling and battery drain that was unacceptable while the G3 we don't have either of these issues. So I would say the problem is fixed. Could the issue with Exynos and thermals improve more? Certainly and Google could have added a vapor chamber cooling to the Pixel 8 series. Heck even Samsung put a vapor chamber on the tab s9. But generally speaking the pain points of the Tensor have been greatly alleviated.
However, all that being said I do believe that Google decided to develop their own chip not to save money but to develop a feature set they could not do with Qualcomm at the time. I think there were also a bunch of other benefits they could realize as well including cost reduction over QC chips. The only reason we now have 7 years of software support is because Google has developed their own chip.
Same thing with the Modem. It is not so much cost reduction as freedom from limitations of relying on only one supplier. If only QC sells a good modem then you only ave one choice. That one choice sets the price and terms and you have no other choice. Not a good situation and due to 5g licensing seems to be the situation we are in now with Qualcomm modems. Not even Apple has been able to make a competitive modem. So Samsung has their own 5g modem and it is no where near as fast as QC. But this doesn't make it a bad modem by default. The reception has been improved and the efficiency has been improved. So while download and upload speeds are still not as good at least reception and efficiency have improved. Having a viable alternative that is in active development is good to have against Qualcomm.
In terms of pricing for the hardware you get I think Google has been pretty competitive and done their best to cut corners in a way that doesn't affect user experience too much. In the Pixel 8 the only cost cutting I see is UFS 3.1 storage otherwise I feel like everything is flagship level this year. Also with promotions, pre-order deals, and discounts the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro make the value much better.
Back from my adventure in the woods (with max 1-2 bar analog mobile signal and weak/spotty in-cabin wifi). I switched between my daily driver S23+ 8 GB/256 GB and a Pixel 8 Pro 12 GB/256 GB.
In weak mobile signal "only" (with Wifi turned off) and both mobile and weak Wifi enabled scenarios, S23+ made the laggy/draggy experience a bit smoother. More images loaded instead of timing out and scrolling was somewhat less choppy.
I browsed reddit using Boost app (which still works for those of us who have a subreddit, for those that don't, Boost for Lemmy does the job nearly as well), read MacRumors forums with Tapatalk app and hit other web sites via web browser (duckduckgo app is my goto) with a smattering of graphics strewn through site pages, forums, etc.
I noticed the S23+ screen brightness at 25% is more "contrasty" than a visually equivalent brightness level of 53% on P8 Pro. The P8 Pro display also seemed to be a bit on the over-saturated side and black was definitely darker than on S23+
Also, fingerprint unlock was consistently fast on S23+ and took multiple attempts on Pixel 8 Pro quite often. I found that if I pressed harder, 1st time unlock was more consistent. I don't use face unlock and know that Pixel does a great job in that regard.
All in all, there were no big surprises- both are excellent devices that have advantages and disadvantages.
I'm sticking with the S23+ for the few Samsung apps that I use (Adobe Lightroom for Samsung, Camera Assistant, Good Lock, Secure Folder, SmartSwitch (for local backups)), better track record with hardware quality and battery life.
In weak mobile signal "only" (with Wifi turned off) and both mobile and weak Wifi enabled scenarios, S23+ made the laggy/draggy experience a bit smoother. More images loaded instead of timing out and scrolling was somewhat less choppy.
I browsed reddit using Boost app (which still works for those of us who have a subreddit, for those that don't, Boost for Lemmy does the job nearly as well), read MacRumors forums with Tapatalk app and hit other web sites via web browser (duckduckgo app is my goto) with a smattering of graphics strewn through site pages, forums, etc.
I noticed the S23+ screen brightness at 25% is more "contrasty" than a visually equivalent brightness level of 53% on P8 Pro. The P8 Pro display also seemed to be a bit on the over-saturated side and black was definitely darker than on S23+
Also, fingerprint unlock was consistently fast on S23+ and took multiple attempts on Pixel 8 Pro quite often. I found that if I pressed harder, 1st time unlock was more consistent. I don't use face unlock and know that Pixel does a great job in that regard.
All in all, there were no big surprises- both are excellent devices that have advantages and disadvantages.
I'm sticking with the S23+ for the few Samsung apps that I use (Adobe Lightroom for Samsung, Camera Assistant, Good Lock, Secure Folder, SmartSwitch (for local backups)), better track record with hardware quality and battery life.
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