**** The Official Google Pixel 4 Thread ****
- Thread starter Cromulent
- Start date
Because the majority of people will not tell the difference between 6 and 8 gb of ram but will care about “the best display and camera you can get on a smartphone”. It’s only nerds on tech forums that’ll get excited about a 855 missing it’s +
Google is awash with money and the Pixel is a way to suck people into their products. The first words the lead designer should have said when they were starting on the Pixel 4 should have been “this device will have 12gb Ram and 256gb storage. It’s going to have specs that will make people will sit up and take notice.”
And it DOES have specs that will make people sit up and take notice, but everyone’s talking about the small battery and storage. Except for the people who would have bought it even if it had 2gb RAM and 16gb storage for £799.
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And yet it wont work, because nobody is going to ditch their Apple phones, and the Apple ecosystem for a knock off version full of bugs, unfinished software, and very poor ecosystem in comparison... not to mention getting about 20% of the value of the phone back after 2 years. Apple can get away with having relatively underwhelming specs because the software is beautifully optimised, the same sadly cannot be said for Android.
Basically because Google tax; they are trading on the reputation of vanilla Android, but unfortunately for Google, that is not the draw it used to be for consumers. Other Android manufacturers are actually making a better fist of it now IMO, with more features and more reliability, people don’t really generally care about feature updates anymore. Vanilla Android alone is not worth paying the premium for, not when you can get £200 phones with that so called selling point!
As for the lack of wide angle, basically they expect people to use the photosphere function instead. It works fairly well, but it’s a lot of effort compared to a proper UW lens and can result in artefacts unless you’re looking at a completely static image with no moving objects.
Google seem incapable of learning from their mistakes at this point. The amount of people I’ve seen on forums and reddit suggesting they are going to move to Apple now makes me think that Google are facing an uphill battle from here. Given their propensity for abandoning products, I honestly wouldn’t be completely surprised to see them give up with phones within the next five years - not the OS, but the actual hardware. They just don’t seem to be able to compete, which is mind boggling for a company of their resources.
If this is all Google can bring to the table with a £700+ phone I honestly wonder why they bother. When they had the Nexus line it felt like there was a point to their devices. The Pixel range just seems like a waste of time. If I was anyone other than an Android Developer who wanted a near four figure phone there are far better alternatives out there.
Though given how little difference there is between a £1000 phone and something like a £200 Moto G7 (or a multitude of similar Chinese devices) I can't honestly see why anyone would want to consider high end phones anymore.
Also, will manufacturers please stop releasing comedy priced >£200 Bluetooth headsets/buds. It's 2020 and I can buy a perfectly decent pair for like £30 off Amazon/eBay!
Though given how little difference there is between a £1000 phone and something like a £200 Moto G7 (or a multitude of similar Chinese devices) I can't honestly see why anyone would want to consider high end phones anymore.
Also, will manufacturers please stop releasing comedy priced >£200 Bluetooth headsets/buds. It's 2020 and I can buy a perfectly decent pair for like £30 off Amazon/eBay!
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Soldato
The link says nothing there now. What was it saying?
Exactly this. The bottom line is how is it to use... I nearly chucked in my OnePlus 7 Pro for the Pixel 3a... I think the Pixel 4 will be just fine.
Soldato
OMG AUTISITC RAAAAGGGGEEEEE! THIS PHONE DOESN'T HAVE THE SPECS I WANT, EVEN THOUGH THERE'S OTHER CHOICES ON THE MARKET FOR ME. THE WORLD IS GOING TO END!
HOW DARE IT NOT HAVE A CPU THAT'S CLOCKED A FEW MHZ FASTER THAN THE 855!!! 128GB OF STORAGE? WHERE AM I GOING TO STORE THE CONTENT THAT I CAN'T POSSIBLY NEED ON ME ALL THE TIME, INCLUDING MY HIPSTER SHALLOW DOF PHOTOS? ARGHHHH
Some people really need to get some perspective.
HOW DARE IT NOT HAVE A CPU THAT'S CLOCKED A FEW MHZ FASTER THAN THE 855!!! 128GB OF STORAGE? WHERE AM I GOING TO STORE THE CONTENT THAT I CAN'T POSSIBLY NEED ON ME ALL THE TIME, INCLUDING MY HIPSTER SHALLOW DOF PHOTOS? ARGHHHH
Some people really need to get some perspective.
Soldato
Nearly but didn't? Or have you been using both? To touch on a point you raised earlier about going to a smaller screen, I have been having screen envy for the last couple of months. Currently on S10e which is a cracking phone but now missing the bigger display. Tried a Note 10+ which was too big and just wasn't keen on it generally - I hate the centre hole punch. Really liking the 7/7T Pro but just wanted to see what the 4XL brought to the party. By the looks of it the latter has turned up with humus and celery sticks so I'm going for the OnePlus.
One thing that did strike me as being very very useful was that voice recorder / transcriber thing. No idea if other apps exist which do the same but from a work perspective I can see myself using it a lot... Hmmm business case for a pixel 4 as work phone coming up!
Soldato
My main reason for getting this is basically the camera and software that comes with it. I also prefer stock android.
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The screen thing is a really difficult one. I’ve generally gone for a bigger screen with each passing generation, but I have to say, I sometimes yearn for a smaller phone myself now. However, these things are expensive and you’re generally going to be stuck with it for a while so you really want to make the right decision.
The way I’m starting to think is that a big screened phone is still fairly small in reality (e.g. for watching videos, reading magazines or long articles etc), but much harder to handle, and that’s becoming something that’s becoming more annoying, particularly in the age of gestures and whatnot where your thumb is quite often dodging around the screen.
I have a large screen tablet and am quite often at a computer so the case for having a huge phone is diminishing for me... although with the Pixel you’re probably going to have to plump for the larger screen if you want a good battery life...
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Only reason I haven't ordered this is that I'm waiting for the inevitable price drop in a month or so. Got bitten when buying my 2XL at launch, only for it be about £150 cheaper about 6 weeks later!!
Face unlock with no FP reader as an alternate?
Even if everything else was right and was in need of replacing my 2XL, the lack of alternative, bar punching in a code, unlock mode makes it totally useless for when out hiking with a hood/scarf up around your face. What on EARTH are they thinking?!
What if you're in the middle of robbing a bank and you need to contact the getaway driver fast because there's been a slight change of plan, say an exit is blocked and an alternative exit point is going to be used, you either have to take your mask off or fumble around typing in your unlock code will the adrenaline is pumping.
Why take something away that is useful in almost all circumstances and replace it with something that is broken by having your face covered. I'll tell you what, it's also going to a be a problem for anyone that wears religious head/face coverings...
Even if everything else was right and was in need of replacing my 2XL, the lack of alternative, bar punching in a code, unlock mode makes it totally useless for when out hiking with a hood/scarf up around your face. What on EARTH are they thinking?!
What if you're in the middle of robbing a bank and you need to contact the getaway driver fast because there's been a slight change of plan, say an exit is blocked and an alternative exit point is going to be used, you either have to take your mask off or fumble around typing in your unlock code will the adrenaline is pumping.
Why take something away that is useful in almost all circumstances and replace it with something that is broken by having your face covered. I'll tell you what, it's also going to a be a problem for anyone that wears religious head/face coverings...
Soldato
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This would be way better value for money if they changed the release cycle to match Samsung S series.
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Would you not wear gloves if you were robbing a bank, thus rendering the FPS useless anyway? 
Dont want to leave any prints anywhere, after all...
Dont want to leave any prints anywhere, after all...
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Had a play about with them in cpw, couldn't get the gesture to work at all.
Would you not wear gloves if you were robbing a bank, thus rendering the FPS useless anyway?
Fair enough point. Although out of punching in a code, removing my mask, or slipping off a silky black glove for a second I know which one I'd choose.
I also use the FPS gestures to swipe down the notification bar and other stuff.