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Upcoming 2017 Google Pixel XL May Feature 'Squeezable' Frame for Activating Google Assistant

iReality85 said:
I guess, if you always have your phone in your pocket. I and plenty of others keep our phone on our work desk. Having to pick up my phone to unlock it would grow old very fast.
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"Smart Unlock". Phone unlocks based on locatons or paired devices. When I had a Nexus, it would automatically unlock when paired to my car, or when at home or in the office.
 
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Breaking Good said:
Does everyone realize that HTC already has this feature?

I guess I'm missing this, but what do you do after you squeeze the phone to activate this AI feature? Do you talk to it? If so, I'd think voice activation would make more sense.
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I know. Half the time, if I bother to speak to Siri at all, it's because for some reason my hands aren't free to touch the phone and look up what I need manually. I'm fine with an easy way to bring up an AI assistant but so far dedicated buttons like the one I have for Bixby on my S8+ are more trouble than they're worth. I can't fairly knock this squeezy feature without trying it, but I remain a bit skeptical that I would love it. But who knows.
 
BootsWalking said:
It's only slightly less useful than Apple's 3D Touch.
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I don't understand this. I use 3D Touch daily and find it to be a fantastic addition to iOS. Hell, I'd be happy if it did nothing but act as a cursor on the keyboard (not something that can be done with long touch, as they clearly do two very different things).
 
Cloudkicker said:
Ahem... some smart rich dude in the tech industry once said if you have to use a stylus, it's a fail.

Jury still out on a headphone jack removal being "brave", but I expect a verdict shortly.

Nice to know OLED is finally/officially now not a stupid gimmick as of this Fall.
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OLED isn't a feature. It's a screen technology that continues to mature. LCD based displays are and will continue to be highly competitive as long as investments are made to continue improving them. They do, however, have some drawbacks that limit design flexibility which is the main driver to adoption in the next iPhone.
 
AKA 3D Touch?

I don't know why people are ripping on this phone. The first one was awesome, and this version will be even better. iPhones are popular but they are a thing of the past. My last iPhone was the 6S and I don't miss apple at all. Moved on to the Pixel and now on the S8. Anxiously waiting for the next Pixel. Google is the way to go.
 
NexusUser said:
Back mounted finger print scanners are the best IMO, my phone is always turned on and unlocked as I pull it out of my pocket. I definitely can't say that with the awkward placement of the iPhone's scanner.

I like the way the new Pixel is looking so far, but I don't understand the point of the squeeze sensor...
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I agree. Fingerprint scanners on the back are more natural to use than on the front. When I switched from my nexus 6p to an iPhone 7 plus it was very awkward for a while.
 
bartolo5 said:
I have a Pixel and the fingerprint on the back it's pretty great. Falls naturally where your fingers are.

Only awkward use case is when phone is laying flat, but Android has 'smart unlock' which allows you to auto unlock phone in specific locations, when paired to specific devices or if it recognizes your body movement signature. Not missing front touch id a bit.

Best would be front and back.
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Why doesn't the iphone have smart lock? I have an Apple Watch. Shouldn't my iphone be unlocked while the watch is within bluetooth distance?
 
CerebralX said:
If I were Google I'd focus on trying to put that finger print sensor underneath the glass as opposed to the back, like Apple are trying to do instead of adding gimmicks like this to their device...
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Or they could focus on adding gimmicks like function bars to the screen... I'm more excited about having a true 6" screen than a 5.8" screen cut down to 5.2" by some stupid function bar.
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Pamela5 said:
I agree. Fingerprint scanners on the back are more natural to use than on the front. When I switched from my nexus 6p to an iPhone 7 plus it was very awkward for a while.
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Bleh, I hate having to pick up my phone off the desk, or take it out of the car mount in order to power it on.
 
itsmilo said:
Apple will eventually implement it. In about 5 years.

- sent from my iPhone
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Then it will be the greasest thing ever.

There are a few things I miss from my Nexus
- Smart Lock
- API to NFC and WiFi, I miss the WiFi analyzer
- "Dreaming" settings that can show a clock as a screen saver
- An alarm that pops up buttons to shut it down that don't require my glasses to read.
- Wireless charging.

The first one allowed me to not have to unlock my phone at home, work and in my car.
The last 3 allowed me to just plop the phone on a stand, without fidd;ing with cables, and have a functional alarm clock.
 
AsherN said:
Then it will be the greasest thing ever.

There are a few things I miss from my Nexus
- Smart Lock
- API to NFC and WiFi, I miss the WiFi analyzer
- "Dreaming" settings that can show a clock as a screen saver
- An alarm that pops up buttons to shut it down that don't require my glasses to read.
- Wireless charging.

The first one allowed me to not have to unlock my phone at home, work and in my car.
The last 3 allowed me to just plop the phone on a stand, without fidd;ing with cables, and have a functional alarm clock.
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yes i got it on my work samsung and i love it
 
Sunshoopa said:
Eh, people said many things were a stupid gimmick that were new features and turned successful. At least it's not a feature that every phone has on the market. People said Retina screens were stupid, now look.
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Those people were foolish. Retina was never a gimmick. It was about sharp text, which is always a benefit over blurry text.
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Abazigal said:
That's because in such a hypothetical scenario, Apple will do what they have always done - take an emerging product category with a frustrating user experience and deliver a polished product made possible by its control over both the hardware and software.
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But they aren't doing this anymore. Their user-interaction functionality is getting progressively worse! iOS 10 dragged the text selection bugs from Safari to Mail. The new iOS 11 control center is a pile of abstract rounded rectangles. iWork was crippled and the GUI turned into a screen of wasted space. iPhones are stupidly big and inserting software fixes just to be able to "reach" the "top" of the screen. Etc. I won't even detail the problems with the flat design nonsense that began this downward spiral in 2013, because only people who are actually trained in human-computer interfacing believe the complaints from such experts are legit (because experts somehow = arrogance in America today).
 
BlueGoldAce said:
Exactly. How is this not useful?

You squeeze your phone to trigger the best virtual assistant on the market. I can see any number of instances where this would be the most convenient way to activate it.
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Imagine the thing that happens now w/ Siri accidentally opening up & saying “yes? what can I do for you?” every time you say something that sounds remotely like “hey Siri”; only times ten thousand, because it’s MUCH easier to accidentally squeeze your phone than to accidentally say “hey Siri”.
 
TimUSCA said:
I don't understand this. I use 3D Touch daily and find it to be a fantastic addition to iOS. Hell, I'd be happy if it did nothing but act as a cursor on the keyboard (not something that can be done with long touch, as they clearly do two very different things).
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You're in a distinct minority. Most people aren't even aware the feature is there. It's no more useful than a long-press on the Android OS, which achieves the same thing.
 
Had a Pixel and it was a great phone but now I have an S8 and any new Pixel or Pixel just doesn't interest me. It can't be better than the S8.
 
BootsWalking said:
You're in a distinct minority. Most people aren't even aware the feature is there. It's no more useful than a long-press on the Android OS, which achieves the same thing.
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Right.. No, not at all, thanks for playing though. Funny how doing something 10 times faster is the "same thing".
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Pamela5 said:
I agree. Fingerprint scanners on the back are more natural to use than on the front. When I switched from my nexus 6p to an iPhone 7 plus it was very awkward for a while.
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Only if up is down.... Your argument is makes no sense. How is it a better placement when most people put their phone on their back and well the whole opposable tumb thing that separates us from the apes... Make sense buddy.
 
CerebralX said:
If I were Google I'd focus on trying to put that finger print sensor underneath the glass as opposed to the back, like Apple are trying to do instead of adding gimmicks like this to their device...
Click to expand...
I prefer the sensor on the back, it's more natural to reach when you hold the phone. I tried the P10 and I really didn't like the iPhone-like sensor location, it was a step back from the P9.

The new Pixel looks really nice. Let's see if they make an effort to actually sell more of them. It's like they don't care about it.
 
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