Got the wifey into the Pixel! Ordering 2 8s, with watch 2 asap.

[kojack]

I was showing Kojackwife the new pixel and all the great features it has for her and her work with the meeting transcription and summarizing built into the phone.  That will make her work life MUCH better instead of having to write out the transcripts, the pixel will give her the rough draft automatically with summaries, then she can go in and just make changes as needed. 

 

I am getting the pro for the extra photo awesomeness.  Can't wait to be not tied to the applesphere for a change. She's excited for some customizing freedoms as well. 

[Aaron44126]

Regarding Pixel 8‚ I saw that Google is committing to seven years of OS support and also parts for repairs, a tremendous bump up from what you typically see from an Android phone.  Maybe things are shifting.  (If only Samsung would follow suit.)

 

https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/9/23910082/google-will-stock-pixel-8-spare-parts-for-seven-years

[serpro69]

4 hours ago, Aaron44126 said:

If only Samsung would follow suit.

 

They might , at least to a certain degree - https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-more-than-five-years-security-updates-3373510/

[Aaron44126]

2 hours ago, serpro69 said:

They might , at least to a certain degree - https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-more-than-five-years-security-updates-3373510/

 

Eh.  Cool, but "security updates" isn't exactly the same as full OS upgrades.

[serpro69]

17 minutes ago, Aaron44126 said:

Eh.  Cool, but "security updates" isn't exactly the same as full OS upgrades.

Yeah, no it's not, that's why I added "to a certain degree"
I don't really expect samsung to make any serious moves right off the bat, not unless they see this kind of policy that google is implementing will affect their own market share noticeably. Which is anyways too early to tell if it will.
But it does look like lately more and more people want to keep their phones for longer than 2-3 years, which is a good trend overall I'd say.

[Aaron44126]

39 minutes ago, serpro69 said:

But it does look like lately more and more people want to keep their phones for longer than 2-3 years, which is a good trend overall I'd say.

 

Yeah, I have a six-year-old phone here myself.  I haven't really seen a need to replace it — until now...  I am replacing it in the next 3-4 weeks.  Apple has ended "latest OS" support at six years (though it did just get another security update earlier today and I expect those to continue for a while yet), and it is starting to occasionally have some strange long-delay / lock-up behaviors when doing trivial tasks; I think the flash storage might be starting to flake out.

 

Though really, I see the mobile landscape as having matured to the point where, unless you really like having the latest-and-greatest, constant upgrades aren't really warranted and you should be able to be fine with a phone for 5+ years, as long as you start with a good one.  Sort of like the PC landscape hit I'd say 10-12 years ago or so.  (All the better if phone makers can keep the software updates coming for longer!)

 

Though on the other side, there's the money factor; The Verge notes that Pixel 8 Pro has some software features that Pixel 8 doesn't for no apparent reason other than "just because", and there will always be an incentive to limit support for new features to new phones just to prop up sales.  Another example would be Microsoft who is (seemingly) trying their darnedest to prop up falling PC sales by messing with OS support.  Looking back to the Windows 11 launch in 2021, they didn't offer it to or officially support any PCs that were more than ≈3 years old at the time of the launch, with no good reason given on why a 6th-gen or 7th-gen system (with a TPM even!) couldn't run it just fine, what the heck.  Rumors persist that Windows 12 is coming "next year", we'll see if they pull that again .....

[Reciever]

The only thing that irks me about Pixel is that there is no desktop mode. Would make work a lot more convenient but I take pictures pretty often and they are very very often very clean for how quick I can snap a picture and move on to other tasks so I try to see it as a trade off (without having looked at Galaxy pics of course lol)

[kojack]

13 hours ago, Reciever said:

The only thing that irks me about Pixel is that there is no desktop mode. Would make work a lot more convenient but I take pictures pretty often and they are very very often very clean for how quick I can snap a picture and move on to other tasks so I try to see it as a trade off (without having looked at Galaxy pics of course lol)

 

I never liked the hack job desktop features of phones. Either dex, continuum etc. I would just rather use my notebook or workstation.  Phone features are more important than half baked desktop functions to me. 

[Reciever]

23 minutes ago, kojack said:

 

I never liked the hack job desktop features of phones. Either dex, continuum etc. I would just rather use my notebook or workstation.  Phone features are more important than half baked desktop functions to me. 

Well during the time I didnt have any PC's and wasnt permitted one for around 6 months, otherwise I agree. 

 

I was using my phone to take my QMK documentation and proofing home and bring back for further proofing at the time. Its one of those something better than nothing scenarios

[kojack]

17 hours ago, Reciever said:

Well during the time I didnt have any PC's and wasnt permitted one for around 6 months, otherwise I agree. 

 

I was using my phone to take my QMK documentation and proofing home and bring back for further proofing at the time. Its one of those something better than nothing scenarios

Yes, that's a different scenario. Since, for the most part I am self employed and live in my own home, I will never be without a pc. 

[kojack]

We are still waiting for our 2 pixels to arrive at the store here. I keep checking every day I am working to see if they show up.  just 128mb versions.  boo. Plus only black has shown up except one hazel and one bay color. We cannot wait to get the pixels, as I want to finally move away from the walled garden and carry on using android/microsoft combo instead of iOS and macOS combos as I was starting to float towards. I want a more open ecosystem, where i can use the devices I want, in the way that I want.  As soon as they arrive, I will get some photos and reviews done on the two phones. 

[kojack]

Got our two pixel 8s ordered. Should be here next week.  We are excited to move from apple for a change.