Google kills two-year “Pixel Pass” subscription after just 22 months::Two years on a Pixel Pass was supposed to get you a new phone.
They need to get rid of that clown Sundar. Under his “leadership” Google has been on an endless downward trend.
He’s helped with the only metric that shareholders actually care about: profitability. No matter that a lot of those on-paper $ have come through gimmickry and at the expense of the long-term success of the company.
You are right. The year before he became CEO, Google “only” had revenue of $66B. Last year, their revenue was $280B.
But if you look at the revenue chart, they were headed in that direction seemingly regardless of who was at the helm. But I think he is really hurting their long-term profits. I know that might sound crazy when they are making over 1/4 of a trillion per year, but there are more and more people who will simply not even consider a Google product these days because they feel in 6 months, Google will just kill it off. Who wants an orphaned phone or watch or VR headset, let alone all the software and services they kill off.
there are more and more people who will simply not even consider a Google product these days because they feel in 6 months, Google will just kill it off
What the fuck?
Yeah, they aren’t just eating their seed corn. They’re sowing the seed corn and then burning it down before it bears fruit, over and over
This is why users don’t invest in the google ecosystem. No consistency or follow through.
I don’t mind the pixels and I trust they’ll stick around. So much user data to
selllearn fromWhat do you mean “ecosystem”? Are you unable to understand the idea of making products you can opt into and out of? Just because apple tries with every move to keep you dependent on them for all your devices, doesn’t mean everyone else aims to do the same.
It’s just a running joke at this point. If it doesn’t sell as many ads as Search, YouTube and GMail, they’ll kill it. Even if you’re paying them for it.
They can’t just have a little service that makes them a little bit of money. They have to have the top service that makes the most money.
This is exactly why Stadia failed. I honestly think if it was a service like Gamepass Ultimate where the games come with the sub, it would’ve been a success. Spending $60 on a game I can only play via Google’s service though? Fuck no. Never. Not in a million years.
I honestly think if it was a service like Gamepass Ultimate where the games come with the sub, it would’ve been a success.
I mean, they should’ve communicated better, because that’s essentially what the paid subscription was: subscribing would get access to a library of free games to play. I think the library could’ve been better.
Even today, I’m using Geforce Now + XBox Game Pass, I find that the streaming quality isn’t the same as Stadia (but the game selection is much, much better).
My wife’s computer had a hardware failure so I set her up on GeForce Now for a month until I could diagnose and fix the issue (i was super busy with returning to college at the time) and it was absolutely jarring how well it worked!
I got my money back and have a billion Bluetooth controllers for my steam deck.
I lucked out with the whole situation. I got in when they were offering a free stadia bundle with cyberpunk, then not long after they killed the service. I got my money back for cyberpunk and a free Chromecast and stadia controller out of it. Now that Google has enabled Bluetooth support, it’s my go to PC controller.
I used to be all in with Google. After being burned over and over again, I’ve nearly entirely exited their ecosystem with some exceptions. I just don’t trust them anymore to maintain their products for the long haul.
I’d like to exit Google, but Gmail makes this oh so hard. I’ve been using Gmail since over 20 years, basically my life is on that service. How did you migrate off Gmail?
There are ways to forwards all your emails into a new email address i think. Google it.
Just… export the emails and most systems will have a way to import old emails.
Hell for work I’m in the middle of migrating emails sent on a platform, logged on a secondary platform but stored on a third, to a fourth platform via CSV only.
Yeah I moved to Apple last year.
The garden walls may be higher but at least I don’t have to worry about the plants being chopped down.
Also I’m excited because there might actually be some resale value for my devices for once in my life.
Yep. I switched too. It’s nice to have resale value and a decent camera. I feel like every android phone I had has a major decline in camera quality over time. I haven’t experienced that with my iPhone. I also like how easy it is to add new devices to the eco system. I used to be an apple hater but no longer. I just need shit that works, I don’t give a flying fuck about “oPeN dEvElOpMeNt.” I text, browse, take pics and listen to music on my phone. That’s it. I don’t need to ability to hack the pentagon with my fucking phone.
I think the pixel 7 has the best camera around, that narrative changed a generation ago
That narrative still exists. Pixel 7 is one phone. The rest of them (Samsung, lg, etc) have degrading, shitty ass cameras and don’t hold much resale value.
I used to be a huge google supporter, and I’ll still take android every single day over an iPhone… but other than that google could go burn for all I care.
The Netflix of technology
Does Netflix have a reputation for being inconsistent? I know people are pissed with the recent password sharing policy, but as a dev, I’ve only ever heard interesting/downright awesome stuff coming from Netflix’s tech side.
Netflix has a reputation for killing TV shows after 2 or 3 seasons, before they can be wrapped up. So there’s a ton of content on Netflix which is ‘unfinished’ and so completely unattractive to anyone that might want to start watching it. Why would I ever bother starting to watch, for example, Santa Clarita Diet if I already know the show just ends with no pay off?
I’m still mad about 1899. Cancelled on a cliffhanger after one season while having great reviews. I don’t get it
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I remember watching the first season of that, shame to hear it didn’t get a proper finish.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
When the service launched in October 2021, Google said that every two years on the Pixel Pass would make you eligible for a brand new phone.
but Google doesn’t answer its own question, saying only, "We offer the best value of our hardware products and give users the flexibility to purchase their favorite services.
We continue to evaluate offers based on customer feedback and provide different ways for them to access the best of Google."
That won’t happen here, though—while new signups are no longer allowed, existing users will be able to finish out their two-year term.
You’ll receive a monthly bill for Google One, Google Play Pass, and YouTube Premium at the current discounted rate, which is visible in the email sent to you on August 29, 2023 with the subject line, ‘An important update on Pixel Pass.’
To take some sting out of the move, Google is offering a “$100 loyalty reward credit” for active Pixel Pass subscribers.
The original article contains 498 words, the summary contains 160 words. Saved 68%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Google cancelled a project?!?
/Shocked Pikachu face
I really hope they cancel Web Environment Integrity too
That sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen. Telling people they get a new phone if they sign up for 2 years then cancelling it at the 22 month mark.
This is just an interest free financing plan that comes bundled with services.
No one was going to get a free phone.
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Ah I just realised. I was assuming users would get a free upgrade at the end of the 2 years, but it might be they get it upfront at the start
Yeah, its confusing the way its worded, but it’s still kind of shitty. I am sure there were some who would have bought another phone, but we’re lured into the Pixel deal. I know some people really look forward to replacing their phone every couple years, for whatever reason (they all seem pretty much the same to me).
Yeah, it’s basically a deal at the time of phone purchase: do this 24-month interest free payment plan for a new device, and we’ll throw in phone insurance, Youtube premium, and Google One for a significantly discounted price. At the end of 24 months, you can either get a new phone and sign up for another 24 months, or cancel at that time.
They were eligible for a brand new phone after 24 months if they recontracted for another 24 months. If they decided to unsubscribe during months 25-48, they’d be on the hook for the remaining cost of the phone. I mention this because at least for where I am, this is the default position - this decision would just mean the user needs to get their brand new phone on a contractual repayment from a provider other than Google.
Classic Google
How dare they up their services prices like everyone else, they are the devil!
Oh what’s that, if you had the service they have you $100 dollars off the phone you would have had to by anyway? Damn. That sucks that their customers will have to opt in to services instead of them all being grouped together.
No part of this isnt sensationalized.
Basically this says, “The service prices have gone up everywhere, instead of raising the grouped price we are just having you choose individual services you want”
I cannot believe that in the year 2023 people were still paying for a Google service that was supposed to last beyond 30 days. Especially one that was supposed to have a long-term reward. You would have to have so much blind trust in Google at that point.
EDIT: I now understand that this was a a two-year installment plan for the existing phone. That being said, I still don’t think anyone should buy into Google products or services expecting them to have long-term support. Google has shown time and time again that they are willing to kill any and all projects at any time with almost no warning.
shit, they should have at least waited the two months, issue some phones to early-adopters and then discontinue the subscription saying there was too little interest amongst the users to justify keeping it up. otherwise it looks like they pulled out at the very last moment to screw peopleedit: ohhhhh, you were supposed to get a new phone when singing up for another two years, then they did well cancelling it before the two-year mark
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Nothing says “keeping all the malware out” more, than constantly having to remove malware ;-)
https://www.scmagazine.com/analysis/meta-uncovers-400-malicious-apps-on-android-and-ios-apps
https://cointelegraph.com/news/fake-trezor-crypto-app-removed
https://threatpost.com/click-fraud-malware-apple-app-store/149496/that’s about it.
buys a Samsung
They don’t jump the gun, they don’t go home early, they stick with it consistently.
Apple has messed around a lot with its phone payment plans in recent years, though. It’s not clear whether they really want to become a bank or not.
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You can. The subscription services are optional and mostly geared towards lazy bastards like myself. I could manually back my phone up to any Mac or windows machine but I pay for the convenience of iCloud storage instead. The other subscription services are purely entertainment driven (Music, TV+, Arcade, etc.) and not required to have a fully functioning device.
As an apple user it is definitely possible. I don’t even have a million work-arounds. They’re pretty direct
It is. NextDNS and Brave Browser. I usually am not a fan of Brave but it’s the best browser on iOS
Would you mind sending a link about NextDNS configuration?
All iOS browsers are actually safari under the hood, until the EU forces them to stop being huge pieces of monopolistoc shit. And brave is run by a shady POS company, maybe worse than apple, which is saying a lot
I know but Brave has an built in adblocker and many more features which are pretty useful. Also Brave isn’t as shady as everyone makes it sound.
A big tech company is using your data for profit. That’s as shady as it gets
Source? As far as I know they collect less data by default than Mozilla does. And that whole Brave rewards thing is opt-in
I want to switch to Google Fiber but I can’t shake the thought that as soon as I do they’ll shut down operations and pawn my soul off to Satan ISP
Yep, just like they did in Louisville.
Dude, they ARE Satan ISP.
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Both are also in heavily regulated industries with oversight from state utility commissions and the FCC, where simply trying to exit a market requires a whole proceeding before the agency/commission. They could announce that they’d be exiting the industry and selling its assets to a competitor, but that would have to clear antitrust hurdles and would take a while.
I think that means that effectively, they can’t just “kill” these services but would have to sell to someone else, and the approval process itself could result in some concessions for the consumer, so that even Satan ISP would have limited power to really screw over the consumer.
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I wouldn’t be surprised.
Look at stadia, I knew it would be a rocky road for them to market it, but by also buying game studios with the intentions to make and release games, I was under the impression that they would keep going with it. They pumped so much money in to it.
Oh boy, how wrong I was.
I knew it was doomed when they announced the business model. Subscription + buying the games was never going to fly. If they had gone with a Game Pass style subscription, it would have had a chance.
It wasn’t that though, it was just miscommunicated, the subscription was a ps+ type thing, while you could buy games and play them for no additional costs at 1080p. Having Phil Harrison lead the whole thing didn’t help either (he rejected Hideo Kojima’s offer to make an exclusive game for stadia ffs)
I will never move to GCP because of this. The reputation damage with Reader, Stadia, Hangouts, etc has made me not want to invest moving my companies services to their cloud. I doubt they are factoring this in when they shutter a service, but it is costing them millions. Google has shown it can’t commit to supporting their products and services, so why bother spending time integrating with them and get locked in, just for it to be depreciated or discontinued immediately.
I never considered it because the game streaming is still pretty new and I’ve never forgiven Google for killing the news reader.
The headline is sensationalist since it implies they were going to get a free phone and Google bailed at the last minute.
Really? Because that’s how I’m reading it.
while new signups are no longer allowed, existing users will be able to finish out their two-year term. The end of the term was supposed to mean re-upping with a shiny new device, but Google now says, “By the end of the 2 year term, you can’t upgrade to a new phone with Pixel Pass.”.
They would have had to pay. It’s not like they already paid and now they’re not getting what they were promised.
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I think Ars Technica has it wrong with that wording, the FAQ from Google support linked in that article says:
Can I still upgrade my Pixel device after 24 months?
Yes, you can still upgrade your Pixel device after 24 months, you just won’t be able to renew your subscription to Pixel Pass. You can purchase or finance your next Pixel device directly from Google Store or Google Fi Wireless, and you have the option to trade-in your current Pixel device towards your next device. Current Pixel Pass subscribers received $100 towards their next Pixel purchase good for 2 years, which can also be used alongside available promotions.
So you can upgrade your phone for the current term, but you can’t renew your subscription and upgrade again.
You’re reading it wrong. You can upgrade to a new phone, just not a new phone that comes with PixelPass.
Don’t this mess with consumer laws ? People who had paid for this should definitely sue.
Well, that solidifies my plan for graphene os on this 7pro and once fairphone comes state side I’m going all in. Been moving to Proton services and this will be the first and last Google phone I get. So sick of their backtracking on everything I enjoy. Fuck Google.
I heard the latest fairphone doesn’t have a headphone jack
Im running GrapheneOS on my 7 Pro and I like it very much. Only issue I had was Android Auto. That seems to be not possible to have…
It has been a pretty short trip from “Don’t be evil” to “The cutting edge of late stage capitalism”
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Which isn’t a lot of time if we’re being honest
Didn’t feel like a trip to me, more like teleportation.
