Google Pixel 8/8 Pro & Pixel Watch 2

Nova is cool and all but the overall idea is the same. I do like being able to have a really clean home screen and "hide" apps inside other app icons.
With Nova I'd have folders on the bottom row, with icon set to first app on folder, but set a swipe up gesture to open the first app within the folder.

Though these days, Niagara Launcher!
Worth trying and sticking with for a few days if you've never given it a go.
 
Nova is just too good. I have just 6 apps on my home screen dock, yet have access to 26 apps depending where and how I swipe. My dock also swipes across to reveal favourite contacts WhatsApp message, and I can swipe up in those to direct call them, swipe down to text. It's nuts no other ui comes close imo

The one fualt I have, and it's such a dumb one of nova, is that when putting widgets in your screen, the layout "zooms" out, making it very hard to place widgets where you actually when them, as it zooms back in one you finish.
 
mrk said:
I have to dsiagree with some of that, you say OneUI has a kiddy UI, Pixel's and Android in general follows the same UI ethos as it's become a standard now. Look at the screenshots already posted here, they all look like kiddy UIs, aka iOS which is what Android has now started to accept and utilise under the Material guise. There is no differentiation any more, looking this way is what the masses want as it's easy to look at and use for them.

The rest of us will simply use Nova Launcher etc and customise our layouts to go far beyond any stock aesthetic.

So for me this argument is total fud as it is not a valid argument to be putting forward. As for bloat, Samsung has their own apps sure, you can use them you can disable them, you can use Google's own apps. I use both vendor apps so it's a non-issue for me really hence why I wouldn't care if my phone was Pixel or Samsung, as long as the features align to what I consider to be high end given that these are £1000+ phones.
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Fully agreed, I have an S23 Ultra also and there are some annoying apps I cannot remove (I simply debloated from the command line) , One UI has come a long way and offers a lot of customisation (far more then the google launcher which is the most basic of all of them).


I have gone back to Nova like I had on my s23 Ultra for a consistence experience, I can then make the best of the Pixel with the usability how I want it.

My only concern around the Pixel thus far is the battery life, it's only 24 hours in but the S23 Ultra is a beast and will be hard to get close to on battery stats.

Pixel watch 2 is going up on ebay and I am keeping the Watch 5 pro, played with the Pixel watch and its nice but too small and battery life doesn't appear that much better then the first one. With the watch pro I never worry about battery life
 
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unwashed potato! said:
Nova is just too good. I have just 6 apps on my home screen dock, yet have access to 26 apps depending where and how I swipe. My dock also swipes across to reveal favourite contacts WhatsApp message, and I can swipe up in those to direct call them, swipe down to text. It's nuts no other ui comes close imo

The one fualt I have, and it's such a dumb one of nova, is that when putting widgets in your screen, the layout "zooms" out, making it very hard to place widgets where you actually when them, as it zooms back in one you finish.
Click to expand...
Just like my usage, a few dock icons only, agenda calendar widget on homescreen and weather . No other homescreens. Everything is launched via gestures either on the homescreen or via edge gestures using One Handed Operations+ (third party alternatives exist for non Samsung phones) - It's the smartest way to smartphone really, and increases productivity and quick navigation rather than having to do things via menus or folder and etc given how often we use our phones on a daily basis nowadays.

Oh yeah the gestures also include one edge gesture to launch global finder, so anything not applied to a specific gesture, is just a few characters away from being launched whilst in any other app etc. This includes finding settings buried within settings like developer options, no need to scroll and swipe and tap to get to specific settings.
 
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The more I use the P8Pro the more it impresses.
The camera really is excellent, esp the 50MP Pro setting. And I'm not heavy into photography, just simple shots.
And just now I had an unknown caller, and I let Google's AI take the call, I watched it start the conversation, and it came back with it's the Doctors Surgery, so I continued the call.
Very impressive.
So far Android Auto has also worked perfectly through a couple of working days.

Granted I think a couple of updates are needed to polish things up, but this could well be a keeper ;)
 
Watching the Linus video,seems crazy that the frame is glossy on the pro but matte on the non pro, but the back cover is glossy on non pro and matte on the pro? Surely that seems a bit silly!

 
Screenshot_20231013-160346.png

This is the setting I mean. :)
 
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