And it get worse because of the on-screen buttons you actually lose additional screen space (yes, I furiously hate on-screen buttons)
ISo you basically get a shorter screen, but keep the same height in phone dimensions.
And it get worse because of the on-screen buttons you actually lose additional screen space (yes, I furiously hate on-screen buttons)
It's narrower and thinner, and the height of the screen is smaller.
I prefer on screen buttons if for no other reason than the buttons rotate with the screen. Makes using my phone in landscape orientation easier.I too will never understand how can ANYONE prefer onscreen buttons.. They are ergonomically disastrous, decrease the usable screen area, are harder to use (accidental taps) and have not led to any bezel shrinkage.
Had one for a while now, IMHO, it's the best Android phone, if you want a feature filled (busy) UI, grab a Samsung device, if you want more refined, grab an iPhone (I prefer my iPhone 7+).
Am doing the T-Mobile deal myself, it takes forever to be processed. Best Buy has the Verizon units in stock, and T-Mobile will give you the discount on the Verizon pixel's.
Also, Google has the VR headset available, and it should have pretty decent support.
I know I risk starting a silly debate about this, but what about the iphone UI is refined? It's just a flood of icons that you have to scroll through to find what you want with no other options. At least with Android phones you can customize the home screen to minimalize things. As far as background and settings screens that are just part of the UI that you can't change, there's not a lot of difference between the two.
You can actually customize an iPhone's home screen too. You can even have them blank nowadays.
There might be something I'm missing, so I'll ask:
I'd like to put more than 4 icons in the bottom for my "always there" apps. Can I do that? Or if I can't do that, can I put the few extra icons I want at the bottom of the screen? It seems to force all of the icons to start in the top left where they're harder to reach with one hand. I can create a folder to hold more icons, and it's not THAT many extra steps to get what I want, but it's just now how I want it organized
I'd like to change what settings you can toggle in the window when you swipe up from the bottom. Not sure I can do that, but what I want doesn't seem to be there.
Obviously, this is important to you, enjoy your phone.
Yeah I don't mind iOS and how it lays out icons on an iPad, but as a large phone user it does annoy me how it forces top down arrangement. Besides the Plus being irritatingly tall, I dislike how I can't get my most commonly used apps within thumb reach without resorting to multiple folders in the dock. That being said, you get used to it.There might be something I'm missing, so I'll ask:
I'd like to put more than 4 icons in the bottom for my "always there" apps. Can I do that? Or if I can't do that, can I put the few extra icons I want at the bottom of the screen? It seems to force all of the icons to start in the top left where they're harder to reach with one hand. I can create a folder to hold more icons, and it's not THAT many extra steps to get what I want, but it's just now how I want it organized
I'd like to change what settings you can toggle in the window when you swipe up from the bottom. Not sure I can do that, but what I want doesn't seem to be there.
Today my Not-Quite-Black Pixel arrived, and I have it side by side with my S7 (work phone).
Some hardware impressions:
-From pictures, the bottom bezel didn't seem too bad. However with the phone in front of me my first impression was, "dang that bezel is huge". I'm starting to get used to it, but on the Moto X the bottom bezel was much smaller than the top to balance out the on-screen buttons, which resulted in pleasing proportions, which the Pixel doesn't have. I agree with criticisms here.
-People have called the Pixel plain. I can see where they're coming from, but to me it's not an unattractive phone. If it had smaller bezels I might even give it praise. It's nowhere near perfect, but I like the minimalist slant.
-Even though the Pixel is smaller in the 2 dimensions that matter most to usability, and lighter, the S7 has the illusion of being a smaller phone (for me) due to it's smaller height. That said, I do slightly prefer the size and shape of the pixel in-hand.
-I like the fingerprint scanner's location on the S7 better. The Pixel's isn't in a location where my finger rests naturally so I'm probably not going to use it.
-The Pixel's buttons are a bit more clicky than the S7's. They don't feel "cheap" exactly, but the S7 gives more of an impression of solidity.
-The aluminum back on the Pixel is much colder when you live in the great white north. However, I generally prefer the aluminum and would've been fine had the whole back of the phone been metal.
-I'm left-handed and prefer the Pixel's navigation button layout.
-The screens on both phones look about the same to me, both in color reproduction and crispness. I dunno why Samsung put so many pixels in a 5.1" screen, I'm sure a 1080P screen would have resulted in better battery life and performance (all else being equal).
-Both phones have very nice cameras. I have no complaints about either, and neither is clearly better or worse than the other without scrutiny.
-The speakers on both are in similar places (opposite sides) and sound similar.
-The Type-C connector feels a lot more solid than microUSB. I just need to update my cable collection.
Software impressions:
-Vanilla 7.1 definitely wins vs TW 6.0.1 for me. As with the hardware, the software seems more minimalist, with less visual clutter, without losing any functionality I care about.
-The Pixel is fast. It's noticeably faster than the S7 in just about everything.
-I like the Pixel's launcher a lot more than Samsung's stock launcher. I know this can easily be changed, but I'm using the stock launcher on both phones.
-As silly as it sounds, I like Google's collection of random noises, notifications and ringtones much better than Samsung's. This can be changed too, of course.
-Google Assistant is pretty slick. This might be the first phone I actually use the voice commands with.
-The main reason I got the Pixel was for Google Fi, which has also been really slick so far. I live near the Canadian border and most phones have terrible service around here even when they're on US towers. Fi's multiple networks are exactly what I needed, and there is no Samsung option for that (yet).
At the end of day one, I like the Pixel better. If I were given both an S7 and Pixel with freedom to choose any network on either, I'd still take the Pixel as my DD.
...which if really needed are easily added with software.I prefer on screen buttons if for no other reason than the buttons rotate with the screen. Makes using my phone in landscape orientation easier.