Disappointing

[Philodoxic]

I think the phones is great considering its a direct upgrade in every way from mine

 

[wingjammer]

I like it. I am still keen to buy one, just the cost. Here in Australia the Pixel XL 128gb is $1419 which is as much as a macbook air. So its a big spend. It seems like wireless charging is pretty much dead anyway due to the slow speed it charges. So I wasn't surprised when they cut that. Though Nexus phones were kind of pioneers of wireless charging. This phone is not a nexus, its a new beast, the real competitor to the iPhone which sadly means the end to none essential things or things deemed only fanboys love. So goodbye to wireless charging and SD card slots. But I am sad they didn't push a bit harder to make it fully water proof or have front facing stereo speakers. Surely they are not fanboy only features. Especially stereo front facing speakers. But I suppose they are happy to not smash it out of the park but just try and cover most bases for now, which it seems they have besides the price.

 

[petvas72]

These threads are cracking me up. People all say the same thing.

This is overpriced! Why would I buy this when I could buy *insert cheaply-made phone from small Chinese company*?

We had this discussion on a different thread, but please make me understand, what makes the Pixel phones premium?
Many people compare it with cheap Asian phones, but others compare it with premium phones. This is the comparison that interests me.
The standout features of the Pixel are (according to Google):
- The Google Assistant
- The camera
- The design
- The clean interface (Pixel launcher)
- The unlimited Google Photos storage
- The 7x24 support

Let's examine these features, shall we?
- The Google Assistant is certainly very interesting but compare it to Google Now and Google on tap. The difference is not big and the Assistant is accessible on all phones running Allo. Also, Google will make the Assistant available to everyone, but not yet.
- The camera: It remains to be seen how better the camera is compared to the S7, the iPhone and the HTC 10. The lack of OIS is troubling though.
- The design: This is highly subjective, but most publications said that it looks like an iPhone. The large bottom bezel is certainly something that not everyone will like.
- The clean interface: This is a non issue. Just install the Google launcher or a 3rd party launcher and you are all set. Of course, normal consumers might not know how to do that, so let's say that this gives some added value.
- Unlimited Google Photos storage: My HTC 10 came with two years of 100GB on Google drive. I have about 12000 pictures stored at full resolution and I still haven't used more than 50℅ of my storage. This is an advantage for people that have zillions of pictures and want them stored on the cloud.
- The 7x24 support: If Google wants to compete against Apple, then they need very good user support. This is important for normal consumers. For power users this is totally unnecessary. Basically we are paying a premium price for the Pixel for the support and the extra Google Photos storage.

Overall, this is certainly a good phone, but its real value is low. No added benefits for power users. For normal consumers that are considering this against the iPhone, there is almost nothing to make them go with Google.

I want the Pixel to succeed and I am sure that the second iteration of the phone will be better. I will skip this one. There are much better choices out there.

 

[EnemiesInTheEnd]

We had this discussion on a different thread, but please make me understand, what makes the Pixel phones premium?
Many people compare it with cheap Asian phones, but others compare it with premium phones. This is the comparison that interests me.
The standout features of the Pixel are (according to Google):
- The Google Assistant
- The camera
- The design
- The clean interface (Pixel launcher)
- The unlimited Google Photos storage
- The 7x24 support

Let's examine these features, shall we?
- The Google Assistant is certainly very interesting but compare it to Google Now and Google on tap. The difference is not big and the Assistant is accessible on all phones running Allo. Also, Google will make the Assistant available to everyone, but not yet.
- The camera: It remains to be seen how better the camera is compared to the S7, the iPhone and the HTC 10. The lack of OIS is troubling though.
- The design: This is highly subjective, but most publications said that it looks like an iPhone. The large bottom bezel is certainly something that not everyone will like.
- The clean interface: This is a non issue. Just install the Google launcher or a 3rd party launcher and you are all set. Of course, normal consumers might not know how to do that, so let's say that this gives some added value.
- Unlimited Google Photos storage: My HTC 10 came with two years of 100GB on Google drive. I have about 12000 pictures stored at full resolution and I still haven't used more than 50℅ of my storage. This is an advantage for people that have zillions of pictures and want them stored on the cloud.
- The 7x24 support: If Google wants to compete against Apple, then they need very good user support. This is important for normal consumers. For power users this is totally unnecessary. Basically we are paying a premium price for the Pixel for the support and the extra Google Photos storage.

Overall, this is certainly a good phone, but its real value is low. No added benefits for power users. For normal consumers that are considering this against the iPhone, there is almost nothing to make them go with Google.

I want the Pixel to succeed and I am sure that the second iteration of the phone will be better. I will skip this one. There are much better choices out there.

You forget materials and build quality. Also, the Pixel camera has already been tested in two separate comparisons. They weren't in depth, but they give us an idea of what to expect. The Pixel camera is at least as good as the iPhone 7 camera.

 

[petvas72]

You forget materials and build quality. Also, the Pixel camera has already been tested in two separate comparisons. They weren't in depth, but they give us an idea of what to expect. The Pixel camera is at least as good as the iPhone 7 camera.

Materials and build quality compared to other premium phones are definitely not better. They should be on a similar level.

 

[EnemiesInTheEnd]

Materials and build quality compared to other premium phones are definitely not better. They should be on a similar level.

It's on par with the build quality of other phones in the Pixel's price range and greater than that of lower end phones.

 

[MrSlippery519]

We had this discussion on a different thread, but please make me understand, what makes the Pixel phones premium?
Many people compare it with cheap Asian phones, but others compare it with premium phones. This is the comparison that interests me.
The standout features of the Pixel are (according to Google):
- The Google Assistant
- The camera
- The design
- The clean interface (Pixel launcher)
- The unlimited Google Photos storage
- The 7x24 support

You conveniently leave a few things out when you are specifically asking and comparing what makes the phone premium, why is that?? Premium metal/glass construction, Snap 821 processor, 4GB ram...those 3 things alone make the phone premium and on par or higher than other phones currently offered.

I think people are failing to really look at the phone closely, Google could have very easily came out with a plastic phone, call it the Nexus 5 squared or something, with a Snap 820, making those 2 simple changes they likely could have reduced the cost dramatically.

 

[Citizen Coyote]

I don't know what country you're in, but the S7 is about $50 more expensive than the Pixel and the Note 7 is about $100 more expensive than the Pixel XL.

Sale or discounted prices of 7 month old phones isn't a fair comparison. The fact of the matter is that the Pixel phones are priced in line with the competition.

I was responding to your claim that the S7 is $50 more than the Pixel. Right now, you can buy it for $560, which is $90 less than the Pixel. If you want a phone right now, you're looking at the current price, not the MSRP price, so the comparison is very valid. Right now, Samsung Galaxy S7 = $560, and Pixel = $650.

 

[petvas72]

You conveniently leave a few things out when you are specifically asking and comparing what makes the phone premium, why is that?? Premium metal/glass construction, Snap 821 processor, 4GB ram...those 3 things alone make the phone premium and on par or higher than other phones currently offered.

I think people are failing to really look at the phone closely, Google could have very easily came out with a plastic phone, call it the Nexus 5 squared or something, with a Snap 820, making those 2 simple changes they likely could have reduced the cost dramatically.

All flagships have 4GB RAM. The difference between the Snapdragon 820 & 821 is small. Definitely not worth paying extra for it.
I am comparing the Pixel with other premium phones.

 

[Aquila]

All flagships have 4GB RAM. The difference between the Snapdragon 820 & 821 is small. Definitely not worth paying extra for it.
I am comparing the Pixel with other premium phones.

But it's not extra? It's the same price as the Note 7, iPhone 7+ 128 GB, etc. All three phones are very similar in features and quality and they're all priced within $5 of each other on MSRP.

 

[MrSlippery519]

All flagships have 4GB RAM. The difference between the Snapdragon 820 & 821 is small. Definitely not worth paying extra for it.
I am comparing the Pixel with other premium phones.

Exactly and that is part of what makes it premium, you asked the question and I told you exactly what makes it premium. The facts are they could have put the 820 in the phone to reduce costs, but they wanted the most up to date tech, they could have sacrificed a number of other factors to reduce cost which would have left it not being a premium device.

It is fine if you do not like it or are not interested, it's fine it you think its too expensive, etc, but the fact remains the phone is premium and any other high end Android device (Samsung, HTC, etc) would have priced this device in the same way.

 

[blessedred]

I don't know what country you're in, but the S7 is about $50 more expensive than the Pixel and the Note 7 is about $100 more expensive than the Pixel XL.

Unlocked you can find an S7e as cheap as $500. $150 under the standard Pixel. And I was talking about for the 128 GB Pixel XL

 

[blessedred]

Well, if others are charging for that same amount, I don't see why google can't.
However, my main gripe with google is that this f'ed up phone seems to have no unique selling points ffs... Boring iphone copy (which they failed at), loosing dual speaker set-up, no water resistance, FPS on the back, no dark mode.. This is hardly even more compelling than the 5x tbh..
Yes they have a glorified google now but how is it exactly better than siri if I may ask? Yes, they have software updates but all google has been doing these days is copying other oem features so I don't see the big deal in that.

Imo, the pixel is basically the boring *** htc 10 with a glorified google now that's less pretty and more hyped.

I'm not saying they can't charge 650+ I'm saying they didn't add anything that competes with phones in that price tier. It's practically an iPhone for Android. That's why they dropped the Nexus branding because people look at the Nexus as a budget version of Android.

 

[petvas72]

But it's not extra? It's the same price as the Note 7, iPhone 7+ 128 GB, etc. All three phones are very similar in features and quality and they're all priced within $5 of each other on MSRP.

Nope. At this price segment there are some things that a phone must have. The stereo (or dual) speakers are a must. For many people water resistance is a must (for me not). The design is very generic.
There is absolutely nothing on this phone that stands out from the crowd.

 

[Aquila]

Unlocked you can find an S7e as cheap as $500. $150 under the standard Pixel. And I was talking about for the 128 GB Pixel XL

Generally when comparing prices we like to compare MSRP to MSRP or sale price to sale price, otherwise it can get fairly confusing talking about a firesale on one phone vs full price on another. Can you link to the S7 Edge for $500 unlocked? That's a hell of a deal, since it's $780 new in box MSRP.

 

[blessedred]

There is absolutely nothing the Note has that the Pixel doesn't have that is of any use to me. However the Pixel will have Google assistant which I am tremendously excited about.
So to me the Pixel definitely has a lot more value than the Note. More "features " means zilch if they're not features I'll use

I'm pretty sure everyone finds IP68 useful. And Google Assistant is a glorified Google Now rebranding. Opening apps with your voice isn't any better than just tapping on them yourself.

 

[Wiley_11]

And Google Assistant is a glorified Google Now rebranding.

I'm curious if Assistant and the other Pixel bloatware can be disabled.

 

[blessedred]

Not only does nothing exist that has everything, any phone that did have all of those things would be 1) terrible and 2) ridiculously overpriced.

Here's the three major flagships of Q3/Q4 2016:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-...2Ooo40djHRKZjPIZr0CeACL0B/h484/2016-10-06.png

Ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd on all of these variables. Other variables could be added as well, I just went with the most common complaints. Here's a summary for those not into analytics:

The iPhone 7+ has 4 features it leads on, 3 it's in second on and 6 that it's in last + 5 features listed that it does not have.
The Note 7 has 7 features it leads on, 6 it is in second on and 3 that it's in last with 2 features listed that it does not have.
The Pixel XL has 8 features it leads on, 4 it's in second on, 2 that it's in last with and 4 features listed that it does not have.

None have front facing stereo speakers.

Price is one of those features, but since all three phones are within $5 of each other, a margin of half a percent... we could have called those all even. Based on those rankings, the Pixel is the one with the best or most features, followed by the Note 7 and then the iPhone 7+.

But this is not how we choose phones. We choose which ones have the best set of features that match what we prioritize.

For example, my list would count microSD as a negative, not care about wireless charging or the s-pen, and so it'd move the Pixel XL from having 14% more of the 1st place wins as the Note 7 to having 125% more. So to me, the Pixel XL, based on what I want, is worth more than 200% of the value of the Note to me, by these standards, and so paying the same amount or more than the Note doesn't seem unreasonable - if one were to assume the Note 7's price was fair.

Dude... The phone is overpriced... Everyone agrees... It adds little value over the Nexus 6P with almost twice the cost for its most expensive version and a $150 extra for its lowest tier version. Its overpriced and is disappointing.

 

[Aquila]

Nope. At this price segment there are some things that a phone must have. The stereo (or dual) speakers are a must. For many people water resistance is a must (for me not). The design is very generic.
There is absolutely nothing on this phone that stands out from the crowd.

According to some sources with hands on experience with the device and who have asked Google directly, the Pixel has stereo bottom firing speakers + the balanced ear speaker, however the tech specs and some others disagree - so I'm unclear on that spec point right now.

But in any case, the Moto Z Force at $770 doesn't have it, the iPhone 7+ has a single on the bottom and the earphone and the Note 7 has one bottom firing speaker ... so of those 4 phones in that price bracket, the iPhone 7+ and Pixel XL seem the same (also the same setup as the HTC 10 at $699), the Moto Z Force is mono and the Note 7 has only the one speaker which seems to be mono. So clearly stereo and dual speakers aren't required for a flagship.

 

[Aquila]

Dude... The phone is overpriced... Everyone agrees... It adds little value over the Nexus 6P with almost twice the cost for its most expensive version and a $150 extra for its lowest tier version. Its overpriced and is disappointing.

Ok, provide your evidence rather than just telling me I'm wrong and then stating factually incorrect statements, such as "it adds little value over the Nexus 6P with almost twice the cost". Because I can demonstrate that's incorrect as well, just as I demonstrated that it is the most fully featured device of the three main flagships out of the 18 features listed.