The Pixel phone is exactly what we wanted, so of course we’re unhappy | Hacker News Reader

The Pixel phone is exactly what we wanted, so of course we’re unhappy

theverge.com

20 pointsiamben24 comments

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So the Pixel phones have:

...an SD card slot for expandable storage?

...a high capacity removable battery?

...IP-something-decent water resistance?

...durable build materials?

...a VR solution that works well with established players in that space instead of creating a whole new standard?

...and most important of all A REASONABLE PRICE?

If the answer to any of those is no, then it's not exactly what I (and I suspect a lot of people) wanted. At least they kept the headphone jack. SMH

... a price that isn't a few hundred USD above its predecessor (comparing the regular Pixel to the 5X)? ... a featurelist that doesn't start with the 'assistant' that most of us don't give a crap about?

I don't expect a removal battery anywhere anymore (although I held out til the last possible moment with the Samsung S4 Active until I got the 5X). But I was hoping for a higher-capacity battery, absolutely. But it charges quickly, they say. Great, so I still have to carry an Anker around.

The lack of water resistance is infuriating. The S4 Active had it, the IPhone has it. I guess the marketing research guys decided we didn't want that feature.

Sigh.

Friend who is perpetually on her Galaxy S6 was getting very frustrated with battery drain. She found a case with integrated battery that made that go away. Yeah, it's bulkier and heavier, but she doesn't complain. And when she's not on it, and she's not at home, it's in her purse, anyway.

Another friend added such a case to her iPhone. Again, if/when it travels, it's in a bag.

I've looked for a such a case for my Nexus 5x, but it's apparently much too small a market to attract such a third-party product.

Maybe with the enhanced commercialization of the Pixel, it will get such things. But, it's a risk you won't face with a Samsung S series nor an iPhone.

(Plus, the S7 takes a microSD card, once again.

Yeah, the headphone jack. But I think now most people are going to just start making do with Bluetooth. The minority who care for the quality and features Bluetooth lack, are just that, a minority these manufacturers can afford to ignore.)

P.S. The quick charging is nice, though. My 5x can go from 40-ish percent or maybe 50, to over 90 percent charge during a 20-30 minute car ride, using a Pleson brand car charger that supports quick charging.

I used to let my phones drain more thoroughly, or at least drain steadily through a full day, before recharging them. Trying to reduce charging cycle count. Now, I've kind of given up on that and taken to her behavior (somewhat or substantially erstwhile, now that she has the battery case), charging several times a day, when I have the opportunity, and whether or not I have time to let it reach full or near-full charge.

We'll see how long its battery stays in good shape.

I know it's a pet peeve of the community here, and I'd love a SD card slot or removable battery as much as the next geek.

But have you considered that HN (and most tech sites) are an echo chamber. And that really, most people don't care?

That ship has already sailed, and most manufacturers don't have these features anymore, cause they don't sell.

People would rather lightness, or build quality or extra capacity etc. over these features.

>But have you considered that HN (and most tech sites) are an echo chamber. And that really, most people don't care?

A lot of people don't know what they want until they see it. I've gotten plenty of people very interested after I tell them that my good old Galaxy S3 lasts ~5 days without charging. For some people the bulk is a deal breaker, but many others either love it (it feels really good to hold and resists quite a beating) or aren't inconvenienced by it.

It's going to be replaced soonish by an LG V20 which is bound to get an extended battery as well, but as long as I have a choice I'm sure as hell going to keep buying phones that don't have me scrambling for a charger once or even twice a day, I love that my device serves me and not the other way around.

> I've gotten plenty of people very interested after I tell them that my good old Galaxy S3 lasts ~5 days without charging.

Count me as one of them. Yes, I still use an S3. Mine can last all day on a charge - most of the time. Unless I use it a lot.

Well then you might wanna take a look at these:

https://amazon.com/Warranty-WITHOUT-battery-Zerolemon-Midnig...

https://amazon.com/ZeroLemon-7000mAh-Extended-Protection-GT-...

My battery is actually Hyperion branded but it seems to no longer be produced; that ZeroLemon one however has the same capacity and should be as good. The case is the same I have. Both battery and case have been with me for close to 3 years, no sign of capacity degradation and it has taken a lot of hits like a champ without even a screen protector.

I can live with most things, but I hate not having an SD slot. The Pixel is definitely not "all we want"

I think it's exactly what Google wanted us to have.

You can add "wireless charging" to that list.

Have you used wireless charging? I did with my Nexus 5 while it did work most of the time I had occasions where alerts would vibrate the phone off the charger, or it got bumped slightly out of the charge spot. Easier to plug in a cable, for me anyway. It ended up being cool idea I thought I would really like, but in practice I didn't like it and stopped using it.

"We asked and asked, for many years, to see Google get serious about building and designing its own smartphones. The Pixel isn’t everything we wanted, but it is definitely the device and strategy we’ve been demanding from Google for so long. And just like the enigmatic Google Assistant, this new initiative of Google acting as a hardware designer and builder is likely to only grow better with more time and experience."

Ths is a weak, navel-gazing article that feels more like marketing than analysis.

The article argues that what 'we' wanted all along is the magic of HTC combined with long-term OS updates. It listed the killer features of various manufacturers: Samsung's screen, HTC's design, blah blah, and wrote a few paragraphs that suggest the author is paid per word.

But in the end the features that are objectively useful: build, water resistance, battery life, and low price, are all not mentioned.

But the enigmatic new assistant is! Take that Siri!

Uh, no. Most of us aren't viewing the smartphone battle as a battle of AI 'assistants'. Maybe in 2030 I'll care about that. Right now my concern is battery life, longevity and RAM of my 5X (it only has 2GB), and the only reason to upgrade to this expensive device is so I get more RAM.

But I'm going to hold out. I hope it flops.

When he says "we asked" and "we wanted" he's really referring to the other folks writing for The Verge. The Pixel is the phone that Verge staff have asked for in past articles and podcasts. That's where I think the disconnect is. The Pixel is what happens when you take your advice from bloggers at The Verge, instead of the customers paying you money. It's an Android iPhone.

Which isn't inherently bad -- Google's not obligated to service their existing customers. But existing customers bought Nexus devices in large part because they were not iPhones in many significant areas that have largely been eliminated now.

Perhaps Google's new target market will be more profitable -- who knows. But these existing customers are understandably frustrated at being left behind now. It's certainly has nothing to do with people being impossible to please, as the article claims.

I agree with your spec needs... I find my (cracked screen) Nexus 4 hits a sweet spot.

> I hope it flops.

That, I don't get. Let it succeed. It could be the Nexus4/5X for someone else.

While I wont buy the Pixel at this price range, I actually like the idea of the Assistant. So Google Home ($129) is probably something I will look into. I see the TV as a valid visual endpoint for Google Home + Assistant actions/interactions. I would like to consume content, replay trip photos, or even plan trips using the TV as a first class endpoint.

> I hope it flops.
That, I don't get. Let it succeed. It could be the Nexus4/5X for someone else.

Admittedly, I was a bit harsh. Put differently: if this marketing strategy succeeds, those of us who care about functional specs like battery life and durability/water resistance, and especially price, lose out. If it flops they'll question why.

As far as the Assistant - it's a software feature primarily, right? Why wouldn't it work on previous hardware? The 5X can't handle it?

I don't use Google Now, I don't see myself using Assistant ("Google Assistant, find me a cheap flight to London!" Uh, no.)

>if this marketing strategy succeeds, those of us who care about functional specs like battery life and durability/water resistance, and especially price, lose out. If it flops they'll question why.

Exactly. Look what happened with the Galaxy S6: it basically flopped, because it eliminated 3 killer features that its predecessor the S5 had: water resistance, removable battery, and SDcard slot. The S7 added two of those back in and it's doing much better in sales.

I don't think the pixel has any longer-term OS updates than the now defunct nexus phones... 2 years. If google actually came forward and put down 3 or, better, 4 years of major OS updates, that would've been something.

How come they keep putting the fingerprint thing on the back? Seems awkward that way.

Having used both iPhones and Nexus phones with fingerprint sensors the back position is much better for me. My index finger rests there naturally when holding the phone while the home button placement is awkward.

But this way you can't unlock it if it's sitting on a desk or whatever face-up. That is where the finger rests during use, but you usually only want to use the fingerprint reader before it is resting there, to unlock the phone when you begin using it. Most of the time when you're using the device you're not using the fingerprint reader.

I've found I can also maintain a better grip on the phone (3 fingers + palm/thumb) while pressing it over the home button (sort of cradling it in four fingers).

I have massive hands though so it might not be an issue for most.

I have comparatively small hands. On an iPhone 6, I usually unlock it with most of my hand near the bottom of the phone to get my thumb in position there. After it's unlocked, I shift my hand so that my thumb's coming from the side of the screen, instead of the bottom.

In that latter "using the phone" position, my forefinger rests on the upper-middle of the phone, right where the back-side fingerprint readers are located on many (most?) phones. I feel like a reader in that position would make it easier for me to pick up the phone and unlock it without needing to shift my hands back and forth.

All the Nexus uses I know prefer it there to the home button location like the iPhone fwiw.

On the back is definitely better.

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