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[Android] Thread v. 2018: Pixel 6 is out. Google might be bad at phones.

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Posts

  • SmokeStacksSmokeStacks Registered User regular
    I showed her a few different ones, but she ended up liking Simple Keyboard, which is the same one I use.

    4bvyiwsl86od.jpg

    Fullsize if that one is too small to see.

  • MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    It doesnt do swipe or autocomplete, or am i missing it?

  • SmokeStacksSmokeStacks Registered User regular
    MichaelLC wrote: »
    It doesnt do swipe or autocomplete, or am i missing it?

    It might, but I don't use swipe or autocomplete.

  • urahonkyurahonky Registered User regular
    MichaelLC wrote: »
    It doesnt do swipe or autocomplete, or am i missing it?

    It might, but I don't use swipe or autocomplete.

    A true madlad.

  • SmokeStacksSmokeStacks Registered User regular
    urahonky wrote: »
    MichaelLC wrote: »
    It doesnt do swipe or autocomplete, or am i missing it?

    It might, but I don't use swipe or autocomplete.

    A true madlad.

    I find texting to be faster for me when I don't have to tap to autocomplete. I think I might be kind of weirdly dexterous though, I am lightning fast with the really weird text entry system that the PlayStation Portable used, and I used to have typing on those ancient candy bar style phones with just physical number keypads to such a science that I could, after feeling the vibration from a new text message, go through the menus to open it with the phone still in my pocket, pull the phone out for a split second to read the new text, then put the phone back in my pocket and quickly type and send a full reply, using just my thumb, with the phone still in my pocket. This is how I would text people back and forth all day when I worked as a checkout clerk at a grocery store with a very strict "no phones" policy.

  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    Smokestacks is Matt Damon from The Departed?

  • a nu starta nu start Registered User regular
    We meet again, Chrome Tab Groups. Maybe it's time to switch browsers.

    Number One Tricky
  • MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    Naphtali wrote: »
    MichaelLC wrote: »
    Naphtali wrote: »
    I haven't managed to find a single app that works as well and as simply as Google Play Music did. I ended up shelling out for Poweramp, but its a bit cludgy at times and you have to tweak a bunch of settings to make it work like GPM did. Mostly just using it out of a lack of wanting to search through a bunch of other apps anymore. I had tried some other stuff further back in the thread if you wanted to look through it.

    Yeah GPM was great for playing local files and the radio stuff was fine. YTM is awful.

    Thanks, I'll give doubletwist a try.

    doubleTwist was okay, but it just would not read album art for certain tracks (and it seems like it had a lot of teething issues right when android 11 came out, crashes etc. seems fine now). I think almost every music app I've delt with has had some kind of album art issue, either not finding art, not being able to show art in notifications and/or android auto, or whatever. poweramp, while very powerful has a lot of configuration settings you need to tweak out of the box. it still doesn't show album art in android auto for me and sometimes the notification player just doesn't even show up on the lock screen when playing music to a bluetooth source (this just seems to be an android 11 issue, I don't know if its an application compatibility thing or google issue or what), but I've just kind of given up on finding "the" music app that just works after cycling through four or five of them. I can live with it for now.

    I'm free of YT Music!

    Downloaded all my music to PC using Google pack-n-play or whatever it's called. Installed MusicBrainz Picard, and after wildly clicking on buttons that offered no explanation as to their function I got all my music in a mostly functional location.

    Probably could have done better if I knew what I was doing in Picard, but it went through and did a decent job of organizing and adding album art.

    Dumped my favorites onto my phone to play via doubleTwist (for now). Only got 4,500 files, which I know is very little but it's nice to have it free of YouTube at least.

  • NaphtaliNaphtali Hazy + Flow SeaRegistered User regular
    MusicBrainz Picard is great. Did an amazing job when I re-ripped my entire CD collection a few years ago.

    Steam | Nintendo ID: Naphtali | Wish List
  • MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    Naphtali wrote: »
    MusicBrainz Picard is great. Did an amazing job when I re-ripped my entire CD collection a few years ago.

    I wish it had a wizard or some more obvious guide as what to do, but it worked well. Have a few duplicate albums/artists like CHVRCHES and CHVRCHËS or something but it's fine for me. I kicked them a few bucks.

    The Google takeout did copy down all my bought music from Google Play so that was interesting

  • SpoitSpoit *twitch twitch* Registered User regular
    So after updating my note8, the fingerprint swipe actions seemed to reverse directions. Now to bring up the notifcations I need to swipe UP. Which is really messing me up. Anyone have any idea how to fix it? The only setting I can find is to turn it on or off

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  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    Current specs on the Pixel 5 look very enticing to replace my Pixel 3. Is there any advantage to wait on the Pixel 6? Or will the 6 not see light of day until the very end of this year/early next year?

    I don't mind the price point of the 5 but I'm not sure if the 6 will have a similar price point or be more expensive.

  • autono-wally, erotibot300autono-wally, erotibot300 love machine Registered User regular
    so, google is making their own SoC, whitechapel? any thoughts on this?

    i hope its good

    kFJhXwE.jpgkFJhXwE.jpg
  • wunderbarwunderbar What Have I Done? Registered User regular
    Mugsley wrote: »
    Current specs on the Pixel 5 look very enticing to replace my Pixel 3. Is there any advantage to wait on the Pixel 6? Or will the 6 not see light of day until the very end of this year/early next year?

    I don't mind the price point of the 5 but I'm not sure if the 6 will have a similar price point or be more expensive.

    Google has traditionally released the "flagship" pixel in late Q3/early Q4. So if they keep going at their current cadence that would be October-ish.

    Pixel 5 is a solid, if unremarkable phone. Its biggest advantage nowadays is price, and the fact that it runs the Google version of Android, if that's something you must have. It has about 2.5 years of updates left. Launched on Android 11, will get 12, 13, and probably 14.

    Will google increase the price for the Pixel 6? Who knows. It's possible, but It'd be hard for them to justify. I can *maybe* see them putting out a Pixel 6 at a smilar price, and if they want a more expensive option bringing back the XL variant.

    But again, we don't really know. with the rumours that Google is working on its own silicon, there are more variables this year. Google I/O may tell us more.

    XBL: thewunderbar PSN: thewunderbar NNID: thewunderbar Steam: wunderbar87 Twitter: wunderbar
  • wunderbarwunderbar What Have I Done? Registered User regular
    so, google is making their own SoC, whitechapel? any thoughts on this?

    i hope its good

    There are a ton of rumours and leaks, but nothing concrete. There's talk it could be anything from the chipset in the Pixel 6, to the chipset in the mythical Pixel Watch, to anything inbetween and both. Maybe a line of SoC's to cover all of its own hardware. We really don't know.

    But, I would say that if google is launching its own ARM based processor that goes into a variety of devices they might want developers to have a heads up on it so they can start looking at it, especially if there's extra "stuff" in there. We may get some info at I/O later this month because of that.

    XBL: thewunderbar PSN: thewunderbar NNID: thewunderbar Steam: wunderbar87 Twitter: wunderbar
  • ShadowfireShadowfire Vermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered User regular
    wunderbar wrote: »
    so, google is making their own SoC, whitechapel? any thoughts on this?

    i hope its good

    There are a ton of rumours and leaks, but nothing concrete. There's talk it could be anything from the chipset in the Pixel 6, to the chipset in the mythical Pixel Watch, to anything inbetween and both. Maybe a line of SoC's to cover all of its own hardware. We really don't know.

    But, I would say that if google is launching its own ARM based processor that goes into a variety of devices they might want developers to have a heads up on it so they can start looking at it, especially if there's extra "stuff" in there. We may get some info at I/O later this month because of that.

    Also we might want to sleep on them for a couple years to make sure Google stays interested in making them.

    WiiU: Windrunner ; Guild Wars 2: Shadowfire.3940 ; PSN: Bradcopter
  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    They're just following Apple's lead

  • urahonkyurahonky Registered User regular
    Anyone having issues using Microsoft Teams on the android? My app was just bootlooping so I uninstalled it and now it won't let me log back in. I've uninstalled it and reinstalled it several times now.

  • m!ttensm!ttens he/himRegistered User regular
    Anyone using Google Fi that can give the down and dirty details? My wife and I currently pay our share on an AT&T family plan with my parents (with essentially limitless data) but I was poking around the Fi website and it seems like I could be saving $20-40 per month depending on data usage. We currently have Pixel 3s which are great but battery life is starting to flag a bit and last I looked there was some promotional pricing tied to new Pixel phones, which I'd want to get anyway. I hate the Samsung S10e my work gave me. Coverage map seems to be pretty solid where we live (midwestern big city) so I don't think that would be much different than current coverage.

  • NaphtaliNaphtali Hazy + Flow SeaRegistered User regular
    m!ttens wrote: »
    Anyone using Google Fi that can give the down and dirty details? My wife and I currently pay our share on an AT&T family plan with my parents (with essentially limitless data) but I was poking around the Fi website and it seems like I could be saving $20-40 per month depending on data usage. We currently have Pixel 3s which are great but battery life is starting to flag a bit and last I looked there was some promotional pricing tied to new Pixel phones, which I'd want to get anyway. I hate the Samsung S10e my work gave me. Coverage map seems to be pretty solid where we live (midwestern big city) so I don't think that would be much different than current coverage.

    You basically have the long and short of it. If the pricing and coverage seem to work for you, and you don't mind Pixels, it's pretty good. Be aware technical support from a human being at Google is virtually non-existent like all of their other services (and I hesitate taking them up on any hardware exchanges for trade in $$$ unless you use your own phone packaging).

    Steam | Nintendo ID: Naphtali | Wish List
  • urahonkyurahonky Registered User regular
    Yeah I'm here in Dayton and only had a handful of signal problems in my 4 years or so of having their service. I pay, on average, 30 a month.

  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    I really love this Pixel 3 and was heavily considering just replacing the battery. However, it's starting to have bad issues with connecting and losing GPS signal, and some other features are starting to fall off a bit (there can be minor Bluetooth issues, for example). It sucks because if I were to get this stuff fixed, it would probably cost as much as a new phone. So I have to be Part of the Problem and just buy a new one within the next year or so.

  • wunderbarwunderbar What Have I Done? Registered User regular
    Pixel 3 is also on its last few months of support anyway. Android 12 will be the last update for it, and no more security updates/pixel feature drops after October.

    Google Fi is basically a T-Mobile MVNO at this point, since T-Mobile now owns Sprint, so if T-Mobile has good coverage in your area Google Fi will as well.

    XBL: thewunderbar PSN: thewunderbar NNID: thewunderbar Steam: wunderbar87 Twitter: wunderbar
  • CarpyCarpy Registered User regular
    I find it pretty easy to keep my data under $10 a month on Fi, under $3 during the pandemic, but most of my listening is podcasts that I download.

  • wunderbarwunderbar What Have I Done? Registered User regular
    So Android 12 is getting the biggest visual overhaul since 2014. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'm sure it'll be fine, it just looks... different.

    https://www.theverge.com/22439777/android-12-design-features-widgets-first-look-google

    Bigger news out of I/O is the new Wear platform. Google and Samsung are "combining" Tizen and WearOS into a new platform currently called "Wear" (maybe not final name) that both companies say bring the best of Tizen into the WearOS ecosystem.

    I'm really interested to see if this looks more like Tizen or more like WearOS. My gut tells me that Google went to Samsung and asked them to make WearOS have better better performance and battery life while maintaining app compatibility.

    https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/18/22440483/samsung-smartwatch-google-wearos-tizen-watch

    XBL: thewunderbar PSN: thewunderbar NNID: thewunderbar Steam: wunderbar87 Twitter: wunderbar
  • ShadowfireShadowfire Vermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered User regular
    wunderbar wrote: »
    So Android 12 is getting the biggest visual overhaul since 2014. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'm sure it'll be fine, it just looks... different.

    https://www.theverge.com/22439777/android-12-design-features-widgets-first-look-google

    Bigger news out of I/O is the new Wear platform. Google and Samsung are "combining" Tizen and WearOS into a new platform currently called "Wear" (maybe not final name) that both companies say bring the best of Tizen into the WearOS ecosystem.

    I'm really interested to see if this looks more like Tizen or more like WearOS. My gut tells me that Google went to Samsung and asked them to make WearOS have better better performance and battery life while maintaining app compatibility.

    https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/18/22440483/samsung-smartwatch-google-wearos-tizen-watch

    The good news for them merging the two is that maybe a good Android watch will actually be able to use Google Messages and such. Samsung's messaging app is trash, but it's the only thing that works properly with their watch.

    WiiU: Windrunner ; Guild Wars 2: Shadowfire.3940 ; PSN: Bradcopter
  • wunderbarwunderbar What Have I Done? Registered User regular
    Shadowfire wrote: »
    wunderbar wrote: »
    So Android 12 is getting the biggest visual overhaul since 2014. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'm sure it'll be fine, it just looks... different.

    https://www.theverge.com/22439777/android-12-design-features-widgets-first-look-google

    Bigger news out of I/O is the new Wear platform. Google and Samsung are "combining" Tizen and WearOS into a new platform currently called "Wear" (maybe not final name) that both companies say bring the best of Tizen into the WearOS ecosystem.

    I'm really interested to see if this looks more like Tizen or more like WearOS. My gut tells me that Google went to Samsung and asked them to make WearOS have better better performance and battery life while maintaining app compatibility.

    https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/18/22440483/samsung-smartwatch-google-wearos-tizen-watch

    The good news for them merging the two is that maybe a good Android watch will actually be able to use Google Messages and such. Samsung's messaging app is trash, but it's the only thing that works properly with their watch.

    That was already solved on the S21 series for literally everywhere outside of North America. The S21 line uses Google Messages as the SMS app in Europe/Asia, and it worked natively with Tizen watches. I've been jealous of that.

    But yes, that should be fixed. I'm due for a new phone this year, and if the promises of the new wear platform are kept, I may upgrade from my Watch Active 2 as well.

    XBL: thewunderbar PSN: thewunderbar NNID: thewunderbar Steam: wunderbar87 Twitter: wunderbar
  • emp123emp123 Registered User regular
    I thought Google bought Fitbit, figured they would have leaned that way got streamlining software.

    Maybe they still will for the fitness tracking? My Samsung fitness watch was garbage at tracking fitness (couldn't even read my heart rate unless I was totally still, and even then it only worked half the time).

  • wunderbarwunderbar What Have I Done? Registered User regular
    emp123 wrote: »
    I thought Google bought Fitbit, figured they would have leaned that way got streamlining software.

    Maybe they still will for the fitness tracking? My Samsung fitness watch was garbage at tracking fitness (couldn't even read my heart rate unless I was totally still, and even then it only worked half the time).

    Google says that there will be "premium Fitbit devices running the [new] Wear platform"

    XBL: thewunderbar PSN: thewunderbar NNID: thewunderbar Steam: wunderbar87 Twitter: wunderbar
  • wunderbarwunderbar What Have I Done? Registered User regular
    Honestly, I owned the first fitbit versa and it was a good fitness tracker but a terrible smartwatch. I always assumed that what google would do with fitbit was replace Google Fit with the Fitbit fitness platform, but integrate it into Wear OS.

    Sounds like that's sort of kind of happening but also Samsung is helping make WearOS not suck as well.

    XBL: thewunderbar PSN: thewunderbar NNID: thewunderbar Steam: wunderbar87 Twitter: wunderbar
  • emp123emp123 Registered User regular
    Yeah having had both a Fitbit and a Samsung watch it seemed to me that the Fitbit was a great fitness device but shit smart watch while the Samsung (despite being the fitness model) was a decent smart watch but shit fitness device.

    If they're able to merge the two I'll be pretty pleased.

  • wunderbarwunderbar What Have I Done? Registered User regular
    It's funny, becuase I do currently wear a Galaxy Watch Active 2 and I've found it to be fine for fitness. No issues with HR monitoring here. Just shows that everyone is different and sadly on some things there just isn't a one size fits all solution.

    XBL: thewunderbar PSN: thewunderbar NNID: thewunderbar Steam: wunderbar87 Twitter: wunderbar
  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
    wunderbar wrote: »
    So Android 12 is getting the biggest visual overhaul since 2014. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'm sure it'll be fine, it just looks... different.

    https://www.theverge.com/22439777/android-12-design-features-widgets-first-look-google
    Holy moly. This looks like a first-generation product, not a mature platform that's nearly 15 years old... Like, I don't want to shit on visual designers or anything, and in fairness I just quickly skimmed the images without reading the words - maybe there's way to personalize things to make it look less like that - but boy is this the opposite of appealing for me.

  • Ear3nd1lEar3nd1l Eärendil the Mariner, father of Elrond Registered User regular
    I installed it on my 3a and so far so good. I'll try to post some screenshots later.

  • emp123emp123 Registered User regular
    edited May 2021
    wunderbar wrote: »
    It's funny, becuase I do currently wear a Galaxy Watch Active 2 and I've found it to be fine for fitness. No issues with HR monitoring here. Just shows that everyone is different and sadly on some things there just isn't a one size fits all solution.

    Yeah I had the Galaxy Watch Sport, maybe things got better in successive generations. There were a lot of complaints about the irregular/non-functional HR monitoring. A shame really, I liked the way it looked.

    It always nailed the activity I was doing though, even when rowing and using an elliptical.

    emp123 on
  • wunderbarwunderbar What Have I Done? Registered User regular
    emp123 wrote: »
    wunderbar wrote: »
    It's funny, becuase I do currently wear a Galaxy Watch Active 2 and I've found it to be fine for fitness. No issues with HR monitoring here. Just shows that everyone is different and sadly on some things there just isn't a one size fits all solution.

    Yeah I had the Galaxy Watch Sport, maybe things got better in successive generations. There were a lot of complaints about the irregular/non-functional HR monitoring. A shame really, I liked the way it looked.

    It always nailed the activity I was doing though, even when rowing and using an elliptical.

    oh yeah i had that model as well, the HR monitoring was never solid. That was among the first generation of those products, and it wasn't great. I've had my Watch Active 2 doing 24/7 HR monitoring for about a year and a half now and I've had maybe a couple instances where it just refused to pick up the HR on a workout.

    XBL: thewunderbar PSN: thewunderbar NNID: thewunderbar Steam: wunderbar87 Twitter: wunderbar
  • Ear3nd1lEar3nd1l Eärendil the Mariner, father of Elrond Registered User regular
    Here are some screenshots I took. If anyone wants to see anything specific (within reason of course), let me know and I'll post a shot.

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  • BouwsTBouwsT Wanna come to a super soft birthday party? Registered User regular
    Oh man, that's sick that you can match the theme to your background a little more closely...

    Between you and me, Peggy, I smoked this Juul and it did UNTHINKABLE things to my mind and body...
  • Ear3nd1lEar3nd1l Eärendil the Mariner, father of Elrond Registered User regular
    BouwsT wrote: »
    Oh man, that's sick that you can match the theme to your background a little more closely...

    That part apparently doesn't work yet.

  • BouwsTBouwsT Wanna come to a super soft birthday party? Registered User regular
    Ear3nd1l wrote: »
    BouwsT wrote: »
    Oh man, that's sick that you can match the theme to your background a little more closely...

    That part apparently doesn't work yet.

    I didn't mean as an automatic thing, just that it looks like you had the option to, and took the care to. Just nice to be able to get more customization.

    Between you and me, Peggy, I smoked this Juul and it did UNTHINKABLE things to my mind and body...
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