Google Pixels are NOT Samsung or Apple

[scotiez]

Yesterday I received my Pixel 4 XL. I ordered it on launch day, I also upgraded from a Pixel 2XL, (which I loved that phone). In the past I have had Apple iPhone's, and Samsung Galaxy phone's. Like auto manufactures everyone has their differences. You don't read many articles that bashes Ford because it doesn't have this feature and Chevrolet does or vice versa.
I have read nothing but negative reviews on the Pixel 4 and 4 XL since the launch. Everyone compares it to the iPhone and Samsung phones. Guess what? Google Pixel phones are in a league of its own. Samsung may have a curved screen and fills almost the entire front of the phone. Personally I do not like the curved screen, Its to hard to find a screen protector to fit well and with the curved screen I accidentally open other apps near the edge. I also do not like all the bloatware on Samsung phones. You have 2 email programs, 2 browsers, 2 messaging apps and so on, and the ones you don't use you can't remove from the phone. iPhone is iPhone, It's apple, I do not use an apple computer at home and in the past when I did have an iPhone it did not play well with a windows computer. I did not like using iTunes to transfer all my music and so forth to the iPhone. For this reason I like the Pixel phones, It runs smooth because its not loaded down with bloatware, It connects to my computer easily for transferring music, pictures, documents and what ever else I decide to put on my phone. I also love that the screen is NOT curved. When I ordered my pixel 4 XL I also ordered a glass screen protector from Zagg. You know what. It fits perfectly. No gaps around the edge, and touch sensitivity is the same as if I did not have a screen protector. I know the pixel phones are expensive, but I choose to pay the price because of the things it does NOT have, Like the curved screen, Bloatware, and it just simply works great.

As for people complaining on battery life. Pixel battery life will improve as it learns your phone use habits. Don't start bashing them from the get go. This is what Google is all about, Learning your habits to make the best product available.

So lets start hearing what you like about your pixel 4 or 4 XL, and stop comparing it to Samsung and Apple.

My 1st impression is that it's simple and smooth, I transferred all my pictures, documents, settings from my old phone to my new phone and it only took a few minutes. I think I am going to love the new camera, and I did miss not having wireless charging on my old pixel so having wireless charging again will be appreciated on this one. You did a good job Google on developing the Pixel 4 and 4 XL and I buy your products cause you keep it simple, and it works.

 

[Mr Segundus]

The phone costs $899 or $999 and has middling battery life. The fact that it costs so much with so-so battery life, when you can get better battery life of phones that cost half the price, is valid. Reviewers used the devices for a week or two. Battery life isn't going to improve much after that.

 

[aggie]

LOL do you work for Google?

The Pixel 4/XL are nice phones sure. But when they are priced the same as other flagships they should be capable of everything those other flagships are capable of. They missed the mark in a few areas. They could have done better on the battery. Regardless of if the battery "learns your habits", I can't play COD Mobile on my Pixel without chewing through the battery at a rapid pace, unlike the iPhone 11 Pro Max or Note 10+ (or Galaxy Fold I briefly had). The camera, while great for photos leaves alot to be desired on the video side. There's absolutely no reason for not supporting 4K 60FPS. No ultra wide lens? This is pretty much a standard on flagships now and it produces some amazing photos. Also, if they are pricing it at the level of other flagships, 64GB/128GB is not acceptable. The Note 10+ starts at 256GB and has the option for expandable storage.

Regarding iTunes and the iPhone, I have not connected my iPhone to iTunes in years. All the photos back up to Google Photos or iCloud and are easily accessible at any time. All music backs up to Apple Music, and again easily accessible. Apple is phasing out iTunes. It was announced early this year it will be shut down this fall.

I'm not slamming the Pixel 4/4XL. They are nice devices. I will probably keep my 4XL because I am a Pixel fan. However, I see more value in the other phones mentioned at this price level than I do the Pixel. To go back to your auto comparison, I own a Ford Raptor. Price wise it is at the top of the trim levels for Ford. It has every bell and whistle they offer. If Ford was to offer a Lariat at the same price as a Raptor at ~$70k but has less features yet performs the same basic functions, why would I buy the Lariat over the Raptor at that same price point?

 

[anon(10641352)]

The phone costs $899 or $999 and has middling battery life. The fact that it costs so much with so-so battery life, when you can get better battery life of phones that cost half the price, is valid. Reviewers used the devices for a week or two. Battery life isn't going to improve much after that.

I had over 5 hours of screen on time yesterday and still had 44% battery life when I plugged it in before bed last night. Seems like that's plenty. Just saying...

 

[anon(10641352)]

LOL do you work for Google?

The Pixel 4/XL are nice phones sure. But when they are priced the same as other flagships they should be capable of everything those other flagships are capable of. They missed the mark in a few areas. They could have done better on the battery. Regardless of if the battery "learns your habits", I can't play COD Mobile on my Pixel without chewing through the battery at a rapid pace, unlike the iPhone 11 Pro Max or Note 10+ (or Galaxy Fold I briefly had). The camera, while great for photos leaves alot to be desired on the video side. There's absolutely no reason for not supporting 4K 60FPS. No ultra wide lens? This is pretty much a standard on flagships now and it produces some amazing photos. Also, if they are pricing it at the level of other flagships, 64GB/128GB is not acceptable. The Note 10+ starts at 256GB and has the option for expandable storage.

Regarding iTunes and the iPhone, I have not connected my iPhone to iTunes in years. All the photos back up to Google Photos or iCloud and are easily accessible at any time. All music backs up to Apple Music, and again easily accessible. Apple is phasing out iTunes. It was announced early this year it will be shut down this fall.

I'm not slamming the Pixel 4/4XL. They are nice devices. I will probably keep my 4XL because I am a Pixel fan. However, I see more value in the other phones mentioned at this price level than I do the Pixel. To go back to your auto comparison, I own a Ford Raptor. Price wise it is at the top of the trim levels for Ford. It has every bell and whistle they offer. If Ford was to offer a Lariat at the same price as a Raptor at ~$70k but has less features yet performs the same basic functions, why would I buy the Lariat over the Raptor at that same price point?

So far in the short time I've had my phone the battery has not been what the YouTubers were crying about and I really tried to drain it last night after I got home from work.

I agree the video should've supported 4K60. As far as the wide angle goes it doesn't really bother me. I mean I've never had a phone that has one so I guess you can't miss what you never had but if the telephoto any astrophotography works as good as they say I'll be a happy camper.

As for the other phones Samsung and the stupid duplicate apps and bloatware (most other manufactures do this so it's not a Samsung exclusive) is a non starter for me. Apple is well Apple. They act like Communists with their phones (you have to do what they say and your only allowed to have the apps they allow you to have on YOUR $1200 phone). Again, no thank you. I'd rather go back to a landline.

I'm sure things could've been better but there's never been a Nexus or Pixel that was the best of the best but vanilla Android and no bloatware is more than worth it for me.

 

[chrispmoto]

I love my Pixel 3 xl. However, hearing that the 4's battery isn't that good already has me looking and thinking of a different phone.
Just like when BlackBerry went backwards with the camera, I went to the Pixel.
For the money we pay, it want what I want, and a good battery is high on the list.

 

[Mr Segundus]

I had over 5 hours of screen on time yesterday and still had 44% battery life when I plugged it in before bed last night. Seems like that's plenty. Just saying...

Sure, Jan.

 

[chezm]

For non power users i can see people pleased with the batter life, my regular Pixel 3 was fine for a medium user such as myself. Im sure the device is great, you will always have the techies compared specs but if that doesnt matter to the user than its a matter of preference. I have an iPhone X and love it, but if i were to buy an Android it would always be a Pixel over any other one out there.

 

[Rukbat]

1. Why are all manufacturers still comparing their cameras to Pixels if the Pixel is such a bad phone? (Hint - no one can touch the Visual Core chip's capabilities.)

2. Apple will always beat Android phones on battery - because the apps are native, not Java. (Or an iPhone can have a smaller battery than an Android phone and last as long - same reason.)

 

[Golurk]

So lets start hearing what you like about your pixel 4 or 4 XL, and stop comparing it to Samsung and Apple.

Before I start (and inevitably am bashed by those who disagree) the Pixel 4 devices are great phones. Would I get them? No, because in my opinion there are better devices out there (that doesn’t mean I think they are bad, and a lot of the reasons why I think so depend on my lifestyle etc).

The reason why most consumers/people compare the Pixel 4 to Samsung and Apple equivalents is simple. They are all smartphones, competing against each other in the same market and more or less aimed at the same consumer base. People don’t care that Google would still be a wealthy company without the Pixel line.

A smartphone is a smartphone (and remember, the P4 isn’t a rugged/outdoors/specialised device...it’s for the average person). So it’s a pretty natural thing to wonder “Before I shell out $900 for a smartphone, I would like to see how this one compares to others which might cost more or less”.

Comparing a smartphone to another one isn’t unreasonable, it’s perfectly normal to want to know whether you are getting the device which has all the features/software you want at the right price for you. At the end of the day, it’s your money...so it’s your decision.

Whether you like the Google Pixel devices (personally I do, but the 4 is a bit disappointing compared to the competition) and if you think they are in their own league is subjective...the ‘which phone is best’ threads have been going on since the days of Nokia, Blackberry and Sony Ericssons. What software you prefer, whether you prioritise camera, battery, display etc...

As for the criticism of the Pixel 4 (in particular), much of it is because of the battery life. It might have good battery life (for you), but when compared to other rivals not so much. The Pixel 3 didn’t have particularly good battery life compared to its rivals either...so seeing the battery become smaller while making the phone more power hungry isn’t a good thing. There’s only so much software optimisation can do.

The key is, in the smartphone world, Google, Apple, Samsung etc are all competitors competing to sell the most phones (have the highest market share) and make the most revenue/profit. And people want to get the phone that suits them best, so of course they will compare the different devices on offer before making their decision. Nothing unreasonable, wrong or remotely disagreeable with that.

 

[buzzy3970]

The fact that the op says Samsung phones come with 2 messaging apps lol. Samsung phones only come with Samsung messages by default. You're free to download any others as you choose plus there are many people that prefer the Samsung browser to chrome due to being less memory and better at blocker integration. Don't know people for simply having choices when it comes to apps. That is the foundation of Androids success in the first place.

 

[anon(10641352)]

I haven't owned a Samsung phone in a long long time and probably never will again but it does it not come with the stock Android messages app as well?

Either way my problem is that they made it impossible to remove the apps unless you root and go in with ADB and recover the APK's. I don't really care what apps they put on the phone but don't block me from easily removing the ones I don't want on my $1000 phone that I own. I heard the latest ones bake Facebook into the system and you can't remove it. It's also sending data even if you don't use Facebook. THAT'S why I hate Samsung...

 

[Clancy3434]

My pixel 4 xl has been off the charger now since 5:30 AM.
I'm at 62% battery life.

I'm not sure what this so called battery issue is, but I'm not experiencing it whatsoever.

 

[Jeremy8000]

The phone costs $899 or $999 and has middling battery life. The fact that it costs so much with so-so battery life, when you can get better battery life of phones that cost half the price, is valid. Reviewers used the devices for a week or two. Battery life isn't going to improve much after that.

By that argument, buy a Moto g7 Power and laugh at every flagship. Can't look at just one spec, and can't look at a single spec like battery size and accurately gauge battery life any more than you can define MPG on a car by the size of the engine.

Also, people on this forum are far from representative of a typical smartphone user in terms of how much they use their device. Take this for example:

"we found that most people, on average, spend 3 hours and 15 minutes on our phones.

Now, that’s just an average. When we break these numbers down, we see that the top 20% of smartphone users have daily screen time in excess of 4.5 hours."

(Source: https://blog.rescuetime.com/screen-time-stats-2018/)

I have yet to see reports from anyone actually using the phone in a manner not effectively designed to drain a battery (e.g., gaming) that would cause either model to be insufficient for a typical day's use by a large majority of users, with the the demand not beginning to fail the top 20% until a point where 4XL users are noting still having 30-45% remaining.

If a phone has "middling" battery life compared to the longest lasting flagships but still coasts through the day with no recharge and no issue for the large majority, that's not such a bad thing. There's a point where enough is enough.

That being stated, there are definitely more users for whom the Pixels' battery life will require a recharge at some point during the day than with some others, but by the same token there is no phone on the market that would last me a full day if I get into some serious gaming sessions.

Basically buy what works for you but don't bash a phone as if it is a poor choice for all because it might not be ideal for 100% - there's plenty of other more legitimate and universally applicable criticisms that can be levied at Pixels, Notes, iPhones, and any other phone you care to mention.

 

[dsignori]

…

If a phone has "middling" battery life compared to the longest lasting flagships but still coasts through the day with no recharge and no issue for the large majority, that's not such a bad thing. There's a point where enough is enough.

...

Yes. Completely agree. And that’s up to each person’s use case to judge. Perhaps not after 1 or 2 days though. This is spot on though.

P.s. you really need to write longer posts

 

[Lepa79]

When we ask for base storage to be 128gb and bigger battery, we are not comparing to apple or Samsung. We we are simply asking why is Google charging flagship prices and giving us crappy hardware specs. If the phone was prices $300 less, no one will bring this up.

When Google gives you $260 for a trade in value on mint 3 XL, People get pissed because they feel cheated.

 

[Clancy3434]

 

[SupraLB]

Except for the Samsung screen, samsung RAM, samsung storage, etc its Google.

 

[SwitchBoardDj]

I had my P4XL since yesterday and it did great. Today is the first day where I'm using it on a full battery. I don't try to use the phone to see how fast I can run the battery down. I'm using the pixel just like I did with the phone I had before that (iphone 11 pro / Note 10+) I'm using it "how I use it" not how a reviewer used theirs. And so far, the battery life has been amazing for me. I been off the charger since 7am. It's now 12hrs later and I have 65% battery left. So for me its great. Yes, my iphone 11 Pro got really good battery life. My Note 10+ not so much. Nonetheless, my main thing with battery is I want it to last from the time I take it off the charger>Go to work>Go to the gym>come home>Go to bed....which I then charge it back up. Now if the battery doesn't last, I just plug it up and charge..it's not a big deal.

I agree in that the the Pixel is a phone, that's just like the iphone ..."just works" and works great. What I found out from following tech for a few years and working in the industry is that people will always find something to complain about. It can be the most smallest thing and they'll complain. "Oh UPS delivered my phone in white truck and not the original brown truck. I been looking for the brown truck all day!" and they'll come to the forums to post all about it. You got reviewers posting all this negativity about the phone and people honestly believing it. Those Reviewers run those phones into the ground, brightness max, playing games and watching movies etc..of course your battery will drain.

Then people are complaining about the price. "Well it's priced more than this phone and it has less" I would like to see someone buy a device that's priced similar to that of the pixel 4 line; that will receive guaranteed official Android software updates for 3 years and as fast as the Pixel Line? Don't say Samsung, don't say Motorola...Oneplus, yea, they're quick to release a update. But will the phone be supported with 3 years of Android software updates?

What amazes me is that some of the reviewers that bashed the Pixel 4 line of phones, are now starting to give it praise. Some for the camera, some for the battery..some for both. And I could be wrong, but I believe people complained about the Pixel 3/XL too when it launched and it turned out to be great device.

 

[vzwuser76]

This post isn't about the Pixels, but have you read articles about automobiles? They constantly bring up features, engines, transmissions, etc from other manufacturers when reviewing car models.

For example, the new generation of Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra. Every article I've read talks about the outdated interior compared to Ford and Ram. There's nothing actually wrong with it, like it's not going to break or anything, but it's not as premium as what their competitors offer. So yes, auto reviewers do that just like tech reviewers do.