Just got my Pixel now and it does feel nice in the hand. The packaging is also really nice and well thought out.
Just getting it setup now
Just getting it setup now
Just got my Pixel now and it does feel nice in the hand. The packaging is also really nice and well thought out.
Just getting it setup now
Got some hands on this morning.
First, let me say the blue Pixel looks amazing. The blue really pops but in a mature and slick way; I'm rather impressed by the color. The black one -- the one I'm most interested in -- wasn't available on display, but the silver-white was and that was fine. It's probably my least favorite color. Wish I could've seen the black.
Anyway, the device is quite lovely in the hand. The wedge-ness of it really lends to ergonomics. Screen looked great as far as I can tell. And the camera was indeed fast and looked to take good shots. The hardware is solidly built. Design-wise, perhaps I'm getting used to it with all this exposure, but it really didn't look that atrocious. In some ways, this is the 6P visor all over again -- awkward and shocking in photos, but rather pleasant and more subtle in person than you might think. I regret not being able to test the speaker. I forgot about it.
On the software side, frankly, 7.1 looks and feels boring. But it did fly as reviews have promised. The thing felt lean compared to my S7E and TouchWiz. Also, the pop up shortcuts are really nice and I can see getting a lot of use out of them. I've confirmed that the bars on the right side of the menus don't allow you to do anything; I thought perhaps they'd let you re-order the shortcuts that pop up, but I couldn't get that to happen. Pressing and dragging them did nothing and holding down on them created the shortcut icon. Perhaps someone can correct me on this. I didn't get to test Google Assistant. The swipe up to get to the app drawer is as smooth and intuitive as it looks -- I really like this change. And pulling down on the notification shade from the Pixel imprint reader on the back took some getting used to, but I could see that once learned, it'll be really helpful, especially on the Pixel XL.
About the XL, btw, I got to handle that too and didn't spend as much time with it but came away impressed. It's less comfortable to use than my S7E, but still felt doable. Given its size, I think it puts the iPhone Plus to shame.
One last note, the bezels didn't bother me as much as I thought they would.
Anyway, I'm sure you guys who are getting devices will go more in depth, but those are my initial impressions. Basically, it seems it's everything the reviews are promising.
Seriously, if only it had waterproofing...
Where the reps pushing them?
Not really. They just stood to the side. The display and set up was front and center of the store I went to. You couldn't miss them.
That good! At least they have it in a prime location. I just wonder how much knowledge these reps have about the phone.
I enjoy going phone shopping and having a rep try and tell me about the phone. Just sit there listening to all the things I already know, and then they say something that they have no idea what they are talking about. I have asked before, and they tried to BS their way through it and I called them out on it. It's a lot of fun.
Speed Tests are in.Its doing an admirable job competing with the iPhone unlike Samsung
Turned it off. Guy isn't doing apples to apples. Different apps and testing the speed of opening it to compare google chrome to safari instead of downloading google chrome and testing it? He's a joke.
Went back to test the speakers. They sounded almost exactly the same volume as my s7 edge. Except the Pixel was clearer and more crisp. The bass is very weak. Acceptable coming from my s7 edge but again, it's hard to ignore what could've been. They should have at least done what the HTC 10 did with the earpiece acting as a secondary speaker.
It's a shame.
I tested the brightness again also, and have to reiterate that the s7e screen is absolutely vibrant and glowing at max compared to both pixels at max.
And got to see the black one in person. Drab and kind of boring, but nice.
I also revisited the XL again and I gotta say it's quite nice. I think XL owners are going to be particularly happy.
In conclusion: I walked away impressed, but also unimpressed. I know that sounds weird. They are nice devices in their own right, but they're also incredibly safe. And let's be fair, holding them up to an S7 Edge will inevitably make them look and feel boring, as it does holding it up to virtually any smartphone today including the iPhone.
Having said that, I think I will likely preorder...
I can confirm that sRBG mode is available in developer settings.
[doublepost=1476993280][/doublepost]Anyone know how to get weather to show on home screen in Pixel launcher? I've tried everything I can think of. GPS is enabled and weather is showing in Google Now. If I click on weather in Google Now it takes me to the new weather app, which gives me the option to add an icon to the launcher to go directly to weather. But alas, the widget on home screen still shows date.
Go into app permissions for Pixel launcher and give it location permissions. Then reboot.I can confirm that sRBG mode is available in developer settings.
[doublepost=1476993280][/doublepost]Anyone know how to get weather to show on home screen in Pixel launcher? I've tried everything I can think of. GPS is enabled and weather is showing in Google Now. If I click on weather in Google Now it takes me to the new weather app, which gives me the option to add an icon to the launcher to go directly to weather. But alas, the widget on home screen still shows date.
Go into app permissions for Pixel launcher and give it location permissions. Then reboot.
[doublepost=1476997235][/doublepost]Man this live earth wallpaper in Pixel launcher blows my mind everytime I turn on my phone today. Just so cool.
This is my biggest complaint about my S7 when compared to my prior iPhone 6. I feel that there is a slight delay for every press on the screen. But even pressing the home button has a delay, and that wouldn't be connected to the touch latency difference. It feels like there is a 400ms delay for everything I do on my S7 (app launches, etc), and I never perceived any such delay on my iPhone. If Pixel improves on that front then that is awesome.
the poor man's 3d touch looks very cool but I also think 3d touch looks cool
I haven't seen it mentioned, but I wonder how the Pixel differentiates between the long press pop up menu and moving your icons. Does the menu pop up but if you keep your finger down you can then drag the icon around? That would be my guess.
Go into app permissions for Pixel launcher and give it location permissions. Then reboot.
[doublepost=1476997235][/doublepost]Man this live earth wallpaper in Pixel launcher blows my mind everytime I turn on my phone today. Just so cool.
Go into app permissions for Pixel launcher and give it location permissions. Then reboot.
[doublepost=1476997235][/doublepost]Man this live earth wallpaper in Pixel launcher blows my mind everytime I turn on my phone today. Just so cool.
Do the live wallpapers work when ever the screen comes on? I never use live wallpapers on my iPhone because you have to 3D Touch them to get them to work. I assuming that's not the case with Pixel right?