• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Android |OT7| Now With a Whole New Messaging System

Nah, I would love to see this. No crow needs to be eaten. Android has so much potential and it is all the flavors running around that makes it loose its luster.
It's all the flavor of Android that keep me picking them as my phone.

Assuming the Pixel is as amazing as people are saying in terms of performance, I agree that it will be great for Android as a whole. But personally I'll always take sd card support and great battery life with good performance and late updates over a phone with perfect performance and timely updates, but none of the hardware features I care about.
 
I had a chance to play with a Pixel C yesterday, as I'm in the market for a new tablet. Initial impressions were good ie. Screen, build quality etc. but when I had a look online for reviews/impressions the general consensus was not that positive. Have issues been ironed out with updates/nougat? £399 is a lot for a flagship tablet, but there's not a lot of choice out there in that end of the market that offers the same performance/battery life. :/

when people say iOS smooth i wonder if they actually use iOS because i do at work and that shit is just as janky as everything else.

This. I've been using an ipad air from work recently, and I can only think that when people say ios is smooth, what they really mean is that animations/scrolling speeds are so slow, that they've got no chance to be laggy.

Epic battery life though, one reason I'm considering an ipad mini 4 as possible tablet option, even with shitty ios and all its restrictions.
 

Mindwipe

Member
Cant wait for next week.

No one is going to give a shit about sd cards, wireless charging and water proofing when the Pixel reviews starting trickling in. Everyone is going to find out the Pixel phones offer a far smoother UI experience than any Android phone on the market.

Want iPhone level smoothness on Android then Pixel is your only option. Period

Don't forget to quote me if I'm wrong so I can eat crow.

To be honest, I've never cared about OS smoothness. I don't have good framerate detection in general, I honestly can't tell the difference between 30 and 60 FPS easily at all.

Meanwhile I note that the Pixel is still too big to comfortably use and has no software features to mitigate that, and has very ugly hardware.
 

Aiii

So not worth it
You're right. He did a second test with HDR on for both, and the quality is nigh indistinguishable. As expected, the sensor is basically the same as last years. Main differences will come from software.

I'm guessing reviews will hit next week.

Pfft, Peasant 6P only has a DxOMark of 84, not 89 like God Pixel.
 

Cynosure

Member
if my phone is stolen, someone can boot recovery mode and factory reset from there. How do I lock access to that?

at first, i thought that's what "secure startup" was for, requiring password to boot the phone, but it's not and seems like a totally useless feature now.
 
Can someone help me?

I've got a Sony Z3 and Android 6 on my phone. The internal space is 16gb and I got a 64gb SD card. Before Android 6 i could put every app on the SD card.

Now I have to manually put every app on it. The Problem is the internal space isn't getting bigger. It's always full and it's driving me insane. Apps get updated and you have to repeat the whole process. Am i just too dumb?
 

RuGalz

Member
if my phone is stolen, someone can boot recovery mode and factory reset from there. How do I lock access to that?

at first, i thought that's what "secure startup" was for, requiring password to boot the phone, but it's not and seems like a totally useless feature now.

Is your bootloader unlocked? Actually never mind, if you want to stop someone from factory reset the phone and make it usable again, I'm not sure if you can guard against it. The secure startup stuff is only to guard your data.

edit: looks like you can factory reset but still need to enter the password after a reboot https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/6172890?hl=en
 

Aiii

So not worth it
Can someone help me? I've got a Sony Z3 and Android 6 on my phone. The internal Space is 16gb and I got a 64gb sd Card. Before Android 6 i could put every App on the sd Card.

Now I have to manually put every App on the sd Card. The Problem is the internal Space isn't getting bigger. It's always Full and it's driving me insane. Apps get updated and you have to repeat the whole process. Am i just too dumb?

You have to set-up the SD Card as internal storage instead of an external SD card, instructions are here: http://www.howtogeek.com/242937/how-to-set-up-a-new-sd-card-in-android-for-extra-storage/
 

Groof

Junior Member
You're right. He did a second test with HDR on for both, and the quality is nigh indistinguishable. As expected, the sensor is basically the same as last years. Main differences will come from software.

I'm guessing reviews will hit next week.

Which is definitely not a bad thing. The thing that annoys me about the 6p's camera is that the lens is so wide it distorts at the edges. And of course it's slow af. But that seems to be fixed.
 

RuGalz

Member
You're right. He did a second test with HDR on for both, and the quality is nigh indistinguishable. As expected, the sensor is basically the same as last years. Main differences will come from software.

I'm guessing reviews will hit next week.

With same/similar sensor performance (and many years to come), the main difference will be speed. Post processing in camera software is probably the same. They could artificially limit slower phones with 3 image blend instead of 6 or 9 or 12 for a single image in the future to get better results.
 

hitgirl

Member
Wow the Nexus 6P is very slippery. Usually go without a case but it almost seems like a Dbrand skin is a must.

and it's already hot. I sort of want a pixel..
 

Vic

Please help me with my bad english
Wow the Nexus 6P is very slippery. Usually go without a case but it almost seems like a Dbrand skin is a must.

and it's already hot. I sort of want a pixel..
Don't think it's possible to properly hold this phone without a case.
 
smoothness of the os is just one factor.

Android needs to solve the impossible problem of fragmentation aka app performance suffers in the mean time.

If pixel has the magic to get app load times to speed up without issues, and to get poorly optimized android games compare to their ios counterpart (cough, Final fantasy brave exvius) to run well without anything on the developers end....

fuck it, ill plop down $650 or w/e it costs to import from brexitville.
So Android needs to be 2 new models a year so game devs can optimize?
 

hitgirl

Member
I was actually surprised how little difference the size of the 5X and 6P seemed side by side. And I just confirmed that as I just left the house and picked up the 6P and put it in my pocket instead of the 5X on accident.
 

NotBacon

Member
Phones without OIS are worse than equivalent devices with OIS, yes.

Not the argument. Nice try though.
Moving the goalposts back, a Google rep put it nicely:

"And despite lacking OIS, Pixel is still very strong in still low-light photos, beating other cameras that do have OIS modules. That’s a testament to its world-class software algorithms, notably HDR+. And with software algorithms instead of OIS hardware, Pixel can get better and better over time.

At the end of the day, Pixel takes some of the best low-light photos you’ll find on any smartphone, even without OIS. And that’s what really matters — better pictures, not how Pixel does it."

Talking nonsense now. Let's just wait for the phone instead of grasping at magical straws.

*Hand-on videos showing amazing performance and touch latency*

"You guys are talking nonsense now."

when people say iOS smooth i wonder if they actually use iOS because i do at work and that shit is just as janky as everything else.

Truth
 
Not the argument. Nice try though.
Moving the goalposts back, a Google rep put it nicely:

"And despite lacking OIS, Pixel is still very strong in still low-light photos, beating other cameras that do have OIS modules. That’s a testament to its world-class software algorithms, notably HDR+. And with software algorithms instead of OIS hardware, Pixel can get better and better over time.

At the end of the day, Pixel takes some of the best low-light photos you’ll find on any smartphone, even without OIS. And that’s what really matters — better pictures, not how Pixel does it."

Google said the exact same thing for at the 6P launch, and the lack of OIS is glaring to me. The large sensor can only do so much to accommodate handshake and slower shutter speeds. My hands shake slightly (I was born with this condition), and I've had plenty of shots ruined because the phone can't compensate for it.

Google's solution with the Pixel appears to be leaning on their new Smart Burst algorithm. As a photographer that regularly uses his f/4 lens at night, I can attest to burst/continuous shooting being an effective way to mitigate handshake in lowlight, since you just need to sift through the photos and find the one sans motion blur. With Smart Burst, the algorithm will do the work for you. Great!

However, imagine if the Pixel had OIS AND used Smart Burst; that would be incredible. Keep in mind that Googy is using a software solution, and considering the sensor in the 6P and the Pixel are closely related, I can see the new camera app making its way over and gaining the same lowlight benefits -- whereas a hardware difference (having OIS in the Pixel) could have never be replicated in the 6P.
 

Vanillalite

Ask me about the GAF Notebook
So does anyone even give a fuck about DayDream?

Feels like their whole VR presentation which was more about boxer briefs on your headset failed to engage the masses.
 

diaspora

Member
Not the argument. Nice try though.
Moving the goalposts back, a Google rep put it nicely:

"And despite lacking OIS, Pixel is still very strong in still low-light photos, beating other cameras that do have OIS modules. That’s a testament to its world-class software algorithms, notably HDR+. And with software algorithms instead of OIS hardware, Pixel can get better and better over time.

At the end of the day, Pixel takes some of the best low-light photos you’ll find on any smartphone, even without OIS. And that’s what really matters — better pictures, not how Pixel does it."
Except it doesn't. Objectively, any OIS flagship is inherently superior to an EIS suction for image stabilization, the loss of actual sensor space doesn't cease to matter because of fanboyism. The application of a software solution can be applied in conjunction with OIS, OIS cannot be applied to phones without it.

Edit, as an example- had the Pixel been using OIS on the same sensor you'd still have better results that what's currently being delivered as per physics and optics where the lens assembly is moved parallel to the image plane resulting in the full use of the sensor.
 
So does anyone even give a fuck about DayDream?

Feels like their whole VR presentation which was more about boxer briefs on your headset failed to engage the masses.

I can answer for everyone: No.

And, I'm reading about the battery life on the Z Play. Insane! Considering how shit my battery life is on the 6P, I'm certainly tempted...
 

kharma45

Member
Google said the exact same thing for at the 6P launch, and the lack of OIS is glaring to me. The large sensor can only do so much to accommodate handshake and slower shutter speeds. My hands shake slightly (I was born with this condition), and I've had plenty of shots ruined because the phone can't compensate for it.

Google's solution with the Pixel appears to be leaning on their new Smart Burst algorithm. As a photographer that regularly uses his f/4 lens at night, I can attest to burst/continuous shooting being an effective way to mitigate handshake in lowlight, since you just need to sift through the photos and find the one sans motion blur. With Smart Burst, the algorithm will do the work for you. Great!

However, imagine if the Pixel had OIS AND used Smart Burst; that would be incredible. Keep in mind that Googy is using a software solution, and considering the sensor in the 6P and the Pixel are closely related, I can see the new camera app making its way over and gaining the same lowlight benefits -- whereas a hardware difference (having OIS in the Pixel) could have never be replicated in the 6P.

Except it doesn't. Objectively, any OIS flagship is inherently superior to an EIS suction for image stabilization, the loss of actual sensor space doesn't cease to matter because of fanboyism. The application of a software solution can be applied in conjunction with OIS, OIS cannot be applied to phones without it.

Edit, as an example- had the Pixel been using OIS on the same sensor you'd still have better results that what's currently being delivered as per physics and optics where the lens assembly is moved parallel to the image plane resulting in the full use of the sensor.

Agreed. I'll wait for actual reviews than the word of a Google rep.
 
sooo... my sister hit me up on Hangouts

S7 too small, doesn't like sharp corners of S7 Edge

only wants AMOLED screens

she would trade in her Note 7 if she could get a 128GB Pixel XL, no other phone she looked at was good enough

BBBBUUUUUTTTT it's only on Verizon so she can't get it at the on-contract price (like the $399 contract price for Note 7)

she's keeping her Note 7

holdat L Google
 

teiresias

Member
Think I'm going to go put in a pre-order for the Moto Z Play at my local Best Buy today. The battery life is going to be very important to me this coming year since I'll be doing a great deal of traveling for work (nothing worse than frantically charging your phone just to be able to have access to your electronic boarding pass), and it also lets me give the Pixel concept at least a year to see flesh itself out and see how it goes from a support end from Google.
 
Looking at the comments and testimonials from people everywhere on the internet, the majority of Note 7 owners and potential future buyers of the Note 7 seem to be switching to iPhones.

Samsung may have just ruined the reputation of Android.
 
Think I'm going to go put in a pre-order for the Moto Z Play at my local Best Buy today. The battery life is going to be very important to me this coming year since I'll be doing a great deal of traveling for work (nothing worse than frantically charging your phone just to be able to have access to your electronic boarding pass), and it also lets me give the Pixel concept at least a year to see flesh itself out and see how it goes from a support end from Google.

I'm leaning toward the same thing. I don't play games on my phone, so raw performance means little to me. I need a phone that doesn't die after 2.5hrs screen on-time, which is what I currently get on my 6P.
 
Top Bottom