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

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  • MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    I still would like an XL size, but yeah I'm pretty happy with my 4a

    Obviously they got me hooked in with the free photo storage and now I'm stuck but tbh it works so well I'm ok with it.

    I'm actually impressed a 300~ dollar phone can film in 4K, which while grainy in dark lighting is still nice to have. It's a great phone for photos still and the stabilization is getting better for video.. still not iPhone good but definitely usable

    The 4a had been well reviewed, same with the 5. The 4 had been more mixed with the weird features they've since dropped.

  • Inquisitor77Inquisitor77 2 x Penny Arcade Fight Club Champion A fixed point in space and timeRegistered User regular
    I have a 4a and am more than happy with it, but I will admit that my phone usage is atypical in general, as I'm not a heavy user and don't take tons of photos even back when quarantine wasn't a thing.

    If you're looking for value then it's really hard to justify getting anything other than a 4a. Once you start getting into the larger screen sizes and higher-end stuff, then the Samsungs and the like start looking better.

  • ZiggymonZiggymon Registered User regular
    Pixel phones are largely about the software. They run stock Android, get the latest and greatest features, and leverage Google's amazing photo post-processing to generate better pictures than phones with multiple, technically better cameras. You also get security updates ASAP for a guaranteed amount of time.

    The specs only tell half the story, especially if you are comparing stock Android against the proprietary skins by phone manufacturers.

    I would say that on the other side of the coin with this is that Pixel's biggest issue is overall build quality. Not all models, (the 4a is one of the best builds going at the moment). But Google has had a reputation of building these phones that have world leading software, AI and computational photography but every year have some glaring hardware problem. While most phone manufacturers have hardware issues with new devices, it's in some way seen as less forgivable for Google when specification wise they are using older hardware.

    For me personally I just want Google to actually update the camera sensor hardware as its been like 4 years now with the same sensor and the computational side can only do so much with that sensor (it's evident with the Pixel 5 not being much of an upgrade on the 4 photography wise). They don't even need to get the latest and greatest, just something newer to really show what that software can do.

  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    Is anyone using the Pulse app for messages? I really like it since you can also text via a web window, which will matter for me for work soon.

    However, they recently got bought out, and since then the app doesn't cooperate if I send any message longer than a single line. Anything longer simply disappears.

    I'm planning to send them some strongly worded correspondence but I don't understand what is causing this instability

  • BarrakkethBarrakketh Registered User regular
    MichaelLC wrote: »
    The 4 had been more mixed with the weird features they've since dropped.
    Honestly, the only things "wrong" (IMO) with the 4 is the tiny battery in the smaller variant and pricing. Depending on who you ask the lack of a wide angle camera on the rear is an issue, and when Google dropped it from the 5 and added a wide angle tech reviewers bitched about that. But seriously, a 2800 mAh battery in a flagship phone (SD855) is ridiculous and the XL variant had a 3700 mAh battery. I own the 4 XL and after the December update I had 6 hours, 45 minutes of SOT @ 15% battery left with the phone being off the charger for 36 hours. I haven't disabled any services or features (Motion Sense, Bluetooth, Location, etc. are all on), and I've had the phone for a year.

    The rise of COVID-19 obviously caused issues with the face unlock due to the need to wear a mask, but I'm not gonna knock Google for failing to predict a global pandemic. I greatly prefer the face unlock over the fingerprint scanner in practice. It's fast, reliable, doesn't care about wet, damp, or sweaty fingers, or even if you're wearing gloves.
    Ziggymon wrote: »
    They don't even need to get the latest and greatest, just something newer to really show what that software can do.
    Considering that the Pixels photography results are still holding up well against newer flagship phones despite using the same sensor since I believe the Pixel 2 I hope Google has been training their ML models for a newer (hopefully larger, non-binned) sensor. Whether a sensor like that exists is another question, and I'm not sure if Sony's mobile sensor division would do a semi-custom sensor for any price.

    Rollers are red, chargers are blue....omae wa mou shindeiru
  • emp123emp123 Registered User regular
    Mugsley wrote: »
    Is anyone using the Pulse app for messages? I really like it since you can also text via a web window, which will matter for me for work soon.

    However, they recently got bought out, and since then the app doesn't cooperate if I send any message longer than a single line. Anything longer simply disappears.

    I'm planning to send them some strongly worded correspondence but I don't understand what is causing this instability

    The default Google Messages app has a web browser based client too if you're looking for alternatives. I use it and like it.

  • DarkewolfeDarkewolfe Registered User regular
    You can get an S20 Ultra for the same price as an S21 Base. Been trying to make a decision, anyone got an opinion on which would be preferable?

    What is this I don't even.
  • LD50LD50 Registered User regular
    Darkewolfe wrote: »
    You can get an S20 Ultra for the same price as an S21 Base. Been trying to make a decision, anyone got an opinion on which would be preferable?

    Sell a kidney and get the s21 ultra?

  • ZiggymonZiggymon Registered User regular
    Darkewolfe wrote: »
    You can get an S20 Ultra for the same price as an S21 Base. Been trying to make a decision, anyone got an opinion on which would be preferable?

    As nice as the specs on the S20 Ultra were, it ended up being a bit of a dog in terms of the overall experience.

  • DarkewolfeDarkewolfe Registered User regular
    LD50 wrote: »
    Darkewolfe wrote: »
    You can get an S20 Ultra for the same price as an S21 Base. Been trying to make a decision, anyone got an opinion on which would be preferable?

    Sell a kidney and get the s21 ultra?

    I can get either paid for by work but I can't jump up to the S21 ultra and I can't pay the difference.

    What is this I don't even.
  • ZiggymonZiggymon Registered User regular
    Darkewolfe wrote: »
    LD50 wrote: »
    Darkewolfe wrote: »
    You can get an S20 Ultra for the same price as an S21 Base. Been trying to make a decision, anyone got an opinion on which would be preferable?

    Sell a kidney and get the s21 ultra?

    I can get either paid for by work but I can't jump up to the S21 ultra and I can't pay the difference.

    Is the S20Fe or the Note 20 Ultra an option for you?

  • DarkewolfeDarkewolfe Registered User regular
    Ziggymon wrote: »
    Darkewolfe wrote: »
    LD50 wrote: »
    Darkewolfe wrote: »
    You can get an S20 Ultra for the same price as an S21 Base. Been trying to make a decision, anyone got an opinion on which would be preferable?

    Sell a kidney and get the s21 ultra?

    I can get either paid for by work but I can't jump up to the S21 ultra and I can't pay the difference.

    Is the S20Fe or the Note 20 Ultra an option for you?

    I think so yeah. The 20FE is just a budget 20 ultra isn't it? And the note doesn't have 5G.

    What is this I don't even.
  • ZiggymonZiggymon Registered User regular
    Darkewolfe wrote: »
    Ziggymon wrote: »
    Darkewolfe wrote: »
    LD50 wrote: »
    Darkewolfe wrote: »
    You can get an S20 Ultra for the same price as an S21 Base. Been trying to make a decision, anyone got an opinion on which would be preferable?

    Sell a kidney and get the s21 ultra?

    I can get either paid for by work but I can't jump up to the S21 ultra and I can't pay the difference.

    Is the S20Fe or the Note 20 Ultra an option for you?

    I think so yeah. The 20FE is just a budget 20 ultra isn't it? And the note doesn't have 5G.

    The note 20 ultra should have 5G as standard unless there was a non 5G variant released in the US?

    The FE is one of the best phones of 2020 IMO as am overall experience it does everything you want well at a great price and should highly considered. If the Note 20 ultra is available at a similar price to the S20 Ultra then I'd advise on that model as it fixes a lot of the issues the S20 ultra had.

  • SimpsoniaSimpsonia Registered User regular
    Apparently there is a well known flaw with the Pixel 4 and XL batteries. My 4 XL started acting up about a week ago, and yesterday went critical in that the battery indicator was just completely stuck at 50% no matter how long it was in use, or how long it was charged. Only permanent fix is replacing the battery. The Google webpage had told me that I was about 2 months out of warranty. I ended up still going to a UBreakIFix shop, the authorized Google Partner, and apparently Google has extended the warranty and covered the replacement for free through their shops. Took about 4 hours, and I had to do a very sudden factory reset before they would take it, but at least I have a functioning phone again. Upon re-logging in I was able to restore a backup of my phone that I was very pleasantly surprised included almost everything, including my backgrounds. I think the only things I lost was a a couple videos I took from a previous phone and some app data from an app that is no longer in the play store.

  • urahonkyurahonky Registered User regular
    Ugh my Pixel 4a's fingerprint reader is absolutely killing me. I have rescanned my index finger about 4 times and I still cannot unlock my phone.

  • Local H JayLocal H Jay Registered User regular
    urahonky wrote: »
    Ugh my Pixel 4a's fingerprint reader is absolutely killing me. I have rescanned my index finger about 4 times and I still cannot unlock my phone.

    I know it sounds obvious but try cleaning the sensor? I notice it struggles when my hands are sweaty as well

  • urahonkyurahonky Registered User regular
    urahonky wrote: »
    Ugh my Pixel 4a's fingerprint reader is absolutely killing me. I have rescanned my index finger about 4 times and I still cannot unlock my phone.

    I know it sounds obvious but try cleaning the sensor? I notice it struggles when my hands are sweaty as well

    It didn't seem dirty but it seems to be better after soap and water. I swear if that's all it was I'm going to punch a goose.

  • urahonkyurahonky Registered User regular
    urahonky wrote: »
    Ugh my Pixel 4a's fingerprint reader is absolutely killing me. I have rescanned my index finger about 4 times and I still cannot unlock my phone.

    I know it sounds obvious but try cleaning the sensor? I notice it struggles when my hands are sweaty as well

    @Local H Jay I'd say this worked so thank you! I haven't had any issues since I used soap and water on it. Sometimes it's the simplest things that I never think of doing... I was even doing research on the 4a failure rates for the fingerprint readers lol.

    But when you have a toddler SOMETHING will get stuck in there.

  • m!ttensm!ttens he/himRegistered User regular
    I've found dry winter air can alter my fingerprints enough that sometimes the scanner doesn't work all that well.

  • LD50LD50 Registered User regular
    m!ttens wrote: »
    I've found dry winter air can alter my fingerprints enough that sometimes the scanner doesn't work all that well.

    My tip: register the same finger an extra time in dry winter air weather.

  • PolaritiePolaritie Sleepy Registered User regular
    So what are my options these days if I really want a headphone jack? I know the 4a has one, though I'd prefer something with better water resistance just in case.

    Steam: Polaritie
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  • ZiggymonZiggymon Registered User regular
    Polaritie wrote: »
    So what are my options these days if I really want a headphone jack? I know the 4a has one, though I'd prefer something with better water resistance just in case.

    For 2020 high end phones its really only Sony. I think even LG has started to ditch it. Otherwise you are looking at mid range to budget devices.

  • The Dude With HerpesThe Dude With Herpes Lehi, UTRegistered User regular
    edited January 2021
    Question:
    I've used Hangouts for all my text/chat/video/voicemail since, well, for a long time. It's going away because Google is arbitrary and capricious apparently.

    The "recommended" app they say to replace it with is Messages, but it is garbage! If I want to turn on group chat, i.e. not have everything be solely SMS, I have to disable sync with my Fi account, which doesn't make any sense. Also it doesn't seem to have any way that I can see to become an automatic way to have my voicemails turn into texts that I get. EDIT: And even if I turn off sync, the app still tries to register my phone number with the app and never actually is able to verify it. I've googled this problem, and it's been common for years apparently, and no one seems to have a reliable way to resolve it; none of the things I tried did, so turning off sync simply doesn't work for me anyway.

    In short, it does almost nothing I relied on Hangouts for, other than simple texts, so it is functionally useless to me.

    So my question is; does anyone have any recommendations for an app I could use to maybe possibly replace Hangouts? I can accept the loss of direct "chatting" between gmail users Hangouts has, as long as I can keep group messages, voicemail to text and well, those are the primary things. Though, I don't understand why they'd remove the chat ability? I mean, I guess it's technically there if I turn of Fi syncing in Messages, but I don't get voicemails to text either way.

    I'm honestly genuinely confused about them shutting down Hangouts, particularly when it seems like they have nothing to replace its features with.

    The Dude With Herpes on
    Steam: Galedrid - XBL: Galedrid - PSN: Galedrid
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  • SynthesisSynthesis Honda Today! Registered User regular
    Polaritie wrote: »
    So what are my options these days if I really want a headphone jack? I know the 4a has one, though I'd prefer something with better water resistance just in case.

    Pretty much just LG. Except for the Wing (which...I'm not even sure is sold anymore?). Otherwise, all of their V-series (and G-series, but that ended with the G8 and variations) come with high-end Quad DAC at minimum, including those paired with the dual-screen thing option.

    There's also Sony--some of their models, I'm not sure if all of their high-end phones have them--but their DAC hardware is nothing special in terms of playback (it's basically what you'd have with the LG Velvet, which is the latest LG phone after the V60).

    Lots of low-to-medium range phones still have them, including those from Samsung.

  • ZiggymonZiggymon Registered User regular
    So multiple sources are confirming the older rumour that Samsung has killed off the Note series of phones.

  • ShadowfireShadowfire Vermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered User regular
    Ziggymon wrote: »
    So multiple sources are confirming the older rumour that Samsung has killed off the Note series of phones.

    Considering the new phones have S Pen support that's not surprising.

    WiiU: Windrunner ; Guild Wars 2: Shadowfire.3940 ; PSN: Bradcopter
  • LD50LD50 Registered User regular
    It's probably for the best given the note 7 debacle.

  • ZiggymonZiggymon Registered User regular
    Shadowfire wrote: »
    Ziggymon wrote: »
    So multiple sources are confirming the older rumour that Samsung has killed off the Note series of phones.

    Considering the new phones have S Pen support that's not surprising.

    I'd say its interesting because for a while now the main Note phone of each year has essentially been a reworked S line phone with some newer software features, and in general terms the R&D on the phone hasn't been particularly big compared to earlier models. Given Samsung's reputation throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks it's unusual for them to suddenly stop a popular model in a promising release period. That a model designed around pen support that is the best in class and has been for a decade. Though since this year is the 10th anniversary I would hope for a Swansong device.

    The only real reasoning is that Samsung want the enterprise/productivity consumers who the note was catered towards to move on to the foldable range rather than stick to the Note line. Though I can't see the tech jumping that far ahead on foldables to support S pen.

  • Inquisitor77Inquisitor77 2 x Penny Arcade Fight Club Champion A fixed point in space and timeRegistered User regular
    Yeah I think this is just them finally admitting that their actual phones have gotten so huge that they are basically equivalent to the Notes, and anyone who has a meaningful use case for a Note will just get one of the new foldable/expandable form factors instead.

  • ShadowfireShadowfire Vermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered User regular
    Yeah I think this is just them finally admitting that their actual phones have gotten so huge that they are basically equivalent to the Notes, and anyone who has a meaningful use case for a Note will just get one of the new foldable/expandable form factors instead.

    Which is probably true, but losing the pen storage sucks.

    WiiU: Windrunner ; Guild Wars 2: Shadowfire.3940 ; PSN: Bradcopter
  • ZiggymonZiggymon Registered User regular
    Well did a little more looking into what might have been the reasoning behind the killing of the Note line.

    Well the S20 series vastly underperformed for Samsung. Which is a big issue as the S line is the main breadwinner. While that isn't great, it should effect the Note 20 lineup too much but could explain why the Note 20 and Ultra had stripped back features compared to previous years.

    While the Note 20 Ultra sold Well, the regular Note 20 sold so poor, Samsung literally halved its projected shipped numbers.

    What is interesting is the foldable line. The Z fold 2 tripled its projected sales over that of the original fold, and the Z Flip line outsold both by a margin of 3 to 1. The Z flip series has supposedly shipped over 3 million units already.

    The original fold shipped around 500,000 units and pretty much sold through around 90% back in 2019.

    The Note 20 was supposed to ship 900,000 units, was scaled back to 600,000 units and rumours that retailers had only 50% sell through.

    Reports state that the Note 20 Ultra outsold the Note by a margin of nearly 3 to 1. But when you factor sales figures for the Z line and the need to boost the S line sales. The writing was on the wall.

    In other words the bad priced poor feature stripped Note 20 base tanked so much killed the line.

  • Local H JayLocal H Jay Registered User regular
    I don't get why they're dropping the SD card slot, but hey samsung is on a roll with dropping features people love

  • Inquisitor77Inquisitor77 2 x Penny Arcade Fight Club Champion A fixed point in space and timeRegistered User regular
    Ziggymon wrote: »
    Well did a little more looking into what might have been the reasoning behind the killing of the Note line.

    Well the S20 series vastly underperformed for Samsung. Which is a big issue as the S line is the main breadwinner. While that isn't great, it should effect the Note 20 lineup too much but could explain why the Note 20 and Ultra had stripped back features compared to previous years.

    While the Note 20 Ultra sold Well, the regular Note 20 sold so poor, Samsung literally halved its projected shipped numbers.

    What is interesting is the foldable line. The Z fold 2 tripled its projected sales over that of the original fold, and the Z Flip line outsold both by a margin of 3 to 1. The Z flip series has supposedly shipped over 3 million units already.

    The original fold shipped around 500,000 units and pretty much sold through around 90% back in 2019.

    The Note 20 was supposed to ship 900,000 units, was scaled back to 600,000 units and rumours that retailers had only 50% sell through.

    Reports state that the Note 20 Ultra outsold the Note by a margin of nearly 3 to 1. But when you factor sales figures for the Z line and the need to boost the S line sales. The writing was on the wall.

    In other words the bad priced poor feature stripped Note 20 base tanked so much killed the line.

    Yeah this gels with my thinking about people just going with the giant phones or foldables/extendables, and skipping the Notes entirely. It's also worth pointing out that the pandemic has drastically changed use cases and patterns. People don't need a big phone with all the latest and greatest tech if they rarely leave the house, and the ones who insist on it likely need it for productivity, accessibility, or other meaningful reasons that would drive them towards the biggest possible screen in the smallest possible format.

  • Doctor DetroitDoctor Detroit Registered User regular
    I’ve been eyeing Samsung phones for a few years, but I always seem to stick with Apple.

    Personally, I think the Ultras are too big. But they pull too many features for the smaller phones. Make the Plus more of a scaled down Ultra instead of a scaled up base model.

  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    My issue with Samsung has always been how heavy handed they are with software. So much bullshit to do something simple like move apps to a SD card; and some apps it won't let you move "because fuck you". FWIW my wife got so frustrated with her Samsung phone (I think it was the S9) that she moved back to iPhone. It wasn't the only reason, but it was one of them.

  • JazzJazz Registered User regular
    edited February 2021
    I'm eyeing up a Note 10+ (5G, but I don't have 5G here that I know of so that'll be switched off for the foreseeable). Still worth it in this day and age considering how much cheaper (well, less expensive) they are now?

    I've never actually had a Note but the idea does appeal. Especially now the Note line may be ending.

    Jazz on
  • ZiggymonZiggymon Registered User regular
    Jazz wrote: »
    I'm eyeing up a Note 10+ (5G, but I don't have 5G here that I know of so that'll be switched off for the foreseeable). Still worth it in this day and age considering how much cheaper (well, less expensive) they are now?

    I've never actually had a Note but the idea does appeal. Especially now the Note line may be ending.

    One of the great things is that you can switch off the 5G (it was a separate chip with the 5G modem, most early 5G handsets did this) which greatly improves battery life. Most new 5G handsets have it built into a single chip so its either have 5G on or go down to 2G. I had one for 12 months and can honestly say had no issues with it. For the price I would highly recommend.

  • Magus`Magus` The fun has been DOUBLED! Registered User regular
    An issue I've always had with Android but never found an answer:

    Whenever I'm on WiFi, websites in Chrome load kind of... stuttery? Like, the load bar goes to 50%, pauses for a second, goes to 80%, pauses and then finishes loading.

    This doesn't happen on mobile data - it goes right to 100% with no pauses. It's not a speed issue since the bandwidth is 3.5x higher for WiFi.

    Admittedly, browsing has always seemed surprisingly slow.

    Am I missing something? Is Chrome the worst? Help!

    Note: OnePlus 7T but has happened on previous phones.

  • Zombie GandhiZombie Gandhi Registered User regular
    Well, after about 5 or 6 yeara, my Samsung S6 is starting wear down. Battery drains quickly and takes forever to charge, and I regularly run out of memory.

    I was previously a Samsung adherent. But it has beem forever since I had to research a new phone. Given I can no longer just trade in an old phone for an upgrade (lame change of policy Verizon), are there any clear winners in thr Android space? I don't need top end, but I would like something well regarded that won't need to be replaced hopefully for another half decade. Any help?

  • ShadowfireShadowfire Vermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered User regular
    Magus` wrote: »
    An issue I've always had with Android but never found an answer:

    Whenever I'm on WiFi, websites in Chrome load kind of... stuttery? Like, the load bar goes to 50%, pauses for a second, goes to 80%, pauses and then finishes loading.

    This doesn't happen on mobile data - it goes right to 100% with no pauses. It's not a speed issue since the bandwidth is 3.5x higher for WiFi.

    Admittedly, browsing has always seemed surprisingly slow.

    Am I missing something? Is Chrome the worst? Help!

    Note: OnePlus 7T but has happened on previous phones.

    Chrome does suck kinda, but that sounds like an issue with either latency or jitter on your line.

    WiiU: Windrunner ; Guild Wars 2: Shadowfire.3940 ; PSN: Bradcopter
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