Previously on Lemmy:
Past Discussions:
Sorry for the delay for the weekly. Server's not that stable right now, maybe we should start the thread on Sundays instead.
I always like to switch things up once in a while because it's fun. So, let's get back to the brand discussion this week for the Google Pixel. We'll do a discussion on repairability next week. Again, ideas are always welcome here.
I've never used a Pixel, but people around here should know that I've been very critical of Google's product decisions over the years, and the Pixel is no exception. In my point of view, discontinuing the Nexus series, buying out the talents from the remains of HTC and starting an official "made by Google" phone is the equivalent of reddit buying out Alien Blue to make the official reddit app. I think it's the event that scared big Android manufacturers like Samsung enough to start making their own ecosystem away from Google, as they are concerned that Google may start locking software features to their own phones instead of improving Android overall (rightfully so, I might add).
It really makes no business sense at all to turn your manufacturing partners into your competitors, but then again, it's Google.
With that being said, the first years of the Pixels has been marred with growing pains. Whereas the Nexus line has always been barebones, no frills development devices, it seemed to me that the people who made Pixels don't even use Android and are insistent on turning Pixel into iPhones, removing the headphone jack on the Pixel 2 despite the antagonistic ad from the original Pixel, Pixel exclusive software features like Google camera that necessitating the need of rom mods, as well as the quality issues that seems to be inherited from the Nexus days just really soured me from considering Pixels, as I think it's against the spirit of openness that made Android great.
But it seems like in recent years, they finally figured out that a large percentage of people who bought Androids not because they can't afford iPhones, but because they like Android, and I see the introduction of the "a" series as progress. The recent Pixel ad campaign also made me think that they finally figuring it out: people want different things, trying to turn Android into worse versions of iPhones was not going to work, so they should be trying to make the best Android for Android users instead.
(It's also the reason I think all the previous reddit clones failed, but Lemmy will be the one that finally succeeds.)
I've had a Pixel 4a and now have a Pixel 7. I also had a Nexus 5 a long time ago, and a OnePlus 5T for a while after the Nexus 5's camera broke.
Pixel 4a was great aside from the lack of waterproofing. I loved the size of it, it was fast enough, the camera was good enough, and I didn't think I'd need another phone until I went hiking in the rain with it and couldn't be bothered to go 100m back to the car to get a ziplock bag at the start of the hike :/
Pixel 7 is good, but I preferred the smaller size of the 4a, and some of the 7's features just feel unnecessary to me, such as the higher refresh screen, as I don't care about gaming on it. The in-screen fingerprint reader is definitely waaaaay worse than the one on the 4a (and especially the OnePlus 5T), and I have to enter my code a lot, but it's not as bad as when I first got the phone. The insanely bright glow of the fingerprint reader when you use it at night is a bit annoying, as others have mentioned.
It also seems to get very hot sometimes, the official case isn't quite as nice as that of the 4a, despite being more expensive, and the battery life is meh. Lack of a headphone jack is also less than ideal, but I guess I should just buy some bluetooth earphones. Actually, I got it at launch and used the Google Store points to buy Google Buds Pro and the case, but then I sold the buds to effectively get a nice discount instead.
The camera on both phones has been great, with the 7 being quite a bit better than the 4a, though honestly the 4a was good already and I didn't really care about any camera upgrades aside from the wide angle lens, which is awesome.
Software wise, I like stock Android, but I miss the long screenshot function of OnePlus' Oxygen OS. Other than that, it's nice. Google apps are mostly awesome, though I think you can get the same features such such as voice assistant, navigation etc. on other Android phones just by installing the Google apps.