Ho, ho, ho! And Merry Christmas and Seasons Greetings. Hope you continue your light relief in the New Year too.
**** The Official Google Pixel 2/Pixel 2 XL Thread ****
- Thread starter sesevans
- Start date
Ho, ho, ho! And Merry Christmas and Seasons Greetings. Hope you continue your light relief in the New Year too.
I am enjoying it very much.
I am pleased with the bigger screen on the Panda vs my previous Pixel 2. I appreciate the pixel density and the 18:9 aspect ratio.
The camera is outstanding, giving me great pics in good light and in poor light. I appreciate the HDR which gives me sharp images, even in the shadow areas. I am looking forward to seeing the apps developed around the Pixel Visual Core processor.
I appreciate the skinnier bezels and the curved edges on the side of this display.
I am looking forward to experiencing the sound quality of the Pixel Buds which I ordered today and expect delivery in 10 days.
So I received an unexpected surprise today. You may remember how I ordered my XL2 from Google for delivery on release day but cancelled it over the screen fears and bought an iPhone X. You may then remember that I ordered the XL2 again from Carphone Warehouse for release day despite only ordering the weekend before. Well I got a text message from CPW stating that an item was out for delivery today and it turns out to be a home mini! I thought I didn't qualify as I ordered quite late but there you are. Hopefully other owners of CPW sourced Pixels will get home minis too
BTW don't worry the iPhone X went back after a week. Phone itself is lovely but it runs iOS which completely negates the experience - doh.
Funny that. I ordered my Panda through CPW and the Panda and the Google Home Mini arrived in the same package.
From what I have read, the 8.1 update does activate and enable the Pixel Visual Core without you doing anything in addition.
Visual Core is essentially Google's first custom designed co-processor for image recognition and ML.
So VC being enabled in theory will allow Pixel 2 users to take HDR+ pictures with apps that use the Android Camera API. And I would expect further OTA updates from Google over time that will continue to improve the quality of the images your camera can take.
By releasing the developer app, Google clearly wanted devs to create apps that can take advantage of the VC co-processor.
Same with me.
Yes, "Stormtroopers, Porgs and more"AR stickers:
https://9to5google.com/2017/12/11/h...se-google-ar-stickers-pixel-2-android-basics/
We have two Pixel phones at home, my original which I bought through the Play Store and my Panda 2 XL bought through CPW. The older Pixel has received the 8.1 Oreo OTA but not yet on the newer one.
Did you by chance buy your Pixel 2 from CPW or from another source?
Just got an update for it, wasn't showing earlier. Stickers working now! Thanks
I just got the update to 8.1 too and playing with the AR Stickers at the moment too.
And to be clear to a question asked I think by jimlad the other day, the updates includes AR Stickers and ARCore. Expect more features using the powerful ARCore processor soon.
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While we are really enjoying the AR Stickers from the 8.1 update, I could not help but think about my experience a few years ago with AR on Google Glass and how ahead of its time Google Glass really was---too far as it turned out.
As the article link below from Wired makes clear, the author believes we are near-term heading for AR Glasses that do what Google Glass first introduced but with a more satisfying form factor---namely glasses that are really unobtrusive -- ie, like glasses you really wear. And then of course longer term (15 years), the chip implant is believed to be the next big paradigm.
According to the author, AR is expected to be really a huge transformation in helping to create the next computer paradigm, replacing the smartphone.
https://www.wired.com/story/future-of-augmented-reality-2018/
Visual Core was updated (ie turned on) automatically with the 8.1 update. AR stickers are made possible by Visual Core.
One of the debates going on in technology concerning AR (a hot topic on this Board) is whether Apple has begun to corner the market for AR features with its investment in Finisar announced yesterday. Both Finisar and Lumentum are major players in manufacture of vertical cavity surface emitting lasers, a key ingredient in Face ID.
These sensors go into sensors that enable 3D mapping, necessary for AR (digital objects overlayed on the real world). Will be interesting to see response of competition.
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-a...lock-rivals-path-to-ar-features-idUKKBN1E804U
These sensors go into sensors that enable 3D mapping, necessary for AR (digital objects overlayed on the real world). Will be interesting to see response of competition.
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-a...lock-rivals-path-to-ar-features-idUKKBN1E804U
Neither Airpods nor Pixel Buds are noise cancelling. As a bike rider I would never want that anyway.
My Pixel Buds have been despatched but no text yet regarding delivery date.
We are discussing ARCore, a processor in the Pixel 2 phones that was activated by the Android 8.1 update. This enables a feature when using Google Camera app to insert "stickers" into photos or videos which are sure to please the crowd!
To access the AR sticker selection (which includes Star Wars figures, food, text, etc), select the drop down menu when you are in your camera app and select AR Stickers and enjoy.
Lots to update! .....and launch, in the case of ARCore and AR Stickers.
For anyone interested in my first impressions of the newly arrived Pixel Buds, I posted my comment just now to the Pixel Bud headphone comment section in the same Mobile Phone section you are currently in.
First impressions: very positive. The sound quality is excellent. The fit in the ear is really snug. The Google Assistant feature works really well with Bluetooth. The set up and Pairing process was a breeze. The Google Translate feature with the language translated returning back through the Pixel Buds is amazing. The notifications work well, which you can switch on and off if you want to skip them. The touch control features are intuitive.
Happy to answer any questions. I see them as an excellent £ 159 stocking-stuffer and plan to get a Black Pixel Bud for a family member.
First impressions: very positive. The sound quality is excellent. The fit in the ear is really snug. The Google Assistant feature works really well with Bluetooth. The set up and Pairing process was a breeze. The Google Translate feature with the language translated returning back through the Pixel Buds is amazing. The notifications work well, which you can switch on and off if you want to skip them. The touch control features are intuitive.
Happy to answer any questions. I see them as an excellent £ 159 stocking-stuffer and plan to get a Black Pixel Bud for a family member.
"I can't see many splashing out £159 for those ear buds."
You mean the ones that are now "Out of Stock" on the Google Play Store? Like hens-teeth at the moment.
So I plan to put a pair of virtual Clearly White Pixel Buds in your stocking. Be sure to look for them next to the AR Sticker.
Sure it would be nice to get a voucher or credit but isn't it quite usual to offer discounts around the Holiday season? I assume the discount stops at the end of December. I noticed that a discount is also being applied to the new Pixelbooks too which is really tempting me.
? Could you be operating at the proximity limits of Bluetooth? Is it 150 feet distance from source that breaks up sound?
Here's something to think about this holiday weekend:
Pixel 2 XL, Note 8, iPhone X, LG V30, HTC U11: What is arguably the most important feature on these smartphones? The camera!
The Verge has done what I consider to be the most comprehensive review to date of the cameras on each of these smartphones. They review most camera features you might be needing including Low Light, Daylight, Portrait Mode, Selfies, Video, etc.
Conclusion: "Based on our tests the Pixel 2 XL has the best camera of these five smartphones. It repeatedly and consistently captures the most accurate colors, the most detail, and tackles challenging lighting scenarios that make the other smartphone cameras weep. Google’s computational photography approach pushed it into the lead last year, and I think it’s gained even more ground this year. I couldn’t be more excited to see where it goes over the next few."
What do you think?
https://www.theverge.com/tech/2017/...google-pixel-samsung-galaxy-camera-comparison
Pixel 2 XL, Note 8, iPhone X, LG V30, HTC U11: What is arguably the most important feature on these smartphones? The camera!
The Verge has done what I consider to be the most comprehensive review to date of the cameras on each of these smartphones. They review most camera features you might be needing including Low Light, Daylight, Portrait Mode, Selfies, Video, etc.
Conclusion: "Based on our tests the Pixel 2 XL has the best camera of these five smartphones. It repeatedly and consistently captures the most accurate colors, the most detail, and tackles challenging lighting scenarios that make the other smartphone cameras weep. Google’s computational photography approach pushed it into the lead last year, and I think it’s gained even more ground this year. I couldn’t be more excited to see where it goes over the next few."
What do you think?
https://www.theverge.com/tech/2017/...google-pixel-samsung-galaxy-camera-comparison
Yes, I too believe the camera is excellent and amazing how it uses one lens and AI rather than two lenses to achieve steller results and how the Visual Core processor adds cool features like AR Stickers.
Thinking through the issue of AI, I was interested in a comment made on a podcast I watched by a Google researcher last month. Currently AI (deep learning) requires vast amounts of data to teach the machine to evaluate a situation based on various factors and to evaluate which factors to give greater weight to. The researcher said Google has teams working on AI systems that require much less data to function, so it does not take months or years to develop new applications.
As you might recall I have been very impressed with the interaction of my Pixel Buds and Google Translate---I have tried it out with both a Spanish speaker and a Portugese speaker. For example, I have read that Google Translate now comes equipped with the ability to recognise and translate written text in real time. But to reach this stage Google had to train its systems to recognise millions of photos of texts in up to 40 languages. Google wants to train its systems using much fewer data points.
The researcher said that one of the goals of this application might be for Google Home Assistant to learn a persons habits and personality within a few weeks of interaction or by recognising a person through a camera built into Google Home.
Thinking outside the box, I assume Google will seek to distinguish its AI driving system from others with its ability to learn, anticipate and react better to real live road situations yet with fewer data points.