These 'Pixel 2 problem!' stories need to stop

[LeoRex]

<link removed... don't want any more traffic to it>

"Most recently, users are reporting that the camera on the Pixel 2/2XL exhibits a flickering motion when taking a photo or video under LED lights."

Ok... This popped up in several places.. confirming to me that many sites, including Android Central, no longer are - at all -about accurate information... It's all about sensationalism and click generation.

now, the author here had to have done at least a minimum amount of research because other sites are listed. Now, had they even done a simple search, they would have found countless links discussing how certain types of LED lights will cause banding in digital cameras.

Notice that's not 'Pixel 2'... It's common... It is common with phones, common with DSLRs, common with video cameras.

Here's a pic I took just last Tuesday at the Boston MFA...

Omagawdpixel2sucks!

Problem is that this was taken with a Pixel XL. And there were several other people seeing the same thing in their phones... Until a museum curator walking by said that the banding happens on nearly every phone because the type of LEDs used.

The only conclusion that I can come up with is that the writer, and by extension Android Central, paid no disregard for even the slightest bit of journalistic integrity in an attempt to post an article that would generate traffic.

That's really sad...

 

[osubeavs728]

yeah, when my friend told me about this today I was like, what? Pretty much anytime I've ever tried to take a picture of a screen with a phone there's been bands or distortion. So it just gave me another thing to shrug at

 

[LeoRex]

It's just so incredibly frustrating...

 

[Jaycemiskel]

I see your point, but it's a business. They're just trying to make money. I don't pay much attention to these articles. Most of the time, that works out fine. I remember when there were articles about the Note 7 at first. I was like hmm, more BS. That one turned out to be real lol. But yeah, these should pass. Eventually some new phone to rag on will come out.

 

[vzwuser76]

I see your point, but it's a business. They're just trying to make money. I don't pay much attention to these articles. Most of the time, that works out fine. I remember when there were articles about the Note 7 at first. I was like hmm, more BS. That one turned out to be real lol. But yeah, these should pass. Eventually some new phone to rag on will come out.

I understand what you're saying and you're correct, but they can take it too far. I was starting to wonder if AC was just camping out in the forums and reporting on any and every issue someone reports. Seriously every single issue reported ended up with it's own article. Now if you did that with any device (reporting every issue that someone posts in a forum) no phone is going to look good. And now the issues aren't even something that is specific to the Pixel or even smartphones in general. That's taking it too far.


But then at the same time, you have some trolls who complain places like AC are giving the Pixels preferential treatment because they say the Pixel is the best phone or almost perfect except for "issue X" and that they're taking payments from Google. Some think it's too far, others think it's not far enough.

What I can say is I haven't had any of the issues. I have the regular Pixel 2, not the XL, and I've gotten better battery life with this 2700mAh battery than phones that had between 3400-3900mAh batteries. I really think that this need for high resolution screens is a big part of the problem of battery life. Outside of VR, I myself don't see the need for it, and would take more battery life over the VR experience. Besides that, the P2 builds on the original Pixel in terms of performance, camera, and the Active Edge feature that I thought was a gimmick is actually useful. Prior to this, I didn't use Assistant on my phone, but I'm using it more now.

I looked at a couple Pixel 2 XLs in a Best Buy last week and compared them to the Note8 models nearby. I couldn't tell the difference in color shift between them. I tried a lot of angles and neither was better or worse than the other. And it didn't have the update meant to alleviate the issue, as both XLs still had the update notification in their status bar. So I would say it's less an issue of every phone has the issue and more like it's a production issue, and they're letting too many displays with issue get to final assembly.

That's my opinion, take it for what it's worth.

 

[maverick7526]

Seriously. It's like everyday now, and it is not getting any better. They just do it for clicks/revenue generation now. Kind of sad when sites like AC/AP can't filter out the 'noise' from real issues.

 

[anon(10092459)]

Agreed! AC has definitely embraced sensationalism more than I've seen previously. Quality of the blog has absolutely deteriorated. It's disappointing to see a site that I turn to for legitimate information and genuine insight go downhill like this.

 

[AustinIllini]

Honestly, this is what you get when you have a bunch of non-experts run quality control tests.

They don't know what the expected results are. They expect the phone to fly when they throw it up in the air. People have gone from being enamored with the magic to being angry at every imperfection.

 

[jsarino]

It's definitely frustrating. The funny part though is I know of a couple of people that are getting the Pixel 2 XL anyways. They felt, as much as I did, that publications are trolling for things to rip on the Pixel 2. Of all these issues that have been brought up, only the battery one where it charges slow for the last 10% or so of charging is my only complaint, and a minor one at that. I've been posting/commenting everywhere that the whole blue tint issue is ridiculous. Yes, there's a tint there, but *ALL* OLED's have a tint if viewed from an angle...an angle that any sane person doesn't look at normally. All the other display issues are overblown.

I think if this were a flagship coming from a manufacturer, it would be treated like anyone else. But because this is a Google device, it's given a ridiculous amount of scrutiny given that the actual market that gets these phones are more hard-core Android enthusiasts.

 

[DesertTwang]

It's good to see a thread about this. I'm currently waiting for a Black Friday deal so I can trade my iPhone 6 Plus for a Google Pixel 2. I have to admit, the constant barrage of bad news about the Pixel phone does have me concerned. I'm by no means a techie, much less a mobile device power user. I'm just an average guy who wants his s**t to work, reliably and without having to watch countless YouTube video tutorials. At the same time, I'm tired of Apple's strong-arm tactics and haven't found them to be overly intuitive. I hate iCloud, iTunes is sketchy, and downloading photos from my iPhone is a nightmare. So those are my main reasons for wanting to give the Pixel a try. My only other Android phone, a Galaxy Samsung S3, was the worst mobile experience I had ever had (hence I went to an iPhone), so there is a little bit of doubt lingering about whether Android is for me. But I do like and use most Google apps, and that's what makes me think the Google phone might be the ticket. And I get it that much of the concerns I read on a daily basis might be blown out of proportion, yet, they do have me wonder. For example, the Bluetooth connectivity issues: Apparently, the Pixel 2 doesn't work in Subarus. Well, I happen to drive a Subaru. Then, the inability of using the Google Assistant using Bluetooth headphones - wth? My iPhone works great in my car and never has any issues with Bluetooth whatsoever. So add to that the camera "issue" that we're talking about in this thread. I, too, watched the video, and yes, it has me concerned. Of course I know that any phone camera struggles with banding in certain lightings, and especially when photographing screens. That said, I think it is interesting to note that the guy in the video showed banding on his Pixel phone when trying to photograph ordinary situations, i.e. not flickering screens, but his desk, under LED light. My whole house is equipped with LED lights, yet I have to say my iPhone never ever showed any banding whenever I took pictures under those lightings. So, in summary, I really don't know what to make of all this, and I still want to try out the Pixel, but I'll make sure it comes with a return period.

 

[DesertTwang]

The tech websites treat YouTube like its a valid source for an article. I guess there is no such thing as journalistic integrity because tech writers don't fall under that umbrella. Anyone know if they actually went to school for journalism?

I can't speak on behalf of those tech websites of course, and for whom they hire, but as someone who did go through a rigorous training at a journalism school and teaches science communication, I'm of the opinion that 90% of the tech blog articles I see out there wouldn't get a passing degree in Journalism 101.

 

[PowrDroid]

There sure seems to be an inordinate amount of reporting about complaints with the Pixel 2's. There was the same sort of thing with the Pixel 1, IIRC. Bluetooth problems, lens flaring, etc. etc. It seems that these "reporters" and bloggers find a half dozen people to say they've seen an issue on their Pixel 2 and here comes the article, "Problems with the Pixel 2 and How to Fix Them" or similar.

Some of these Pixel users wouldn't know to change the lightbulb in a lamp that wasn't throwing light so I dismiss 99% of these stories.

 

[jsarino]

I am confused. Have you never charged a car battery before? It works the same way by providing high voltage to the battery then slowing down as the battery reaches close to full. Then it trickle charges to top off the battery.

I'm normally not paying attention to my cell phone battery when its charging. I'm just confused how that could be a complaint when your normal car batteries charge the exact same way.

As I said, it's a minor complaint, not a deal-breaker by any means. This is one of a number of articles talking about the slower charging: Another Google Pixel 2 XL issue arises as users report slow battery charging – BGR . In a way it's a benefit. The slower charging lessens the strain on battery cycling, perhaps allowing it to last longer. While previous phones I've owned (Nexus 6P, 6, 5, etc.) slowed as it got closer to 100%, seems like with this one it slows down considerably more.

To answer your car battery question, yes, I've charged car batteries before (besides wrenching on cars in general), but most people don't know how to use jumper cables, or know what an alternator does, so there's that.

 

[anon(9681881)]

It doesn't frustrate me at all. Every one of these negative stories are created by Samsung or Apple fanboys. I ordered my Pixel 2XL before it was released when there were stories appearing every day explaining a new horror. It is pretty clear that the phone could not be as bad as the fanboys were making it out to be.

 

[LeoRex]

I, too, watched the video, and yes, it has me concerned. Of course I know that any phone camera struggles with banding in certain lightings, and especially when photographing screens. That said, I think it is interesting to note that the guy in the video showed banding on his Pixel phone when trying to photograph ordinary situations, i.e. not flickering screens, but his desk, under LED light. My whole house is equipped with LED lights, yet I have to say my iPhone never ever showed any banding

You just haven't taken a picture of the specific LED light in question. I looked up and found pictures from iphone 7s, Note 5's, LGs, etc... some LEDs provide a steady stream of light... but others, in particular bargain/cheapo versions, lack buffering in the circuitry so they flicker at frequencies that just so happen to be multiples of the framerates of pretty much every mobile phone camera.

His desk is flickering because its lit by the flickering LED... look at the picture I posted and you can see its not JUST the light source that's banded... the walls and floors are too.

 

[nelamvr6]

As I said, it's a minor complaint, not a deal-breaker by any means. This is one of a number of articles talking about the slower charging: Another Google Pixel 2 XL issue arises as users report slow battery charging – BGR . In a way it's a benefit. The slower charging lessens the strain on battery cycling, perhaps allowing it to last longer. While previous phones I've owned (Nexus 6P, 6, 5, etc.) slowed as it got closer to 100%, seems like with this one it slows down considerably more.

To answer your car battery question, yes, I've charged car batteries before (besides wrenching on cars in general), but most people don't know how to use jumper cables, or know what an alternator does, so there's that.

BGR is pure garbage, you can safely ignore any and all articles from that site.

 

[osubeavs728]

BGR is pure garbage, you can safely ignore any and all articles from that site.

Pure garbage is an understatement.

 

[jsarino]

BGR is pure garbage, you can safely ignore any and all articles from that site.

BGR is pure garbage, you can safely ignore any and all articles from that site.

Made me think of this...

OK, that's fair. Maybe I am becoming too nitpicky!

 

[PowrDroid]

There is another "authority" on Android phones that really stick it to Pixel phones and brag up Samsung phones. I grew so tired of their bias (and there clickbait cluttered, advertisement laden articles) that I unfollowed them and won't be reading them anymore. Their article on the LED banding did not attempt to find out the cause, did not mention that other phones could potentially have this problem, just took it as an opportunity to rip into Pixel 2's.

 

[anon(5630457)]

It's a legitimate article with legitimate concerns. I mean, if you don't experience those issues, bully for you. But others have those problems and people should know if there are any potential problems with devices, ESPECIALLY if they're going to drop between $850-$950 on it.