I returned the Pixel 7, some thoughts why

[Danny0311]

I too am tired of paying top dollar for flagship, when mid-range seems just as good for what i want. I believe that Moto puts all their efforts into mid-range, and it's working for them. I do like the Pixel 7, but i think that the 7pro is just too big. If Moto brought back the Nexus 6, with new and upgraded software, i'd be the first kid on the block to get one.

 

[Crispy]

Anyone remember how the Moto used to have a lot more gestures and useful tweaks in its Android build? Do they still have that?

I think its a shame how marketing means the average consumer only considers Samsung, iPhone and to a lesser extent Pixel - its the geek darling and popular thanks to the Google name. There are so many other oem's like Moto, Sony, LG and whole bunch of Chinese companies like Xiaomi, Huawei, Poco, Oppo that make great phones but have to compete for a lot less business and thus have to make compromises. And companies like HTC were driven out.

Even people who shouldn't be spending so much on new phones will choose to buy the more expensive model because thats all they hear about and all the rich youtubers (who don't pay for anything) and blogs will tell them how great the latest phone is.

I also find it suspicious that the latest Windows 10/11 will still run great on my 10yr old pc, but the latest mobile OSs keep getting bigger and slower.

 

[Jx J]

I think its a shame how marketing means the average consumer only considers Samsung, iPhone and to a lesser extent Pixel - its the geek darling and popular thanks to the Google name. There are so many other oem's like Moto, Sony, LG and whole bunch of Chinese companies like Xiaomi, Huawei, Poco, Oppo that make great phones but have to compete for a lot less business and thus have to make compromises. And companies like HTC were driven out.

LG have also been driven out.
I'd love the option of replacing my LG G7 with a brand new LG phone, but sadly this is not an option.

If I want to avoid Chinese controlled brands, it's Google, Samsung or Sony. This is a very limited selection.

 

[Joshua Luther1]

LG have also been driven out.
I'd love the option of replacing my LG G7 with a brand new LG phone, but sadly this is not an option.

If I want to avoid Chinese controlled brands, it's Google, Samsung or Sony. This is a very limited selection.

My biggest gripe is the fixed storage. It makes no sense. You would never buy a DSLR camera with no expandable storage on it yet the main reason most people buy a phone is for taking pictures and videos. Yet they have to either pay a premium for extra storage up front that they may or may not use or pay for cloud storage per month. It's all set up to empty our pockets and make these companies more money. The best camera phones out there that are available in the U.S. don't have expandable storage.

I've always heard that the best camera is the one you have on you. I think it might have been Peter McKinnon who said this. It's more inconvenient to carry a DSLR with several different lenses for the off chance that you might use it. You'll get the best results from one, but how often are you going to use it and will you miss a shot in the time it takes you to set up the shot?

I have always wanted to have the top of line camera phone that I can afford. I don't always look at the total cost of the phone, only the monthly payment. I have budgeted a monthly payment for a phone, so I figure why not upgrade it if I'm going to pay roughly the same amount per month.

Obviously there are other factors in my phone choice, but generally speaking, the camera is the main feature of phones currently.

I can't even tolerate iOS otherwise I'd be on an iPhone. But recently I haven't seen or heard great things about the 14 pro. For the most part, if we didn't have side by side comparisons of the photos taken on these phones, we'd all think they did a great job and we wouldn't know any better.

 

[Morty2264]

Anyone remember how the Moto used to have a lot more gestures and useful tweaks in its Android build? Do they still have that?

I think its a shame how marketing means the average consumer only considers Samsung, iPhone and to a lesser extent Pixel - its the geek darling and popular thanks to the Google name. There are so many other oem's like Moto, Sony, LG and whole bunch of Chinese companies like Xiaomi, Huawei, Poco, Oppo that make great phones but have to compete for a lot less business and thus have to make compromises. And companies like HTC were driven out.

Even people who shouldn't be spending so much on new phones will choose to buy the more expensive model because thats all they hear about and all the rich youtubers (who don't pay for anything) and blogs will tell them how great the latest phone is.

I also find it suspicious that the latest Windows 10/11 will still run great on my 10yr old pc, but the latest mobile OSs keep getting bigger and slower.

I totally agree! There's also OnePlus! I've always wanted to try a Sony phone and a Moto phone as well.

 

[Danny0311]

Here's a case in point. I have the Galaxy S22 Ultra( hopefully for not much longer). It's sitting on the table, closed. An email or text comes in...and nothing! No notification of any kind! They did away with the blinking led, and now, the flipping screen won't even open!

 

[Danny0311]

The quality is GONE, but the cost goes up and up.

 

[Crispy]

Phones used to have all these as standard - replaceable batteries, sd card, notification light, and a durable, light plastic/polycarb body that you could get in many colors.

And its not like they were 2in thick bricks either.

When I say phones, I mean Android (and also if anyone remembers, Windows Phone). iPhones at the time were 3.5-4" screens, iOS had no features at all (no notifications, no control center, no sharing, nothing, even copy paste was late)

What happened? Apple and its marketing of glass+metal as superior, charging 3x premium for storage, promoting non user serviceable and replaceable products, and telling people they didn't need anything as useful as a notification light.

iPhones sold like crazy. Remember the lines 2 days before launch covered by WSJ? And so all the other Android oem's hurried to copy and remove all the good things.

While Apple was busy copying all the good parts of Android, Google wanted to make sure it copied all the bad parts of iOS and dumb down Android, so we have massive buttons and wasted space, removed features in every release and lets not forget the pinnacle of UI design which apparently takes millions of dollars - colors and rounded corners!

And so now all the innovation has gone out of Android - remember things like LG's smart window cover? Meanwhile Apple invents the notch and 'island', and Google is busy making sure they cripple Android - in Android 14 apps won't even access to your phone's storage, so say goodbye to file explorer, backup programs etc.

Its a real shame I tell you.

 

[Crispy]

Here's a case in point. I have the Galaxy S22 Ultra( hopefully for not much longer). It's sitting on the table, closed. An email or text comes in...and nothing! No notification of any kind! They did away with the blinking led, and now, the flipping screen won't even open!

Its your fault. Why didn't you pay for the smartwatch ??!! which lasts 1/2 day and costs $400 to show you that a new email has arrived.

And why don't you pay for a phone with AOD which kills battery life? Pretty soon they will have phones with displays on both sides - I better patent that idea

 

[Crispy]

LG have also been driven out.
I'd love the option of replacing my LG G7 with a brand new LG phone, but sadly this is not an option.

If I want to avoid Chinese controlled brands, it's Google, Samsung or Sony. This is a very limited selection.

I don't want this to be about politics but I find the whole 'china = evil' to be bs, when western countries have done far worse. do you think you are avoiding govt spying by buying from US brands - you're not. The only US company which actually bothers to enforce your privacy in any meaningful way is Apple.

 

[Jx J]

Phones used to have all these as standard - replaceable batteries, sd card, notification light, and a durable, light plastic/polycarb body that you could get in many colors.

It's about time the EU or some other body introduced legislation to protect consumers and the environment from wasteful phone consumption.
I suggest:
1 Require all phone batteries to be user replaceable at fair cost OR require the phone maker to offer a 8 year phone battery guarantee (e.g. maintain 90% of capacity).
2 Make it illegal to make phones obsolete and slow with software "upgrades" within 8 years.

I'm typing this on a PC assembled 7 years ago that cost less than a premium phone and isn't even starting to feel slow in any way. So it's clearly possible.

 

[Danny0311]

I think that it's almost time to go over to Consumer Cellular and get a flip phone.

 

[Stanley Kubrick]

My biggest gripe is the fixed storage. It makes no sense. You would never buy a DSLR camera with no expandable storage on it yet the main reason most people buy a phone is for taking pictures and videos. Yet they have to either pay a premium for extra storage up front that they may or may not use or pay for cloud storage per month. It's all set up to empty our pockets and make these companies more money. The best camera phones out there that are available in the U.S. don't have expandable storage.

I've always heard that the best camera is the one you have on you. I think it might have been Peter McKinnon who said this. It's more inconvenient to carry a DSLR with several different lenses for the off chance that you might use it. You'll get the best results from one, but how often are you going to use it and will you miss a shot in the time it takes you to set up the shot?

I have always wanted to have the top of line camera phone that I can afford. I don't always look at the total cost of the phone, only the monthly payment. I have budgeted a monthly payment for a phone, so I figure why not upgrade it if I'm going to pay roughly the same amount per month.

Obviously there are other factors in my phone choice, but generally speaking, the camera is the main feature of phones currently.

I can't even tolerate iOS otherwise I'd be on an iPhone. But recently I haven't seen or heard great things about the 14 pro. For the most part, if we didn't have side by side comparisons of the photos taken on these phones, we'd all think they did a great job and we wouldn't know any better.

"the main reason most people buy a phone is for taking pictures and videos."
Do you truly believe this statement that you made?
The very LAST thing I consider, if at all, is the camera on a communications/banking/video calling//////device! Of all the features I have on my P7P the camera is the least used of them all. So while many people do care about the camera on a "phone" I would venture to bet that this does not include most people. Phone cameras have been good enough for years now. And besides that when you view your pictures on a 6" screen....well they all look pretty similar to "most" people.

 

[bkeaver]

"the main reason most people buy a phone is for taking pictures and videos."
Do you truly believe this statement that you made?
The very LAST thing I consider, if at all, is the camera on a communications/banking/video calling//////device! Of all the features I have on my P7P the camera is the least used of them all. So while many people do care about the camera on a "phone" I would venture to bet that this does not include most people. Phone cameras have been good enough for years now. And besides that when you view your pictures on a 6" screen....well they all look pretty similar to "most" people.

The camera feature is the absolute last and least thing, if at all I look at. Every now and then I will play with the camera and take pics but it's usually the wife that does 99%of the pics. I could just care less. So I am agreeing with this

 

[drvier8]

This isn't a 'P7 is bad' thread, more like 'old Pixels are still great and P7 still has some issues'

I recently tried out the Pixel 7 as an upgrade from my 2XL. You can find some other threads I made on this here. I saw the great trade in offer, and bought a used Pixel 5 off ebay and then the 7 from Google.

As a result I had 3 generations of Pixel phones to evaluate. I'll share my thoughts on a few things -

performance: for someone who doesn't game or run intensive video editing apps etc, its hard to tell the difference. This applies to both the SoC and the memory. e.g. opening apps, and how many apps reload. The P7 felt faster but not in a 'night and day' way. The most obvious difference is places where the on chip Tensor is used for things like faster night sight etc.

phone hardware: the 2XL and 5 are both 6" screens but the 5 is smaller and thinner. But when viewing full screen content you actually see more on the old 2XL which was quite surprising and something no one mentions. The 7 is a great feeling and looking phone, no complaints. I will say that the 60 vs 90Hz seems quite overblown, I would never be able to tell unless I was looking for it. It has the best sound by far too.

FP sensor: the first big letdown. Unlike most online reports I've read, I didn't really have much issue with the in display sensor, I'd say it worked about 80-90% of the time. I also enabled Face Unlock which was great except of course at night/low light. The real problem is that Android forces you to enter the pattern almost half the time without the option to use FP, with the message 'for added security'. This never really happened on the 2XL/5 rear sensor.

overheating: sadly I did notice this, with phone getting warmer in some cases. I don't think it matters for my use case but there are plenty of reports on this as well as the phone shutting down in hot countries. Does not bode well for travel.

AI Assistant features: 2nd biggest reason to get a Pixel. I have to confess I was a bit uninformed and thought 'Hold for me' and 'direct my call' were limited to P7 as I only saw 'call screen' on my 2XL but I later found out that these along with enhanced voice typing were ported back to 4 onwards.

Camera: The 7 was faster in things like NightSight, but curiously not in HDR processing compared to the 5. Maybe not so surprising since it has the same sensor used for 5 generations, the 2XL still takes great photos but lacks wide lens. I will say that all Pixels are great shooters and most of the magic is in the software and on server side

Battery life: this was the main factor. I expected a newer phone with 2nd gen custom SoC to be better. I had 2 weeks to let the phone settle in, so I don't believe thats the reason. I saw consistent high idle drain. My old 2XL is still holding up decently, the the refurb 5 was a clear battery champ.

software: 2XL is still on Android 11. I must say 12/13 don't have much thats new on first glance. The much hyped Material You is just wallpaper themed color + rounded corners and icons? And why is there so much wasted space? One nice feature was the 'active apps' list. There are I'm sure many other new things I'm just pointing out the most visible.

I was very much looking forward to the latest and greatest as well updates for next few years. At the end of the day it was all very much 'that's it ?!' which I think just shows that a) phones peaked a while ago and b) older Pixels were ahead of their time. If you see online forums, the 2XL is hailed as the phone that ushered in the smartphone camera, and both it and 5 are praised a lot.

thanks to anyone who read all of this

I may keep using the 2XL and maybe try a custom rom, but I think I might get the 5A. Its now cheap as a refurb, and its basically the 5 minus Qi, with a larger screen and the best battery life.

I loved my P2. If it still got security updates, I would not have bought my P6. I did put lineageOS on it and keep it for my backup.

 

[Joshua Luther1]

"the main reason most people buy a phone is for taking pictures and videos."
Do you truly believe this statement that you made?
The very LAST thing I consider, if at all, is the camera on a communications/banking/video calling//////device! Of all the features I have on my P7P the camera is the least used of them all. So while many people do care about the camera on a "phone" I would venture to bet that this does not include most people. Phone cameras have been good enough for years now. And besides that when you view your pictures on a 6" screen....well they all look pretty similar to "most" people.

I understand that my opinion isn't going to line up with everyone's and that's ok. Capturing memories with my phone camera is important to me. I have to disagree with the statement that most or all phone cameras are equal. My experience with different phone cameras over the years has varied greatly. What they are capable of or not capable of has been either freeing or a hindrance to me being able to capture those memories.

Whenever I look at pictures and videos, I am instantly transported back to when they were taken. If they were blurry or had bad audio, it bothers me.

I still believe I'm in the majority when it comes to what most people look for in a phone. I simply won't settle for just any phone if it means I'm going to be limited in what kind of memories I can capture with the camera on it.

 

[Crispy]

I understand that my opinion isn't going to line up with everyone's and that's ok. Capturing memories with my phone camera is important to me. I have to disagree with the statement that most or all phone cameras are equal. My experience with different phone cameras over the years has varied greatly. What they are capable of or not capable of has been either freeing or a hindrance to me being able to capture those memories.

Whenever I look at pictures and videos, I am instantly transported back to when they were taken. If they were blurry or had bad audio, it bothers me.

I still believe I'm in the majority when it comes to what most people look for in a phone. I simply won't settle for just any phone if it means I'm going to be limited in what kind of memories I can capture with the camera on it.

I think this is very much an age/social thing. For a lot of young people these days taking endless pics to post on social media is the main use along with the texting and constant status updates.

And interestingly when you have kids you again tend to take a lot of pics.

There are also a lot of people esp in developing countries for whom the phone is the most advanced electronics they own, and they don't have a computer like its common here.

I believe pc usage is declining worldwide and a lot of people access the Internet via their phones. That is actually the biggest difference you see in phones, since webpages and browsers keep getting slower and full of ads.

 

[mustang7757]

I don't want this to be about politics but I find the whole 'china = evil' to be bs, when western countries have done far worse. do you think you are avoiding govt spying by buying from US brands - you're not. The only US company which actually bothers to enforce your privacy in any meaningful way is Apple.

Yes let's please leave politics out of this , thank you !

 

[Laura Knotek]

Please keep this thread about discussion of the Pixel 7, not about members' preferred usage of their phones. Everyone has certain features that he/she likes and values more than others. If you don't need a feature that someone else needs, then please move on. We do not need any personal attacks because your needs differ from someone else's needs.

 

[Joshua Luther1]

I think this is very much an age/social thing. For a lot of young people these days taking endless pics to post on social media is the main use along with the texting and constant status updates.

And interestingly when you have kids you again tend to take a lot of pics.

There are also a lot of people esp in developing countries for whom the phone is the most advanced electronics they own, and they don't have a computer like its common here.

I believe pc usage is declining worldwide and a lot of people access the Internet via their phones. That is actually the biggest difference you see in phones, since webpages and browsers keep getting slower and full of ads.

I'm 45 and my kids are 13 and 10. I rarely post anything on social media anymore. I used to just about 4-5 years ago. Now I mainly just try to capture moments for my own benefit or to share with my immediate and extended family. I'm generally not one to take 100's of pictures every place I go. My wife doesn't either. Occasionally I'll record videos for my YouTube channel but it's been a couple of years since I've uploaded anything to it. I also occasionally like to share videos of things I'm working on to my Instagram and even less frequently to my TikTok. I find myself sharing things within Facebook groups I'm a part more than anything. But even that is very infrequent. But I also have friends who are either slightly older or younger than me who take tons of pictures and they are mainly on iPhones.