With me being so down on Android, it’s only fair to also offer insight into the other side of the coin – a longtime iPhone user making the switch to the new Pixel 2 XL, and loving it:
This phone is extremely my shit. Google has taken the original Pixel, which was interesting but not enough to tempt me into switching, and made it into something that’s near perfect.
In a year where the iPhone X, which Apple touts as the future phone, only has a single interesting feature (Face ID) Google has embraced the opportunity to show a different future with arms wide open. It’s the first time I can confidently say an Android device is great coming from the iPhone without constantly saying but there’s this one thing.
Different strokes for different folks, but that’s why we’re all here debating things that are, in the grand scheme of things, irrelevant.
Seems that Holwerda is turning into Gruber. It will finally happen when he shut down the comments of OSAlert.
A Pixel would be the only Android device I would consider, because out of all the Android devices, it is the ONLY one that is fairly certain to receive timely security and OS updates for a significant period of time. That might only be 2 years but that is FAR better than any other Android phone.
Theoretically the Nokia ones should be getting them as well. I was tempted to get one myself.
Xiaomi is looking quite good in this regard.
I was with you, but decided to get a Sony XZ1 Compact because of it’s small size, since Google isn’t likely to make another phone under 5″. This phone regularly spams the notification area with ads from bloatware that can’t be removed or disabled, even with the app’s notifications turned off.
I think I’m going to go back to my Pixel 1.
The Pixel 2 gets security updates for 3 years.
Strange, my 2 LG Stylo2 phones get Android system updates every quarter at least for the past year like clockwork. Quarterly updates are fine for me since it takes about 20 minutes for the upgrades to be done.
HMD promises two years of support for Nokias. And there are now 7 models at different price points and another model, the most expensive one, will be released soon.
Or just buy a phone that is on the list of officially supported phones by LineageOS and you will get security patches each month and often support for the latest Android (albeit slightly later than Google).
There are phones out there that are on Android versions way past the last official release from the manufacturer.
Oh, does Gruber post links to other people’s articles to show a different viewpoint?
Hmm, one is an unapologetic Apple fanboy who doesn’t allow dissenting voices on his website, the other is an admitted gadget and technology geek who is happy to criticize or praise any company, sometimes both in one article, and who encourages discussion on his website.
I can clearly see how you confused the two.
like a quality display and a headphone jack! It’s not really even close to “perfect”. It’s nice, but not worth what Google is asking, and FAR behind flagship phones from other vendors.
This kind of statement, aside from lacking any kind of factual basis, is of no value. 90% of what makes a phone enjoyable to use is in the software, and on that front it’s no contest.
One reason I’ll never get a Google phone: Lack of MicroSD card slot. Sorry, I need that. I skipped the Note 5 because it didn’t have one, got a Note 7… well we know what happened there, and now have a Note 8. All because it ticks all the boxes (with the exception of latest Android all the time, which lets face it, isn’t THAT big of a deal since Samsung includes all the features that are added into later versions.)
The original Galaxy S was one of my favourite phones ever, despite some rough edges. The S3 that followed was a complete disappointment and I replaced it right away with a Nexus 4. The Nexus 4 quickly became my favourite phone, until the Pixel 2.
Samsung is crapware on top of crapware which gets between me and my phone…
Shame that other 10% includes a screen that’s prone to burn-in, the already mentioned lack of a headphone jack, and no SD card slot.
What a shit offering.
Self referential?
Your post is missing a few things– like details.
My colleague has a Pixel 2 phone and it’s far from perfect. With every update a new problem arises. This is why I ditched my Nexus 6P back in April for a Samsung S8 which is my very first non-Google phone since my Nexus One. With my phone it was erratic problems after every update. The same seems true with the Pixel phones. One update fixes one problem and breaks something else. My colleague is constantly losing his contacts and having to re-add his exchange account. My phone wouldn’t connect to my car’s Bluetooth for nearly a year and then when it one day suddenly connected after an update I found that I couldn’t stream anything over the Bluetooth connection. And what is Google working so hard on in Android 8.1? Fixing the hamburger emoji because apparently some (nitwit) users weren’t happy with the placement of the cheese slice. Ridiculous! With Samsung I get few updates but the phone’s OS works beautifully. Samsung’s mottle seems to be if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Google could take note. Until it does, bye bye Google phones.
Many seem to think a microSD card slot is no longer necessary. With phones having 128GB or more storgage, why bother? There is a good reason. When the phone bricks/is damaged with all your data there is no way to get it out of the phone. That microSD card begins to feel like a great idea. Sure, microSD cards can fail too. But if you back up your data regularly (you do, don’t you) you will not lose too much. Just insert a new card, restore, and you are good to go. Without a microSD card slot you must either send your phone in or take is somewhere and let someone else have access to your data.
If you keep regular backups, as you suggest, then you don’t need the sd card. Just restore your phone’s files from the backup.
LOL, I was going to post the same thing. ‘You need an SD card in case your phone dies, so you can get to your data. Sure, SD cards die too, but that’s what backups are for, right?’
*pffft*
I tend to use SD Cards for copying over files from my computer, and then when I switch phones, it’s already there. I also tend to backup everything to them via Titanium backup, and then can sync the files to my computer, but of course that requires root, so I haven’t done so yet on my Note 8 (still waiting for a root). But seriously there is no excuse NOT to have an SD card. I’ve heard too many people bite into the ‘but you can back up to the cloud.’ Yeah, then your data belongs to someone else.
There is an excuse for not having an SD card, and the same holds true for removable batteries and headphone jacks; apparently enough people don’t care about these things that it’s more profitable for companies to leave them off. I personally don’t care about the SD cards or headphone jacks, but I find not having removable batteries to be obnoxious.
But, as holds true with everything else, the tyranny of the majority decides what’s best for the rest of us.
WorknMan,
That’s half the story, but the other half is that employees in corporate offices make some decisions because it’s “trendy” (hey apple did this, we should do it too) and before you know it everyone’s selling the same thing. We buy it because that’s what’s available rather than because it was important for us to have.
In other words, we need to distinguish between features that were created to meet customer demand versus features created to satisfy pointy haired corporate types.
A silly example as it applies to me is that I purchased a bigger phone screen than I wanted because the smaller models (which I preferred) were also older models that didn’t have the newer specs and OS. You might assume I bought it because I wanted a bigger screen, but…argh it’s too damn big in my pocket. Even in hindsight though I still want the specs… I had to compromise on a larger size that I did not want! I really want my next phone to be smaller, I just hope they don’t kill the specs!
Except that you should be backing up regularly anyway, card or no card. If your phone bricks, the card won’t do you much good until you get a new phone and restore the data on it anyway.
Did anyone notice the comments section on the original site? Dark grey text on black background is impossible to see. After that I cannot take seriously any thoughts on design from the guy.
If you’re used to owning an iPhone and want an Android phone, the pixel is probably your best bet. But having used an enjoyed Android phones of the past, it’s a pass for me.
1. Too big. XL is good for large phone lovers, but the standard Pixel is too big for a small option.
2. Aluminum and Glass. Two of the least durable materials for a phone, one that scratches easy, and one that shatters.
3. No headphone jack or SD. Sure they aren’t necessary, but there’s no good reason to not include them.
I can see how to some people, these are all compromises they are willing to make, and Iphone users are used to them, but I’m sick of the current trend of copycat phones.
I can get the S7 for less than half the price of the XL, with a proper display and aspect ratio, wireless charging, microSD slot, IP68, and all of that in a compact size.
Google’s software is usually hyped for whatever reason but their constant updates put you on a treadmill of one thing gets fixed, another one gets broken.