Anyone else feel kind of cheated by Google?

[Jatzcrackaz]

Re: Pixel 3A/XL price rant

I have to agree $650 isn't budget to me here, $300 is, I still feel its almost up there with flagships! drop it $200 and ill bite. Convert it and its $650 etc, USD $399 sounds better but its USD.... I will probably buy it but in a year, as my current phone will last another year, maybe be reasonable then.

 

[CConn882]

The only time I felt cheated by Google is when they released phones like the Pixel 2 and 3 at price points hundreds of dollars more than they were worth. If anything, this phone is righting a wrong.

 

[Jeremy8000]

The only time I felt cheated by Google is when they released phones like the Pixel 2 and 3 at price points hundreds of dollars more than they were worth. If anything, this phone is righting a wrong.

I wouldn't disagree that the pixel 3 and 3 XL were priced too high - but it did deliver a value set that warranted it in comparison to other flagships that were also imho proceed too high. that's the nature of the beast with luxury items, though. You have a steeply declining return on investment compared to mid-tier products.

 

[flipped4dinc]

Re: Pixel 3A/XL price rant

I bought the Pixel 3 at $599. I really wish I got it at $399 on Fi's birthday. I still love my phone though. Seems like no matter when you buy a phone, another one to lust for comes out a few months later.

 

[eenyc09]

Re: Pixel 3A/XL price rant

Not at all. I got a Pixel 3 XL, 128 GB for $499 from Google Fi, for their one-day anniversary sale. Even if I would have paid the full price of $999, the Pixel 3a XL would not serve my needs. A phone with 64 GB memory is not enough in my case (I download music in the highest quality from Spotify and Soundcloud).

 

[anon(26457)]

I just wish my Pixel 3XL didn't lag, stutter, and lock up so much. I wish I had stuck with the Note 9. Don't get me wrong, the pictures are amazing, but the rest of the time, it is just hard to use.

I haven't done a full factory reset, but I shouldn't need to at 6 months. Never had to with any other phone since I had a Droid X.

I don't necessarily feel cheated, but I am really disappointed.

 

[chris williams30]

Re: Pixel 3A/XL price rant

I don't feel cheated, I shopped around and found Best buy heavily discounted the Pixel 3 XL, I got it for $599 doing an upgrade on Verizon. I know that's not ideal for everyone but it really worked out for me. Getting it directly from Verizon was way more expensive. And let's be honest, don't think that the 3a is really comparable to the 3. I'm sure the 3a is not near as sturdy if dropped or as long lasting as the regular. Who hasn't dropped their phone in water at some point or gotten caught in the rain with it. Having the water rating can save you from buying a 3a multiple times (depending how clutzy you are--- like me).

 

[B. Diddy]

I just wish my Pixel 3XL didn't lag, stutter, and lock up so much.

Did you already try disabling Digital Wellbeing, which has been discussed in several tech news outlets lately?

 

[anon(26457)]

Hadn't heard about that. I follow several outlets. Guess I follow the wrong ones.

 

[B. Diddy]

It started as a Reddit thread, and was picked up by a bunch of sites recently, like The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/12/18616747/google-digital-wellbeing-slower-pixel-performance

There's also at least one thread on AC: https://forums.androidcentral.com/g...-xl/959161-turning-digital-wellbeing-off.html

 

[Hunan]

I still love my Pixel 3xl. I want wireless charging and water resistance. The higher resolution screen and free original quality photo backup are other reasons to get the 3xl. I paid$550 for the 128gb version during a promotion.

 

[jacksmith21006]

A few things to remember about the camera on the 3a:

1. There's no Visual Core, so all of the photo processing is done by the main CPU. This means the processing will take longer for each shot, and probably will bog the phone down if you're taking a lot of pictures in succession.

2. Since the CPU is doing all of the work, this will also probably increase overall battery usage if you're taking lots of pictures, so any improvement in battery size over the flagship 3 would be offset.

3. From what I've seen everywhere, you won't get unlimited Original Quality photo storage on Google Photos -- only High Quality (which is still fine, but if you're a real photo enthusiast, you'll probably want the Original Quality).

4. Overall performance for the phone sounds very​ midrange, so you'd have to be prepared for somewhat sluggish app opening/switching, etc.

Read a couple times trying to find just something that was true in your post. But could not find anything.

The camera processing that is done on the PVC is done on the DSP just like how Google does it on the first Pixel.

Google still gives you unlimited uncompressed quality with Google photos. You might be confusing with raw.

You might try again.

 

[Itsa_Me_Mario]

Read a couple times trying to find just something that was true in your post. But could not find anything.

The camera processing that is done on the PVC is done on the DSP just like how Google does it on the first Pixel.

Google still gives you unlimited uncompressed quality with Google photos. You might be confusing with raw.

You might try again.

Whoops. Before you accuse a person with over 100,000 helpful posts of lying, you might want to check your sources.

From Google: https://blog.google/products/pixel/io-pixel-3a/ "Google Pixel 3a delivers what you’d expect from a premium device. Starting with the award-winning camera, Pixel 3a lets you take stunning photos using Google’s HDR+ technology with features like Portrait Mode, Super Res Zoom, and Night Sight to capture clear shots in low light. Google Photos is built in, so you can save all your high-quality photos and videos with free, unlimited storage." High quality, is not the same as original quality per this (also Google): https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6220791

Your first claim is less clear. According to the Android Central review, https://www.androidcentral.com/google-pixel-3a-review, "Both the 3a and 3a XL employ the same 12.2MP Sony IMX363 sensor as the Pixel 3, along with an f/1.8 aperture, optical and electronic stabilization, dual autofocus phase detection autofocus, and plenty of post-processing through Google's HDR+ algorithms. There are two omissions, though: the Pixel 3a series lacks a spectral/flicker sensor, which eliminates the banding found when taking photos or videos of backlit LEDs and helps with color accuracy; and it lacks Google's specialized Pixel Visual Core, which speeds up photo processing significantly."

 

[ambush_boy]

Re: Pixel 3A/XL price rant

I can't complain for the price with Verizon's BOGO, but my bootloader is in chastity so I'm stuck with at-a-glace/search-bar/discover on my home screen being useless. So I guess that's my biggest issues with it all.

 

[Mike Dee]

Read a couple times trying to find just something that was true in your post. But could not find anything.

The camera processing that is done on the PVC is done on the DSP just like how Google does it on the first Pixel.

Google still gives you unlimited uncompressed quality with Google photos. You might be confusing with raw.

You might try again.

He happens to be right about the Visual Core processing

 

[xilduq]

if i paid full price for the Pixel 3 like i did upon release for the Pixel 2 (which i loved) i might feel cheated.

i also told myself after seeing all the Pixel 2 discounts that I'd wait for a discount before buying a newer version.

regardless, i had *no* intention of getting a Pixel 3 -- until the Fi anniversary (just before 3a's release) discounted them 50%.

that said, had i paid retail for the 3 like i did the 2 instead of the 50% i did pay for the 3, I'd be miffed to say the least

 

[B. Diddy]

Read a couple times trying to find just something that was true in your post. But could not find anything.

The camera processing that is done on the PVC is done on the DSP just like how Google does it on the first Pixel.

Google still gives you unlimited uncompressed quality with Google photos. You might be confusing with raw.

You might try again.

Thanks for the fact-checking effort -- I'm always looking to make sure I'm not saying anything incorrect!

You're correct in that I mistakenly thought photo processing would be done by the main CPU itself -- the phone does have the Spectra ISP (although this is integrated into the SoC, rather than being a completely separate Visual Core, so my saying the processing would be done by the main CPU isn't all that far off the mark). But I have read from a few sources that the Spectra ISP on the 3a is not as powerful as the Visual Core. Google says that the difference shouldn't be very noticeable, but I suspect that's a bit of PR handwaving. I'll be more inclined to believe that when I've seen some head-to-head comparisons of camera performance -- specifically with pictures that require a lot of processing (i.e., Portrait Mode, Night Sight, etc.).

I do know the difference between Google Photos Original Quality and High Quality photos, as well as what RAW means. This has nothing to do with RAW. It's clear that the 3a will be like any other Android device that's not a flagship Pixel -- unlimited High Quality photos, not Original Quality. https://www.pcworld.com/article/3393469/pixel-3a-unlimited-google-photos-storage.html

Shall I try again?

 

[KnoBuddy]

if i paid full price for the Pixel 3 like i did upon release for the Pixel 2 (which i loved) i might feel cheated.

i also told myself after seeing all the Pixel 2 discounts that I'd wait for a discount before buying a newer version.

regardless, i had *no* intention of getting a Pixel 3 -- until the Fi anniversary (just before 3a's release) discounted them 50%.

that said, had i paid retail for the 3 like i did the 2 instead of the 50% i did pay for the 3, I'd be miffed to say the least

I would have felt the same but I bought my 3 xl on Black Friday with a $400 discount. Only thing I'm pissed about is the bootloader being locked because it's a Verizon variant.

At least Google has the game handled on new versions of Android.

 

[Michael Hassur]

Re: Pixel 3A/XL price rant

I'm very happy with my new Google pixel 3 phone which I got for $400 on a recent birthday special at Google. The pixel 3a is probably a very good phone, but I got an even better one for the same price.

 

[Mike Dee]

if i paid full price for the Pixel 3 like i did upon release for the Pixel 2 (which i loved) i might feel cheated.

i also told myself after seeing all the Pixel 2 discounts that I'd wait for a discount before buying a newer version.

regardless, i had *no* intention of getting a Pixel 3 -- until the Fi anniversary (just before 3a's release) discounted them 50%.

that said, had i paid retail for the 3 like i did the 2 instead of the 50% i did pay for the 3, I'd be miffed to say the least

Not sure why anyone would feel cheated but everyone has the right to an opinion. I bought a 3XL at full price and I have no regrets. I knew what I was getting into and I gladly paid the price for buying it early. The fact that roughly six months later a mid-range phone comes out with some of its features doesn't change the way I feel because I wouldn't buy the mid ranger. Not because anything's wrong with it. It's just not something I would buy. If someone feels cheated because they bought a top tier Pixel at full price, they probably shouldn't have bought it to begin with.