Can't agree with Pixel being the top based on their current "Best Android Phone" article

[1213 1213]

Re: Can't agree with Pixel being the top based on their current "Best Android Phone" article

Why do people keep bringing up price? Isn't the S7 Edge $770 in the US for 32GB? At least that's what it shows on the Samsung website. What does that $120get you, waterproofing and SD slot and bloatware. I'll take the software experience, unlimited photo and video storage and a 128Gb Pixel for less and FTW. My phone is only ever close to water in the rain and from what I've seen on the Pixel reviews it can handle that fine. Even when I go camping and canoeing my phone always goes in a waterproof case and dry sack for double protection in the event of a tip.

Am I wrong on the pricing? Can you get it cheaper elsewhere?

The main thing you're getting wrong is that the normal 32gb pixel costs $650. The 128gb pixel xl probably costs $869, since the pricing strategy is identical to the iPhone.

 

[mightyfacundo]

Re: Can't agree with Pixel being the top based on their current "Best Android Phone" article

The way it looks determines how well it works? Not in my world.

 

[mightyfacundo]

Re: Can't agree with Pixel being the top based on their current "Best Android Phone" article

The Pixel is the only Android phone. By default this makes it the "best."

Android means seamless updates, file-level encryption, managed boot sequence, Daydream abilities, a fully hardware-accelerated UI and framework based multi-window display.

No other phone has these features. Some have several of them, but no other phone runs Android in the operating system. Technically, the <insert your phone of choice here> is no different than the BlackBerry Z10 or Amazon Fire phone because they only support a few features from Android and have omitted the rest.

Now let the arguments begin.

As always, thanks for your insight and knowledge. It's always welcome!

 

[JackInTheDust]

Re: Can't agree with Pixel being the top based on their current "Best Android Phone" article

People will differ in their priorities. For me, the biggest advantage of the pixel is that you get timely updates from Google. You can't say that about any other phone.

 

[sydneycooper1979]

Re: Can't agree with Pixel being the top based on their current "Best Android Phone" article

The main thing you're getting wrong is that the normal 32gb pixel costs $650. The 128gb pixel xl probably costs $869, since the pricing strategy is identical to the iPhone.

The pricing is identical to iphone. 32 GB Pixel is $649. 128 GB Pixel is $749
32 GB Pixel XL is $769. 128 GB Pixel XL is $869
These are the Verizon prices at least.

 

[mabr82]

Re: Can't agree with Pixel being the top based on their current "Best Android Phone" article

The Pixel is the only Android phone. By default this makes it the "best."

Android means seamless updates, file-level encryption, managed boot sequence, Daydream abilities, a fully hardware-accelerated UI and framework based multi-window display.

No other phone has these features. Some have several of them, but no other phone runs Android in the operating system. Technically, the <insert your phone of choice here> is no different than the BlackBerry Z10 or Amazon Fire phone because they only support a few features from Android and have omitted the rest.

Now let the arguments begin.

If that's the case, the title of the article needs to change ;-)

 

[miyanc]

Re: Can't agree with Pixel being the top based on their current "Best Android Phone" article

in my opinion the only phones that compare to the pixel is the iphones. Look I hate, hate, hate hate apple. I even used one recently because it was all I had after the second note recall. I still hate it, but as I used it it was more and more clear why its so successful. Many of those reasons are why I dislike it. BUT. Apple is very successful. First and foremost the are a company who's upmost importance is to make money not phones. Why is google any different. Of course they have different philosophies on how best to do that. But if you look at the 2 flagships and the companies feature sets, those are the 2. All other manufacturers ( I don't really need to mention windows phones do I?) are attempting to make headway in the only way possible and thats to make it there own. Nothing they do will make the phone better then the pixel so they add features, dressings, modifications. maybe thses things appeal to some, and maybe enough of them will apeal to many of them. but none will be as consistant at pixel or iphone. like apple, i am sure google will move things in whatever direction they see fit.

I am hoping, unlike apple, that google continues to be open and allows for the end user to have options. albeit samsung, htc, lg, pixels or even in terms of launchers or bootloaders or home screens , and still privied the openness.

 

[jamesrick80]

Re: Can't agree with Pixel being the top based on their current &quot;Best Android Phone&quot; article

I believe the LG V20 is the best as of now.....I havent experienced a phone that's so smooth with almost every feature besides not being waterproof ..I can never vouch for vanilla android and the pixel phones....

I have noticed that people with pixel phones are always asking about features that are on other phones...exact reason why it makes no sense to get a pixel phone especially if you upgrade every 10 to 12 months......

 

[mchockeyvette27]

Re: AC recommends....

Lets be real. The best android phone is without question the n7. But now I need to go cry into my wheaties. I am send it off today to the land of not mine anymore. I do enjoy the pixel xl and I would say its better then the s7e or at least on par.
I also don't get why when comparing the cameras, the free cloud storage is not a bigger detail. Not in comparing the phones, but specifically in the camera. Being able to record everything on the max setting is huge. I had the n7 with a large memory card and still did not record in full on the video. also on a vacation, I would limit resolution or video. With 128 xp pixel I am recording full 4k. Taking slow motion, letting my kids record photo spheres, take videos and pictures. Also not that I wasn't using google photos before, but now I can leave everything and just keep recording. let the app manage storage. And again having it be unlimited (at least for now) I don't have to worry about buying storage or managing it.

So in this case having the best camera isn't as simple as specs. because if it limits your ability to use it then its just not as good. Even if all else was equal the pixel may win in the long run.

My brain told my heart not to buy this phone cause I shouldn't spend the money. But reading this has me thinking again.

I am currently going through all my Google photos (about 4 years worth) having to delete countless Gb worth of pics and videos because I was spoiled by my 100Gb promotion when I purchased my HTC one M7 two years ago. I have to whittle my total storage down to less than 15 Gb otherwise Google will pretty much not allow email, Google drive, or Google photos to work anymore...and I have by the 15th of November to do so.

So my options are to keep deleting, buy more storage, or buy a pixle.

This post made me really, REALLY want to buy a pixel now. I already like the phone, played with one at Verizon. And the unlimited storage would be nice right now, and to be able to store EVERYTHING I capture, from here on out, with the awesome camera, would be pretty damn cool.

I spend too much money on this crap

 

[JoshDunc]

Re: Can't agree with Pixel being the top based on their current "Best Android Phone" article

This is a little off topic but I have not been able to see a Pixel in person. How does the white phone look in person? Considering going to Best Buy, which is an hour away, to get the white Pixel XL. I've never had a white phone so I am unsure.

 

[EnemiesInTheEnd]

Re: Can't agree with Pixel being the top based on their current "Best Android Phone" article

Oh so your extensively researched information is from spending some time with a demo phone. OK so now I know how to take your opinion, with a samsung grain of salt. My opinion is no better or worse then yours. but in my opinion of your opinion, you are very wrong. and honestly so are all those other people that have not used enough phones to form there own opinion. I have owned the g4, n7, s7e, n7 iphone 5s, pixel xl. in the last 2 months. I have also owned many other phones over time.

Look I get it. you have a pretty much one sided opinion and of course that means you think your right. In reality samsung is the company that brought us the n7 so I agree, but where did that get me? This is something that should be factored in. All brands think they have features that single them out against the competition. You are claiming that certain phones are lacking compared to the phone you like, well as others have stated the samsung s7 or s7e is lacking in many things as well. I am sure you opinion of the dim display was fully tested outside? The theft teather reach that far? I have pitted both the n7 vs the pixel xl and your right. the samung is slightly brighter, but at what cost? I get better battery on the pixel xl and so far my battery has not expanded uncontrollably. I also feel the display on the pixel xl is better. Brightness aside the samsung overdoes it. which may explain the brightness.

How about the value of time? How much of a price can you put on being able to use your phone to record your life and maybe the life of those around you. In the best video or picture quality as possible and keep as much of that as possible. Can the samung do that? I bet not. I guess they that better too?

Of course I'm claiming the Pixel and Pixel XL are lacking features. They are lacking features. That's an obvious, objective fact. Samsung phones have far more put into their hardware and software than the Pixels.

I don't have to test the Pixel XL display outside. I put the XL next to my Note 5, put them both on 50% auto, 100% auto, and 100% auto off and to match the Note 5's brightness at 50%, you'd probably have to slide the Pixel XL's brightness to 75%. The difference was significant and very obvious side by side. The tether doesn't affect the brightness nor the performance of the device. Samsung displays are not too bright.

The Samsung cameras are better overall. If you don't believe me, look at this comparison.
https://youtu.be/vG711jCHDOA

Samsungs allow MicroSD cards and also have access to Google Photos. I don't really need Google Photos though as I use OneDrive and still have over 1 Terabyte of free storage.

As I said, the only things I can find where the Pixels beat Samsungs are standby times and virtual assistants.

The Pixels are good phones that should be cheaper than the asking price by at least $100.

 

[jdfry15]

Re: Can't agree with Pixel being the top based on their current "Best Android Phone" article

I thought the pixel looked just like the iPhone and that I wouldn't like it. Picked it up yesterday and I'm pretty blown away with it. It looks much better than I thought it did in hand vs seeing videos of it. It has a great feel in the hand for me. The speed is great. Could there be other features like SD card slot and water proofing. Sure, that would be great, but I don't know why people get worked up over features not included. We know what it has before we buy it. If you don't like it there are other phones that will meet needs. That's what is great about Android vs apple. There is a huge range of devices with different prices and feature sets.

 

[Aquila]

Re: Can't agree with Pixel being the top based on their current "Best Android Phone" article

Of course I'm claiming the Pixel and Pixel XL are lacking features. They are lacking features. That's an obvious, objective fact. Samsung phones have far more put into their hardware and software than the Pixels.

I don't have to test the Pixel XL display outside. I put the XL next to my Note 5, put them both on 50% auto, 100% auto, and 100% auto off and to match the Note 5's brightness at 50%, you'd probably have to slide the Pixel XL's brightness to 75%. The difference was significant and very obvious side by side. The tether doesn't affect the brightness nor the performance of the device. Samsung displays are not too bright.

The Samsung cameras are better overall. If you don't believe me, look at this comparison.
https://youtu.be/vG711jCHDOA

Samsungs allow MicroSD cards and also have access to Google Photos. I don't really need Google Photos though as I use OneDrive and still have over 1 Terabyte of free storage.

As I said, the only things I can find where the Pixels beat Samsungs are standby times and virtual assistants.

The Pixels are good phones that should be cheaper than the asking price by at least $100.

And camera, performance, software, security, software updates, design, battery life, VR, resistance to obsolescence, audio, storage capacity, charging solution, being cheaper, etc, etc, right?

I mean, getting real, the only thing Samsung has that the Pixels don't is IP68. And that weird random eater test with the Pixel under water for an hour and still working seems to make me think that rating doesn't mean much of anything.

 

[EnemiesInTheEnd]

Re: Can't agree with Pixel being the top based on their current "Best Android Phone" article

This is a little off topic but I have not been able to see a Pixel in person. How does the white phone look in person? Considering going to Best Buy, which is an hour away, to get the white Pixel XL. I've never had a white phone so I am unsure.

In my opinion, I don't like the white/silver look because the glass on the back of the device is white and the white/silver combo on the back looks strange to me. The Quite Black model is really nice looking so I would recommend that color over the silver one personally.

 

[EnemiesInTheEnd]

Re: Can't agree with Pixel being the top based on their current "Best Android Phone" article

And camera, performance, software, security, software updates, design, battery life, VR, resistance to obsolescence, audio, storage capacity, charging solution, being cheaper, etc, etc, right?

I mean, getting real, the only thing Samsung has that the Pixels don't is IP68. And that weird random eater test with the Pixel under water for an hour and still working seems to make me think that rating doesn't mean much of anything.

Samsung cameras are overall superior as several comparisons and reviews have mentioned, like the one I posted above. Every speed test shows that Samsungs are overall faster devices than the Pixels (equals at launching apps, Samsung with a big lead launching games). The Pixels aren't more secure than Samsung devices, in particular the Note 7, which had Knox security and an Iris Scanner in addition to other forms of security. I prefer Samsung's current software over bare bones Android - Samsung's software just has far more features to use. Samsung design is obviously superior. Samsung has Gear VR. Samsung battery life is only worse when it comes to standby times - screen on times are similar and with the Note 7 you could even lower the resolution to help with battery life among other customizations to increase screen on time by up to an hour. Samsungs offer greater storage capacity for the price. Charging solutions are basically equal. Oh and Samsungs are certainly better at resistance to obsolescence. The Pixel still doesn't have many hardware and software features found on Samsungs and what it does have at best matches what Samsung has done with the 7 month old S7 Edge and at worst is clearly beaten by the Samsung.

 

[1213 1213]

Re: Can't agree with Pixel being the top based on their current "Best Android Phone" article

And camera, performance, software, security, software updates, design, battery life, VR, resistance to obsolescence, audio, storage capacity, charging solution, being cheaper, etc, etc, right?

I mean, getting real, the only thing Samsung has that the Pixels don't is IP68. And that weird random eater test with the Pixel under water for an hour and still working seems to make me think that rating doesn't mean much of anything.

Most of that is wrong. I don't understand who you think you're fooling with your little shopping list there.

I will take the one which most people would probably be fooled by. Software support. But Samsung has done a pretty decent job giving monthly updates, it was even the only marshmallow phone to get vulkan iirc. The only thing is os updates coming later. If you want to talk about software support, Google has said 2 os updates and monthly security updates a year after that. The galaxy s5 got two software updates and to this day is still getting security updates.

Pretty much the only other thing you got right was the audio quality potentially being better, but nobody seems to have properly tested it yet.

 

[raqball]

Re: Can't agree with Pixel being the top based on their current "Best Android Phone" article

LOL @ many of the replies in this thread as they've either never touched a Pixel or they played with a demo unit for 3 1/2 minutes..

Sometimes ya just have to chuckle and chalk it up to comic relief.........

 

[qnet]

Re: Can't agree with Pixel being the top based on their current "Best Android Phone" article

I rarely have lag with my Note 5. When I went to Verizon to check out the Pixel XL, I turned off the demo and hit the Google Chrome icon. Lag. At least a full second of it. Then I hit another app that I can't remember (probably the camera app) and that lagged for at least a full second as well. The Pixel XL isn't any faster than my Note 5.

The Note 5 was a great phone, I had one. I was mainly talking about my experience with the Note 7. The lag opening Samsung pay was not the only thing I was talking about, but it was a big part of it. I buy a lot of phones, and from my experience the Pixel runs a lot better than my Note 5 did.

 

[AndroidBirdie]

Re: Can't agree with Pixel being the top based on their current "Best Android Phone" article

I don't get your question, it IS the best Android phone since right now it's Android in its purest form.

Pure google device, hence pure Android, being the only one, the best.

Apart from this, many things that have been listed on here are quite objective.
Different things for different people, most of which you've stated isn't really a problem for me except the price, but oh well, phones in general aren't inexpensive anymore.

 

[SteelGator]

Re: AC recommends....

My brain told my heart not to buy this phone cause I shouldn't spend the money. But reading this has me thinking again.

I am currently going through all my Google photos (about 4 years worth) having to delete countless Gb worth of pics and videos because I was spoiled by my 100Gb promotion when I purchased my HTC one M7 two years ago. I have to whittle my total storage down to less than 15 Gb otherwise Google will pretty much not allow email, Google drive, or Google photos to work anymore...and I have by the 15th of November to do so.

So my options are to keep deleting, buy more storage, or buy a pixle.

This post made me really, REALLY want to buy a pixel now. I already like the phone, played with one at Verizon. And the unlimited storage would be nice right now, and to be able to store EVERYTHING I capture, from here on out, with the awesome camera, would be pretty damn cool.

I spend too much money on this crap

Google photo storage is unlimited. All you need to do to save them, is move them there. You will deal with some compression,but it is minor and better than a full delete by a mile.

Once there they also gain utility. Don't delay, you only have a clue weeks.