I can't take it anymore, I'm going to go back to the Pixel 2 XL

[Emperor]

Bit of backstory:

- Purchased Pixel 2 XL at launch here (Oct 31)
- Noticed the screen had a dead pixel
- Took it to the store I purchased it from to replace, they didn't have any Pixel 2 XL's in stock
- Was told more new stock will be coming in December which would mean I run out of my 30 day early life failure period and wouldn't be able to provide me with a new device - would have to be sent in
- Was told I could instead swap it right there for any phone of equal or lesser value
- Chose to go with the Note 8 and have had it for a couple of weeks now
- Definitely not my cup of tea
- Ordered a Pixel 2 XL from Google and will sell the Note 8 once the Pixel arrives

I tried, I just couldn't get myself to love the Note 8. I think the Pixel kind of has the iPhone effect on me. The device that I can't move away from now. Anything else I try to use just doesn't perform as consistently or feel good enough to use on a daily basis. The Note 8 is a beautiful device, but the user experience on the Pixel is something just so good that the Note 8 felt 'ugh' to use after a while. I keep hearing people say 'no lag', 'no lag' on the Note 8, but I definitely saw it. Frame drops on transitions and scrolling, slight pauses when going to your homescreen etc. I think I've been brainwashed or something because I didn't even find the Note 8 that impressive. It's like an attractive person you meet that happens to be extremely shallow. You try to get to know them, but try as you might, sooner or later you don't want to be with them anymore.

I missed the Pixel. Missed it's clean interface, the consistency in operating it, it never got stuck or hanged on anything, the camera is definitely better and I just found I could do what I wanted to do faster and with less waiting. Kind of hard to explain, but now that I've experienced that level of phone smoothness, that has become the standard and that's what I expect out of whatever phone I have. The Note 8 just didn't do it for me.

Anyway, pretty excited to go back to the Pixel. Should arrive in just over a week. Going with the black model as I prefer the textured feel of the black more than the smooth white finish. Plus I'm worried about it getting dirty over time.

Back on the Pixel train, baby.

I found myself nodding in agreement while reading this. Welcome back!

 

[Ziich47]

Cracks me up when I hear people say a "flimsy dongle" as if the wire it's attached to is rigid and sturdy. I will never understand the issue with using a dongle really I won't. If I used wires, I'd just buy a dongle for each device that I was connecting and I'd never take it off, especially if I'm only connecting said device to my Pixel. It's just a dopey argument.

Here is the thing. Dongles are just inconvenient. You can't have the device charging and listen to music at the same time. This is not needed every day but is important on day a road trip or a long flight.
Wireless headphones have their own issues. Personally i have multiple devices i don't get to set there order in which my wireless headphones pair. Sometimes it gets confused and pairs to two devices at the same time but doesnt play the audio of the one i a currently using. The worst one is going out with dead headphones.

Do far i think google is the only one to make a headphone dongle that works with multiple devices. Htc, Motorola, apple all have proprietary headphone dongles. Therefore multiple phones require multiple dongles.

 

[Mike Dee]

Here is the thing. Dongles are just inconvenient. You can't have the device charging and listen to music at the same time. This is not needed every day but is important on day a road trip or a long flight.
Wireless headphones have their own issues. Personally i have multiple devices i don't get to set there order in which my wireless headphones pair. Sometimes it gets confused and pairs to two devices at the same time but doesnt play the audio of the one i a currently using. The worst one is going out with dead headphones.

Do far i think google is the only one to make a headphone dongle that works with multiple devices. Htc, Motorola, apple all have proprietary headphone dongles. Therefore multiple phones require multiple dongles.

Motorola is a pass through type....basically just a connector adapter.

The HTC will work with Google or any device that has the DAC built in to the dongle.

 

[popkurn611]

Na. I have tried iOS many times. I could live with it but it just isn't for me. I know the iPhone X will just be a few changes but still the same old iOS.

My main gripe? Notifications. I get a lot. I like to know what app is calling for attention by glancing at the top right versus diving into a "notification center" -- but that's just me .

I couldn't agree with you more. The notifications are not good on the iPhone, just have to figure out other ways to view them, not as organized as android. I'm just kind of stuck with iOS because of my family being all in the apple ecosystem. To have them watch a video from another all besides iMessage is like pulling teeth. I use FaceTime on a daily basis and when I had the pixel everyone in my family bashed the videos apps I made them download.

 

[popkurn611]

Don't bother me at all. Like I said above, I've been on iOS for the past 18 months which means the 7 Plus and 8 Plus which have dang near identical bezels with no front facing speakers so...

Gotcha, and how is your battery life? I know you were raving about how good the iPhone X was when you were using it. I find it to be great

 

[Almeuit]

I couldn't agree with you more. The notifications are not good on the iPhone, just have to figure out other ways to view them, not as organized as android. I'm just kind of stuck with iOS because of my family being all in the apple ecosystem. To have them watch a video from another all besides iMessage is like pulling teeth. I use FaceTime on a daily basis and when I had the pixel everyone in my family bashed the videos apps I made them download.

Yep. That was just my main gripe but I still agree that iOS has advantages for sure. It is just for my needs when I sit down and weigh them out .. Android wins.

When I am out w/ the gf I have to deal with videos being sent to me of my nephew from my Mom. I always have to text back to remind her to re-send the video to my gf since to me it is a mess due to the carrier. Once the gf gets it we can watch it without issue... So my workaround is using her lol.

 

[mumfoau]

You horrible people. Just confirmed my 2 XL order for delivery tomorrow. Ugh. Now I need to call Google about returning the 2.

 

[Almeuit]

You horrible people. Just confirmed my 2 XL order for delivery tomorrow. Ugh. Now I need to call Google about returning the 2.

^_^.

 

[mumfoau]

^_^.

 

[Wildo6882]

I couldn't agree with you more. The notifications are not good on the iPhone, just have to figure out other ways to view them, not as organized as android. I'm just kind of stuck with iOS because of my family being all in the apple ecosystem. To have them watch a video from another all besides iMessage is like pulling teeth. I use FaceTime on a daily basis and when I had the pixel everyone in my family bashed the videos apps I made them download.

I've found that Duo actually has better video quality than FaceTime. When I used FaceTime the other night from my X to my mom's iPhone 7, the video quality was terrible. It looked like I was watching video on dial-up. When I've used Duo to my wife the quality is MUCH nicer. Get the people you FaceTime to download a free app and use that for video calling. It's super easy to use. And like I told you before, turn your family onto Google Photos. So easy to share pics and videos. And then anyone can add new pics and they get immediately pushed to your device. My wife and I have used it exclusively between her Android phone and my iPhone. Once I actually get my Pixel in, it'll be even easier.

And this may be a selfish thing for me to say, but I'm tired of conforming my phone use to what others use. I'm going to get what I want and people can adapt to me. People like using iMessage with me - well, switch to Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp or Allo and you get the same experience for the most part. People like FaceTime - then get Duo and we can still video chat free and with better quality.

 

[mumfoau]

When I am out w/ the gf I have to deal with videos being sent to me of my nephew from my Mom. I always have to text back to remind her to re-send the video to my gf since to me it is a mess due to the carrier. Once the gf gets it we can watch it without issue... So my workaround is using her lol.

That is going to be the issue when the wife sends video of our little man from her iPhone. I'll have to tell her to ONLY email me videos of him and not "text" lol

 

[popkurn611]

I've found that Duo actually has better video quality than FaceTime. When I used FaceTime the other night from my X to my mom's iPhone 7, the video quality was terrible. It looked like I was watching video on dial-up. When I've used Duo to my wife the quality is MUCH nicer. Get the people you FaceTime to download a free app and use that for video calling. It's super easy to use. And like I told you before, turn your family onto Google Photos. So easy to share pics and videos. And then anyone can add new pics and they get immediately pushed to your device. My wife and I have used it exclusively between her Android phone and my iPhone. Once I actually get my Pixel in, it'll be even easier.

And this may be a selfish thing for me to say, but I'm tired of conforming my phone use to what others use. I'm going to get what I want and people can adapt to me. People like using iMessage with me - well, switch to Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp or Allo and you get the same experience for the most part. People like FaceTime - then get Duo and we can still video chat free and with better quality.

You know what, you're not being selfish at all! It's a shame bc I am conforming to what my whole family likes. I have always been an Android geek going back to the galaxy s3, rooting and applying roms. I like using an Android device, but my family are all iPhone users so I said what the heck, if they want to see their grandkids videos I have to get what they have.

I tried duo when it first came out and it sucked. FaceTime is for the most part good, but if your in a weak area obviously the connection won't be great

 

[mumfoau]

And this may be a selfish thing for me to say, but I'm tired of conforming my phone use to what others use. I'm going to get what I want and people can adapt to me. People like using iMessage with me - well, switch to Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp or Allo and you get the same experience for the most part. People like FaceTime - then get Duo and we can still video chat free and with better quality.

I so feel like this right now!

 

[Almeuit]

And this may be a selfish thing for me to say, but I'm tired of conforming my phone use to what others use. I'm going to get what I want and people can adapt to me. People like using iMessage with me - well, switch to Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp or Allo and you get the same experience for the most part. People like FaceTime - then get Duo and we can still video chat free and with better quality.

Agreed. I have a few iPhone friends that want me to use iMessage but they know how I am about Android. It works for me so I will use what works. Most of my friends share things online anyway (YouTube, etc.). I really only get videos of my nephew which they can use the work around of sending it to the gf (if they're an iPhone person) for me to view it without issue.

 

[Wildo6882]

I so feel like this right now!

Have your wife use Google Photos or Facebook Messenger or Allo to send videos. Works like a charm. Better than email, honestly.

 

[mumfoau]

Have your wife use Google Photos or Facebook Messenger or Allo to send videos. Works like a charm. Better than email, honestly.

I added her to Google photos right before switching to the Pixel when I was moving everything back over to GMail from iCloud.

 

[ocramida]

I love this analogy! Well done.

So are you saying all note 8 users are shallow?

 

[dc52ltr]

You horrible people. Just confirmed my 2 XL order for delivery tomorrow. Ugh. Now I need to call Google about returning the 2.

Hahaha! Love it!!

 

[dc52ltr]

Got to say,I asked the one or two people and family who have IOS to install Whatsapp and we now use it to send messages ,videos and do video calling all in the one app...it`s been very good.

 

[Wildo6882]

You horrible people. Just confirmed my 2 XL order for delivery tomorrow. Ugh. Now I need to call Google about returning the 2.

I’m about to do the same. Ugh!! I just ordered a whole bunch of accessories for the Pixel 2, too!