Google Teases Upcoming Pixel 2 Event, Aimed at Those Who Are 'Thinking About Changing Phones'

[symphara]

Google only guarantees 2 years of updates for the Pixel, with the same price as iPhone (previous price point, $649). How is that "game changer"?

And three years of security updates, and Google are very quick and transparent about this. I think this is very fair. There's no point pushing a new OS on a 3-year old smartphone, usually the specs are just not there to support it. The hardware changes too quickly.
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That's not how the iPhone works, nor Apple. You pay Apple up front and the transaction is over and done with.

Except for everything proprietary that you have to buy and have to pay Apple (cables/chargers/dongles/headphones etc), the preference for proprietary solutions and the lack of general interoperability with other technologies which pushes you to buy more Apple products, and the fact that Apple makes a fat percentage of all the content and apps you buy etc.

If only the transaction would be over and done with! But Apple is like an addiction. You buy in and then you have to buy a lot more, and even if you don't buy from them, they make sure to get a cut.

You get something from Google for "free" but they sell your data to the highest bidder.

No they don't, aren't people tired of peddling these brazen lies?

If you bother reading their privacy policy, they explain it themselves: "We do not sell your personal information to anyone. Much of our business is based on showing ads, both on Google services and on websites and mobile apps that partner with us. ... We use data to show you these ads"

Unless you can prove they sold people's data to the highest bidder, please do us a favour and stop spreading these tiresome lies.

 

[WatchFromAfar]

If google wants to datamine my life the phone should be free.

What's the difference if you use Google services on an iPhone? Should Apple give you your iPhone for free.
What if you buy a phone from Google and choose not to use Google services? Should Google still give you a phone for free?
No-one is forcing Google services on anyone. You choose to use them, regardless of platform, or you don't.

 

[Nevaborn]

Lost me in this article at “Better RAM” comparing 3GB to 4GB.

That is not better RAM, it is simply more, we don’t know what type of RAM it will the Pixel 2 will have.

 

[Jimmy James]

What's the difference if you use Google services on an iPhone? Should Apple give you your iPhone for free.
What if you buy a phone from Google and choose not to use Google services? Should Google still give you a phone for free?
No-one is forcing Google services on anyone. You choose to use them, regardless of platform, or you don't.

Google services tend to be free. They sell or use your data for profit.

I'm making this same correlation with their hardware. Tongue in cheek, mind you.

 

[verpeiler]

Meh? A SoC that performs at the level of a MacBookPro is meh?

Apart from the other true stuff you wrote, the A11 doesn't perform on the level of a MacBookPro... that's a wrong conclusion some benchmarks suggest.

 

[imola.zhp]

Yes I am, I plan to order an iPhone X.

 

[H2SO4]

Meh? A SoC that performs at the level of a MacBookPro is meh? New TrueTone displays are meh? New TrueDepth camera system enabling virtual green-screening is meh? ARKit-optimized cameras are meh? Hardware noise reduction is meh? Optical image stabilization is meh? etc etc... Seriously I don't know what you guys want in a phone. Flying cheeseburgers coming out of the screen?

But if you think this knockoff with "easy squeeze sides" is somehow not-meh, OK, go for it. Have fun.
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He's not talking about cost, he's talking about shell design. This thing looks just like the 6-series design, complete with forehead & chin despite no home button.

Oh Please. If that chip was on par with a Macbook Pro, it would be in a standard Macbook as a minimum. Stop kidding yourself. Get it running a real OS and watch it choke or overheat.

 

[Sedulous]

I've done both and Android 7 is quite good, better than iOS in many respects, worse in others.
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Plenty of things to do. Look at the various Android handsets. Plenty of variety there. Heck, my ZTE Axon 7 has the same screen size as my 6+, better front firing speakers, and is a hair bigger than the wife's 6s. Samsung's designs seem decent too.

The ZTE Axon 7 looks like every other phone. It is rectangular slab with display on one side with sensors. Back has a camera. Samsung makes similar rectangular slabs with a slight variation with the very gimmicky curved screen. Again, basically the same as everything else especially after it goes in a case.

What should matter is what is "inside" but market is always chasing the new "shiny".

 

[lbdesign]

I switched from iPhone to Pixel last year and it was a huge mistake. Looking forward to the iPhone X!

What about the Pixel (or the ecosystem) did you not like? I'm honestly curious, not trolling. I use both ecosystems and they both have their pluses and minuses. I wish I could design my own hybrid.

 

[bladerunner2000]

That's called cutting off your nose to spite your face. Use the adapter that comes with every new iPhone without a headphone jack. Done.

No. I'm not going to buy some half baked phone that's complicated just so I can say 'I have a new phone'. Either manufacturers get it right (which some do) or I'm not buying anything at all.

 

[PickUrPoison]

No. I'm not going to buy some half baked phone that's complicated just so I can say 'I have a new phone'. Either manufacturers get it right (which some do) or I'm not buying anything at all.

The 7 was the best selling iPhone ever, so maybe Apple did get it right?

Regardless, I always recommend that people buy the phone that will make them happy, so for you that would leave the SE or 6S, or if you like Android, most of them still have a headphone jack. (Though some would say Android is half baked and complicated, so maybe you rule them out?)

 

[kdarling]

If google wants to datamine my life the phone should be free.

Then the iPhone should be cheaper as well.

Apple gets billions of dollars a year to let Google be the default search engine on iOS. And Apple gets a percentage of each Apple Pay purchase in return for letting the banks know where you're buying things.

Apple takes money in return for selling you as a data product to others.

 

[PickUrPoison]

Unless you can prove they sold people's data to the highest bidder, please do us a favour and stop spreading these tiresome lies.

If I search google for a heated doghouse, and for a week thereafter I'm still being shown ads for heated doghouses (even though I already bought one), yeah, I think they sold my data to the highest bidder. Unless you don't think my search terms are data, or personal information for that matter.

Note, I am not saying they sold the advertiser my email address or phone number; I do understand google's intermediation. But let's stop the tiresome lie that google doesn't profit by selling our data. It's a pedantic argument.

 

[ct2k7]

Meh? A SoC that performs at the level of a MacBookPro is meh? New TrueTone displays are meh? New TrueDepth camera system enabling virtual green-screening is meh? ARKit-optimized cameras are meh? Hardware noise reduction is meh? Optical image stabilization is meh? etc etc... Seriously I don't know what you guys want in a phone. Flying cheeseburgers coming out of the screen?

Little software can take real advantage of it.

Get back to me when I can use things like Docker, a good IDE etc. on it.

 

[pika2000]

And three years of security updates, and Google are very quick and transparent about this. I think this is very fair. There's no point pushing a new OS on a 3-year old smartphone, usually the specs are just not there to support it. The hardware changes too quickly.

So you're saying it's better to pay same price for Pixel for less support? Well, it's your money. LOL
And please, no point in pushing new OS on 3 year old smartphone? The custom ROM people proves that older smartphones can run latest version of Android fine, and the limitation is artificial from Google. Talk about planned obsolescence. And people think Apple is bad with their 5 year support.

 

[itguy06]

The ZTE Axon 7 looks like every other phone. It is rectangular slab with display on one side with sensors. Back has a camera. Samsung makes similar rectangular slabs with a slight variation with the very gimmicky curved screen. Again, basically the same as everything else especially after it goes in a case.

What should matter is what is "inside" but market is always chasing the new "shiny".

Sure but it has the big screen of the iPhone+ series with smaller bezels to make it the size of the non + series. And the front firing speakers are awesome. Make a great speakerphone and portable speaker in a pinch. It's about the same thickness but feels better in the hand than a naked iPhone (although it too is slippery). Even has a high quality DAC and 3.5mm jack. I really like the phone.

 

[kyykesko]

People are looking to get the X because they are sick of the 6/6s/7/8 form-factor ..... so why would they possibly consider going to a cheap rip-off of the 6/6s/7/8 form-factor?

People were waiting for the X so they'd finally get a device with something that shows progress. Instead they get to stare at their phone to wake it up and charge it constantly with its smaller battery.

I'm waiting to see what Google, Samsung and others are offering this fall before deciding on what to do. X's features don't justify the price and 8 is a bit meh too. I'd buy 6S but even those are way too expensive for 2-year-old museum devices.

Price in itself is not an issue as long as you get something for it. The last two years apple hasn't been able to deliver that.

 

[pika2000]

The last two years apple hasn't been able to deliver that.

I wonder what Apple hasn't delivered to you that Google did in the last two years.

 

[adnbek]

Then the iPhone should be cheaper as well.

Apple gets billions of dollars a year to let Google be the default search engine on iOS. And Apple gets a percentage of each Apple Pay purchase in return for letting the banks know where you're buying things.

Apple takes money in return for selling you as a data product to others.

Source?

AFAIK Apple Pay is just to facilitate the transaction between the bank and merchant. It cannot hide the fact you bought something from Best Buy from the bank, if Best Buy is the one transacting with the bank, using Apple Pay as the gateway.

Stop spreading this claim which is entirely not true. Like any other merchant service, Apple is just taking a percentage of the transaction. It is not being “paid” in exchange for that data.

 

[mudflap]

If you bother reading their privacy policy, they explain it themselves: "We do not sell your personal information to anyone. Much of our business is based on showing ads, both on Google services and on websites and mobile apps that partner with us. ... We use data to show you these ads"

Unless you can prove they sold people's data to the highest bidder, please do us a favour and stop spreading these tiresome lies.

OK, you're right, I could've worded my post more accurately. Google doesn't sell your info, per se, but it sells byproducts and analytics of your data to other companies. In other words, Apple makes money by selling you their products. Google makes money off of YOU. Apple doesn't scan your iCloud email to push targeted ads to you.

I don't trust Google. Anybody concerned about their privacy should not be using Google products.
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No. I'm not going to buy some half baked phone that's complicated just so I can say 'I have a new phone'. Either manufacturers get it right (which some do) or I'm not buying anything at all.

Nobody's forcing you to buy a new phone. If you love your current headphone-jack-equipped phone, hold onto it. I'm just saying that wireless is here to stay and it's only a matter of time before Samsung and HTC and every other major smartphone manufacturer removes the headphone jack, and then you won't have a choice.

Apple just figured that out before anybody else, for better or worse.