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Pixel Phone Reviews: A 'Truly Great Camera' and a 'Home Run' for Google

spacemnspiff said:
Does anyone know how I can buy my personal data back from Google?

HTC made this phone for Google, this is Nexus 2.0 with a new name and Google's history has been to lose focus, hopefully the product just doesn't wither away. Hangouts and Allo story is says a lot about Google.
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Log into your google account and go to settings. There is an option to erase all data from the beginning of time for you.

eroslws said:
I don't think people on this forum understand the concept of "meets or exceeds". It means Google created a phone just as good as Apple, and in many categories (especially the camera), it is better. We have our reasons for sticking to the Apple ecosystem; having the best phone on the market is no longer one of them. Competition is good though, your move Apple.
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Apple will not blink an eye at the Pixel phone. Yes its a great phone, but Google is stupidly charging an Apple Tax for it. The iPhone is great not because of its looks, but for the way everything used to come together with a purpose. For example, the home button that doubled as a fingerprint reader, or a camera that has no shutter lag with OIS and software that can take advantage of those features. Google wants the Pixel to be similar, and occasionally there are glimpses that they get it (e.g. incorporation of the gyro-meter for video IS). But I have not seen any other hints of this. For example, why is there a big bottom bezel? There are no buttons there, nor a fingerprint reader, so what purpose does it serve? If they needed the space for battery, why not put in a speaker there so that one could have stereo sound at least? Same thing for the glass back. Why is it there if there are antenna lines built into the body? At best the Pixel phone is a grade B effort.
 
dragje said:
I buy an iPhone because of iOS and due of it's attitude towards privacy.

I don't like to be downgraded into a Google or Microsoft extension by using an interactive commercial paper smartphone, where both companies scanning your e-mails, your behaviour online, you're interest with almost every mouse-click.

It's rather ironic that in that regard you pay hundreds of dollars (or in my case Euro's) so you can hand over your personal profile to a tech-company. These tech companies earn lot's of money by selling these personal profiles to business, so you pay them next to working for them as well....
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Never understood why Americans are so proud of themselves for paying for the privilege of advertising for a brand. Coca-Cola is not a sports team. And people pay Coca-Cola for the privilege of wearing their logo... boggles my mind.

rjohnstone said:
Still an issue... there is simply no need for it on the Pixel phones as they have on screen buttons.
It's a lazy design.
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Edge-to-edge is a nice theory but requires the touch software to magically figure out which touches are intentional and which are just users trying not to drop their $1000 sliver of metal and glass.

The phone body itself is both the "handle" and the device. Like making luggage with no handles with the idea that you used the material to increase storage capacity...
 
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lol at thinking Apple won't blink an eye. You guys really think Apple is that blinded by its own success that they aren't watching what the competitors are doing?

I hope this phone does well. It's missing some features for the price they are charging but if this is the first version then I look forward to next year's iteration.
 
RedOrchestra said:
You're giving way to much credit to Apple - think about all the off-the-shelf modems and processors that Apple uses in their products.
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And you are not giving enough credit to Apple.

The primary comparison is efficiency that Apple achieves by designing their own hardware and software, for example better battery life per mAh, less CPU cores, CPU's clocked lower than Android and still outperforms Android phones. Can we prove that Google with Pixel spent the same effort that Apple did for their phones, I can easily dismiss that by saying that Google lacks that capability.

As for the hardware that you mention, Apple from what I gather will use commercial hardware because it doesn't see the benefits of a custom design. Google on the other hand has not attempted such an effort, they will use off the shelf hardware from HTC and call it day. I don't even know if a version of Android was custom designed for Pixel or was it a generic flavor of Android with drivers for the Pixel hardware.

manhattanboy said:
Log into your google account and go to settings. There is an option to erase all data from the beginning of time for you.
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Thank you for pointing that out, I hope that does what I hope it does. One more nail in the coffin for me.
 
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Ener Ji said:
What's silly about the rear fingerprint reader?
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I admit to not having tried one, but three things come straight to mind. First is not knowing finger placement, although that may get better over time. Second is that it eliminates about 90% of the cases out there. I'm sure there'll be a Pixel case with a sensor window. Third is that you can't unlock your Pixel unless you pick it up. I use my iPhone all the time on my desk. If smartphone makers are committed to shrinking the bezel (which I like only to a point) I like the idea of encorprating it into the front screen instead (Apple and LG have examples) .

Not deal breakers. Just a little silly imo.
 
"Run back to Home" high priced, plain vanilla, nothing special features(lack of water-proof,expandable memory,etc) phone. There are many better spec/price android phone available on market and every month new coming. But, why bother Pixel when mighty iPhone 7 is available.
 
dragje said:
I buy an iPhone because of iOS and due of it's attitude towards privacy.

I don't like to be downgraded into a Google or Microsoft extension by using an interactive commercial paper smartphone, where both companies scanning your e-mails, your behaviour online, you're interest with almost every mouse-click.

It's rather ironic that in that regard you pay hundreds of dollars (or in my case Euro's) so you can hand over your personal profile to a tech-company. These tech companies earn lot's of money by selling these personal profiles to business, so you pay them next to working for them as well....
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THIS is exactly why I haven't and never will use Google anything (except maps with no sign in and turned off once finished), come on Apple maps, it's still a bit, ahem, unreliable.
 
ginkobiloba said:
"I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong. I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this,"

Steve Jobs.
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He was an angry dude
 
hagar said:
Apple should be very worried about this. Apple is really good at hardware and the hardware/software combo, but they suck at services. Google is the king of services and now comes with a top notch hardware device and huge software platform they control.

Some examples:

Siri is still unusable. Google Assistant will blow it out of the water for sure. Because Google doesn't care about your privacy they can do much more. Meanwhile, the progress of Siri is next to non-existent: It still doesn't know when my deliveries will arrive, it's next to impossible to add an appointment or reminder, it cannot give directions to my next appointment, it doesn't understand the name of half of my contacts, it gives directions to a store on the other side of the globe, ... But hey, I can set my alarm with it.

Google Photos is so much better than Apple Photos and now they offer unlimited storage for photos at full resolution and documents. Meanwhile, Apple Photo Faces are not syncing between my devices because of.. well privacy. I don't get a great photo album when I return from my trip because.. yes privacy. But the majority of people don't care about privacy and just want something that works and assists them. And by the way: it's really hard to defend the 5Gb free tier of iCloud anno 2016.

All in all, it seems that Apple is moving too slow. They had a huge advantage 5-10 years ago but the competition is catching up, quickly. They are becoming the Microsoft of the 90's.
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This is exactly how I feel. The iPhone 7 Plus is the first iPhone since the original that I didn't pre-order, and held off getting. Instead, I went with the Pixel XL. I really enjoy seeing what Google is doing with Android. I'm really excited for the camera and unlimited storage from Google Photos.
 
Seems like a great phone. I don't personally find the hardware attractive, but I bet the experience is great. Hopefully the increased competition will be a win for consumers in the long run.
 
I love how the reviewer praises the fact that "Google can optimize a bunch of stuff" because they make the hardware and software. That is the exact sentiment that Apple users have been echoing for how many years now??
 
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bennyf said:
Never understood why Americans are so proud of themselves for paying for the privilege of advertising for a brand. Coca-Cola is not a sports team. And people pay Coca-Cola for the privilege of wearing their logo... boggles my mind.



Edge-to-edge is a nice theory but requires the touch software to magically figure out which touches are intentional and which are just users trying not to drop their $1000 sliver of metal and glass.

The phone body itself is both the "handle" and the device. Like making luggage with no handles with the idea that you used the material to increase storage capacity...
Click to expand...

Have you never seen europeans wearing brands like Nike, Mickey Mouse or Hard Rock Cafe??
 
Looks like a worthy competitor to the iPhone, but iPhone 7 still wins for me. Moving from iMessage would be highly problematic, and lack of water resistance is a bummer. Also the app gap still appears to favor the iPhone over android. I am additionally a big fan of my Apple Watch. I haven't seen a competitor for android that appeals to me. Google Assistant looks better than Siri -- right now everything looks better than Siri -- but it clearly comes at a cost of personal data. Outside of the personal data -- a core of google's business model -- these are all things they can overcome with the next iteration, assuming the google-ites stick with it.

But on the other side, I hope the pixel is increased incentive for apple to up their game.
 
Kabeyun said:
I admit to not having tried one, but three things come straight to mind. First is not knowing finger placement, although that may get better over time. Second is that it eliminates about 90% of the cases out there. I'm sure there'll be a Pixel case with a sensor window. Third is that you can't unlock your Pixel unless you pick it up. I use my iPhone all the time on my desk. If smartphone makers are committed to shrinking the bezel (which I like only to a point) I like the idea of encorprating it into the front screen instead (Apple and LG have examples) .

Not deal breakers. Just a little silly imo.
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It won't seem so silly if you try it for a while. There are lots of phone cases with the appropriate window, and you would most likely get quite expert at finding the sensor in very little time.

It's all a matter of trade-offs - no design decision like this (front vs. rear) is going to perfectly match all use cases. If you like to use your phone flat on the desk, then perhaps you would't find it so convenient, but others may find it to be superior for their needs.

It's certainly something that took me a few days to get used to, but once I did, it now it irks me to pick up an old phone with a thumbscanner. That said (and like you said), if I were tempted to switch back to an iPhone, this wouldn't be a deal breaker - I'm sure I would adjust.

That's one of the great thing about all the choices we have in mobile phones - there's pretty much something for everyone.
 
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Iconoclysm said:
Cutting edge doesn't just mean the first to do it, but how they do it. No, waterproofing is no big deal but Touch ID is/was - and the competition still hasn't really caught up. Apple turned its eye to the payment processing market and the other guys really haven't caught up there yet, either. But they did try - Android Pay, Samsung Pay, etc. Homekit is obviously the current focus and requires Siri advancements to make the next step. Which is what I'm expecting to see over the next year. CarPlay is another area people ignore when discussing this stuff. Android Auto really hasn't taken off the same way and is starting to be late to the game with many manufacturers. Samsung has no answer of their own there, even though a partnership with Hyundai/Kia would be a no brainer. Force Touch is no big deal to me, but it's something.

What will be cutting edge, hardware wise, would be mLED screens in the next phone with TouchID sensors under the screen.
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Actually I think cutting edge does mean the first to do it. "The latest or most advanced stage in the development of something," arguably if something is cutting edge does not mean it is the best. Apple is living proof of that. However, aside from the processor, I would hardly call it cutting edge.

Payment processing.. I'm not sure how Apple has a distinct advantage over the other services. Apple has marketed it better, just like everything else it does, but Android Pay and Samsung are right there. Re: Auto, again I think you may be mistaken because as many manufacturers are on Android Auto. In fact many cars just support both. Hyundai is one prime example, and Honda is moving it to Ridgeline and CRV for 2017 (it's already in the Civic and Accord). Home stuff, Google put its foot in the door with the Nest acquisition but it's coming. Really, the companies are pretty even on these other services. It's a matter of preference, really.

EDIT for more payment processing info: Google Wallet was around before Apple Pay right? That was arguably cutting edge. The problem was always that Nexus phones were never big sellers and for Google to organize all manufacturers around one NFC payment system and get all retailers to accept it in their terminals just was not going to happen. Apple comes in with a unified hardware and can promise retailers (or at least their terminals) exactly what to expect since they control hardware, so Apple Pay launches much better.

This phone, the Pixel, is arguably Google's hardware and by stepping into the ring they can create a software system (like Android Pay), set the standard, set the specs for manufacturers, and then push it. A lot depends on their phone actually selling though, and at this price point only Android die hards (such as myself) are buying.
 
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