Pixel Phones, What is Google Thinking

worldspy99

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Didn't Nexus 5 receive almost 4 years of support? It did come out in 2013 after all and now is 2016 and they ended support for it. Also, you cannot compare to Apple because they design their own HW as well as SW, which means that backwards compatibility is much easier to achieve. Android devices depend on 3rd party HW.

Yeah but the average consumer buying a device for $650 or more doesn't care the trouble Google is having because they don't design their own chips. And the Nexus 5 barely made it to three years. Would have been nice if it got one more year of support, it was my favorite Nexus device hands down.
 

tgp

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Yeah but the average consumer buying a device for $650 or more doesn't care the trouble Google is having because they don't design their own chips. And the Nexus 5 barely made it to three years. Would have been nice if it got one more year of support, it was my favorite Nexus device hands down.

I think the support timeframe looks worse on paper than the difference it makes in real life. I bet most devices are replaced by the 2 year mark. People using a device more than 2 years old probably couldn't care less about updates. In fact, most people period probably couldn't care less about updates!

That said, Apple's support is 2nd to none, and I wish Google would copy.
 

worldspy99

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I think the support timeframe looks worse on paper than the difference it makes in real life. I bet most devices are replaced by the 2 year mark. People using a device more than 2 years old probably couldn't care less about updates. In fact, most people period probably couldn't care less about updates!

That said, Apple's support is 2nd to none, and I wish Google would copy.

Since Google doesn't have as many retail locations as Apple it is going to be difficult for them to offer Apple level of support. However, my Nexus 5 with battery issues was replaced without any questions being asked via Next Day Air shipment so I was quite happy with the support I received from them.
 

Lepa79

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If Google going to charge north of $700 for XL then I might as well treat myself to a freaking Note 7 or LG V20. I sure hope Google is not going to price these sky high. That's just plan stupid. 6P was priced about right.

They are dreaming if they think they can deliver a better hardware, camera, and screen than Note 7. Simply not possible lol
 

puch96

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What Google is doing is going head on against Apple. Picture this: HTC and Apple settled a patent lawsuit, and since then they can take designs guidelines from each other. That's why HTC phones are looking more like Apple, and vice versa. Then, Google comes along and uses HTC for both their yearly phones. With top specs, solid smooth performance, security and also including the price, just like Apple (well, maybe cheaper) The creation? Pixel and Pixel XL. Like iPhone 7 and 7plus. Now it would be interesting to see what happens next year. Is Google going to build it on its own? Is it going to use HTC? HTC is not worth a lot unfortunately, but they sure can design phones.......
 

tgp

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Since Google doesn't have as many retail locations as Apple it is going to be difficult for them to offer Apple level of support. However, my Nexus 5 with battery issues was replaced without any questions being asked via Next Day Air shipment so I was quite happy with the support I received from them.

I've had good experiences with Google support as well in the rare times I've needed to use it. I was thinking more of updates though. Apple consistently provides updates for their mobile devices for 4 years, give or take. Although, due to hardware requirements and advancements, the advantages of updates past the first couple years are probably reduced.
 

goadamn

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What I've found with my camera is that it's better to leave it at the regular zoomed out setting, then crop the photo to have it appear zoomed in, rather than zoom the picture in while taking the photo.

Once you zoom in, the camera sucks.
 

neo905

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I had the 6p for a bit and used the camera during the fireworks this summer down in Disney world and the camera sucks compared to any other camera in the market for those shots.

Good thing at exact scenario and grievance only applies to 0.000001% of the population. I don't think I have ever taken a picture of fireworks much less taken one with every phone I have ever had to make such a comparison.
 

swebb

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I had the 6p for a bit and used the camera during the fireworks this summer down in Disney world and the camera sucks compared to any other camera in the market for those shots.

You need a camera with manual controls, zoom, and a tripod to get decent firework pictures. You can't diss a phone camera for something it's not designed for.
 

dejanh

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Yeah but the average consumer buying a device for $650 or more doesn't care the trouble Google is having because they don't design their own chips. And the Nexus 5 barely made it to three years. Would have been nice if it got one more year of support, it was my favorite Nexus device hands down.
Agreed with all points above, except the # of years of support for the Nexus 5. It came out in 2013, so 2013, 2014, 2015, and part of 2016, which is 3 solid years of support. It doesn't matter though anyway, I get your point.
 

Ten Four

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I like the smaller sized Pixel for being smaller, but I won't be getting one at anywhere near the rumored price. I might spend that much if the camera was amazing, but it sounds like it will be an incremental improvement. Looks mean nothing to me, since the phone immediately goes into a case and I never see it again unless I have to change a SIM or something. Most phones are broken by two years, so longevity is not really a weakness of Google. I would be really happy if they improved some basic Android functionality like being able to keep totally separate contact lists and calendars for work and personal.
 

mogelijk

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Agreed with all points above, except the # of years of support for the Nexus 5. It came out in 2013, so 2013, 2014, 2015, and part of 2016, which is 3 solid years of support. It doesn't matter though anyway, I get your point.

And to quibble, it is still being supported, it just isn't getting the upgrade to Nougat. The Nexus 5 is still getting the monthly security updates and, from what Google previously has stated, I assume it will continue to get the security upgrades through August on next year.
 

Ten Four

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You need a camera with manual controls, zoom, and a tripod to get decent firework pictures. You can't diss a phone camera for something it's not designed for.
Or go for mood and try handheld, or maybe leaning against something to steady the shot.
2015_01_01_00_03_27_ProShot_zpsea3bepti.jpg
 

mogelijk

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The Pixel announcement is just a week away so we are getting the final rumors. The final specs and pricing looks really unappealing.

1) No 64G version, just 32 and 128, a very Apple like thing to do, either two little or force you to buy to much.
2) $700 for a Pixel XL, not clear if this is for the 32 or 126G but either way it's much more expensive than the 6P. This is an Apple price not a Nexus price.
3) Some sort of Pixel only skin, a very Samsung type of thing.

If all those things are true there is no way I would buy one to replace the 6P. The only improvement is a modest CPU speed bump, hardly worth $700.

The proprietary interface is the really confusing thing. The whole point of the Nexus program is to provide Android the way it's supposed to be, and to make it available to the OEMs.

Who are these phones targeted at? Does Google really think they can compete directly with Samsung? And if so aren't they worried about offending their OEMs?

I've always bought Nexus phones because I want the earliest access to the latest software and I don't mind running beta code, in fact I prefer it (my desktop runs Fedora). But if Google intends to make the Pixels a more mainstream phone then I might just as well by a flagship from Samsung or LG. If they don't return to their roots next year then I'll either by a Note 8 (plus a fire extinguisher) or an LG V30.

1 and 2) Let's wait until the phones are officially announced and where the price points actually are. And my main worry about not having a 64GB option is the price between the 32GB and the 128GB options. If it is still $150 price difference between the two, then I might complain about the lack of a middle option but, if it is less than $100, it is worth losing the middle option for the cheaper "upgrade" price -- at least to me.

3) Nexus phones have been "skinned" since Google Now was released. People made similar comments when the Google Now launcher was released, lots of people hated not being able to have another "home" screen on the left, that it was replaced by the Now screen. Pixel is just the next step in the evolution and, my personal idea, is that Google will make the launcher available in the Play store for people who want to use it (such as they did with the Google Now launcher). I also expect that, like the Google Now launcher, you'll be able to switch to whatever launcher you want in the home screen -- such as if you still want to use the Google Now launcher instead of the Pixel launcher. Of course, in a couple of years we'll likely think of the Pixel launcher as being part of "stock" Android, much as we view the Google Now launcher as stock today.
 

vzwuser76

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1 and 2) Let's wait until the phones are officially announced and where the price points actually are. And my main worry about not having a 64GB option is the price between the 32GB and the 128GB options. If it is still $150 price difference between the two, then I might complain about the lack of a middle option but, if it is less than $100, it is worth losing the middle option for the cheaper "upgrade" price -- at least to me.

3) Nexus phones have been "skinned" since Google Now was released. People made similar comments when the Google Now launcher was released, lots of people hated not being able to have another "home" screen on the left, that it was replaced by the Now screen. Pixel is just the next step in the evolution and, my personal idea, is that Google will make the launcher available in the Play store for people who want to use it (such as they did with the Google Now launcher). I also expect that, like the Google Now launcher, you'll be able to switch to whatever launcher you want in the home screen -- such as if you still want to use the Google Now launcher instead of the Pixel launcher. Of course, in a couple of years we'll likely think of the Pixel launcher as being part of "stock" Android, much as we view the Google Now launcher as stock today.

Technically, any device that has Google's service suite (Google apps, Google Play Services, and the Playstore) is no longer "stock Android", which in my mind is reserved for actual AOSP, which has none of those things. Those are all proprietary Google software, and IMO, the same as the Moto devices released while they were a part of Google, like the original Moto X with Motorola's software add-ons. The reason no one sees it that way is because Google's Android is the closest to AOSP most will ever see. Just my 2¢.
 

rahool360

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in India it is priced too high to compete, the beauty of Nexus 6p it was a great phone and was priced cheaper than other flagships!!!
 

Buddy1969

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...The proprietary interface is the really confusing thing. The whole point of the Nexus program is to provide Android the way it's supposed to be, and to make it available to the OEMs.
...

As Android is Google's baby, and so is the Pixel, you can be sure: THIS is, how Android is supposed to be, presently. The Nexus program showed how Android was supposed to be I the past.

I will still stick with my 6P for as long as I can, because it is a great phone, had a great price and performs perfectly.

If I had a say @Google, I'ld not only do a premium line (Pixel), but keep a budget phone (Nexus) as well. Why only service one part of the market?
 

Ten Four

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If I had a say @Google, I'ld not only do a premium line (Pixel), but keep a budget phone (Nexus) as well. Why only service one part of the market?
Sadly, many companies find there is no profit in budget products no matter how many they sell. It takes massive scale to make up for the much higher margins on premium products. That's what's so amazing about iPhones--high margins and high volume together. Google's real goal is to entice more and more people into its services world and lock them in, so in that regard they are offering lots at the budget end in terms of Android services found on many different phones. It's the high-end iPhone users that Google wants to bring into the fold, because they are the most prized by advertisers where Google's profits come from.