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. 

[kojack]

Update:  Cancelled the pixel 8s, getting two pixel 8 pros ha ha.  Both the wife and I want some extra features found in the pros. 

[kojack]

The two phones arrived today! They are awesome. Build quality and materials are great. We are just waiting for our cases and screen protectors to arrive before messing with them. Next week I will be free from iPhone YAY! ha ha. 

[jaybee83]

17 minutes ago, kojack said:

The two phones arrived today! They are awesome. Build quality and materials are great. We are just waiting for our cases and screen protectors to arrive before messing with them. Next week I will be free from iPhone YAY! ha ha. 

music to my ears, switching from iphone to pixels 😄 what kinda cases did u guys go for?

[kojack]

1 hour ago, jaybee83 said:

music to my ears, switching from iphone to pixels 😄 what kinda cases did u guys go for?

Mine too. I wanted to get out of apple for a long time.  Only thing is we have 2 ipad 10th gen, and two apple watch 8s we are paying off through work for the next year and a half. D'OH.  I had to convince the wifey to get the pixel.  What tipped her over the edge is the recorder summarize function. 

 

We bought the google silicone cases in the colors of our phones. We also ordered spiegn screen and camera protectors.  I am looking at the two boxes here wanting to set them up but I dont want to drop them either ha ha.  

[kojack]

We got our phones setup with the basics. I love it. The wifey has not tried hers yet as she had to scoot out after I did the data transfer. I am working on getting hers setup with the Microsoft launcher etc now.  First impressions are AWESOME.  So much better than our iPhone's.

[Etern4l]

Wouldn't consider a Pixel, since people supporting "don't be evil" Google is one of the last things the world needs right now, along side supporting Microsoft/OpenAI - Apple are the lesser evil, and certainly miles ahead in terms of privacy protection.

[kojack]

Apple are no better. Our pixels are awesome.  all that matters. The worlds needs LOTS bigger things done than to worry about what freaking phone you use.  I am not getting into that here. 

[Etern4l]

Some basic examples of iPhones' superiority in the privacy department:

* On device data storage by default

* Client-side encrypted iCloud 

* Opt-in based app tracking control

* Consequently, send orders of magnitude less data home

 

Even with the data collection/use issue somehow aside, a major worry about the freaking phone is caused by concerns around the companies pocketing the profits, and what how they spend the proceeds. In the case of G and M$ - the profits are invested primarily in the effort to replace humans with intelligent machines, which clearly is not something rational intelligent humans should support.

[kojack]

Again. I do not care.  Apple is exactly like the rest. They just cloak it in marketing bs.  I don't care. 

[Etern4l]

We know, especially after helping yourself to some of

1 hour ago, kojack said:

I don't care. 

 

That much has been clear for a while, does not really provide a basis for any meaningful conversation based on arguments unfortunately. So just stating the obvious for the record here, and correcting inaccuracies as they arise.

 

Apple is clearly different from the other big tech companies, despite the continuous effort to emulate them. You do feel like you are more of a customer, rather than the product you actually are when using Google services for instance.

To be fair, Apple are guilty of frivolous marketing, although that is far less of a transgression in my view given that those don't necessarily detract from the user experience, and I have no trouble seeing through that in the first place. 

[Etern4l]

Sorry to be the one to have to tell you this, but this is not your thread per se: it's a public discussion space you happened to initiate. You can't kick or even ask people you disagree with out, although you should strive to suppress any abrasive embellishments or remarks. If you are not clear on how to pull out of a thread you cannot or do not want to continue in a civilised manner, then you can do the following for example:

 

I guess we will have to agree to disagree.

 

[kojack]

Ok, now that is taken care of and I cannot see any comments from ai guy anymore.  My wife and I have been using our phones for 24 hours we are both blown away with the newfound capabilities of the pixels. They are miles ahead of the iphone now.  iPhones are stale and boring.  No new features for years and just meh now.  The pixel lineup is awesome with the AI assistant, recorder features, cameras which are second to none right now and overall fluidness of the phone we are 100 percent happy with our purchases. 

[Etern4l]

Works for me. So, Techradar who typically don't look at any ethical or privacy aspects of products rates iPhone 15 Pro higher than the Pixel Pro on features alone (although it's close): 

 

https://www.techradar.com/phones/google-pixel-8-pro-vs-iphone-15-pro

 

It's interesting that even mainstream reviewers found the AI features creepy.