Google October 4th event

[StrangerGuy]

I honestly think the head executive of Google phone division started the meeting raving about how great the phone looks and everyone else were to scare to say something otherwise.
Its hard for me to believe that a collective group of executives thought this is THE google flagship phone and we should sell it for $649 and it will be a success.
I think its the same group of executives that used to work for Amazon and thought the Fire phone would be a success.

If you ask me the bean counters over at Google are sick of losing money over their own branded hardware, so they just asked the hardware division to, *ahem*, phone this last one in. Besides, why even bother with selling hardware when there are no shortage of OEMs out there lining up to sell Android phones at a loss. To their data mining business its the same endpoint anyway, so it's likely this will be the first and last time we will see a Pixel phone.

 

[WelshBloke]

Timely updates, better camera(?), free cloud storage for photos, not TouchWiz.

You already had free cloud storage up to 16MP so I'm not sure that this is any different.

 

[WelshBloke]

Looking at the hands on videos of the thing, it looks fine. Its a bit bezel heavy but its made by HTC, what were you expecting?

Its more expensive that the S7/S7E though so I cant see that working out well.

 

[Crono]

Looking at the hands on videos of the thing, it looks fine. Its a bit bezel heavy but its made by HTC, what were you expecting?

Its more expensive that the S7/S7E though so I cant see that working out well.

I'm not a fan of the two-tone, partial glass back.

The front looks like an iPhone. Someone for sure will enter this thread to say all phones look the same, but those people shouldn't comment on design, period. It's fine if a phone is a slab, but for those who care at all about design - and I don't if the phone is cheap enough - it's lazy to make it undifferentiated from the rounded rectangle of an iPhone. And there are plenty of phones that look different enough to not be confused for an iPhone at first glance. Even Samsung figured out how to do it, and people used to defend them back in the pre-S6 days for their design choices with the same argument.

Also, I much prefer a slightly curved back that feels better in hand than a flat back, though some people prefer completely flat so it doesn't rock when using it on a table. A subtly curved back, though, is more ergonomic and looks better, in my experience and view. I think the HTC One series had the iPhone beat in design for both aesthetics and in-hand feel. The Pixel looks to be closer to an iPhone in both.

The Pixel and Pixel XL were designed by Google, even if HTC manufactured it. If it was HTC, they should have went with the HTC 10 design language, not something closer to the A9.

I'd argue even the less expensive, plastic-bodied Nexus phones of the past few generations look better than the Pixel. The only plus is that it has no 6P-style camera bump/hump, though apparently that's in part due to no OIS but using the gyroscope to do the digital equivalent... a good move if it works well.

I have to see the paint (or anodization) in person on the Pixel to see if I like the colors, but I doubt the color of the year (coral or electric blue, aka "really blue") is as nice as the Honor 8's or Note 7's. Maybe Crimson will look nice... but probably not as nice as the HTC 10's red.

 

[WelshBloke]

I'm not a fan of the two-tone, partial glass back.

I dont mind that, its better than the weird thing that the 6P had going on.

The front looks like an iPhone. Someone for sure will enter this thread to say all phones look the same, but those people shouldn't comment on design, period. It's fine if a phone is a slab, but for those who care at all about design - and I don't if the phone is cheap enough - it's lazy to make it undifferentiated from the rounded rectangle of an iPhone. And there are plenty of phones that look different enough to not be confused for an iPhone at first glance. Even Samsung figured out how to do it, and people used to defend them back in the pre-S6 days for their design choices with the same argument.

The front looks like an HTC 10 phone without the fingerprint sensor.

Also, I much prefer a slightly curved back that feels better in hand than a flat back, though some people prefer completely flat so it doesn't rock when using it on a table. A subtly curved back, though, is more ergonomic and looks better, in my experience and view. I think the HTC One series had the iPhone beat in design for both aesthetics and in-hand feel. The Pixel looks to be closer to an iPhone in both.

Well this seems to have the advantage of no camera hump so it wont rock on the desk and its got nicely curved sides. So if those things bother you I'd have thought that this would have been a positive.

The Pixel and Pixel XL were designed by Google, even if HTC manufactured it. If it was HTC, they should have went with the HTC 10 design language, not something closer to the A9.

Its absolutely recognisable as an HTC phone. It looks very much like a collaborative effort rather than a purely Google one.

 

[Crono]

That's the Desire 10, not the 10. You've made my point for me, as that's a phone nearly 1/3 the price of the Pixel, and there are 1,000 other phones that look like it. The A9 was rightly criticized for looking like the iPhone. And even with the iPhone-like industrial design and bump of the Desire 10, it still looks better than the Pixel because it doesn't have that ugly glass plate on the back. I can shrug my shoulders for the Desire because it's cheap.

And curved sides are not the same as a curved back. I personally don't have an issue with phones rocking on a table, so I prefer a gentle curved back as it feels better in hand. The Moto X also was designed very ergonomically and felt good in hand (at least the original, haven't owned the larger newer ones) like the HTC One series. I've always felt the iPhone felt a little uncomfortable to hold for any extended period of time. It's pretty, but it's Apple's usual leaning towards form rather than function.

 

[WelshBloke]

That's the Desire 10, not the 10. You've made my point for me, as that's a phone nearly 1/3 the price of the Pixel, and there are 1,000 other phones that look like it.

My point was that it is very much an HTC phone. That's what they all look like.

You can argue about whether HTC copied Apple but I'd counter that HTC has had a 'look' that goes back a long way. It's not just Apple that has unnecessarily large bezels. HTC have been doing it for years.

 

[Anubis]

The "unlimited" cloud storage doesn't seem to include music/audio so that isn't really a big deal either.

google music already allows you to store 400 gigs for free

 

[ControlD]

You already had free cloud storage up to 16MP so I'm not sure that this is any different.

People seemed to think unlimited storage at full resolution was a big deal. I don't use any cloud storage as it is, so I can't comment if this is a big deal or not. I am assuming something is different here but maybe not.

 

[sze5003]

Allo and Duo are standalone apps anyone can download. Even if they pushed it, it's a non issue. The specs are great I agree, but I'm not sure how good they can make the camera after 1 year of upgrades.

With that said is the Pixel still going to be development friendly? Are they going to release the source and binaries for developers?

The unlocked ones from the Google store I think will be developer friendly. That's what Google always had going for them so making them hard to unlock the bootloader now would be a bad idea. Verizon models for sure will be locked down and probably include some Verizon bloat.

But seeing the prices, I know a few people in my development group who aren't planning on buying one due to the price which sucks because I would always get the new model and they would then develop kernels for it later.

 

[ControlD]

Well, this isn't good news. It seems the Verizon model at least will have a locked bootloader. Hopefully the version direct from Google will not be the same.

http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/10/04/confirmed-verizon-pixels-bootloader-will-not-unlockable/

I will most likely look for a cheap 6P at some point if this is the direction things are going.

 

[sze5003]

Well, this isn't good news. It seems the Verizon model at least will have a locked bootloader. Hopefully the version direct from Google will not be the same.

http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/10/04/confirmed-verizon-pixels-bootloader-will-not-unlockable/

I will most likely look for a cheap 6P at some point if this is the direction things are going.

Keeping the bootloader locked on models purchased from the Google store would be stupid. As far as I remember any phone bought from the Google store was always dev friendly so i hope that has not changed.

The 6p is great but I'm expecting prices not to go down too much due to how much the pixel phone cost.

 

[ControlD]

Keeping the bootloader locked on models purchased from the Google store would be stupid. As far as I remember any phone bought from the Google store was always dev friendly so i hope that has not changed.

The 6p is great but I'm expecting prices not to go down too much due to how much the pixel phone cost.

I would probably be buying on Swappa if I went with a 6P.

But honestly for now I am happy with my N6. It actually has some features people were wanting on the Pixel: OIS and wireless charging. It still runs plenty fast for me so I'm not in a huge hurry and there is still an active development community.

 

[sze5003]

I would probably be buying on Swappa if I went with a 6P.

But honestly for now I am happy with my N6. It actually has some features people were wanting on the Pixel: OIS and wireless charging. It still runs plenty fast for me so I'm not in a huge hurry and there is still an active development community.

Yea I had the 6 and liked it too. It was big but I have big hands so it was alright. Swappa was my go to when I wanted a new phone.

I'm hearing we wont see Android 7.1 until end of 2016 and it will be a preview too. It's pretty much pixel exclusive right now. I really want to see in depth reviews of the pixel and it's camera. The question now is the phone worth the price just like we would say is the iPhone worth the price if you were to buy it out right.

 

[linkgoron]

I'll probably buy the new 4k Chromecast, though.

Why would you consider the Chromecast Ultra over the Mi Box?

 

[destrekor]

I like everything about the Pixel phones, except for the lack of SD card. Dammit. I've adjusted to the lack of removable battery, but I just don't see myself going without an SD card. I have to be ready for when I can't go and use a ton of mobile data and want all my music.

Plus, as my phone bill is paid by work on their account, I'd really like to buy from Verizon direct as we still have the type of plan with two-year contracts. I'm able to upgrade and so want to take advantage, but, I definitely need to hear more about the Verizon-offered phone. So far, no excessive branding all over the place. I am definitely curious if Verizon has loaded a bunch of software on it and if Verizon gets to interrupt the update process; it's a stretch, but perhaps they've done like they do with Apple, where they let go and let Google provide all the updates direct, and work with them for any network-specific updates like radio firmware. I also don't like that, unlike the Nexus line available at Verizon, it so far appears there won't be an unlockable bootloader. If it comes unlocked, fine, whatever but at least let Google provide an official unlock route like Motorola has.

 

[Anubis]

I would probably be buying on Swappa if I went with a 6P.

But honestly for now I am happy with my N6. It actually has some features people were wanting on the Pixel: OIS and wireless charging. It still runs plenty fast for me so I'm not in a huge hurry and there is still an active development community.

ill have a 6p to sell soon....

 

[ControlD]

ill have a 6p to sell soon....

Well, shoot me a PM when you do!

 

[Anubis]

Why would you consider the Chromecast Ultra over the Mi Box?

can this thing send things from my comp to my TV that aren't being played in a browser? which is my biggest issue with a chrome cast - I don't use chrome.... also I never send stuff from my phone anywhere,

I have various ways of playing local media to TVs using other pieces of software/hardware but its more cumbersome then I needs to be

 

[Megatomic]

Off the top of my head: lack of SD card, only 32 GB at $650 (or at $750 in the bigger version!), no waterproofing, ugly design (glass ruins unibody look), large bezels, no OIS.

Most of what you replied with is subjective. The waterproofing is one I will grant you. The rest I wouldn't. Did the 6P have an SD card slot? Most of us thought it had an ugly design as well with the visor monstrosity on the back. Camera performance remains to be seen, I may wind up granting you that one as well. We shall see.

 

[Roland00Address]

You already had free cloud storage up to 16MP so I'm not sure that this is any different.

It is also free cloud storage for 4k videos done by the Pixel and Pixel XL

 

[sze5003]

I still cannot get over the fact that there is no 64gb model. Why force people to pay $869 + tax if you want just a bit more space than 32gb.

 

[ControlD]

I still cannot get over the fact that there is no 64gb model. Why force people to pay $869 + tax if you want just a bit more space than 32gb.

I agree. The only thing I can think of is that Google is hoping people start embracing their cloud services. Get people hooked on it now, profit later. I would be fine with 32GB though. My 32GB N6 still has something like 14GB free.

 

[sze5003]

I agree. The only thing I can think of is that Google is hoping people start embracing their cloud services. Get people hooked on it now, profit later. I would be fine with 32GB though. My 32GB N6 still has something like 14GB free.

It does make sense but the thing is that is for photos and videos only. I'm always weary about my pics being in the cloud and you know they will use your stuff for data research anyway. Not like it hasn't happened already.

But if I'm dev friendly and want to store other things in storage 32gb isn't that much. I'm still thinking about it but I keep saying no, no matter how much I want the new os and hopefully "best camera".

 

[WelshBloke]

It is also free cloud storage for 4k videos done by the Pixel and Pixel XL

Given the size of 4k video files I'd say they are far more suited to local storage than streaming. But for archiving them it's still a plus I guess.