[Android] Thread v.2015: Google tries to hardware. Effort: A+. Grade score: C-

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  • wunderbarwunderbar What Have I Done? Registered User regular
    Mine I use to play music, control a couple smart lights/plugs I have: "hey google, turn the lights orange" "Hey google, set the lights to 50%" that kind of thing. There's also a "my day" feature. Mine is set up so when I say "hey google, tell me about my day" it'll tell me the time, weather now and for the day, calendar entries/reminders for the day, and about 10 minutes worth of news audio.

    XBL: thewunderbar PSN: thewunderbar NNID: thewunderbar Steam: wunderbar87 Twitter: wunderbar
  • autono-wally, erotibot300autono-wally, erotibot300 love machine Registered User regular
    I just tried a mate 10 Pro demo unit in a store, and damn...that camera is fast as hell. Literally point and shoot.

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  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    you can use it to play stuff on your chromecast if you have one on the same network. We use our Home all the time and it can actually do quite a bit

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  • RadiationRadiation Registered User regular
    Oh man! Got a notice that my Pixel 2 and my wifes Moto whatever for googles thing should be here in a few days.
    Much excite!

    PSN: jfrofl
  • firewaterwordfirewaterword Satchitananda Pais Vasco to San FranciscoRegistered User regular
    Anyone able to recommend a good android adblocker that doesn't require a rooted device? I've been using adguard for a while now, but since the move to 8.0, it has been wreaking havoc on my 6P's battery, so it has got to go.

    Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu
  • autono-wally, erotibot300autono-wally, erotibot300 love machine Registered User regular
    Anyone able to recommend a good android adblocker that doesn't require a rooted device? I've been using adguard for a while now, but since the move to 8.0, it has been wreaking havoc on my 6P's battery, so it has got to go.
    If you use Firefox Mobile, you can just get the ublock origin extension for that which works like a charm!

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  • CormacCormac Registered User regular
    Brave Browser and Opera work well too.

    Steam: Gridlynk | PSN: Gridlynk | FFXIV: Jarvellis Mika
  • firewaterwordfirewaterword Satchitananda Pais Vasco to San FranciscoRegistered User regular
    Thanks folks - didn't even occur to me to consider switching browsers.

    Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu
  • CormacCormac Registered User regular
    I actually use an app called Chromer which allows me to, by default, open links in a secondary browser. From within the app I can then open the link in Chrome if a site needs a login or I want to add a page to my bookmarks.

    Steam: Gridlynk | PSN: Gridlynk | FFXIV: Jarvellis Mika
  • RadiationRadiation Registered User regular
    Do pihole as well for your home network:
    https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole

    PSN: jfrofl
  • JragghenJragghen Registered User regular
    Naphtali wrote: »
    Oh cool, my Nexus 6P got damaged somehow during in transit to Google for the trade in and it won't turn on anymore. $165 credit becomes $18.

    Welp, never doing that again...

    If it makes you feel any better, you're not the only one dealing with some bullshit here.

    Reported the battery issue months before it became mainstream, so I had the logs. Came back this past May, after they'd previously refused to do anything, and stated "look, there's a class action lawsuit going now. Can you do something?" Got a refurb! It was under warranty until September. This monday, with literally no physical damage, I just put it in my pocket, grabbed it back out, and like....something came desoldered inside the screen. 45 degree angle from the corner, everything above it is just white lines, up through about 1/5th of the screen's width. Brightness is shot, I have to apply pressure to get anything. Out of warranty so Fi won't do anything, can't read the IMEI so Huawei won't do anything, screen finally dies entirely - just display. Touch still works just fine, I can hear the haptic feedback. Hell, everything else does too (I have it set to when it connects to bluetooth it automatically opens the podcasts app and starts playing. Works like a charm, still).

    Fi SIM thankfully works (at least somewhat) in my old S5, so I've got something to bridge the gap, but I guess I'm looking for a new phone.

    But I'm not giving up the headphone jack, I actually use mine, so the Pixel 2 is a non-starter. The Pixel XL is previous generation and still costs $670 for 32GB model, which is pretty stupid. Only other Fi phone is Moto X4, which is... :/

    This month's bill is the first one where I'm no longer paying for the 6P. So that's fucking frustrating timing. And given the above, looks like I'm going over to T-mobile if I'm getting another phone.

  • Inquisitor77Inquisitor77 2 x Penny Arcade Fight Club Champion A fixed point in space and timeRegistered User regular
    edited November 2017
    A friend of mine came over from the UK and picked up an Essential phone to take back home, as they don't sell them there. I hadn't heard of the phone, but after looking it over in person I came away very impressed with the build and phone quality. Given it also runs stock Android I think it's a really good alternative for people who are looking for a high-quality phone that isn't tied to a specific carrier, doesn't come with a ton of bloatware, and doesn't break the bank.

    Inquisitor77 on
  • AyulinAyulin Registered User regular
    Anyone able to recommend a good android adblocker that doesn't require a rooted device? I've been using adguard for a while now, but since the move to 8.0, it has been wreaking havoc on my 6P's battery, so it has got to go.
    If you use Firefox Mobile, you can just get the ublock origin extension for that which works like a charm!

    There's also Blokada, which seems pretty good. Not a Firefox extension - it's an app pretends to set up a VPN on your device itself and blocks stuff that way. Probably doesn't work if you need an actual VPN as well, though.

    It's not on the Play Store, but you can grab it here.

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  • RadiationRadiation Registered User regular
    Oh man you guys. The Pixel2 feels so amazing.
    Coming from the S5, this is a mega upgrade.

    PSN: jfrofl
  • PonyPony Registered User regular
    got me a fancy new Android Wear 2 watch, the Misfit Vapor
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    p happy with it so far, took me a bit to find a watch face i was happy with

    the really cool ones cost money :(

  • MuppetmanMuppetman Registered User regular
    Anyone have experience with wireless chargers? I've got an S8+ and was thinking about a bedside charger?

  • emp123emp123 Registered User regular
    I got one with my Note 8 and while cool, it doesn't blow my mind. Charges quick enough and it's nice to not have to fiddle with cables though.

  • wunderbarwunderbar What Have I Done? Registered User regular
    wireless charging is slower than cable charging, but I enjoy the convenience of it, especially at work for me. I have a pad at home and one at work, and basically whenever I'm not actively using my phone, especially at work, it sits on a wireless charger.

    Basically, some people will say "yea, it's fine" and others will say "it's the dumbest thing ever why would you ever want to do that?"

    the truth is closer to the "it's fine" side, but there are some downsides. Time to charge, the fact that every time you pick the device up it stops charging, etc.

    XBL: thewunderbar PSN: thewunderbar NNID: thewunderbar Steam: wunderbar87 Twitter: wunderbar
  • Inquisitor77Inquisitor77 2 x Penny Arcade Fight Club Champion A fixed point in space and timeRegistered User regular
    I just don't like it as a matter of energy efficiency. It's incredibly wasteful in exchange for almost no convenience factor beyond not having to plug something in.

  • minor incidentminor incident expert in a dying field njRegistered User regular
    Not having to plug in is suuuuuuuper convenient, though. Especially at work and in the car.

    Ah, it stinks, it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    I've had excellent experiences with third party wireless chargers, also. MPOW, Anker, and Aukey are all good (pads). I have a stand from itian that I used at work for a while that worked as advertised, I believe it had 2 or 3 coils in it so it could hit a sweet spot on multiple phone sizes/models.

  • wunderbarwunderbar What Have I Done? Registered User regular
    I just don't like it as a matter of energy efficiency. It's incredibly wasteful in exchange for almost no convenience factor beyond not having to plug something in.

    honestly, it isn't like conventional charging is all that efficient either.

    XBL: thewunderbar PSN: thewunderbar NNID: thewunderbar Steam: wunderbar87 Twitter: wunderbar
  • wunderbarwunderbar What Have I Done? Registered User regular
    So, I really want the pixel buds. I've been looking for a decent set of bluetooth buds with a charging case and USB-C. I really wanted them to be good.

    After reading the first bad review, I thought "it's ok, I think they'll still be decent for me" And then the second bad review, I thought "ok, so I guess I just have to really want these, which I do" By the 5th bad review, I just can't justify buying them.

    I am a bid sad about that, as i really wanted to justify to myself that I could still buy them because I really wanted them. But I've finally been convinced not to buy them.

    XBL: thewunderbar PSN: thewunderbar NNID: thewunderbar Steam: wunderbar87 Twitter: wunderbar
  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    There are a few other "truly wireless" buds that are being well received. Last I saw of a roundup, though, grudgingly admitted that the Apple buds are currently the best for both camps. What's funny is I swear I saw a recent deal for Anker buds, but the only info I can find on them right now is the Kickstarter for the company they are backing.

    Assuming you don't want the Assistant part that's built-in, you could look at the Samsung buds as an alternative.

  • wunderbarwunderbar What Have I Done? Registered User regular
    edited November 2017
    Mugsley wrote: »
    There are a few other "truly wireless" buds that are being well received. Last I saw of a roundup, though, grudgingly admitted that the Apple buds are currently the best for both camps. What's funny is I swear I saw a recent deal for Anker buds, but the only info I can find on them right now is the Kickstarter for the company they are backing.

    Assuming you don't want the Assistant part that's built-in, you could look at the Samsung buds as an alternative.

    The venn diagram of "bluetooth," "not garbage," "not $$$$$," and "USB-C" has a pretty tiny slice in the middle, one that I haven't seen filled yet. was hoping the Pixel Buds would do it, but they don't seem to.

    I really want USB-C as I have a laptop, a phone, and a power bank that are all USB-C now, so I'd like to have bluetooth buds that also charge with that method so on something like a weekend trip I can basically just take one charger/cable.

    The new Samsung iconx look pretty good, but they're $300 in Canada which is a bit much to spend. By comparison, the Pixel Buds will be $220 here whenever google actually starts selling them in Canada.

    wunderbar on
    XBL: thewunderbar PSN: thewunderbar NNID: thewunderbar Steam: wunderbar87 Twitter: wunderbar
  • autono-wally, erotibot300autono-wally, erotibot300 love machine Registered User regular
    Aren't the Pixel buds pretty much total shit though?

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  • NaphtaliNaphtali Hazy + Flow SeaRegistered User regular
    Aren't the Pixel buds pretty much total shit though?

    The consensus I got from reviews was "they're okay but not $160 okay." Plus, you can still do the translation stuff without them so eh.

    Steam | Nintendo ID: Naphtali | Wish List
  • wunderbarwunderbar What Have I Done? Registered User regular
    most of the (valid) complaints I've seen are around the charging case and how they pair/talk with phones, which is apparently not great.

    Other complaints seem to be entirely based on opinion. Some reviewers don't like that they're not 2 individual units like AirPods, where I personally prefer the wire to that. Others don't like that they're not in ear, and fit outside the ear canal. Again, that's personal preference. Some will like it, some won't.

    The sound quality seems to be good but not great, battery life seems to be right on advertised expectations.

    The charging case is supposed to be awful, with the slots to put the earbuds on finicky, and the cable wrap mechanism is apparently a pain in the ass. And there's no way to turn the headphones off without putting them in the case, which seems dumb, especially since you can dangle them around your neck. (to compare, the Samsung iconx will go into standby mode when they're not in your ear) If fast pair doesn't work (which it, in theory, should with any Android 6.0+ phone) the manual pairing method is not intuitive, and there's no way to pair to multiple devices.

    XBL: thewunderbar PSN: thewunderbar NNID: thewunderbar Steam: wunderbar87 Twitter: wunderbar
  • SiliconStewSiliconStew Registered User regular
    wunderbar wrote: »
    I just don't like it as a matter of energy efficiency. It's incredibly wasteful in exchange for almost no convenience factor beyond not having to plug something in.

    honestly, it isn't like conventional charging is all that efficient either.

    Wired is about 80% efficient max, low-frequency wireless is about 60% max, and high-frequency wireless is about 40% max.

    Just remember that half the people you meet are below average intelligence.
  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    wunderbar wrote: »
    Other complaints seem to be entirely based on opinion. Some reviewers don't like that they're not 2 individual units like AirPods, where I personally prefer the wire to that. Others don't like that they're not in ear, and fit outside the ear canal. Again, that's personal preference. Some will like it, some won't.

    The sound quality seems to be good but not great, battery life seems to be right on advertised expectations.

    The charging case is supposed to be awful, with the slots to put the earbuds on finicky, and the cable wrap mechanism is apparently a pain in the ass. And there's no way to turn the headphones off without putting them in the case, which seems dumb, especially since you can dangle them around your neck. (to compare, the Samsung iconx will go into standby mode when they're not in your ear) If fast pair doesn't work (which it, in theory, should with any Android 6.0+ phone) the manual pairing method is not intuitive, and there's no way to pair to multiple devices.

    So this isn't entirely similar, and can be argued they are "in-ear" vs. "on-ear," but these are my current buds of choice and I wholly recommend them:

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0756T7R5T

  • wunderbarwunderbar What Have I Done? Registered User regular
    i've actaully looked at those, and I might end up settling on them becuase they are pretty good for the price. I know this is a big nitpick but I just really want something that charges over USB-C instead of Micro so I can reduce the number of cables/chargers I need to bring with me day to day.

    XBL: thewunderbar PSN: thewunderbar NNID: thewunderbar Steam: wunderbar87 Twitter: wunderbar
  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    edited November 2017
    I'm with you. I'm currently using C adapters on Micro cables, since I'm in between.

    Just to close the circle on my thoughts above and prove I'm not crazy, these are the Anker buds I was referring to earlier:

    http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/11/20/anker-zolo-liberty-completely-wireless-earbuds-available-today-99-99/

    They are micro though

    Mugsley on
  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    weird question. is there a way to change the ringtone for wifi calls?
    for some reason on my oneplus 3t the ringtone on the wifi based call was different from my normal one and it is bothering me

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  • iguanacusiguanacus Desert PlanetRegistered User regular
    mts wrote: »
    weird question. is there a way to change the ringtone for wifi calls?
    for some reason on my oneplus 3t the ringtone on the wifi based call was different from my normal one and it is bothering me

    My ringtone is the same on both and I've only set it the once. Using a Moto G5+.

  • BlazeFireBlazeFire Registered User regular
    edited November 2017
    I need help. I have a Nexus 5X and when I open the Google Photos App, the thumbnails are messed. Some work but most are just white images or the image is glitched. I have tried freeing up some storage space to no avail.

    I'm not having luck with Google either as I keep getting hits for the website instead of the app itself. If I browse to the DCIM\Camera folder in a file explorer, the thumbnails all load fine. Any thoughts?

    edit: Of course, as soon as I post I get another idea. I cleared Photos app cache then I forced it to stop. Now everything is okay.

    Thanks thread!

    BlazeFire on
  • CormacCormac Registered User regular
    BlazeFire wrote: »
    I need help. I have a Nexus 5X and when I open the Google Photos App, the thumbnails are messed. Some work but most are just white images or the image is glitched. I have tried freeing up some storage space to no avail.

    I'm not having luck with Google either as I keep getting hits for the website instead of the app itself. If I browse to the DCIM\Camera folder in a file explorer, the thumbnails all load fine. Any thoughts?

    edit: Of course, as soon as I post I get another idea. I cleared Photos app cache then I forced it to stop. Now everything is okay.

    Thanks thread!

    If you switched the renderer to Skia that's causing the thumbnails to be messed up.

    Steam: Gridlynk | PSN: Gridlynk | FFXIV: Jarvellis Mika
  • BlazeFireBlazeFire Registered User regular
    Cormac wrote: »
    BlazeFire wrote: »
    I need help. I have a Nexus 5X and when I open the Google Photos App, the thumbnails are messed. Some work but most are just white images or the image is glitched. I have tried freeing up some storage space to no avail.

    I'm not having luck with Google either as I keep getting hits for the website instead of the app itself. If I browse to the DCIM\Camera folder in a file explorer, the thumbnails all load fine. Any thoughts?

    edit: Of course, as soon as I post I get another idea. I cleared Photos app cache then I forced it to stop. Now everything is okay.

    Thanks thread!

    If you switched the renderer to Skia that's causing the thumbnails to be messed up.

    I had switched to Skia but it the thumbnails were fine in other programs so I didn't think that was the problem.

    Even now, I am using Skia but the thumbnails work after deleting cache and force-stopping the app.

  • CormacCormac Registered User regular
    Hmm, I'm not sure then. Mine was doing the same thing with Skia in the Google Photo app. I didn't try looking at thumbnails in any other apps.

    I factory reset my 5X and it's been working really well. Any problems I had before are no longer an issue.

    Steam: Gridlynk | PSN: Gridlynk | FFXIV: Jarvellis Mika
  • wunderbarwunderbar What Have I Done? Registered User regular
    Best Buy Canada is putting the Samsung Gear IconX 2018 earbuds $100 off for black friday, so $200. Considering I was thinking about spending $220 on the pixel buds, I think I'm going to try to pick those up.

    This can serve as a friendly reminder that this week is a good time to shop for deals on android phones/tablets/accessories.

    XBL: thewunderbar PSN: thewunderbar NNID: thewunderbar Steam: wunderbar87 Twitter: wunderbar
  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    I saw a Fry's deal on a ruggedized BLU phone that I am still considering, only because I can get the camera removed and use it as a work phone. Right now I've got a Blackberry that still works fine, but of course the jury's out on how long it will keep trucking along. [Note when I say "work phone," I mean a phone I use when I travel; which has not happened much over the past ~15 months]

This discussion has been closed.