Google Pixel 8/8 Pro & Pixel Watch 2

Rockbox said:
I got a Pixel 7a for 'hold for me', 'call screening', OS and security updates. Haven't received a scam call to try screening, but hold for me didn't work, and I just found out that it's US and Canada only.
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It seems to slowly be rolling out in the UK.

If you want it now then sign up to the phone app beta using this link

Sign in - Google Accounts

play.google.com

Update and then force close your phone app, reopen it and hold for me should be in the settings.

I've just done it on my pro and it's now working.
 
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tom_e said:
It seems to slowly be rolling out in the UK.

If you want it now then sign up to the phone app beta using this link

Sign in - Google Accounts

play.google.com

Update and then force close your phone app, reopen it and hold for me should be in the settings.

I've just done it on my pro and it's now working.
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Thanks. Seems a lot of features are hidden in the beta. Both 'hold for me' and 'direct call' record calls though, so I don't see how they can get away with that, but can't give proper call recording.

Apart from the poor battery life and dog-slow wireless charging, seems most problems are taken care of.
 
Tejstar said:
The problem with Google bringing price parity with Apple, is that Apple never discounts its phones (ever). So you'll lose little when moving on an iPhone.

With Google, there are constant Pixel promotions and price reductions, which leads to severe depreciation on the handsets.
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Yep, Pixels go for next to nothing if you want to resell and upgrade a year or two later. To be honest I think buying Pixel phones on release is stupid considering they always slash the price a few months later.
 
xtal191 said:
Yep, Pixels go for next to nothing if you want to resell and upgrade a year or two later. To be honest I think buying Pixel phones on release is stupid considering they always slash the price a few months later.
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Most do it to get the pre-order bonus of which they can then sell on to reduce the overall cost.
 
xtal191 said:
Yep, Pixels go for next to nothing if you want to resell and upgrade a year or two later. To be honest I think buying Pixel phones on release is stupid considering they always slash the price a few months later.
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Monetary value will drop sharply but now the phones have long software support it's just easier to give it to someone in your family. And prices should hold better now given the software support.

My old 6 pro will go to my mum and it'll still have 2 years of security left etc.

And for example I'll probably have my 8 pro for 2 years then pass that on to my wife who has the 7 pro. The 7 pro can then go to her mum or my mum etc. Plenty of value now software support will be robust.

So yes, plenty to think about and still plenty of value looking at the big picture.
 
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throwaway4372 said:
arstechnica.com

Pixel 8 leak promises 7 years of OS updates—even more than an iPhone

Just about everything has leaked about the $699 Pixel 8 and $999 8 Pro.
arstechnica.com arstechnica.com

Huge if true. I await official confirmation and detail.
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I read that the SoC is responsible for android updates. Google writes them, but Qualcomm pushes them. A vertically-integrated Google/Qualcomm/Samsung megacorp would be like Apple x10.

7 years of updates also turns it into a GrapheneOS beast in a few years.
 
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jrwagh333 said:
I've had Call Screening for nearly 3 years now?
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Call screening was launched with the Pixel 6

The other options he was talking about are Hold For Me and Direct My Call

Hold For Me - When you are placed on hold, your phone will listen and then notify you once you reach a real person
Direct My Call - On menu driven systems (IVRs where you press 1 for this, 2 for that etc), it will show you the options prior to them being read out and allow you to get to the right choice quickly. This only appears to work on some systems i.e. where people have reported what the menu paths are.
 
Richie said:
Call screening was launched with the Pixel 6

The other options he was talking about are Hold For Me and Direct My Call

Hold For Me - When you are placed on hold, your phone will listen and then notify you once you reach a real person
Direct My Call - On menu driven systems (IVRs where you press 1 for this, 2 for that etc), it will show you the options prior to them being read out and allow you to get to the right choice quickly. This only appears to work on some systems i.e. where people have reported what the menu paths are.
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Yes but these are not available in the UK

I also don't think that's quite correct as I was using Call Screening on my Pixel 3XL before moving to a Pixel 5
 
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jrwagh333 said:
Yes but these are not available in the UK
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Yes they are as I have used them both... Rolled out about 2 week ago on my UK Pixel 6:

Screenshot-20230915-171208.png
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Screenshot-20230915-171241.png
 
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LiE said:
Yep unfortunately it's giving me headache and dizziness like the 14 Pro did. Good phone overall, but the photo processing I really don't like compared to Pixel.
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I have the same problem with pretty much every screen these days. I have to turn promotion off, but even then it triggers vertigo eventually everyday. Not sure what to do, but love the Apple ecosystem. Going to have to try and just ween myself off using my phone so much.
 
rare said:
I have the same problem with pretty much every screen these days. I have to turn promotion off, but even then it triggers vertigo eventually everyday. Not sure what to do, but love the Apple ecosystem. Going to have to try and just ween myself off using my phone so much.
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I don't get it on the Pixel 5 which is 90hz and feels nice and smooth. Android animations are a lot quicker too compare to Apple. On iOS I felt like the animations where part of the problem, a sense of motion sickness from the way they moved.
 
LiE said:
I don't get it on the Pixel 5 which is 90hz and feels nice and smooth. Android animations are a lot quicker too compare to Apple. On iOS I felt like the animations where part of the problem, a sense of motion sickness from the way they moved.
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Interesting - I have reduced motion, cross fade transitions, and frame rate limit all enabled. Without them the phone is unusable for me, as I also get motion sickness from the animations. But I have chronic migraine constantly, so ultimately even with all of this stuff enabled it isn’t enough.

Very depressing.

I would be interested to try a pixel. I just am such a fan of iOS not sure I could change!
 
If the 8 Pro turns out to be £999 for the 128GB model and more for the 256GB, would it be better to get the base model and use either Google Drive and/or OneDrive to store photos and just wipe photos from the phone as I fill the space up? I'm thinking of signing up for the 2TB Google Drive plan to get 10% off at the Google Store and I already have a 1TB OneDrive subscription. I have a Oneplus 8T 128GB and am using the space up taking photos and videos of my cat! I was hoping to get the 8 Pro 25GB but if that's going to more than £1k then perhaps I'd better stick with the 128GB and use cloud storage for photos?
 
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