Pixel 8 launched

[AINDRASIS_GUPTA]

I think we can trust Google with this. Google and Samsung are the only OEMs consistent with their update policy. We cannot compare weak products like Stadia, Google Domains, etc with strong products like Android. It's not only drive them good revenues but also lock people into their ecosystem.

This isn't about Android. Google's never going to kill Android because of the data they harvest from the billion devices out there. It's about Pixel 8/8 Pro.

7 years update policy has never been replicated in the smartphone world. Even Apple provides OS updates up to 5-6 years. So, when Samsung came with a 4-year update plan, it was nothing special.

Something that has never been done yet - you'd least expect Google to pull that off. Hence, the massive skepticism.

So, when people are asking others to base their purchase decisions (which would be more pain in the butt once the 8/8 Pro reviews go live) based on a promise that is unheard of, it is practically snake oil at this point.

 

[karanssh]

Google has never killed a product that brought in active ad money and Android does that along with the Play Store and services revenue. If Android survives 7 more years, pretty sure the Pixel team wouldn't have much problem releasing the same considering they are the ones making 0-day releases.

Android 14, released on Oct 4, came with Oct 5 security update FFS.

Does no one remember that they killed Pixel Pass, a thing that was meant for pixels and promised upgrades after 2Y?
I will believe their "promise" when I see it. I trust nothing that comes from google...

 

[AINDRASIS_GUPTA]

The amount of gaslighting in this thread is pretty wild. All that to support a corporation that does not think twice about killing their best products/services.

With such fan support, you'd think that Pixel phones are selling like hot cakes. Except .. they have only shipped 38 million units since 2016. For comparison, Apple and Samsung shipped 225 million and 259 million units in 2022 alone, respectively.

That's negative-level performance, to say the least. Not to mention, the support in India is close to non-existent. And still (somehow) the Pixel brand is being hailed as a saviour.

 

[ze_cook]

I'd love to own a pixel phone, the 6.2" form factor and stock android, long os updates, feasibility of bootloader unlock, these things appeal to me. However, the inefficient soc, Google's track record and the lack of service center kills the dream pretty fast.

I was a long time hater of Samsung's ui, but the lack of flagship level small smartphones in the Indian market forced me to buy the S23. Absolutely love how it feels in my hand, and how long the battery lasts for such a small device. Still don't like the Samsung ui, but I've come to appreciate the integrations they have for being the biggest player on the android flagship market (samsung wallet and the ease of NFC payments, for example).

I'd still look forward to pixel launches every year, and evaluate if I'll switch. Feels unlikely in the near future, but I can dream.

PS, slight rant on Samsung's 60hz implementation, but the ui feels jittery af, as if it's dropping frames all the time. My old OnePlus 5 flashed to lineage os feels smooth af on 60hz, my galaxy tab s6 feels smooth on 60hz, don't know what's the deal with the phone.

 

[t3chg33k]

The amount of gaslighting in this thread is pretty wild. All that to support a corporation that does not think twice about killing their best products/services.

With such fan support, you'd think that Pixel phones are selling like hot cakes. Except .. they have only shipped 38 million units since 2016. For comparison, Apple and Samsung shipped 225 million and 259 million units in 2022 alone, respectively.

That's negative-level performance, to say the least. Not to mention, the support in India is close to non-existent. And still (somehow) the Pixel brand is being hailed as a saviour.

It is ridiculous if anyone bears allegiance to a specific brand out of nothing but loyalty. Pixel has its plus points in terms of optimisation, update speed, hopefully update duration and AI smarts, something that most Android manufacturers severely lack in.

It is however no where in terms of competing with the big boys in terms of marketing, reach, support, having the latest and greatest hardware.

It is a good thing that people buy phones as per their preferences. The biggest impact is that it has pushed the industry forward in terms of update support and camera processing which is beneficial to all.

 

[TinTinSnowy]

That's negative-level performance, to say the least. Not to mention, the support in India is close to non-existent. And still (somehow) the Pixel brand is being hailed as a saviour.

I don't support Pixel phones unless you want maximum security. However, Google is setting higher standards, and its impact is evident.

Today, we have a phone priced under 15k with a 4-year OS update and 5-year security update guarantee: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0C7BZX934

Google's efforts, such as Project Treble and Project Mainline, have helped OEMs deliver more updates. Some Pixel devices have even received two additional updates beyond the initial promise. Google has consistently fulfilled its update commitments for Pixels, so I don't anticipate any failure this time.

 

[AINDRASIS_GUPTA]

The biggest impact is that it has pushed the industry forward in terms of update support and camera processing which is beneficial to all.

Camera? Yes. Updates? Not in a million years.

Support for long updates was brought mainstream by Apple. Then it was picked up by Samsung. Even until the release of the 8/8 Pro, Google was still providing 3 years of major OS upgrades. Samsung started providing 4 years OS upgrades since the S21 days. Let's not give credit where it isn't due.

I don't support Pixel phones unless you want maximum security. However, Google is setting higher standards, and its impact is evident.

Today, we have a phone priced under 15k with a 4-year OS update and 5-year security update guarantee: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0C7BZX934

Google's efforts, such as Project Treble and Project Mainline, have helped OEMs deliver more updates. Some Pixel devices have even received two additional updates beyond the initial promise. Google has consistently fulfilled its update commitments for Pixels, so I don't anticipate any failure this time.

Treble was launched in 2017. Mainline did its reveal in 2019. And still Google continued providing 3 years OS upgrades for their two to three phones that they release every year. That's diabolical. If you are going to set the standard, you do it from the start.

And .. you are still crediting Google. Amazing!

 

[t3chg33k]

Camera? Yes. Updates? Not in a million years.

Support for long updates was brought mainstream by Apple. Then it was picked up by Samsung. Even until the release of the 8/8 Pro, Google was still providing 3 years of major OS upgrades. Samsung started providing 4 years OS upgrades since the S21 days. Let's not give credit where it isn't due.


Treble was launched in 2017. Mainline did its reveal in 2019. And still Google continued providing 3 years OS upgrades for their two to three phones that they release every year. That's diabolical. If you are going to set the standard, you do it from the start.

And .. you are still crediting Google. Amazing!

Keeping platform discussions separate, updates have been a huge issue with Android. Samsung just ticks the box. They switch to quarterly or semi-annual security updates after a year or so which is illogical as these updates are meant to patch vulnerabilities. Their latest flagship receives the new Android version within a quarter and rest all slip to 6-9 month delays. Samsung is better in that regard than most of the Chinese manufacturers but hardly worthy of any credit.

You need resources to manage the update cycle. It is now the only brand growing in developed markets, so probably reached a threshold where Google feels it is worth dedicating more resources to. Of course one never knows how the market will shape up in the next decade, so no one is in denial that Google's promise will have to stand the test of time. I like this decision because it moves the industry forward and may be it will result in other manufacturers thinking about software as well.

While Android as a whole continues to shrink in the US, Google Pixel keeps growing

Google's Pixel smartphones are continuing to grow in the US, as shipments in the US grew in Q2 2023 while everyone else dropped.

9to5google.com

 

[AINDRASIS_GUPTA]

Keeping platform discussions separate, updates have been a huge issue with Android. Samsung just ticks the box. They switch to quarterly or semi-annual security updates after a year or so which is illogical as these updates are meant to patch vulnerabilities. Their latest flagship receives the new Android version within a quarter and rest all slip to 6-9 month delays. Samsung is better in that regard than most of the Chinese manufacturers but hardly worthy of any credit.

I think the delays aren't that long, to be honest. For instance, a 2021 released budget model F22 got the A13 update in December 2022 - just one month later after their (then) flagship S22 Ultra got.
Of course there are exceptions and considerations must also be made for the amount of devices Samsung manages compared to Google.

You need resources to manage the update cycle. It is now the only brand growing in developed markets, so probably reached a threshold where Google feels it is worth dedicating more resources to. Of course one never knows how the market will shape up in the next decade, so no one is in denial that Google's promise will have to stand the test of time. I like this decision because it moves the industry forward and may be it will result in other manufacturers thinking about software as well.

While Android as a whole continues to shrink in the US, Google Pixel keeps growing

Google's Pixel smartphones are continuing to grow in the US, as shipments in the US grew in Q2 2023 while everyone else dropped.

9to5google.com

Google's 7-year commitment will surely push Samsung, One Plus, and Nothing, to offer more years of updates. However, not so sure about the rest of the industry, where the average update cycle is just 2 years now.

 

[BullettuPaandi]

Samsung is better in that regard than most of the Chinese manufacturers but hardly worthy of any credit.

Apple's early adoption to using their own SoC helped them be consistent with improving OS support, except for exceptions like 5C. Samsung, as you said, is just scrambling with their huge resource.

I like this decision because it moves the industry forward and may be it will result in other manufacturers thinking about software as well.

I don't think other manufacturers have the same luxury (of integration and/or resources); may be a year or two more at best. But if everyone jumps on and make such promises, that'd only be concerning. As, it is something that is highly valued and they can advertise it without being legally liable to follow upon.

 

[CapriAnupam]

Support for long updates was brought mainstream by Apple. Then it was picked up by Samsung. Even until the release of the 8/8 Pro, Google was still providing 3 years of major OS upgrades. Samsung started providing 4 years OS upgrades since the S21 days. Let's not give credit where it isn't due.

You are forgetting Nokia. Apart from Google providing updates for its Nexus and later Pixel series, only Nokia was providing 3 OS updates, and that too assured, and timely.

Samsung joined the band wagon of updates later on, and they did increase it to 4-5 OS updates, and now others have started following suit, like Moto. Although Moto is still being very kanjoos with it, but still, something is better than nothing.

Only now, Nokia have decreased their OS updates, and they are not even timely nowadays.

 

[godspeed4476]

Just got the pixel 8 and now I will definetely have to let go 5 and 7.
Had preordered it instore couple of days ago, went in and collected it. Any one waiting to switch over from pixel 5, just do it, you would feel right at home with the form factor and single handed use, phone feels slightly lighter than pixel 7 too.

Face unlock works for banking apps, the data transfer was a lil bit of wizardry. I just switched on the new phone and it automatically prompted me to transfer data over from pixel 7, and woke up my pixel 7 camera (despite having pixel 5 and 2 on in same room).

Quite happy with the purchase and happy to let the pixel 7 go. Only wish they had the blue 8pro color on regular 8. Hazel looks nice, but nothing special compared to unique colors i had on my other pixel phones so far

 

[karanssh]

Just got the pixel 8

Where did you buy it in? Can you tell us the price in INR you got it for?
Also, please tell us how the fingerprint sensor is? is it fast?
Please do also report about heating/battery life once you use it.

 

[enc0dex264]

after experiencing the horribe horrible battery life and heating issues on the 6a i'm not even remotely considering the pxiel untill they go the snapdragon route.

 

[karanssh]

after experiencing the horribe horrible battery life and heating issues on the 6a i'm not even remotely considering the pxiel untill they go the snapdragon route.

That is never going to happen, they will continue with Samsung node manufacturing.

 

[godspeed4476]

Where did you buy it in? Can you tell us the price in INR you got it for?
Also, please tell us how the fingerprint sensor is? is it fast?
Please do also report about heating/battery life once you use it.

Australia, i used a voucher i had from previously buying the pixel 7. so effective price for new pixel 8 was around 49-50K. I would never pay more than 1000 AUD for any phone.
Finger print reader and the face unlock speed is still the same. However, Faceunlock can now be used for banking apps and secure log ons.
I have read that many people have gripes with finger print sensor on 7, but coming from 5(which had a disaster of finger print reader for my oily hands) i have never had any issues with 7 and 8.

Zero heating whatsoever, i was shocked how hot the pixel 7 got on the initial setup. Didn't notice that on 8. I am not a poweruser, i do not game on mobile phones, so I doubt I will ever have any issues.

 

[t3chg33k]

after experiencing the horribe horrible battery life and heating issues on the 6a i'm not even remotely considering the pxiel untill they go the snapdragon route.

Big tech is trying to move away from Qualcomm as much as possible because of their modem monopoly, how they have enforced it over the years and generally poor and expensive BSP support.

Google did so to be able to do what they want to with Tensor, at the expense of Samsung's inferior node, which is now catching up to TSMC. Apple is desperately trying to get their modem design working to not have to rely on Qualcomm either.

I don't know how others use their phone but I have kept to 4G on my 6a and the battery life is significantly better than the Samsung phones I used in the past.

 

[godspeed4476]

Big tech is trying to move away from Qualcomm as much as possible because of their modem monopoly, how they have enforced it over the years and generally poor and expensive BSP support.

Google did so to be able to do what they want to with Tensor, at the expense of Samsung's inferior node, which is now catching up to TSMC. Apple is desperately trying to get their modem design working to not have to rely on Qualcomm either.

I don't know how others use their phone but I have kept to 4G on my 6a and the battery life is significantly better than the Samsung phones I used in the past.

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How bad does having 5g on makes a difference? I have 5g on as the speed difference is massive, but i dont remember any specific day in last few months where i have faced risk of phone battery dropping below 20-30%, and i travel a lot so dont always have access to charger

 

[t3chg33k]

How bad does having 5g on makes a difference? I have 5g on as the speed difference is massive, but i dont remember any specific day in last few months where i have faced risk of phone battery dropping below 20-30%, and i travel a lot so dont always have access to charger

Probably quite a bit. My SoT was in the 7-8 hours range as per Accubattery with 5G and changed to 9-9.5 after I switched to 4G permanently on the 6a.

At my home and also in the office, 5G is much worse off in terms of coverage and speed, so I don't see much use for it when travelling.

 

[enc0dex264]

then u guys are clearly unicorns who dont do anything with ur phones.. my friend still has his 6a.. its been less than a year and he has it on charge everytime i see him.. always complain about the trash battery life and heating issues which is fully inline with what i experienced. 4g, 5g? i clearly remember i wouldnt even get 3.5 hours on wifi.. nvm 4-5g.

The phone cannot even take a video for more then 3 mins wittout overheating in direct sunlight lol.