> 3 years of security and OS updates will keep your phone performing at its best.
I’m still using an iPhone 6s which has gotten its last major iOS update after owning the device for 5 years. It will continue getting security fixes for another year until iOS 14 is released.
iPhones last twice as long as Pixel devices, which is a big plus when you must have a secure phone.
I'm using Google/Motorola's Nexus 6 with LineageOS, which was released a year before your iPhone 6s and it still gets the latest updates.
Meanwhile, my mid-2011 Mac Mini was cut off from getting macOS updates after High Sierra last year. But because it allows the installation of other operating systems it still can dual-boot the latest Windows 10 and the latest Debian Bullseye just fine.
The only way for any general computing device to last is if it gives the user freedom to control the software that runs on the device. All iPhones suppress this freedom which means game over for longevity.
On the other hand I'm using an LG G4 running LineageOS (16) since more than 4 years, and it will probably continue getting updates for as long as it doesn't break.
Only Android devices allow this.
Seems like Motion Sense is not working in some countries, specifically, Japan:
"²Not functional in Japan and may not be functional in other Pixel countries. Motion Sense is functional in the US, Canada, Singapore, Taiwan and most European countries."
"Check that you’re in a country where Motion Sense is approved. Currently, Motion Sense will work in the US, Canada, Singapore, Australia, Taiwan, and most European countries. If you travel to a country where it’s not approved, it won’t work."
What's up with that? Is there any regulation against moving your hands in front of the phone?
The only thing I can think of is the "kind of" mandatory shutter noise when using the camera on Japanese phones, to avoid up-skirt photos and the like. An I say "kind of", because depending on who I've talked to, some say it's a mandatory law, some others say it's a good faith agreement between manufacturers.
Anyway, maybe, if the hand waving stuff is detected using the camera, might be problematic on some countries as in Japan.
The star tracking feature of the astrophotography mode definitely has me interested. I'm disappointed to see the continued lack of battery capacity on the smaller phone though. While I'd love a larger battery, I'm one of the unfortunate ones whose small hands can already barely reach across my Pixel 2's phone screen -- much less the top section.
I'm also incredibly excited about the face unlocking feature -- I owned a Pixel Xs for about a week before returning it, and face unlock was my absolute favorite feature. It's very seamless especially compared to fingerprint unlock.
As an aside, Marc Levoy, who spoke at the Google event today is a Professor Emeritus at Stanford, and has a great series titled "Lectures on Digital Photography" available for free on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7HrM-fk_Rc
Fingerprint sensors are so convenient that they have become must-have features on my phones. Removing it from the Pixel 4 is an unfortunate step backward in terms of everyday usability.
How is the removal of a fingerprint sensor a step back in usability? The facial unlock is less intrusive and requires the user to do less to interface securely (minus any privacy concerns) with the phone.
I have sweaty hands, the fingerprint sensor on my iPhone 6 worked maybe 50% of the time. Since upgrading to an iPhone 11, I've found Face ID to be a huge improvement.
Face ID kinda beat the fingerprint sensors a while ago, the only problem was false positive rates were a bit too high which Apple apparently addressed in new iPhones.
One thing holding me back from upgrading is how fast my 8's fingerprint sensor is. Sometimes it's too fast for me to use Apple Pay, as it unlocks faster than I can double click. It is so fast, it feels like I'm simply clicking the button to unlock, instead of clicking to wake, read my fingerprint, then unlock.
Agree, they should have kept the fingerprint sensor. Even by implementing the two together, it may have offered a compelling and unique 2FA combination.
It's disappointing to see the industry blindly copy Apple for no reason other than it being what Apple did. I am also a big fan of the fingerprint sensor, and think that some Android phones bettered the iPhone by putting on the back of the phone. Shame to say goodbye to all that.
I loved Marc Levoy's presentation. I wonder why no video improvements though - dynamic range is so important in a camera, why limit it to just photos? 10bit h265 would be nice, perhaps with some of that hdr+ tonemapping.
Would have been nice to see a wide angle lens too. The radar thing feels gimmicky.
Not impressed at all this iteration. I may have to wait for Pixel 5, or I'm tempted to return to the iPhone solely so I can take advantage of the Apple Watch. I had hoped for better specs, better phone design, and most importantly - I'd have liked the fingerprint reader to have remained. I really don't want to be a voluntary part of facial recognition.
It has a fingerprint reader, a headphone jack (yes I use it -- particularly on flights which I unfortunately take a lot of), a 2-3 day battery for my use case, and a reasonable price. When you consider eg skipping the warranty because it's $400 not $700+, it's a great buy.
Also... standard cables (that aren't fragile as shit) and the high speed charger you want is included in the box, rather than used to juice accessory revenue!
I'm currently also tempted to switch over to the iPhone for the first time since 2012. Even though there's a pretty large number of Android phones, I'm not sure if I'd want to buy anything other than a Google or a Nokia phone. And unfortunately, neither of those has any offerings that I find appealing. With other Android manufacturers I just can't trust them to deliver software updates on time or for a prolonged period of time.
Ughh... why can't they make a phone with bigger battery?
XL model has a decent size battery but it is way to cumbersome to use as mobile device and 2800 mAh is barely enough to last day (not to mention degradation over time).
Is it that i am in a filter bobble? But most of my friends and family complains about low battery or agrees with me that they would love a phone that last more then a day.
The motion tracking / hand gestures / radar thing seems cool, but it also screams "3D Touch" to me. It'll be really interesting to see if apps successfully leverage it, or if it will fade away and disappear by the time Pixel 5 comes around.
Frankly I'm shocked at how anemic the radar chip demonstration and marketing materials are compared to what they demoed about the chip a few years ago.
Google had video showing how they could differentiate individual finger motion and motions like rolling 2 fingers together to adjust volume up and down.
What they're shipping with Pixel 4 seems to have exactly one gesture: swiping a few inches above the screen to skip songs back and forth or silence alarms and calls.
You know what else had this feature? The 2013 Moto X. And it didn't use a radar sensor, just a group of 4 light sensors, one at each corner of the face of the phone.
Granted, if what they demoed a while back is accurate, the radar chip is much more capable than a few light sensors, but what they're shipping and marketing is not that. Either they were not able to make the proof of concept work in a shipping device, or the final product is not as capable as it seemed.
I bought the original Nexus S and the Galaxy Nexus when they were released, and I was excited about the device and Android. Since Snowden, the ever increasing reliance on Google of many people and institutions via its cloud services, and the encroachment into our private lives via constant listening devices like Googles Nest, I want to get Google as far from my life as possible.
In the German version of this announcement, the first thing written under the title is that you if you order soon enough, you'll get a free Google Nest Hub with the phone. Well, uhm, no, please don't.
Further down, Google praises itself with "Stets an deiner Seite: Google Assistant ...", which means "Always at your side: Google Assistant ...". This is just creepy to me now.
I'm astounded by how much my perspective of Google has changed since a couple of years ago. Their marketing is off-putting to me now.
I was so ready to jump into a Pixel (long time iPhone user). I thought on-board voice recognition would be a game changer. This had to be the most lacklustre event I've seen:
- Nothing on video.
- No details on the processor (or most hardware specs).
- Nothing on the forward-facing camera.
- Nothing on battery life.
It honestly felt like Google watched Apple's presentation and then cut 2/3 of what they had planned.
Moreover, and this is purely a marketing-spin thing, the event had no energy. There were some super cool demos, and they were received with pure silence from the crowd. It was very weird.
Let's be realistic, though... the type of thing that would be a game-changer and make a big buzz at an event like this just doesn't exist right now. Phones have gotten so advanced that the "next big thing" needs to be paradigm-shifting and completely redefining in order to get a sizable reaction.
I want a decent 5" screen phone again. I have the pixel 3, and I swear I'm getting hand cramps because it's too big to use with one-hand. Miss the old Nexus 5.
That page will not show you the Pixel 4 if it's not available in your country (I'm in Mexico, for example), but if you're still curious here's the blogpost: https://blog.google/products/pixel/pixel-4/
For example, think about computer releases. As someone who likes to build a PC and install my own operating system, I love how these two things are somewhat decoupled (albeit imperfectly.) So I was excited about individual component releases, of course the CPU and GPU in particular, not to mention the rapid advancement of storage technology! And I was happy to try out a whole new version of Windows. (I particularly like 2000 and 7.)
Computers, on the other hand - well I've all but ignored desktops and announcements about them my whole life. Laptops were more interesting, because I was excited when they started to have decent internal components, nice screens and usable battery life. (I've been less impressed with increasingly closed systems with fewer options for upgrades.)
So back to the point at hand? I'd like to think that new phones should be focused on performance, and in my dream world, decoupling from software. I don't want "new gadgets" to be a thing on a phone. If I want to use it a certain way, i.e. hand waving away my song tracks, I have to now rely on a specific manufacturer running a specific operating system on at least the minimum version. No real options there, though.
I'm still not sure "modular" can work for phones, or maybe it can but we're not there yet, or there hasn't been enough market success to push manufacturers to go that way. But even that feels mostly unnecessary. I haven't had any complaints about my phone hardware, except for batteries wearing out, and being difficult to replace. Cameras have been "good enough" for my needs for several years now. Storage and computing performance has been fine, too. (Of course, new features are compute-intensive and will require hardware to keep up.)
If I have a point, it's that this is a boring phone release to me, but I kind of wish all phone releases were boring at this point. I'm sure some of the imaginative features coming out will become important, but right now, I feel like I don't need them. What I would prefer would be an improvement in decoupling between phone hardware and software.
I miss my Moto X (2gen) with the infrared sensors to detect your hand and other stuff. It seems pretty similar to the hand gestures. Moreover I could personalize the external materials.
And the best device that Google has remains the Pixel 3a XL. They continue to remove features that people actually use and add things that nobody wants.
[+] [-] jtokoph|6 years ago|reply
I’m still using an iPhone 6s which has gotten its last major iOS update after owning the device for 5 years. It will continue getting security fixes for another year until iOS 14 is released.
iPhones last twice as long as Pixel devices, which is a big plus when you must have a secure phone.
[+] [-] lebrad|6 years ago|reply
Meanwhile, my mid-2011 Mac Mini was cut off from getting macOS updates after High Sierra last year. But because it allows the installation of other operating systems it still can dual-boot the latest Windows 10 and the latest Debian Bullseye just fine.
The only way for any general computing device to last is if it gives the user freedom to control the software that runs on the device. All iPhones suppress this freedom which means game over for longevity.
[+] [-] bestouff|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] votepaunchy|6 years ago|reply
Note that the iPhone 6s debuted in 2015. Also, we don’t yet know that support will be dropped with iOS 14.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone_6S
[+] [-] cvhashim|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|6 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] tecleandor|6 years ago|reply
"²Not functional in Japan and may not be functional in other Pixel countries. Motion Sense is functional in the US, Canada, Singapore, Taiwan and most European countries."
"Check that you’re in a country where Motion Sense is approved. Currently, Motion Sense will work in the US, Canada, Singapore, Australia, Taiwan, and most European countries. If you travel to a country where it’s not approved, it won’t work."
What's up with that? Is there any regulation against moving your hands in front of the phone?
The only thing I can think of is the "kind of" mandatory shutter noise when using the camera on Japanese phones, to avoid up-skirt photos and the like. An I say "kind of", because depending on who I've talked to, some say it's a mandatory law, some others say it's a good faith agreement between manufacturers.
Anyway, maybe, if the hand waving stuff is detected using the camera, might be problematic on some countries as in Japan.
[+] [-] cmsj|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cbolton|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] johnmaguire2013|6 years ago|reply
I'm also incredibly excited about the face unlocking feature -- I owned a Pixel Xs for about a week before returning it, and face unlock was my absolute favorite feature. It's very seamless especially compared to fingerprint unlock.
As an aside, Marc Levoy, who spoke at the Google event today is a Professor Emeritus at Stanford, and has a great series titled "Lectures on Digital Photography" available for free on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7HrM-fk_Rc
[+] [-] dhd415|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] fetus8|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] josefresco|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dmix|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] merpnderp|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] grrrtttt|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] viklove|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] untog|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dharma1|6 years ago|reply
Would have been nice to see a wide angle lens too. The radar thing feels gimmicky.
[+] [-] vicarrion|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rrggrr|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] x0x0|6 years ago|reply
It has a fingerprint reader, a headphone jack (yes I use it -- particularly on flights which I unfortunately take a lot of), a 2-3 day battery for my use case, and a reasonable price. When you consider eg skipping the warranty because it's $400 not $700+, it's a great buy.
Also... standard cables (that aren't fragile as shit) and the high speed charger you want is included in the box, rather than used to juice accessory revenue!
[+] [-] Hamuko|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] make3|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] me_me_me|6 years ago|reply
2800 mAh
Ughh... why can't they make a phone with bigger battery?
XL model has a decent size battery but it is way to cumbersome to use as mobile device and 2800 mAh is barely enough to last day (not to mention degradation over time).
Is it that i am in a filter bobble? But most of my friends and family complains about low battery or agrees with me that they would love a phone that last more then a day.
[+] [-] akersten|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] albeec13|6 years ago|reply
Google had video showing how they could differentiate individual finger motion and motions like rolling 2 fingers together to adjust volume up and down.
What they're shipping with Pixel 4 seems to have exactly one gesture: swiping a few inches above the screen to skip songs back and forth or silence alarms and calls.
You know what else had this feature? The 2013 Moto X. And it didn't use a radar sensor, just a group of 4 light sensors, one at each corner of the face of the phone.
Granted, if what they demoed a while back is accurate, the radar chip is much more capable than a few light sensors, but what they're shipping and marketing is not that. Either they were not able to make the proof of concept work in a shipping device, or the final product is not as capable as it seemed.
[+] [-] madez|6 years ago|reply
In the German version of this announcement, the first thing written under the title is that you if you order soon enough, you'll get a free Google Nest Hub with the phone. Well, uhm, no, please don't.
Further down, Google praises itself with "Stets an deiner Seite: Google Assistant ...", which means "Always at your side: Google Assistant ...". This is just creepy to me now.
I'm astounded by how much my perspective of Google has changed since a couple of years ago. Their marketing is off-putting to me now.
[+] [-] mehdix|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] MattyMc|6 years ago|reply
Moreover, and this is purely a marketing-spin thing, the event had no energy. There were some super cool demos, and they were received with pure silence from the crowd. It was very weird.
[+] [-] dkonofalski|6 years ago|reply
Everything else right now is just iterative.
[+] [-] Hamuko|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cbolton|6 years ago|reply
The team showed an impressive amount of cool stuff back then, it's nice to see one of these projects shipping on a flagship product. There's more info here on how it's used: https://www.blog.google/products/pixel/new-features-pixel4/
EDIT: found the original presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpbWQbkl8_g . I think the touch sensitive cloth project also made it into a few products.
[+] [-] shujito|6 years ago|reply
Appending a locale parameter to the url works well [1]
[1] https://store.google.com/us/product/pixel_4?hl=en-US
[+] [-] sudosteph|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] silon42|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sunstone|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jedimastert|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rpmisms|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] darkstar999|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] baby|6 years ago|reply
Edit: a lot of sarcastic answers down there :D
[+] [-] dannyr|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] thrill|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|6 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] xeroxeri|6 years ago|reply
Seriously, though, some problems just have one solution.
[+] [-] armandososa|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] neogodless|6 years ago|reply
For example, think about computer releases. As someone who likes to build a PC and install my own operating system, I love how these two things are somewhat decoupled (albeit imperfectly.) So I was excited about individual component releases, of course the CPU and GPU in particular, not to mention the rapid advancement of storage technology! And I was happy to try out a whole new version of Windows. (I particularly like 2000 and 7.)
Computers, on the other hand - well I've all but ignored desktops and announcements about them my whole life. Laptops were more interesting, because I was excited when they started to have decent internal components, nice screens and usable battery life. (I've been less impressed with increasingly closed systems with fewer options for upgrades.)
So back to the point at hand? I'd like to think that new phones should be focused on performance, and in my dream world, decoupling from software. I don't want "new gadgets" to be a thing on a phone. If I want to use it a certain way, i.e. hand waving away my song tracks, I have to now rely on a specific manufacturer running a specific operating system on at least the minimum version. No real options there, though.
I'm still not sure "modular" can work for phones, or maybe it can but we're not there yet, or there hasn't been enough market success to push manufacturers to go that way. But even that feels mostly unnecessary. I haven't had any complaints about my phone hardware, except for batteries wearing out, and being difficult to replace. Cameras have been "good enough" for my needs for several years now. Storage and computing performance has been fine, too. (Of course, new features are compute-intensive and will require hardware to keep up.)
If I have a point, it's that this is a boring phone release to me, but I kind of wish all phone releases were boring at this point. I'm sure some of the imaginative features coming out will become important, but right now, I feel like I don't need them. What I would prefer would be an improvement in decoupling between phone hardware and software.
[+] [-] nwah1|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jorgemf|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lern_too_spel|6 years ago|reply