Everyone happy with Pixel so far?

[thawkth]

Re: Good? Bad? Something in between? How is the Pixel working out so far?

I received mine Friday night, and I'm extremely happy.

**********************
Some background (skip this if you don't care) - I'm a long time Android guy, my first Android phones being the Droid Eris and Droid Incredible, followed by the Incredible 2, GSM Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, Nexus 5, HTC M8 (flashed to GPE), and Note5 followed most recently by an iPhone 7 that I received on launch day.

The Nexus 4 and 5 were the highlights of my Android experience, even if the 4 lacked LTE and the 5 had poor battery and camera. Lollipop, however, really took me down a peg and seemed to push my Nexus 5 into a buggy and unstable mess. Background battery drain? Oh yeah.

I've been wanting Google to take the Android experience as seriously as Apple seems to for a while. I think they have, and for a 1.0 product supposedly designed and built in under a year? I'm amazed.
**********************

I am in love with this device so far. The screen is much better than my Note5 screen, seriously the best I've seen or used. The performance is frankly on another level compared to any other Android device I've ever used - touch response hits it out of the park, no lag or stutters so far anywhere. Battery life has been easily 5 hours of SOT, it charges quickly, and doesn't really get hot or warm like I'm used to. Google Assistant isn't going to blow your mind if you're used to Now, other than the fact that it just seems so FAST.

I don't really care about MicroSD or front facing speakers, and waterproofing is simply a nice to have.

Rather than focus incessantly on what the Pixel is NOT, as most people do, I want to try to explain what the Pixel IS to me: a highly polished, optimized Android experience that we've all waited for. It's free of bloat, free of whizbang features most people would never use.

It has the best screen I've ever seen, with the best touch response I've ever experienced, a phenomenal camera, and a software experience that is what I've always loved about stock android - clean, minimalist, fast - with guaranteed security updates as soon as they're released.

The problem I think is some people, especially on this and similar forums, want features for their dollar - I don't really care about most added features, Pixel gives me what I care about - I prefer polish for my dollar and it's nigh impossible to talk to people about what the experience is actually like. How do you put into words what it's like to switch to an app you haven't run in hours upon hours and have it simply be there and ready for you rather than needing to relaunch? What it's like to scroll quickly and have the device actually keep up. Or what it's like to just fly around the UI doing whatever and simply having the device...do it, without friction?

I could use those words, I could say those things, but I can't give you that experience and I certainly can't make anyone VALUE that experience as I do above things like a MicroSD card or smaller bezel or whatever. I am going to say this - people that haven't used the Pixel are obviously judging it based only on the previous Android context - as if we're talking about a $900 6P vs an S7Edge. We're not. This doesn't feel to me like an iteration in the Nexus lineup with a pricetag. This feels like Google building hardware to suit the software and I believe that does a brilliant job. I have always felt Android devices lacked the integrated feel that iPhones have - that feeling that the hardware and software blurred somewhere and made for a consistent and reliable experience. I don't have that feeling right now.

The hardware of the Pixel isn't supermodel cover shoot sexy. Not at all. But it's attractive in the "welcome home, I made brownies" sense. It's comfortable, beautiful, and worth it in and of itself

Sorry for the rambling. I need coffee. Any specific questions just ask.

 

[thesebastian]

Re: Good? Bad? Something in between? How is the Pixel working out so far?

@thawkth

Thanks for your review! Mind to add something about the compass performance? (Maps while walking). I'd like to know about that because nor reviews talk about compass quality, etc. (And N 5X and 6P had many issues with the compass calibration).

In my experience, I've always been an Android user, but this time I tried so hard to buy the iPhone 7 (for the same price). So I went to the store and tried it for over an hour. But the factor that prevented me to do that is the iOS speed, you have a lot of retarders there, to switch an app, to scroll fast, to push a button before the app finished loading, etc. So in summary I work much faster with Android than iOS (So I'd say, Pixel vs iPhone 7 is, speed vs smoothness, I'll always prefer speed).

 

[mountainman]

Someone else bashing a phone they have never used based on what they perceive to be important qualities in phones. Yay! .......

Thanks a lot I spit out my coffee in laughter LOL. That made my day.

 

[Almeuit]

Absolutely love it.

Yeah it's Android's iPhone and I couldn't be happier.

Wow those are big words from you -- I only say this because I have known you around the forums for a long time now and know you aren't easy on phones so you saying this is definitely a good thing! .

 

[Almeuit]

The next batch of smartphones; S8 and iPhone 8 are going to be miles miles miles ahead of their time.

Any facts on this or just internet rumors with no real facts yet? .

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

Great, you guys are tempting me away from that HTC 10.....

 

[klau25]

Re: Good? Bad? Something in between? How is the Pixel working out so far?

I received mine Friday night, and I'm extremely happy.

**********************
Some background (skip this if you don't care) - I'm a long time Android guy, my first Android phones being the Droid Eris and Droid Incredible, followed by the Incredible 2, GSM Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, Nexus 5, HTC M8 (flashed to GPE), and Note5 followed most recently by an iPhone 7 that I received on launch day.

The Nexus 4 and 5 were the highlights of my Android experience, even if the 4 lacked LTE and the 5 had poor battery and camera. Lollipop, however, really took me down a peg and seemed to push my Nexus 5 into a buggy and unstable mess. Background battery drain? Oh yeah.

I've been wanting Google to take the Android experience as seriously as Apple seems to for a while. I think they have, and for a 1.0 product supposedly designed and built in under a year? I'm amazed.
**********************

I am in love with this device so far. The screen is much better than my Note5 screen, seriously the best I've seen or used. The performance is frankly on another level compared to any other Android device I've ever used - touch response hits it out of the park, no lag or stutters so far anywhere. Battery life has been easily 5 hours of SOT, it charges quickly, and doesn't really get hot or warm like I'm used to. Google Assistant isn't going to blow your mind if you're used to Now, other than the fact that it just seems so FAST.

I don't really care about MicroSD or front facing speakers, and waterproofing is simply a nice to have.

Rather than focus incessantly on what the Pixel is NOT, as most people do, I want to try to explain what the Pixel IS to me: a highly polished, optimized Android experience that we've all waited for. It's free of bloat, free of whizbang features most people would never use.

It has the best screen I've ever seen, with the best touch response I've ever experienced, a phenomenal camera, and a software experience that is what I've always loved about stock android - clean, minimalist, fast - with guaranteed security updates as soon as they're released.

The problem I think is some people, especially on this and similar forums, want features for their dollar - I don't really care about most added features, Pixel gives me what I care about - I prefer polish for my dollar and it's nigh impossible to talk to people about what the experience is actually like. How do you put into words what it's like to switch to an app you haven't run in hours upon hours and have it simply be there and ready for you rather than needing to relaunch? What it's like to scroll quickly and have the device actually keep up. Or what it's like to just fly around the UI doing whatever and simply having the device...do it, without friction?

I could use those words, I could say those things, but I can't give you that experience and I certainly can't make anyone VALUE that experience as I do above things like a MicroSD card or smaller bezel or whatever. I am going to say this - people that haven't used the Pixel are obviously judging it based only on the previous Android context - as if we're talking about a $900 6P vs an S7Edge. We're not. This doesn't feel to me like an iteration in the Nexus lineup with a pricetag. This feels like Google building hardware to suit the software and I believe that does a brilliant job. I have always felt Android devices lacked the integrated feel that iPhones have - that feeling that the hardware and software blurred somewhere and made for a consistent and reliable experience. I don't have that feeling right now.

The hardware of the Pixel isn't supermodel cover shoot sexy. Not at all. But it's attractive in the "welcome home, I made brownies" sense. It's comfortable, beautiful, and worth it in and of itself

Sorry for the rambling. I need coffee. Any specific questions just ask.

This is exactly what I'm talking about. People love to focus on 1 or 2 things that the Pixel doesn't have, but don't mention what the Pixel has to make up for it.

Vs iPhone 7 or plus. How about a bigger screen and higher resolution the pixel has vs regular iPhone 7 and higher resolution the xl has over the plus but in a smaller body?

Vs Samsung, how about timely updates? And unlimited full resolution backup?

Again this is what so great about all these choices, if you want removable battery and SD card. Get a Samsung. If want simple OS, and 2x optical zoom, get an iPhone.

All of them a great phones with some unique features the other doesn't have. If we going to talk about what the Pixel is missing and why it's not worth the flagship price, we need to use the same standard for the other flagship.

 

[Almeuit]

Great, you guys are tempting me away from that HTC 10.....

Pixel > HTC 10. Do eeeet!

 

[Go0gle]

Best phone I have ever used, bar none - and I have used a lot. The only complaint I have is the speaker is not as good as the 6P speakers, but they are on par with other phones that has a single, bottom speaker.

The size is perfect, and it's very light, yet solid. Perfect qualities for a phone. Build quality and tolerances are all very good.

It also has the best and most uniform screen (no pink blotches or localized or color temperature issues) of any phone I have seen. I am a professional photographer and I am extremely picky about this (I've exchanged many phones in the past for this issue)

My first charge with heavy usage was after 48 hours, and currently I have 76% battery left after 32 hours, so I expect 3 full days or more out of this latest charge (slightly lighter usage than previous charge period). Incredible.

The camera is objectively the best on any smartphone at the moment. You need to see it to believe it. It's also extremely fast.

It survived 1 hour in a bowl of water with no issues other than the speaker sounding muffled because they were still wet (not mine haha - see YouTube video). Clearly you shouldn't take it swimming with you, but using it in the rain or if you accidentally drop it in water and immediately retrieve it wont necessarily mean your phone is destroyed.

Obviously I'd have liked it to be cheaper, but for me it has been worth it so I think the (high) price was fair in this case, especially with free unlimited photo/video storage at full resolution ($10+ per month value compared to competitors).

 

[LeoRex]

We're long since past the point where the next generation, or half-generation of phones is going to blow us away. Tech in the mobile industry is maturing... there are only so many gains that can be had at this point that each and every generation is now an iteration and not a whole "ERMAHGHERD THE AWESOME!" earth shatterer. The S8 will be a great phone.. will it blow away the S7? Probably not.. it'll be a little quicker, camera will be a little better, battery performance will be a little more robust, etc. Same goes for the next iPhone. What does Apple have going... Go with a full screen and embed the home button and FPS in the screen? That's not some ground breaking move.... Are they going to add in VR support? see previous point.

Is the Pixel future proof? Well, I guess as much as any phone you'll get at the moment. It's certainly the fastest one you'll get your hands on, and that speed will also hold up pretty well. Like I said earlier, new phones aren't getting that much faster, which means that OLD phones don't feel that much slower anymore either. It'll still be a quick phone with good support and a great camera a year from now, even two. Will newer stuff improve upon it? Probably, but not in any significant amount.

 

[klau25]

Best phone I have ever used, bar none - and I have used a lot. The only complaint I have is the speaker is not as good as the 6P speakers, but they are on par with other phones that has a single, bottom speaker.

The size is perfect, and it's very light, yet solid. Perfect qualities for a phone. Build quality and tolerances are all very good.

It also has the best and most uniform screen (no pink blotches or localized or color temperature issues) of any phone I have seen. I am a professional photographer and I am extremely picky about this (I've exchanged many phones in the past for this issue)

My first charge with heavy usage was after 48 hours, and currently I have 76% battery left after 32 hours, so I expect 3 full days or more out of this latest charge (slightly lighter usage than previous charge period). Incredible.

The camera is objectively the best on any smartphone at the moment. You need to see it to believe it. It's also extremely fast.

It survived 1 hour in a bowl of water with no issues other than the speaker sounding muffled because they were still wet (not mine haha - see YouTube video). Clearly you shouldn't take it swimming with you, but using it in the rain or if you accidentally drop it in water and immediately retrieve it wont necessarily mean your phone is destroyed.

Obviously I'd have liked it to be cheaper, but for me it has been worth it so I think the (high) price was fair in this case, especially with free unlimited photo/video storage at full resolution ($10+ per month value compared to competitors).

Wth? 3 days battery? You have a XL? Do you just let the phone sit there all day without touching it?

 

[Go0gle]

Wth? 3 days battery? You have a XL? Do you just let the phone sit there all day without touching it?

Yes it's the XL. I haven't hit 3 days yet, but I will with current usage. I got 3 days (or 60-70 hours) out of my 6P very regularly. Typical use for me between charges is medium, which means about 3.5 hours of screen time, podcasts/music to and from work commute, few phone calls, lots of texts & WhatsApp group chats, some browsing, regular sports notifications, and some bluetooth music. This is what I experienced for the last year with my 6P so I am really not surprised at all. I would expect the XL to be slightly better given that the screen is smaller and the CPU uses 50% of the power the SD 810 does. I also don't let my phone sit on the table next to me lit up with a 2 minute screen-off timer like I see so many people do.

I'm not sure if it matters anymore with Android 7.0, but turning off "Keep WiFi on during sleep" made by far the biggest difference to the battery life with previous phones.

 

[klau25]

Yes it's the XL. I haven't hit 3 days yet, but I will with current usage. I got 3 days (or 60-70 hours) out of my 6P very regularly. Typical use for me between charges is medium, which means about 3.5 hours of screen time, podcasts/music to and from work commute, few phone calls, lots of texts & WhatsApp group chats, some browsing, regular sports notifications, and some bluetooth music. This is what I experienced for the last year with my 6P so I am really not surprised at all. I would expect the XL to be slightly better given that the screen is smaller and the CPU uses 50% of the power the SD 810 does.

Wow, good for you. Haha. I never get that kind of battery life with my 6p, but I am constantly on it. I guess your sot matches with mine. So that probably within 1 hour, I check my phone 10 times vs yours 1 time. Haha. Whats sot on your xl?

 

[Cant Miss]

What is the issue with Android Auto? What kind of car are you using it with? I won't be home until Thursday to try this out on mine.

It just doesn't work. Black screen, or it tries to start up and freezes. Pioneer avn-4100nex, which works fine with two different Moto models and Nexus 6P.

Can't explain it... it was a shocker this being a Google phone.

 

[bhatech]

Super happy, great performance as usual, but the most impressive for me is the camera and I have the iPhone 7 plus to compare, had latest galaxy phones as well. Other than the zoom feature from iPhone 7 plus because of dual lenses, I like the pixel camera more than the iPhone one.
Everything is super smooth, till now haven't had any stutters like I experienced on Note 7 or other galaxy flagship. If you don't care about the feature set of the Samsung phones (I don't) then Pixel is a must buy. Sure it's expensive as is the Galaxy and iPhones and if you think those are worth the price then Pixel is absolutely worth as well.

 

[Go0gle]

Wow, good for you. Haha. I never get that kind of battery life with my 6p, but I am constantly on it. I guess your sot matches with mine. So that probably within 1 hour, I check my phone 10 times vs yours 1 time. Haha. Whats sot on your xl?

Not sure yet because it's not ready for a charge, but I am guessing it will be in the 3-4 hour range for SoT regularly between charges (same as it was with my 6P). I know some people do 5-6 hours of SoT a day and I would not expect them to get the same battery life I do, as we all know the screen is the biggest battery drain. I turn off auto brightness and keep my screen around 60-70% (plenty for me). I would definitely classify my usage as medium, with sporadic bursts of heavy usage depending on the day. GPS is another fairly large drain, and I don't use GPS very often.

 

[anon(464338)]

I'm not sure what you have experienced, but I have used my Pixel XL with Android Auto everyday since I received it and I have had no issues.

Edit:
I see you elaborated later in the thread that you are having issues with a Pioneer head unit. I am using mine with the built-in unit from Honda.

Same.. No problem with android auto with the stock GMC electronics.

 

[Wiley_11]

We're long since past the point where the next generation, or half-generation of phones is going to blow us away.

I think you hit the nail squarely on the head! When/if my Nexus 6 dies I'll move on to the *Nexus parte deux* aka Pixel and not a moment sooner............

 

[Applejunkie66]

It just doesn't work. Black screen, or it tries to start up and freezes. Pioneer avn-4100nex, which works fine with two different Moto models and Nexus 6P.

Can't explain it... it was a shocker this being a Google phone.

It may be a Nougat issue...

 

[cwbcpa]

I received mine Friday night, and I'm extremely happy.

**********************
Some background (skip this if you don't care) - I'm a long time Android guy, my first Android phones being the Droid Eris and Droid Incredible, followed by the Incredible 2, GSM Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, Nexus 5, HTC M8 (flashed to GPE), and Note5 followed most recently by an iPhone 7 that I received on launch day.

The Nexus 4 and 5 were the highlights of my Android experience, even if the 4 lacked LTE and the 5 had poor battery and camera. Lollipop, however, really took me down a peg and seemed to push my Nexus 5 into a buggy and unstable mess. Background battery drain? Oh yeah.

I've been wanting Google to take the Android experience as seriously as Apple seems to for a while. I think they have, and for a 1.0 product supposedly designed and built in under a year? I'm amazed.
**********************

I am in love with this device so far. The screen is much better than my Note5 screen, seriously the best I've seen or used. The performance is frankly on another level compared to any other Android device I've ever used - touch response hits it out of the park, no lag or stutters so far anywhere. Battery life has been easily 5 hours of SOT, it charges quickly, and doesn't really get hot or warm like I'm used to. Google Assistant isn't going to blow your mind if you're used to Now, other than the fact that it just seems so FAST.

I don't really care about MicroSD or front facing speakers, and waterproofing is simply a nice to have.

Rather than focus incessantly on what the Pixel is NOT, as most people do, I want to try to explain what the Pixel IS to me: a highly polished, optimized Android experience that we've all waited for. It's free of bloat, free of whizbang features most people would never use.

It has the best screen I've ever seen, with the best touch response I've ever experienced, a phenomenal camera, and a software experience that is what I've always loved about stock android - clean, minimalist, fast - with guaranteed security updates as soon as they're released.

The problem I think is some people, especially on this and similar forums, want features for their dollar - I don't really care about most added features, Pixel gives me what I care about - I prefer polish for my dollar and it's nigh impossible to talk to people about what the experience is actually like. How do you put into words what it's like to switch to an app you haven't run in hours upon hours and have it simply be there and ready for you rather than needing to relaunch? What it's like to scroll quickly and have the device actually keep up. Or what it's like to just fly around the UI doing whatever and simply having the device...do it, without friction?

I could use those words, I could say those things, but I can't give you that experience and I certainly can't make anyone VALUE that experience as I do above things like a MicroSD card or smaller bezel or whatever. I am going to say this - people that haven't used the Pixel are obviously judging it based only on the previous Android context - as if we're talking about a $900 6P vs an S7Edge. We're not. This doesn't feel to me like an iteration in the Nexus lineup with a pricetag. This feels like Google building hardware to suit the software and I believe that does a brilliant job. I have always felt Android devices lacked the integrated feel that iPhones have - that feeling that the hardware and software blurred somewhere and made for a consistent and reliable experience. I don't have that feeling right now.

The hardware of the Pixel isn't supermodel cover shoot sexy. Not at all. But it's attractive in the "welcome home, I made brownies" sense. It's comfortable, beautiful, and worth it in and of itself

Sorry for the rambling. I need coffee. Any specific questions just ask.

Couldn't say it better so I won't try. Great review.