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New Google Pixel phones (& other stuff) being announced later today at the 'Made By Google 2019' event
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Serious question, are these low volume products that only sell in the 10's or perhaps low 100's of thousands of units? I'm puzzled as to why anyone would buy these things at these prices as I can't imagine they're selling to anyone but a very small niche of Android/Google diehards.
You need to enable full remapping.
To do so, you need to enable USB debugging and run an exe that's located in the bxActions folder on your phone.
That will disable Bixby.
I thought it was pretty funny that not only was there no wide angle camera but all the colours are matte except for black
This is like a 2017 phone in 2019 except for the newer processor. Every other spec is 2017. Noone gives a crap about air gestures
From MKBHDs preview, it seems very inconsistent. He talked about 10% success rate in his limited usage, which, even if you tripled that, would still be unacceptable.
If a button only worked 30% of the times, that would be a straight up defect.
OP
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It's not like the 3a was that great of a phone either. People are saying you can do better for less money with that 4 and that's just as true with the 3a.
I'm really fucking happy with my 3a though, and impressed most of my colleagues as well. We're currently at 4 guys here with them.
Some of my main requirements for a phone is size, camera, os and price. The 3a fits neatly there.
Got to admit with several months to go until I can change my current contract (2XL) I'm also going to shop around and really keep my options open (including....iOS). Given the price point I'm just not that impressed outside of the improvements to the camera software and on board assistant chip.
Hopefully like with my current handset by the time I go for another contract it's on deep discounts, as that's going to be needed to push me over the line.
After watching the MKBHD impressions video, this thing just seems like a dud. What a wasted opportunity to just put in a telephoto lens instead of the ultrawide. Ultrawide has ten times more practical, everyday applications over a measly 2x zoom.
Also, I still don't understand the that huge chin and forehead. It's not 2016 anymore.
Also, I still don't understand the that huge chin and forehead. It's not 2016 anymore.
I'm not gonna lie, all the ultrawide spam from the iPhone 11 series recently has really put me off those shots. Just so many people using it in ways that look tacky as hell. But I'd still like it to have been here just to have the option. Unfortunately I'm a Pixel bitch so they know I'll keep on eating it up, but this is the first year the iPhone has looked seriously interesting to me, which is terrible news for Google. If Apple can get USB-C and fix their shitty notification system I might be on board for the 12.
The Android landscape is really driving me nuts right now.
My U11 just got Pie, which was awesome except that it somehow broke NFC payments and Lord knows if HTC will ever update that phone again, so that's annoying. I really want a headphone jack again as I have not enjoyed not having one and have been eyeing the LG V50 but it's remained locked behind Verizon and Sprint's networks since its' launch. Sony's dropped it from their line-up. The Pixel doesn't have a headphone jack but at least unlike LG, Sony or HTC I'd get timely updates but the phone is ugly as sin. Huawei's a huge question mark.
Guess I need to see if I can squeeze some more life out of this U11.
My U11 just got Pie, which was awesome except that it somehow broke NFC payments and Lord knows if HTC will ever update that phone again, so that's annoying. I really want a headphone jack again as I have not enjoyed not having one and have been eyeing the LG V50 but it's remained locked behind Verizon and Sprint's networks since its' launch. Sony's dropped it from their line-up. The Pixel doesn't have a headphone jack but at least unlike LG, Sony or HTC I'd get timely updates but the phone is ugly as sin. Huawei's a huge question mark.
Guess I need to see if I can squeeze some more life out of this U11.
Their notification system has gotten much better lately fwiw. I used to absolutely hate the way my iPad handled notifications, to the point they were basically unusable for me, but once they added grouping and somewhat more granular settings, things improved dramatically.
It's still nowhere near as versatile as Android's system, of course, but I think I could live with it now.
Honestly I think the two things I wish they'd fix on iOS the most at this point are the forced default apps, and the way applications pretty much always use in-app browsers instead of taking you straight to Safari. In-app browsers that, unlike the in-app browsers on Android, don't remember that you've signed in to any sites, or accepted any cookie requests, etc etc. It's a constant frustration.
This is actually still a pretty major improvement from where iOS was a couple of years ago, though. I think I could genuinely live with an iPhone at this point. I'd actually be kinda tempted to try one out if they weren't still so expensive, even at the low end.
How about a Xiaomi? They actually have a pretty great track record for updates - even if their specific version of Android has some kinda irritating quirks - and they still make premium phones with headphone jacks. The Mi 9T Pro/Redmi K20 Pro, for instance.
(I particularly like the red version. Oh, and don't worry about the front camera issues discussed in the linked video: MKBHD's unit was defective, and every other review I've seen has produced far, far better results. Though, of course, the fact that one of the review units was defective could raise concerns over quality control.)
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It's definitely getting there for power users and it's getting there fast. Default apps are my other issue, if they roll that out as well they'll be on the verge of absolutely vacuuming up Android power users. It's something to watch in the market over the next couple of years as I can see the dynamic changing pretty fast.
I use an iPad at the moment for casual browsing and notifs are just annoying enough on there that it has dissuaded me from switching until they change it. Just too many instances of having to do that two-touch action over and over to dismiss multiple notifications from the same app.
Ofcourse you'll see an uptick in ultrawide photography seeing as the biggest and most popular phone brand now has it on all it's flagship phones. It's also a super versatile lens for group photography and conveying s sense of scale.
If anything, ultrawide is now rapidly becoming a standard requirement for high end phones. Which makes it utterly baffling why Google's new flagship doesn't have one.
Guaranteed that the Pixel 5 will have the ultrawide.
They have a different issue that I've been fumbling about with, they don't support all the bands I'd like for T-Mobile, well, neither does Huawei for that matter but the recent trade kerfuffle already kinda turned me off from them. The Korean LG V50 also doesn't support all the bands I'd like that the US one does which was something I was initially looking at as well as it's cheaper than the US version and unlocked already. They are nice phones though, great value as are Oneplus.
The bands aren't exactly important today but I like to keep a phone for three years or more and to be honest this low band support is a bigger deal to me than 5G as having a plain old good 4G data connection indoors or in some of my weird areas is way more important to me than having an insanely fast 5G connection in random spots. Since my city's finally started getting the 700mhz rolled out and 600mhz is becoming common in the rural areas between my city and where my family lives it's something I've really been paying attention to.
Same for me but not a pixel like this.
I want my 3 cam setup, a fingerprint reader and if we have bezels they should be symmetrical.
Agreed. I love my XL 2 and this is that but way better.
If my budget was around $800 I don't know what else I'd even look at besides Pixel 4, S10 and iPhone 11. That OnePlus phone everyone brings up in here is WAY too big (almost 7" screen... what?).
Smallish battery complaint is valid but let's see what the reviews say. I still see people complain about battery life all the time while I'm typically putting my phone on the charger at night with 30% battery. And this is on a 1.5 year old phone.
I really like the 4 design plus the camera system and 90hz display. Once this drops $200 or so which will probably not take long, it's an amazing value IMO.
Nope not concerned about the photos. Already replaced my battery twice, it's super easy and cheap enough. Also replaced my USB-C connector. It's reputation for batteries is true but replacing them for $20 every two years is not a big cost. My bigger concern is it is definitely slowing down and not as responsive as I'd like it to be.
Yup, 'SmartHDR' and computational photography in general can improve zoom quality with one lens like crazy - but no amount of computation can make the camera actually capture a wider field of view.
Which is why i was so happy that Apple included the Ultrawide in the 11 and not the telephoto, while withholding the ultrawide for the Pro.
(It's still likely i'm gonna go for the Pro next year, because i do also love the telephoto lens on my XS)
That the was the pushing point for me to cancel my pre-order.
Least he praised the Pixel 3 so I'll just stick to that for now.
Ouch. The poor outdoor brightness doesn't sound good either.
My dad's Pixel XL is showing its age, I think a 3a or a 1+ 7 might be a better replacement.
I had the 3XL. It literally did not work fine with 4GB. Apps closed in the background all the time.
Note 10+ user here, and thus is literally the smoothest, most powerful, no-compromise phone I've ever handled.
The inability to select your default apps is the only reason that I still have an Android. I have no hope in RCS.
It's the same as every Pixel announcement.
A flood of posts asking how anybody could ever buy a Pixel phone when the HONOR XIMI P169a is half the price and has 42GB of ram and you can submerge the phone in hot lava! And then like 2 months later everybody forgets about the HONOR XIMU PL12 while the Pixel line up goes on to quietly be among the best phones of the year, year after year, every year.
My Pixel XL and Pixel 3 have basically been perfect phones, and I'll probably upgrade to next year's Pixel phone or if they do a mid-cycle low-priced one maybe.
Man RCS is awesome when it's there. My sister and I are like unicorns because we both have Pixel phones on Google Fi so we both have RCS messaging with one another, and it's such a joy. And then 98% of the other people in my contacts list its back to whatever prison we've been living in for a decade. I don't have any hope for it to take off either. There's too many companies with competing interests actively working against a new protocol for it to ever take off, and Google's attention span is probably not long enough to out-last them all.
Tech press remains trash. What the hell is with these "hands on" of the pixel buds which are literally non working plastic shells? "I put them in my ear and they feel okay, this is looking to be nice product releasing in 2020." If Google can't be bothered to show something then don't write an article about nothing. It's an insult to the readers, doubly so if they have to sit through a video to learn there's nothing to learn, just repost the spec sheet and move on.
I have a Pixel 2 that still works fine so will probably upgrade when Google gives $250 off or something. I got my Pixel 2 in early 2018 for around $500 and my mom/sister each got the Pixel 3 when they had that "buy 2 get $800 in credit" promo. At those price points, I don't see any reason to switch.
Yeah, that video posted here of some guy talking for two minutes about how great they are, just parroting the talking points from the presentation (they cost this, they release at this time, they last for x hours) then at the end just casually drops "by the way these ones don't work."
Thanks.
I don't care about the price, but if I'm buying a new phone I want to be confident that the battery's gonna last me a day. That's really all I ask, priority number one. My S9 has a bigger battery than this and is regularly around 20% when I get home from work in an evening, so surely a phone with a smaller battery will die constantly, especially with that screen? I'll wait for hands-on impressions to be sure because hey, maybe Google did magic, but it seems doubtful.
But that's not the main narrative here, is it? It's more that the Pixel 4 is a downgrade to the Pixel 3 in some respects (battery size, fingerprint reader, headphone jack), while the upgrades range from neat (90Hz display) to gimmicky (Soli) to simply missed potential (Telephoto instead of Wide Angle or 3 cameras altogether).
I don't think this is simply "people always hate on the most recently announced Pixel" (which they do, to a degree, you're not wrong) - but this doesn't seem like a good Pixel year, like for example last year was (Call Screening, Night Sight, Google Camera)
Oh, I agree. The batteries are too small on both models, and no amount of software optimization will ever, ever be enough to overcome the physics of battery drain.
I pre-ordered, buy mainly because I'm in that stupid place where I will upgrade every year regardless of how mediocre the upgrade seems to be.
Most excited about the 90hz screen.
Hopefully the image quality is better, but the Pixel 3 camera is still incredible so I'm not worried.
Most excited about the 90hz screen.
Hopefully the image quality is better, but the Pixel 3 camera is still incredible so I'm not worried.
90Hz screen makes it more interesting, been waiting for one of the big players to enter that realm. Now if only Samsung and Apple would follow...
Yeah I think you're right, I really haven't followed the Pixel 4 this year because I'm very happy with the Pixel 3. But, I remember the Pixel 3 threads which were an identically negative reaction ... "omg the chin!" "no headphones!" "still just 4GB of ram?!" "my Pixel XL phone already has night sight!" etc. I've gotten used to every Pixel thread being overwhelmingly negative, and then the phones end up being great phones that are top contenders for the best phones released that year.
This year, it may be true, the Pixel 4 might be a step back from the 3, but that's been the narrative in threads like these for ~4 years...
Negative kneejerk reactions happen at every tech unveil thread.
Every Apple keynote thread is basically "Steve Jobs rolling in his grave".
Every Apple keynote thread is basically "Steve Jobs rolling in his grave".
Yeah I really like what I'm seeing with this phone, except the battery. I'd never get the XL, I want a smaller phone than the 4 quite frankly but I can manage it, but that battery life... My Pixel 2 was fantastic when I got it, got a few months left of my two year contract and it's shit now. This new phone should have have at least something like 3300mah battery. Just.. put a bigger battery in, make it a millimetre or two thicker if you have to, and give everyone trustworthy battery life for their device!
One Plus needs to go all in on camera tech. That's their missing piece.
Apple is going to slaughter everything next year with the redesign if they actually decide to go all in with the high refesh screen + USB C. That would be a wrap and only Samsung would be the only capable one to match if they substantially improve camera and battery.
Apple has figured out the camera and battery - two things that have been lacking compared to the competition. If they start allowing shit like pre approved default apps on that software, I see the beginning of the end (assuming they add USB C).
Pixel 4 is still a good phone, but it's lacking in too many ways to command that price. Photo quality is still top tier, but no competing wide angle and non 4K 60 FPS video is laughable. Pixel 4A might be the better buy.
Apple is going to slaughter everything next year with the redesign if they actually decide to go all in with the high refesh screen + USB C. That would be a wrap and only Samsung would be the only capable one to match if they substantially improve camera and battery.
Apple has figured out the camera and battery - two things that have been lacking compared to the competition. If they start allowing shit like pre approved default apps on that software, I see the beginning of the end (assuming they add USB C).
Pixel 4 is still a good phone, but it's lacking in too many ways to command that price. Photo quality is still top tier, but no competing wide angle and non 4K 60 FPS video is laughable. Pixel 4A might be the better buy.
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