The non-whining Google Pixel Thread

[Surf Donkey]

Holy cow people are a bunch of whiners around the internet.

Have a Pixel on preorder? Excited for a top notch Google phone?? This is the start of an awesome line of phones.

I miss the Nexus but there is no competing with OPO and the Chinese phone makers. Google sees that. Hell IBM got out of the PC business long ago for the same reason. It is a failed business model with no profits.

So here is to the new life for Google hardware. I really think they hit it out of the park here and can't wait to get imine in a couple of weeks!!
[doublepost=1475641600][/doublepost]Reading more about this, especially the AP article, there is no doubt Google is changing what the Android experience means. They have tuned this device in every way to be the perfect compliment to their OS and services. Beyond what the Nexus ever did in the past.

This is where Samsung and Google divide. They are now direct competitors. Very exciting day for all phone fans.
[doublepost=1475642278][/doublepost]Google claiming the lowest touch latency on any Android device and fastest HDR processing. Tall order but given the specs certainly possible.

Basically they really can't put many of these features on the 6p because the phone couldn't handle it. Better memory, SOC, and GPU and most likely just far better comments throughout.

 

[Michael Goff]

So when you say no whiners, I assume you mean you only want positivity in this thread?

 

[Surf Donkey]

Focus on what Pixel is, what it can be. This is very exciting for the phone market ecosystem. It is a total change from low spec dev devices to a true Android experience that will change how Android is used and consumed across devices.

Not just complaining about lack of JOD, waterproofing or whatever else. The Pixel is about souch more than that. Google is redoing the supply chain from the top down. This has been a work in progress for many years.

I get that Nexus fans are butthurt, but they have become bitter, jaded and honestly act spoiled. They banked on developer phones for a while. But Google loves being in Beta. Nexus was the Beta, Pixel is the v1.0. So time to move on, quit whining about everything and look at how truly amazing it is that Google finally made their phone.
[doublepost=1475643762][/doublepost]If you want to complain about that stuff, the author of the other thread will give you plenty of it.

 

[phoneguy265]

A night at the bar and dinner can be $150. A concert is $100. There is price gouging and there is paying for quality. What google has done to create this experience wasn't cheap. People comparing to the OPO aren't looking past a very high level spec sheet. Given what this is over the 6p I don't find it absurd.

 

[MRU]

Focus on what Pixel is, what it can be. This is very exciting for the phone market ecosystem. It is a total change from low spec dev devices to a true Android experience that will change how Android is used and consumed across devices.

Not just complaining about lack of JOD, waterproofing or whatever else. The Pixel is about souch more than that. Google is redoing the supply chain from the top down. This has been a work in progress for many years.

They need to work harder then on their supply chain logistics if they can only launch in a few countries, if primary sale is still via Google themselves and not on every carrier, every carrier store and third party carrier stores.

I love stock android, but find your statement puzzling to say the least "It is a total change from low spec dev devices to a true Android experience that will change how Android is used and consumed across devices"

I do not see how a phone which due to its incredibly constrained availability and pricing will remain 'niche' and one that fundamentally is still just Android - like the plethora of android handsets out there suddenly redefines what Android is.

The only tangible difference and so far possibly pixel exclusive seems to google assistant and it's usefulness will once again be highly dependent on region.

We already have plenty of android handsets that offer great screens, great audio, great cameras, so where does the Pixel suddenly redefine any of these things and what an android handset is ?

My preference has always been stock android, but I'm struggling to see the evidence to back up the hyperbole you posted.

Google imho did make a mistake pricing this high as the already overpriced apple lineup. At least the iPhone is available in more countries and pretty much every carrier and subsidised. The Pixel doesn't have that luxury and even then the pixel's biggest competition is not the iPhone and Google like Samsung need to realise this, their biggest competitor is the plethora of android handset OEM's who are offering very compelling handsets at half the price.

Google had the opportunity to really push the Pixel brand here into the mainstream but given its lack of availability and limited carrier ties, and increased pricing will likely remain even more niche than the Nexus proceeding it.

The majority of Android users will continue to experience Android via other OEM's and on far cheaper hardware. The majority of android sales are not flagship devices but low and mid range devices anyway. So if the vast majority of users will never experience the Pixel, I am unclear as to how it goes around redefining 'android' to the what are the vast majority of Android users.

 

[Ds6778]

They need to work harder then on their supply chain logistics if they can only launch in a few countries, if primary sale is still via Google themselves and not on every carrier, every carrier store and third party carrier stores.

I love stock android, but find your statement puzzling to say the least "It is a total change from low spec dev devices to a true Android experience that will change how Android is used and consumed across devices"

I do not see how a phone which due to its incredibly constrained availability and pricing will remain 'niche' and one that fundamentally is still just Android - like the plethora of android handsets out there suddenly redefines what Android is.

The only tangible difference and so far possibly pixel exclusive seems to google assistant and it's usefulness will once again be highly dependent on region.

We already have plenty of android handsets that offer great screens, great audio, great cameras, so where does the Pixel suddenly redefine any of these things and what an android handset is ?

My preference has always been stock android, but I'm struggling to see the evidence to back up the hyperbole you posted.

Google imho did make a mistake pricing this high as the already overpriced apple lineup. At least the iPhone is available in more countries and pretty much every carrier and subsidised. The Pixel doesn't have that luxury and even then the pixel's biggest competition is not the iPhone and Google like Samsung need to realise this, their biggest competitor is the plethora of android handset OEM's who are offering very compelling handsets at half the price.

Google had the opportunity to really push the Pixel brand here into the mainstream and given its lack of availability and limited carrier ties, and increased pricing will likely remain even more niche than the Nexus proceeding it.

The majority of Android users will continue to experience Android via other OEM's and on far cheaper hardware. The majority of android sales are not flagship devices but low and mid range devices anyway. So of the vast majority of users will never experience the Pixel, I am unclear as to how it goes around redefining 'android' to the what are the vast majority of Android users.

Couldn't agree more. The only incentive I see over let's say... a Samsung phone is stock android and "timely" updates. From what I read though, a lot of the cool features we saw today are only available on the new phones but could easily be run on the 6P. So now there's a new fragmentation.... idk who the demograph is for this phone. Not one consumer is gonna walk into the store and pick a pixel phone over Samsung...

 

[phoneguy265]

Because Android will become Pixel and the OEMs now. Pixel now has the hardware and supply chain take devices for the Pixel version of Android OS. This is unlike anything Google has ever done with Nexus. Nexus was a developer device. This is about using a phone for every function of your life with true integrated machine learning. And this will not make it to the Android base code. This is Google's fork for Pixel now.

 

[Ds6778]

Because Android will become Pixel and the OEMs now. Pixel now has the hardware and supply chain take devices for the Pixel version of Android OS. This is unlike anything Google has ever done with Nexus. Nexus was a developer device. This is about using a phone for every function of your life with true integrated machine learning. And this will not make it to the Android base code. This is Google's fork for Pixel now.

And it won't sell well lol

 

[phoneguy265]

Couldn't agree more. The only incentive I see over let's say... a Samsung phone is stock android and "timely" updates. From what I read though, a lot of the cool features we saw today are only available on the new phones but could easily be run on the 6P. So now there's a new fragmentation.... idk who the demograph is for this phone. Not one consumer is gonna walk into the store and pick a pixel phone over Samsung...

That is the whole point of the fragmentation now. They are banking that the Pixel experience will make you want to choose it over Samsung. Otherwise it is all just Android with the same specs rushing stuff out for the cheapest price to compete.

 

[MRU]

. Not one consumer is gonna walk into the store and pick a pixel phone over Samsung...

Consumers outside of Verizon in USA and possibly EE in UK will not even have the luxury of walking into a carrier store and choosing between them.

Likewise outside of USA, only place you can purchase is store.google.com, so you don't even get the opportunity to try before you buy at full price.

Even if the Pixel was the greatest phone on the planet, the way it is being sold will constrain it and keep it from ever reaching a mainstream wider audience.

 

[Ds6778]

That is the whole point of the fragmentation now. They are banking that the Pixel experience will make you want to choose it over Samsung. Otherwise it is all just Android with the same specs rushing stuff out for the cheapest price to compete.

No one is gonna give two cents about the "pixel" experience. Nexus was already a niche device and at their new, absurd price point it's even more of a niche device. If I sent anyone in my family to get a phone they would walk out with either an iPhone or a Samsung phone. Plain and simple.

 

[phoneguy265]

And it won't sell well lol

It's a gamble. That's business. People laughed at the Note. People laughed at the iPad. But credit to Google for making the big move. And I disagree about sales. Pixels are planned.out for at least three more years. They are committed. And each year will see more traction. Declaring this Doa now is shortsighted.
[doublepost=1475646264][/doublepost]

No one is gonna give two cents about the "pixel" experience. Nexus was already a niche device and at their new, absurd price point it's even more of a niche device. If I sent anyone in my family to get a phone they would walk out with either an iPhone or a Samsung phone. Plain and simple.

So what no one should ever try to compete? People always laugh at the newcomer.

 

[Ds6778]

It's a gamble. That's business. People laughed at the Note. People laughed at the iPad. But credit to Google for making the big move. And I disagree about sales. Pixels are planned.out for at least three more years. They are committed. And each year will see more traction. Declaring this Doa now is shortsighted.

It's a gamble. That's business. People laughed at the Note. People laughed at the iPad. But credit to Google for making the big move. And I disagree about sales. Pixels are planned.out for at least three more years. They are committed. And each year will see more traction. Declaring this Doa now is shortsighted.

Your analogy doesn't really work well. Samsung bet that people would love big screens, they were right. Apple redefined the tablet industry forever. I didn't see anything from today that's a game changer.

 

[phoneguy265]

Consumers outside of Verizon in USA and possibly EE in UK will not even have the luxury of walking into a carrier store and choosing between them.

Likewise outside of USA, only place you can purchase is store.google.com, so you don't even get the opportunity to try before you buy at full price.

Even if the Pixel was the greatest phone on the planet, the way it is being sold will constrain it and keep it from ever reaching a mainstream wider audience.

Did the first

Consumers outside of Verizon in USA and possibly EE in UK will not even have the luxury of walking into a carrier store and choosing between them.

Likewise outside of USA, only place you can purchase is store.google.com, so you don't even get the opportunity to try before you buy at full price.

Even if the Pixel was the greatest phone on the planet, the way it is being sold will constrain it and keep it from ever reaching a mainstream wider audience.

First Google seems to not care about Europe. That is true. They will go to India first. Secondly this is American companies. Ireland saw the iPhone first in what....2009? Regulations are tough in Europe. Hello they are trying to sue Google for antitrust. Probably not their focus right now. And to be fair Samsung does the same thing.
[doublepost=1475646673][/doublepost]

Your analogy doesn't really work well. Samsung bet that people would love big screens, they were right. Apple redefined the tablet industry forever. I didn't see anything from today that's a game changer.

Then we differ. I did.

 

[bembol]

I'm whining because I EXPECTED more from Google.

If sales was the problem it wasn't because Huawei did a poor job with the 6P. IMO it's one of the best flagships, top 10.

Marketing was the issue.

 

[kasakka]

If the Note 7 and cheaper phones like the Oneplus 3 didn't exist then the Google phone might be interesting. Now it's somewhere between the two price points but its design is not particularly great. It looks like your generic iPhone copy just like most cheaper smartphones and is nowhere near as compact as the Note 7, nor does it have any hardware features to get excited about or even feature parity with phones in the same price group (wireless charging, water proofing etc).

I completely agree with what MRU said earlier in this thread. The new software features it has are going to be largely useless for me as a Finn, provided that I could even buy the phone. Google's store sells the Chromecast 4K but not the Pixel probably because they have some deal with Finnish vendors (not carriers, just electronics stores) who will get the phone months later.

 

[lowendlinux]

If I was in the market for a high end Android phone I'd take this over any of the others.

 

[FFR]

There really is no reason to get a Sony, lg, or HTC Android phone anymore. At least at flagship prices.
With rumors that the s8 will not feature a non edge model the pixel might be the only android alternative to the iPhone going into 2017.
Again taking high end smartphones, not midrange or budget smartphones.

Congrats to anyone that pre ordered it.

 

[BlueGoldAce]

I didn't read this whole thread, but here is the thing that confounds me.

When the iPhone is released, everyone complains about the lack of features that phones like the Galaxy feature have (wireless charging, sushi chief on standby, etc).

When a Galaxy is released, everyone praises android for everything it can do beyond iOS, but loathes the lag, carrier intervention, bloat ware, slow updates, and inconsistent performance despite the best hardware in the business (it's the inconsistency that finally drove me away).

Now Google release a phone that is priced competitively with the standard flagship devices. This isn't opo, or the nexus of old. This is google from top to bottom.

You get the highest end internals android offers right now, you get googles true vision of a smartphone, their customer support, seem less updates, iOS like performance, and front in center is google assistant...the big differentiator and the future of google products (they are incorporating that into everything, and eventually it will integrate and follow you from product to products, if you are into that).

Correct, you don't get water proofing (could be water resistant), you don't get wireless charging, or other possibly useless feature.

But isn't this what you android fans, myself included, have been begging for? It's Google taking on Apple. It's the true alternative to the iPhone, running android. You get the open platform and android advantage, plus assistant, along with the fast updates and customer support that previously only Apple offered. Combine that with the chrome web browser, google wifi, google home, chrome cast, etc...you get an ecosystem that offers advantages and a continuity that matches apple in some areas (not all), and surpasses them on others (home). Yet, everyone is complaining?

Google is finally serious about hardware, and are asking the industrial standard on price. I recently moved to iOS and watchOS, so I am sticking with Apple for a while (for mobile devices at least), or I would be all over this phone.

If you want a cheap phone, that performs really well, get the opo or something similar.

If you want the best specs on then business, but with subpar customer service and an inconsistent user experience, updates, etc...go Samsung.

If you want a great meld of harvests, software, and experience...go iPhone or Pixel.

Always great to have choices.

 

[lowendlinux]

Snip

The problem as I see it is the Nexus used to be the dev/tinkerer phone it wasn't supposed to be a flagship and now it's dead. I don't think there were many Nexus people wanting Google to diretly compete with Apple/Samsung/HTC etc. thay wanted their dev/tinkerer phone.

Personally I want to play with my phone I don't want the best the company can offer I want the best I can make it even if it's less than the companies offer. There was also no reason Google couldn't have kept the Nexus line cheapened it with plastic bodies or whatever.

 

[BlueGoldAce]

The problem as I see it is the Nexus used to be the dev/tinkerer phone it wasn't supposed to be a flagship and now it's dead. I don't think there were many Nexus people wanting Google to diretly compete with Apple/Samsung/HTC etc. thay wanted their dev/tinkerer phone.

Personally I want to play with my phone I don't want the best the company can offer I want the best I can make it even if it's less than the companies offer. There was also no reason Google couldn't have kept the Nexus line cheapened it with plastic bodies or whatever.

True, but your in the minority, and a small one at that.

Money drives a company, and the nexus wasn't a money maker.

Producing a cheaper version of the pixel as a nexus, or any type of nexus, would cannibalize the pixel sales.

 

[lowendlinux]

True, but your in the minority, and a small one at that.

Money drives a company, and the nexus wasn't a money maker.

Producing a cheaper version of the pixel as a nexus, or any type of nexus, would cannibalize the pixel sales.

Google doesn't derive much of it's income from HW sales and now it most likely derive even less. If Google wants to create an ecosystem and drive AI the need eyeballs and usage raising the barrier to entry doesn't exactly promote that. If they had kept the Nexus they could make it unlockable and locked the Pixel that'd be enough differentiation. My gut says that One Plus is going to have many good years coming up and maybe that was google intent?

I've still never seen any great call for Google to compete with apple directly I may have missed it but I follow most of the big Android sites.

 

[BlueGoldAce]

Google doesn't derive much of it's income from HW sales and now it most likely derive even less. If Google wants to create an ecosystem and drive AI the need eyeballs and usage raising the barrier to entry doesn't exactly promote that. If they had kept the Nexus they could make it unlockable and locked the Pixel that'd be enough differentiation. My gut says that One Plus is going to have many good years coming up and maybe that was google intent?

I've still never seen any great call for Google to compete with apple directly I may have missed it but I follow most of the big Android sites.

I understand your points, but I did disagree.

Largely on the hardware sales point of view, which should be higher than ever a year from now. Even if you door consider the pixel, you have some envy viable products on google home, nest, chromecast, and wifi.

I was more excited about the google wifi, and it's compatibility with my onhub, than anything else yesterday.

 

[Hanzu Lao]

Then we differ. I did.

You did see that google has courage.

 

[kasakka]

But isn't this what you android fans, myself included, have been begging for? It's Google taking on Apple. It's the true alternative to the iPhone, running android. You get the open platform and android advantage, plus assistant, along with the fast updates and customer support that previously only Apple offered. Combine that with the chrome web browser, google wifi, google home, chrome cast, etc...you get an ecosystem that offers advantages and a continuity that matches apple in some areas (not all), and surpasses them on others (home). Yet, everyone is complaining?

The overall complaint is that the hardware does not seem like it matches the price asked. I own a Oneplus One right now and the only true upgrades that the Pixel XL would offer me is a fingerprint reader and better camera. There is already a mostly working CyanogenMod 14 ROM (Android 7.0) available for the OPO, the phone performs just fine for my needs and I don't really need a higher res display. So based on that for me at least the Pixel XL does not seem like much of an upgrade as even the dimensions of the device are about the same.

Softwarewise most of the assistant features will just not work well back here in Finland. Not that I would use them as I view them the same as Siri, I'm just not comfortable talking to my phone in public. I'm also not too keen on the way they seem to want to gather more info about me.