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Google Unveils Pixel 2 Smartphone, Pixelbook, and Two New Google Home Speakers

Analog Kid said:
You're assuming I was categorically negative on the concept. I was merely making the analogy to point out that it's "free" because the storage partner is monetizing the relationship in other ways. Unlimited is to their benefit-- that's how valuable your data is.
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Yeah, I kinda got that impression when I started using their "free" search engine and "free" e-mail service almost two decades ago.
 
CaTOAGU said:
There's no way of knowing if Google wanted to or not. It is hard to think of a reason they'd want to only sell a few. Most of their business model is skewed towards getting as many people on board as possible, to help train their algorithms. so it's unusual for them to say the least. I think you're giving Google a pass where there's no proof they deserve one.
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Well I can think of a reason - not upset the other manufacturers too much - but there's no way of knowing.

To me a flop is making 10 widgets and selling just 2.

It's not that Google made lots of Pixel smartphones and they were left on shelves. They made far too few to meet the demand. As I said, I have no idea why.
 
polterbyte said:
Yeah, you're definitely surrendering your privacy (and your family's, and your pet's, etc.) to Google. But how is that any different than the dozens of times every day you surrender your privacy to |Google and other organizations? The difference I see is twofold: on one side you're giving them a whole lot more information; on the flip side, you are getting something valuable in return. Like many things in life, I believe it's a trade-off worth at least considering.
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Giving up privacy for saving ~10 bucks a month? Not today, not for me.
 
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WannaGoMac said:
Really another one with no headphone jack? It's a dongle filled future (and no bluetooth thanks, I dont want another thing to have to remember to recharge every day)
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I honestly thought this would be a dealbreaker for me too, but having used BeatsX for almost a year, I’ve never had a problem.

I have Lightning cables on my desk at work and my nightstand at home, never forget to charge. The lack of a cable has actually helped with mobility - I can charge the phone and be further away while listening to music.
 
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78Bandit said:
The Pixel 2 XL is well positioned to give the iPhone X a run for the money. Bigger OLED display with small bezels, similar features (no Animoji poo though), equal or better camera, and $175 cheaper. It is also going to get three more versions of Android on it which means it will be fully current through 2021. The lack of a microSD card slot and the removal of the headphone jack is disappointing. I don't have bluetooth in my car so the AUX port is the only way to get sound from the phone to run through the car speakers.

Not going to buy a new phone this year, but if Apple doesn't have something competitive with a modern design in the $800 price range next year I will be seriously looking at the Pixel 3.

Realistically though, Apple will still sell 10X more iPhone X than Google will Pixel 2 XL.
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I am not sure it makes a big difference. I’m all for competition, but I doubt there or many iOS people that aren’t looking to jump ship to Android. Or Android people looking to switch to iOS. I feel like people have their preference and buy into that preference.
 
8281 said:
Isn't Google's strategy pretty obvious? They are using Apple's business strategy of maintaining control over software and hardware production. Updates and security patches get applied faster to the Pixel line and you get Android without all of the other manufacturer's added-on garbage.
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Are you talking about eco-system? If so, that wouldn't be a bad thing. Isn't that how Apple been doing as well? Updates for ios and osx?
 
sracer said:
The Pixelbook is gorgeous but I don't know if it is worth nearly double the price of the Samsung Chromebook Plus and Pro. :confused: I'll need some hands-on time before I can consider it as possible replacement for my Macbook Air 11" and 12.9 iPad Pro.
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You are better waiting for the newer Samsung Chromebook Pro's that are coming out soon. It will have 8gb/16 gb ram and maybe a i5/i7 processor so it will compete very well against this pixelbook at a lower price most likely. Plus the pen is free with samsung. Who really wants to pay $99 for a pen to circle things for google to search?

https://chromeunboxed.com/samsung-chromebook-pro-core-i7-shows-up-in-online-ad/
 
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FaustsHausUK said:
I honestly thought this would be a dealbreaker for me too, but having used BeatsX for almost a year, I’ve never had a problem.

I have Lightning cables on my desk at work and my nightstand at home, never forget to charge. The lack of a cable has actually helped with mobility - I can charge the phone and be further away while listening to music.
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Considering I can pair my AirPods with Android devices, I am not at all worried about using them with the new Pixel. In a pinch, I can adapt and use wired headphones. In fact, my lightning -> 3.5mm dongle never detaches from my Apple in ear headphones anyway.
 
I guess I'll need to take a closer look at the specs and features of the various products, but nothing really jumped out at me. I feel the same way about Apple's recent announcements.

The translation feature of the headphones is an amazing glimpse into the future, but I'm skeptical that it works as well as their on-stage demo. Does it do a dumb word-for-word Babelfish-style translation where the overall translation doesn't really make sense, or does it parse the entire sentence so that the overall translation makes sense?

I was also disappointed by the lack of anything related to Android Wear (watch). I really dislike Apple's square watches and much prefer the round edge-to-edge displays on Android Wear watches, but I'm getting the feeling that they're already abandoning them.
 
samcraig said:
I think there's something wrong with your device, permissions or how you use it. I find Google now quite intuitive and informative.
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I have it enabled on all my Android devices I’ve ever used, and please don’t tell me all of them have permission issues (and I can bet I have used more Android devices than most people here, being an Android user since the Nexus One).

I can say Google’s voice recognition is very good, considering I’ve used google voice even before it was bought by google. But in reality, the usefulness is not there. Google assistant cannot even take direction to my friends house no matter how hard I try. But if it’s a commmercial location like a shopping mall or hotel, bam it works instantly. Gee, such selective AI.
 
840quadra said:
Considering I can pair my AirPods with Android devices, I am not at all worried about using them with the new Pixel. In a pinch, I can adapt and use wired headphones. In fact, my lightning -> 3.5mm dongle never detaches from my Apple in ear headphones anyway.
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Would you consider swapping for the Pixel buds for the translation feature?
 
Pixel 2 looks great, comes in at $150 less than iPhone x (if comparing to pixel 2 xl) and T-Mobile will pay me $350 to buy it (though you need to add a line, can’t confirm if we can just shut down a line and add one, will have to ask as that is my plan).

That makes this thing cost me half of an iPhone X out the door. This was already the direction I was considering heading but I think I may just go ahead with it.

Now the earbuds in the other hand.... dig the way the buds look but that cable that you’re forced to use? They almost had my perfect earbud, but alas, I don’t see myself picking these up. Intrigued by the on demand translation feature but not enough to drop $159.
 
Nozuka said:
yay with google home to listen to my voice in every room and a camera that films moments automatically... what could go wrong?
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Apple is coming out with the same type of listening device. What is your point? Until you wake the device up with a keyword, nothing is sent to Google.
 
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lordofthereef said:
Pixel 2 looks great, comes in at $150 less than iPhone x (if comparing to pixel 2 xl) and T-Mobile will pay me $350 to buy it (though you need to add a line, can’t confirm if we can just shut down a line and add one, will have to ask as that is my plan).

That makes this thing cost me half of an iPhone X out the door. This was already the direction I was considering heading but I think I may just go ahead with it.

Now the earbuds in the other hand.... dig the way the buds look but that cable that you’re forced to use? They almost had my perfect earbud, but alas, I don’t see myself picking these up. Intrigued by the on demand translation feature but not enough to drop $159.
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The cable is to keep them in place... lots of people made fun of the AirPods because they looked like they could fall out. Regardless of whether or not its true, a cable definitely makes it more secure
 
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farewelwilliams said:
iPhone removes headphone jack
"AHAHAHH WTF ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"
Pixel 2 removes headphone jack
"Makes sense"

Airpods 2 $159
"$159?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA"
Google Pixel Buds $159
"Cool!"

iPhone Rose Gold
"Ugly AF"
Pixel 2 Kinda Blue
"Ohhhh nice!"
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Are you just assuming these things or are you reading this from actual fan pages? Quite a few people
Bummed by the headphone jack and the price points....
 
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