Google Pixel phone

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Oct 04, 2016 1:34 pm

Following an absolute deluge of pre-event leaks and revelations, Google's new Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones are now finally official. Differentiated primarily by the size and resolution of their screens — 5-inch 1080p display on the Pixel and 5.5-inch Quad HD panel on the XL — these two devices are built by HTC, but Google takes full credit for their design and makes this explicit with its "phone by Google" branding. Both Pixel models are powered by the latest Snapdragon 821 processor and run a specialized version of Google's Android software, which includes support for the Daydream virtual reality platform that was announced at Google I/O in the summer.
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Pixel is the first phone with the new Google Assistant built in. When you touch and hold the home button or say the "hot word," the Assistant "jumps into action." In Google's event demo, the Assistant is used to bring up photos from a particular time or place from the past, and also plays whatever music you ask it to play, choosing your favorite music app by default. Similarly, it integrates the Google Now on Tap functionality, allowing the user to swipe up with information on the screen, such as a restaurant name, and provides further information, such as reviews and the restaurant's address. Also, like a bot, the Google Assistant will take your reservation for that same restaurant using only voice prompts.
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The Pixel and Pixel XL rear camera scores an 89 in DxOMark, the highest rating ever. That benchmark isn't the most consistent measure of good performance, but at least it's an indicator of the sensor's potential in the new Pixel phones. It has a 12.3-megapixel resolution with large 1.55-micron pixels and an f/2.0 aperture.
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Google will allow free unlimited storage for full-resolution images and videos shot with the Pixel. That's much like the standard Google Photos backup ability, but takes off the size limit and compression, even on 4K video shot with the new phone.
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The Pixel is the first Daydream-compatible phone and Google today also announced the $79 Daydream View headset to accommodate the Pixel for VR use. The Daydream View comes bundled with a tiny motion controller that is so precise, claims Google, that you can even draw with it. When you're done using it, the controller tucks inside the Daydream View itself for safe storage.

On the hardware front, the Pixel phones are both made out of aluminum with a big glass window at the back, surrounding the camera, flash, and the fingerprint sensor (now dubbed Pixel Imprint). The Pixel XL has a 3,450mAh battery and the Pixel has a 2,770mAh battery. Both displays are AMOLED, both devices have 4GB of RAM, USB-C, a choice of 32GB or 128GB of storage, Bluetooth 4.2, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Yes, Google felt the need to advertise that last one. Google is also bringing back the Live Cases it introduced with last year's Nexus devices.

Pricing starts at $649 for the smaller 5-inch Pixel with 32GB of storage, available for preorder today. That number scales up to $749 with 128GB of onboard storage, $769 for the larger Pixel XL with 32GB, or $869 for the XL with 128GB. Google gives a choice between black or silver for color, with an exclusive "really blue" option with Verizon in the US, though the latter is limited to just 32GB of storage.

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Tue Oct 04, 2016 1:39 pm

$780 for a 32GB phone with no expandable storage is tough to swallow.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Tue Oct 04, 2016 5:24 pm

All videos and pictures are stored in the cloud at recorded resolutions for free with no limits. I'm not a smart phone user, but isn't that the biggest drain on memory?

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Tue Oct 04, 2016 5:35 pm

It's definitely a nice benefit. Amazon already does this for Prime members though. It's also nice to not have to constantly delete them.

I have a ton of music, podcasts and audiobooks on my phone because I have over 140GB of storage on my $250 phone. If I'm going to spend over three times as much on a phone I want that feature.

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Tue Oct 04, 2016 5:35 pm

stessier wrote:All videos and pictures are stored in the cloud at recorded resolutions for free with no limits. I'm not a smart phone user, but isn't that the biggest drain on memory?

I have more music than anything on my phone, and I didn't see them mention that.

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Tue Oct 04, 2016 5:38 pm

Amazon's Prime music feature (sorry, I'm seriously not trying to be an Amazon fanboy here) allows you to download a significant number of albums for offline listening. I added probably 200 albums to my collection as soon as they did that and I was glad to have the storage on my phone to handle that. It's nice to not have to worry about storage space.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Oct 04, 2016 5:41 pm

My 6 Plus has 64 GB total. I'm sitting at 43.74 used. Could I get by with 32 GB? Possibly. Would I want to have to go back to actively managing memory on a device? Not really.

Xmann · Post by **Xmann** » Wed Oct 05, 2016 12:27 am

I bought the Nexus 6P less than 8 months ago and I'm perfectly content with it.

I might be tempted to upgrade a year from now, but not anytime soon.

I do like Google Assistant and was excited about Google Allo, but not being a full fledged SMS service was a killer for me.

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Wed Oct 05, 2016 9:31 am

I'm wondering why they don't allow it to be your SMS app.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Wed Oct 05, 2016 11:11 am

stessier wrote:All videos and pictures are stored in the cloud at recorded resolutions for free with no limits. I'm not a smart phone user, but isn't that the biggest drain on memory?

If you don't have wifi access though, it can be a costly drain on your data plan.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Wed Oct 05, 2016 11:58 am

My Nexus 5 battery has just about given up the ghost. I can get about 10 minutes out of it when not plugged in.

So do I buy a 5-10 dollar battery, or spend hundreds on a new phone?

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Oct 05, 2016 12:05 pm

GreenGoo wrote:My Nexus 5 battery has just about given up the ghost. I can get about 10 minutes out of it when not plugged in.

So do I buy a 5-10 dollar battery, or spend hundreds on a new phone?

At three years since release? I'd lean toward a new phone, ut by three years, my iPhones are having issues with the latest iOS. Since Android just abandons older phones, if you're not having issues, buy a new battery and start squirreling away funds for a new phone in a year or two.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Wed Oct 05, 2016 12:14 pm

Yeah, they dropped support for the 5 just in time for the new pixels.

I'm not sure I care, as long as MPQ still works.

Enough · Post by **Enough** » Wed Oct 05, 2016 12:27 pm

McNutt wrote:I'm wondering why they don't allow it to be your SMS app.

Me too, I quickly installed it when it became available and searched for how to set it and was blown away there is no option. That said, even if it could I'm not sure I would settle on it for the default app as it's pretty darn spartan at this point. I will stick with Textra.

Xmann · Post by **Xmann** » Wed Oct 05, 2016 12:55 pm

Enough wrote:
McNutt wrote:I'm wondering why they don't allow it to be your SMS app.
Me too, I quickly installed it when it became available and searched for how to set it and was blown away there is no option. That said, even if it could I'm not sure I would settle on it for the default app as it's pretty darn spartan at this point. I will stick with Textra.

I've been using hangouts and it works fine enough for me.

But I would definitely give allo the ol' "college try" if they would allow you to use it as a default sms.

I'd like to give Google Assistant a shot, but not in the current state.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Tue Dec 06, 2016 12:22 pm

Isgrimnur wrote:
GreenGoo wrote:My Nexus 5 battery has just about given up the ghost. I can get about 10 minutes out of it when not plugged in.

So do I buy a 5-10 dollar battery, or spend hundreds on a new phone?
At three years since release? I'd lean toward a new phone, ut by three years, my iPhones are having issues with the latest iOS. Since Android just abandons older phones, if you're not having issues, buy a new battery and start squirreling away funds for a new phone in a year or two.

Co-worker destroyed his Nexus 5 by accident. He gave me the battery out of it. Battery swap was successful and preliminary tests show a marked increase in battery performance. So that's kinda pretty awesome really.

I'm considering a Pixel tablet for my wife.

I'm off to to do my homework on them. All I know right now is that they are a laptop cost in tablet form. Ugh.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Sep 17, 2018 11:31 am

Pixel 3

The Google Pixel 3 is now confirmed to be landing on October 9, and ahead of that leaks are beginning to gather pace, and we're analyzing each one as it comes in and updating this article to keep you in the know.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Mon Sep 17, 2018 4:10 pm

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Wed Oct 05, 2016 12:05 pm
GreenGoo wrote:My Nexus 5 battery has just about given up the ghost. I can get about 10 minutes out of it when not plugged in.

So do I buy a 5-10 dollar battery, or spend hundreds on a new phone?
At three years since release? I'd lean toward a new phone, ut by three years, my iPhones are having issues with the latest iOS. Since Android just abandons older phones, if you're not having issues, buy a new battery and start squirreling away funds for a new phone in a year or two.

As further testament to my unwillingness (or inability) to spend money on myself, I am still using the Nexus 5 mentioned above, 2 years later and 5 years after release. The replacement battery is just now starting to show signs of instability and maintaining a charge.

In the time since I was making due with my Nexus 5 I posted about above, I have bought my wife a Pixel tablet with keyboard (x-mas 2016) and a Pixel phone (x-mas 2017).

I'm still using what is now a piece of crap Nexus 5. MPQ is causing it to struggle, finally. Everything else seems to work as expected. Antenna seems to be ok still, screen is still functional, amazingly.

God do I need (and want!) a new phone.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 11:30 am

Google event started at 11am EDT today.

So far just covering Google Home and Google Hub.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 11:34 am

I look forward to hear what's coming out for Google+.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 11:37 am

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Tue Oct 09, 2018 11:34 am I look forward to hear what's coming out for Google+.

Yeah, and the first 15 minutes were talking about how they respect users and protect their data. Tough sell.

Meal needs to get a Hub and tell us how it works for him!

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 12:02 pm

Wake me when they get to the Pixel 3 stuff.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 12:04 pm

The Verge

Google just unveiled the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, its latest flagship Android smartphones. There was little left to “unveil” after months of leaked images and videos offered a comprehensive preview of both devices well ahead of the company’s press event today in New York. But after all that, today we’re finally getting the whole story on the new hardware and software features that are exclusive to the Pixel 3. “For life on the go, we designed the world’s best camera and put it in the world’s most helpful phone,” said Google’s hardware chief Rick Osterloh. The Pixel 3 starts at $799 for 64GB, with the 3 XL costing $899. Add $100 to either for the 128GB storage option.

The Pixel 3 and 3 XL both feature larger screens than last year’s models thanks to slimmed down bezels — and the controversial notch in the case of the bigger phone. The 3 XL has a 6.3-inch display (up from six inches on the 2 XL), while the regular 3 has a 5.5-inch screen (up from five inches). Overall, though, the actual phones are very similar in size and handling to their direct predecessors. Preorders for both phones begin today, and buyers will get six months of free YouTube Music service.

Core specs for both include a Snapdragon 845, 4GB RAM (there’s no option for more), Bluetooth 5.0, and front-facing stereo speakers.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 12:16 pm

I like that the Pixel 2 is getting the camera features that are just software. I think they might have stubbed their toe pricing it higher than the iPhones even if you are comparing LCD to OLED.

The Slate was interesting until the price. I'll have to see what it looks like in a store.

The Hub would be interesting if anything in my home were smart.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 12:35 pm

Oh, and the Screen Call function looks to be awesome.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 1:39 pm

I guess the choice now is do I want the Pixel 3, or the bigger XL.

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 1:53 pm

stessier wrote: ↑Tue Oct 09, 2018 11:37 am Meal needs to get a Hub and tell us how it works for him!

A quick glance shows me that it's like an Echo Show (though I'm sure I'm missing out on some level of detail). I've been intrigued by the Show but haven't ever really strongly considered getting one. I envision it as a kitchen recipe device that would also let you see your front-door camera and play music or streaming programming.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 2:21 pm

pr0ner wrote: ↑Tue Oct 09, 2018 1:39 pm I guess the choice now is do I want the Pixel 3, or the bigger XL.

I have the 2 XL. I like it. It fits in my back jeans pocket. The 3 XL has the same dimensions but gets the bigger screen from lack of bezels.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 2:22 pm

The Meal wrote: ↑Tue Oct 09, 2018 1:53 pm
stessier wrote: ↑Tue Oct 09, 2018 11:37 am Meal needs to get a Hub and tell us how it works for him!
A quick glance shows me that it's like an Echo Show (though I'm sure I'm missing out on some level of detail). I've been intrigued by the Show but haven't ever really strongly considered getting one. I envision it as a kitchen recipe device that would also let you see your front-door camera and play music or streaming programming.

It does that, but also can keep you up to date with your calendar, weather, and the like. Also, integrates with all smart devices so can control your lights and thermostats.

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 3:01 pm

Are those not also functions of the Show? (I really am just clueless on these controlling devices.)

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 3:18 pm

I have no idea. I'm clueless on Amazon products. I'm sure Isgrimnur will drop by to educate us however.

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 3:19 pm

(Good idea. Well played!)

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 3:20 pm

stessier wrote: ↑Tue Oct 09, 2018 3:18 pm I have no idea. I'm clueless on Amazon products. I'm sure Isgrimnur will drop by to educate us however.

cnet: Amazon Echo Show Compatible Products

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Jun 13, 2019 12:48 pm

Pixel 4

In a rare move by any tech company, Google confirmed the existence of the Pixel 4 several months ahead its anticipated release in October. The tech giant not only posted the news on its own Made By Google Twitter account, but it also included an image of the phone, which depicts a square camera bump, with multiple rear cameras. Judging by the reactions from the tweet, many were taken aback by the information -- not due to the phone itself, but because Google decided to unveil the news at all.

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Thu Jun 13, 2019 1:27 pm

I've never been happier with a phone than I am with my Pixel 3xl. I'm interested in seeing the 4, but have zero plans on upgrading.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Thu Jun 13, 2019 1:30 pm

McNutt wrote: ↑Thu Jun 13, 2019 1:27 pm I've never been happier with a phone than I am with my Pixel 3xl. I'm interested in seeing the 4, but have zero plans on upgrading.

I love my Pixel 2.

My brother has the 3XL - well, his wife really. They HATE it. They claim it keeps dropping their side of the audio during phone calls. They can hear the other person, but the other person can't hear them. They've RMA'd it 5x - I'm shocked they keep getting sent new ones. Apparently there is a Reddit thread of others with similar issues, but I still can't believe how different our experiences have been.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Thu Jun 13, 2019 1:37 pm

stessier wrote: ↑Thu Jun 13, 2019 1:30 pm I love my Pixel 2.

Wife and I have new Pixel 2's on an installment plan that I just couldn't pass up. I like the phone well enough, but it's the first phone I've ever scratched the screen simply by putting it in my pocket. Which I did nearly immediately. Seeing that scratch every time I use it is tilting me (see: Tilt. I have only recently become aware of this term and usage).

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Oct 21, 2019 2:32 pm

ars technica

When the Pixel 4 ships this week, it will be releasing to consumers with a face-unlock security issue that will apparently stick around for some time. Unlike the iPhone's FaceID (and Google's earlier face-unlock system on Android 4.1), the Pixel 4's face unlock doesn't look for the user's eyes, so the phone could be pointed at a sleeping or unconscious owner and unlocked without their consent. This weekend, Google said in a statement that a fix "will be delivered in a software update in the coming months."
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As part of the many pre-release Pixel 4 leaks, screenshots of pre-release builds of the Pixel 4's software showed an option to "require eyes to be open." So we know Google hasn't been completely blindsided by this problem; the fix just wasn't ready in time for launch.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Thu Oct 24, 2019 1:27 am

If anybody wants to buy one, there's a bunch of them on woot.com

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Sep 30, 2020 2:03 pm

Google unveiling event with the 5G versions.