Previously on Lemmy:
Past Discussions:
Sorry for the delay for the weekly. Server’s not that stable right now, maybe we should start the thread on Sundays instead.
I always like to switch things up once in a while because it’s fun. So, let’s get back to the brand discussion this week for the Google Pixel. We’ll do a discussion on repairability next week. Again, ideas are always welcome here.
I’ve never used a Pixel, but people around here should know that I’ve been very critical of Google’s product decisions over the years, and the Pixel is no exception. In my point of view, discontinuing the Nexus series, buying out the talents from the remains of HTC and starting an official “made by Google” phone is the equivalent of reddit buying out Alien Blue to make the official reddit app. I think it’s the event that scared big Android manufacturers like Samsung enough to start making their own ecosystem away from Google, as they are concerned that Google may start locking software features to their own phones instead of improving Android overall (rightfully so, I might add).
It really makes no business sense at all to turn your manufacturing partners into your competitors, but then again, it’s Google.
With that being said, the first years of the Pixels has been marred with growing pains. Whereas the Nexus line has always been barebones, no frills development devices, it seemed to me that the people who made Pixels don’t even use Android and are insistent on turning Pixel into iPhones, removing the headphone jack on the Pixel 2 despite the antagonistic ad from the original Pixel, Pixel exclusive software features like Google camera that necessitating the need of rom mods, as well as the quality issues that seems to be inherited from the Nexus days just really soured me from considering Pixels, as I think it’s against the spirit of openness that made Android great.
But it seems like in recent years, they finally figured out that a large percentage of people who bought Androids not because they can’t afford iPhones, but because they like Android, and I see the introduction of the “a” series as progress. The recent Pixel ad campaign also made me think that they finally figuring it out: people want different things, trying to turn Android into worse versions of iPhones was not going to work, so they should be trying to make the best Android for Android users instead.
(It’s also the reason I think all the previous reddit clones failed, but Lemmy will be the one that finally succeeds.)
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If not nothing i would choose pixel and install lineage os on it
Why not GrapheneOS
Grapheneos too
Been using Pixel phones since the Pixel 2XL.
It simply comes down to simplicity and updates.
It always seems like with other manufacturers (especially Samsung) they try to throw everything they can at you to see what people might use. Whether that be 3 different apps for taking notes or 19 camera modes depending on what kind of food I’m taking a picture of.
When it comes to updates, I know manufacturers have definitely stepped up their game, but I’m still burned out on updates from before I had a Pixel. I used Moto phones before then and would often wait a year after a major version release to get the update.
Getting day 1 updates and being able to participate in betas is a big plus for me
Got a Pixel 6. Still loving the design, software and (reasonably) quick updates.
The camera in the 7 Pro was unmatched but the battery life is just shit in my opinion. Everything else worked fine, not the most powerful device though, didn’t run games very well.
I’ve had a Pixel 4a and now have a Pixel 7. I also had a Nexus 5 a long time ago, and a OnePlus 5T for a while after the Nexus 5’s camera broke.
Pixel 4a was great aside from the lack of waterproofing. I loved the size of it, it was fast enough, the camera was good enough, and I didn’t think I’d need another phone until I went hiking in the rain with it and couldn’t be bothered to go 100m back to the car to get a ziplock bag at the start of the hike :/
Pixel 7 is good, but I preferred the smaller size of the 4a, and some of the 7’s features just feel unnecessary to me, such as the higher refresh screen, as I don’t care about gaming on it. The in-screen fingerprint reader is definitely waaaaay worse than the one on the 4a (and especially the OnePlus 5T), and I have to enter my code a lot, but it’s not as bad as when I first got the phone. The insanely bright glow of the fingerprint reader when you use it at night is a bit annoying, as others have mentioned.
It also seems to get very hot sometimes, the official case isn’t quite as nice as that of the 4a, despite being more expensive, and the battery life is meh. Lack of a headphone jack is also less than ideal, but I guess I should just buy some bluetooth earphones. Actually, I got it at launch and used the Google Store points to buy Google Buds Pro and the case, but then I sold the buds to effectively get a nice discount instead.
The camera on both phones has been great, with the 7 being quite a bit better than the 4a, though honestly the 4a was good already and I didn’t really care about any camera upgrades aside from the wide angle lens, which is awesome.
Software wise, I like stock Android, but I miss the long screenshot function of OnePlus’ Oxygen OS. Other than that, it’s nice. Google apps are mostly awesome, though I think you can get the same features such such as voice assistant, navigation etc. on other Android phones just by installing the Google apps.
When I finally had to leave my dying old phone (LG V20 from 2016) the Pixel 7 phones were about to be released, so I preordered a P7Pro. It’s been really good to me so far.
Reception is at least as good as my last phone, fingerprint reader works nearly every time on the first try, battery life is… Ok (but I work it really hard) root was easy (one of my primary criteria for phone shopping), etc.There are certainly things I lost in the move, but most of them I’d lose with any modern flagship phone: Removable battery, headphone jack, IR port, 100% usable screen area. And one loss that is specific to the P7 phones for now, but will eventually be all of them: 32-bit apps.
Android 13 does have some annoying restrictions that Android 8 did not, but it also has a lot of improvements (including general stability) and of course 12 GB of RAM can do much more than 4 could, so that’s a nice upgrade.
Really wish LG didn’t screw up their entire phone division. The V series was fantastic for audio.
Yup. I also really liked the “second screen” method of handling the camera cutout
They’re awesome! But kinda unusable when you’re outside and connected to mobile data. Phone heats up quicker than usual, battery doesn’t last as long. I’m on a Pixel 6A, for context.
Still on a pixel 2, it’s really starting to show it’s age. It’s been a solid phone. I think I will upgrade to the Pixel 8 this fall… But I will miss the rear finger print scanner.
I have a 6a and have been emulating games with it and playing remote play with my backbone. Super enjoying it
Current Device: Pixel 7 Pro Previous: Galaxy S4, LGG4, S8, S10e.
Got the Pixel because there was a sale plus a really good trade value on the s10eIt’s fine.
Im not a heavy phone user. Im not doing a whole lot of gaming or videos or developing or whatever power users do, and it suits my needs. There are a few things I miss from Samsung, but overall the UI is fine and the battery is normally loads better than anything Ive had in a couple of years.They used to be fantastic, but for various reasons Google have been reducing the quality of their products for some time.
The android 12 update really hurt the UI/UX by limiting customization, adding big obnoxious qs tiles that obstruct notifications for no reason (that I am constantly activating by accident), removing the wifi toggle and wasting home screen real estate with an ‘at a glance’ widget that isn’t useful (it’s like a wish.com version of Google now), you need a custom default program manager to let it open search results in browser without pushing shit apps (like reddit official). Also wasn’t the point of pure android to avoid bloatware? Why am I carrying google TV, YouTube, wallet, Google money, fit, Google one, gpay,
spyassistant, lens, meet etc?As bad as the recent software direction is, the hardware is worse. My pixel 7 pro new has worse battery life than my pixel 5 had after 2 years of constant use, it overheats and throttles doing basic tasks (like maps), the glass back is among the most slippery things I’ve ever touched, the curved screen has an infuriating glare persistent no matter how you hold it, the fingerprint sensor is unreliable and in an awkward place, there’s no capacitive gesture to drop notifications shade and “double tap” gesture meant to replace it flat out doesn’t work. The charging is super slow, the curved screen follows the curved screen trend of breaking easily, all phones in the current line up are too large to use comfortably with one hand, they deleted the headphone jack to sell shit earbuds (yes that was ages ago but it’s still stupid).
All in, I’d trade my pixel 7 pro in for a gen 5 model or earlier in a heartbeat. Been a long time Google/nexus user but however good the old phones were, my next phone won’t have a tensor!
They are known to die randomly, as mine has. So I’m cautious about jumping in again, sadly
I can’t speak about the hardware because I have never had one, but I can about the software because I am a custom ROM user and I come from MIUI, I won’t say MIUI sucks, although it does in some aspects when I first got my first AOSP based ROM I was amazed with how fast it was, but it only got better for me because of the introduction of Monet icons and Material You since A12, since that moment I barely ever got back to MIUI.
For me AOSP is a true beauty and works pretty well, although it can be lacking features (which A14 seems aiming to “fix”) I enjoy using it a lot, and if I ever get a Google Pixel I would feel at home no doubt about it.
Tbh stop buying phones if you dont really need it. My Redmi phone hasn’t given me a signal issue in the past 6 years. Still going strong.
I absolutely loved the Nexus line, but I’m on my third Pixel and they’ve been mostly excellent aside from a couple of nitpicks. I had the 2XL, 4a5g & 6 Pro so far. I will likely get the Pixel 8 Pro after that’s released. Aside from the name (why!?!?!!?), the 4a5g was just about perfect.
My 6 Pro has been mostly great, but a little sensitive to overheating in direct sunlight and it chews through battery on 5g. Hopefully the 8 improves on those two things. And has a flat screen, as is rumored.
