Google Pixel 3

i dont get watches in general. you've got a phone on you at all times, look at that?
 
I have never liked the physical feel of wearing a watch. So Smart Watches do nothing for me.
 
I love my Apple Watch. Have had one for two years now and just got the latest one. At first it felt sort of gimmicky, but now I use so many of its functions daily. Would definitely miss having one if I had to give it up.
 
I've got a very nice Oris automatic for business/formal occasions and my G-Shock Mudman for everything else. Tell me the time. That's all I want from a watch. Plus, smart watches are fugly, IMO.
 
Just spoke with a Google CSR about my 2XL random restarts. She offered a $400 trade-in for my 2XL, $100 Google credit and free premium warranty ($129) if I pre-ordered a 3 or 3XL. Got the all black 3XL 128GB. $500 ain't bad, especially since I hadn't planned on buying a new phone in 2018.
 
Commander Shepard said:
Just spoke with a Google CSR about my 2XL random restarts. She offered a $400 trade-in for my 2XL, $100 Google credit and free premium warranty ($129) if I pre-ordered a 3 or 3XL. Got the all black 3XL 128GB. $500 ain't bad, especially since I hadn't planned on buying a new phone in 2018.
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Sweet deal buddy
 
Anyone who's getting a Pixel 3, plan to root and ROM ? Or just stay stock ?

Only reason I'll probably root and maybe ROM not sure but it's just for no ads and some kernel tweaks and Battery tweaks
 
exlink said:
I love my Apple Watch. Have had one for two years now and just got the latest one. At first it felt sort of gimmicky, but now I use so many of its functions daily. Would definitely miss having one if I had to give it up.
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My wife was using one of the fitbit's smart watches until I bought her the series 3 watch and shes a big fan of it.
 
Aurelius said:
On the watch front, it's a bit sad. Wear OS is struggling primarily because Google only ever puts in a half-hearted effort to support Android on any device that isn't a phone. You only get major software revisions once in a blue Moon, and it doesn't push companies like Qualcomm to deliver meaningful CPU updates in a reasonable time frame. Apple arguably has the better smartwatch platform as it is, but it's winning in part because it's the only one who showed up to race. Google, it seems, is content to saunter.
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There's also the fact that the hardware that Wear OS runs on hasn't been updated in 3 years. Its a tough sell to consumers when you put out the same hardware every year with nothing new - no speed improvements, no better battery life, no shrinking of the device. Qualcomm screwed the Android wearables market and left it to Samsung and Apple.
 
dan1 said:
There's also the fact that the hardware that Wear OS runs on hasn't been updated in 3 years. Its a tough sell to consumers when you put out the same hardware every year with nothing new - no speed improvements, no better battery life, no shrinking of the device. Qualcomm screwed the Android wearables market and left it to Samsung and Apple.
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This is a big reason I haven't gone full smartwatch and stuck with my "semi-smart" Fitbit Versa. I get more practical use out of the fitness oriented watch functions anyways, but seems like the functionality and improvement gap between full smart and fitness watches just keeps getting smaller every product generation.
 
Zorachus said:
Google Pixel 3 XL Review: A Polished Camera and Software Experience make up for the Notch [Part 1]

https://www.xda-developers.com/google-pixel-3-xl-camera-software-design-pixel-stand/
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That review states the notification LED is gone. :eek::cry::mad:

The missing notification LED
Although I love the Always on Display and the new Pixel Stand, I hate that the notification LED has been removed. Even Google warns that enabling Always on Display may lead to increased battery usage. For those users who want to maximize battery life by disabling the Always on Display, they’ll now have no way of knowing if they have any new notifications if they don’t wake the device to check. I quit customizing notification LEDs because I used to factory reset all the time when switching ROMs, but I know that the notification LED can be quite useful when fully customized to suit your needs.

This is one of my favorite features of Android phones. If the new Pixel did away with it, my newly ordered 3XL is going back. I'll get another 2XL or the OP 6T.
 
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read the ars techica article if you want to read some seething shredding of the pixel 3
 
Zorachus said:
Isn't that site a known iSheep site ?

They're like C-Net or some garbage.
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No, I believe Ars Technica typically have fairly balanced and very in-depth phone reviews. Websites like The Verge are obviously biased towards Apple.

But then again, fanboys from both sides scream "BIASED!" as soon as a website releases an unfavorable review of one of their new shiny phones.
 
exlink said:
No, I believe Ars Technica typically have fairly balanced and very in-depth phone reviews. Websites like The Verge are obviously biased towards Apple.

But then again, fanboys from both sides scream "BIASED!" as soon as a website releases an unfavorable review of one of their new shiny phones.
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Okay maybe I'm wrong about that website I just thought they were the typical snooty non Android liking site.

I don't really care if they hate the new pixel 3 I like it for what it is but yes I agree it definitely could have been much better that stupid not should have been more like the essential notch and no bottom chin would have been nice and 6 gigabytes of memory would have been better and a larger battery would have been nicer.

I'm not talking about this specific review but it seems like Android phones get knocked for this or that or they gloss over the same dislikes when reviewing an iPhone
 
Man, love how these reviews dog Google for not doing this or that right, and it being cheap, and bad design, or whatever. But these cons NEVER get mentioned in an iPhone review.

Listen, I'll be the first to say the Pixel 3 XL could have been A LOT BETTER, no doubt. The notch should have been more like Essentials little hole, or at least iPhone X size at the most. And no bottom chin too. And many other things could have been made better on the phone.

So yes, it seems the Pixel 3 isn't a huge leap forward from the Pixel 2. But lately all phones are like that. Not to give Google excuses, but look at the Galaxy S9+ vs the S8+, or the LG V30 vs the LG V40, or the iPhone X vs the iPhone XS, and the OnePlus 5t vs the OnePlus 6. Year to year isn't a big upgrade anymore, but go back 2 years ago, or three years ago, then we're talking big time upgrade.

Why weren't people dogging Samsung hard when the S9+ came out, because compared to the great S8+ the year before, the S9+ isn't not a massive upgrade AT ALL. But people fawned and jizzed all over how great the new S9+ is, and it is. But compared to the S8+ it's a weak upgrade. But Google comes out with a "weak upgrade" and it's shit, and they suck for slacking off.

A Nexus 6P to a Pixel 3 XL would be a big time upgrade. A Galaxy S6 to a S9+ another night and day huge upgrade. Or a iPhone 6S Plus to a iPhone XS Max, gigantic upgrade.

But, at the end of the day I pre ordered a new Pixel 3 XL from Google for grand total $855 w/Tax + shipping. The same iPhone XS Max would be running me around $1200, which to me is unacceptable for a smartphone, to spend Laptop money on. Is the XS Max a better phone than the 3 XL ? I dn't know, maybe. But I prefer stock Android, and the cheaper price.
 
well to be fair Ars was mostly complaining about the hardware, they did praise the software on the Pixel 3.
I think google could have made some better choices on design and definitely pricing, but overall, the phone looks great.
This is a small volume production phone (relatively) and the pricing will reflect that. I still have high hopes for them next year. If it werent for my pixel XL hard bricking on me literally last week, I would hold out for a 2019 phone, but as it stands, I have a Pixel 3 (5.5" version) on pre-order.
 
Zorachus said:
Man, love how these reviews dog Google for not doing this or that right, and it being cheap, and bad design, or whatever. But these cons NEVER get mentioned in an iPhone review.

Listen, I'll be the first to say the Pixel 3 XL could have been A LOT BETTER, no doubt. The notch should have been more like Essentials little hole, or at least iPhone X size at the most. And no bottom chin too. And many other things could have been made better on the phone.

So yes, it seems the Pixel 3 isn't a huge leap forward from the Pixel 2. But lately all phones are like that. Not to give Google excuses, but look at the Galaxy S9+ vs the S8+, or the LG V30 vs the LG V40, or the iPhone X vs the iPhone XS, and the OnePlus 5t vs the OnePlus 6. Year to year isn't a big upgrade anymore, but go back 2 years ago, or three years ago, then we're talking big time upgrade.

Why weren't people dogging Samsung hard when the S9+ came out, because compared to the great S8+ the year before, the S9+ isn't not a massive upgrade AT ALL. But people fawned and jizzed all over how great the new S9+ is, and it is. But compared to the S8+ it's a weak upgrade. But Google comes out with a "weak upgrade" and it's shit, and they suck for slacking off.

A Nexus 6P to a Pixel 3 XL would be a big time upgrade. A Galaxy S6 to a S9+ another night and day huge upgrade. Or a iPhone 6S Plus to a iPhone XS Max, gigantic upgrade.

But, at the end of the day I pre ordered a new Pixel 3 XL from Google for grand total $855 w/Tax + shipping. The same iPhone XS Max would be running me around $1200, which to me is unacceptable for a smartphone, to spend Laptop money on. Is the XS Max a better phone than the 3 XL ? I dn't know, maybe. But I prefer stock Android, and the cheaper price.
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Actually, almost every reviewer said exactly what you said they didn't about other phones. They said that the S9 wasn't a worthy upgrade from the S8, and the same was said about the iPhone XS and iPhone X.

Ars Technica dogging on Google about using an SoC we first saw 8 months ago in February of this year and that is soon to be replaced in a few months was spot on, as was the 4GB of RAM. We're about to enter 2019 and Google just came out with a phone with 2017/2018 specs...and for $800-$1000.

Sure, they do a lot of impressive things with their software - but software doesn't justify the $150 base price increase. Apple may charge a premium for their devices but at least you get a state of the art SoC right at release that you know will last you 4-5 years easy. I doubt that a SD 845 and 4GB of RAM is going to do very well in the Android world in 2-3 years even if it is a Pixel.
 
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Totally agree on Pixel phones using ALMOST outdated hardware, due to releasing their phones towards end of the year.

Actually Google should be releasing the Pixel phones in late Jan / early Feb, and be the very first phones to have that years newest processor, due to it being the head Android phone, the main phone for Android used as a reference.

But... that was one of the reasons the Nexus phones were "affordably" priced. You could accept a soon to be outdated processor, if the phone was sold cheaper than most flagships.

I do think the Pixel 3 line should be sold at lower pricing due to this. Maybe not OnePlus pricing, but also not near iPhone pricing either.
 
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exlink said:
No, I believe Ars Technica typically have fairly balanced and very in-depth phone reviews. Websites like The Verge are obviously biased towards Apple.

But then again, fanboys from both sides scream "BIASED!" as soon as a website releases an unfavorable review of one of their new shiny phones.
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Well stated. I found Verge's written and video reviews of the Pixel 3 to be very informative and they gave strong praise for the phone. [Link]

On a personal note. Am glad that Verge let you hear exactly what your friends and family members are going to experience when Call Screen intercepts their calls. I can't envision any friends or family members appreciating that, something not pointed out in Google's promotion of the feature. Shown at 10:30



 
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Im def gonna be a player with the 2019 Pixel 4 XL. I've only had my Pixel 2 XL since late spring. Love the phone and especially the camera.
 
Been watching some camera comparisons between the Pixel 3 and iPhone XS. From a video and audio perspective the iPhone XS is pretty clearly better - in addition to being capable of 4K60. When it comes to photography they trade blows which is interesting since the Pixel 2 was a fair bit ahead of the iPhone X. Impressive progress made by Apple in the camera department this year.

I’m also impressed with Google’s Super Res Zoom. It’s much clearer than I thought it would be. While it isn’t as good as an actual telephoto lens, it definitely holds its own. I’m interested to see how Night Sight will turn out.
 
Commander Shepard said:
That review states the notification LED is gone. :eek::cry::mad:

The missing notification LED
Although I love the Always on Display and the new Pixel Stand, I hate that the notification LED has been removed. Even Google warns that enabling Always on Display may lead to increased battery usage. For those users who want to maximize battery life by disabling the Always on Display, they’ll now have no way of knowing if they have any new notifications if they don’t wake the device to check. I quit customizing notification LEDs because I used to factory reset all the time when switching ROMs, but I know that the notification LED can be quite useful when fully customized to suit your needs.

This is one of my favorite features of Android phones. If the new Pixel did away with it, my newly ordered 3XL is going back. I'll get another 2XL or the OP 6T.
Click to expand...

Even if it does not come with a notification LED. Don't cancel until you see the NoLED app. It's been out for years and it works great with prominently colored visible icons that you can see at great distances. You can color code each type of notification as well as resize them to your liking. In addition the icons will slowly move around on your screen in a screen saver fashion to eliminate any opportunity for burn in. Battery usage has never been a concern for me and the app does not run in the background.

Best evidence for it's effectiveness is to install the app and see for yourself. It used to be on the Play Store but has since been removed. All that remains in the Play Store is NOLED Weather which requires the base app to be installed.

However, it is available as an APK here: https://m.apkpure.com/noled/com.led.notify

Tip: No need to enable all the features, unless you truly wish to. I recommend to keep it simple and elect to display "icons" not "dots". Here is a listing of the settings I elected to use along with some screenshots.
Read further down to learn how to have the notifications display as icons.

Themes / Bigger
Battery / All turned Off
Miscellaneous / Auto-start On
Miscellaneous / NoLED is ON/OFF Notification = not checked



NoLED.png



Tap Notification Settings, in the window that opens put a check mark in the check boxes shown below. Next step, you want your notifications to be displaying as icons not dots. To make this happen tap the rectangular shaped box, toggle it to show "Icon".
Then scroll down a little bit and hit the Test button.


No LED 1.png
 
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Supersnake said:
Even if it does not come without a notification LED. Don't cancel until you see the NoLED app. It's been out for years and it works great with prominently colored visible icons that you can see at great distances. You can color code each type of notification as well as resize them to your liking. In addition the icons will slowly move around on your screen in a screen saver fashion, there is no chance for no burn in to be concerned about. Battery usage is an insignificantly low amount and never been a concern for me.

Best evidence for it's effectiveness is to download the free app and see for your self on your present phone.
You'll find it in the PlayStore along with a video demonstration.

Tip: No need to enable all the features, unless you truly wish to. I recommend to keep it simple and elected to display "icons" not "dots". Here is a listing of the settings I elected to use along with some screenshots.

Themes / Bigger
Battery / All turned Off
Miscellaneous / Auto-start On
Miscellaneous / NoLED is ON/OFF Notification = not checked
Click to expand...
I'll give it a shot. Thanks, man!
 
I should add that when you install the app you can skip installing its widget. Widgets use battery and the app works perfectly without a widget. Simply open the app, choose your settings then close the app and forget about it. It will continue to work even after device restarts.
 
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Zorachus said:
https://www.theverge.com/platform/a...-camera-best-phone-android-sales-market-share

Interesting article, makes a good point.
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Haha, I just read that a little bit ago. Puts up some strong points for sure.

I've just never understood the whole "biggest this" and "smallest that" etc arguments, and people crying about how _____ ruins the phone and they should be embarrassed etc etc. If the phone does exactly what you want, buy it. If not, buy something else. So much anger and hate directed at something you weren't going to buy anyway just seems so stupid.

That said, I am glad to see there are a bunch of good reviews coming out; the initial handful of OMGNOTCH reviews seem far more orchestrated now that there is a greater amount of reviews, and more in depth ones. The ones that seem to really shit on it are all pretty damn brief too less a few.
 
Aaaaaaannnnnd I got a tracking number from Fedex, estimated delivery 10/19.
So much better than the first launch lol.
 
superbovine said:
Haha, I just read that a little bit ago. Puts up some strong points for sure.

I've just never understood the whole "biggest this" and "smallest that" etc arguments, and people crying about how _____ ruins the phone and they should be embarrassed etc etc. If the phone does exactly what you want, buy it. If not, buy something else. So much anger and hate directed at something you weren't going to buy anyway just seems so stupid.

That said, I am glad to see there are a bunch of good reviews coming out; the initial handful of OMGNOTCH reviews seem far more orchestrated now that there is a greater amount of reviews, and more in depth ones. The ones that seem to really shit on it are all pretty damn brief too less a few.
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That’s just how the internet works. Clickbait titles and people expressing their opinions.

I can understand how many are upset about the Pixel 3 XL notch as they would’ve much rather had a smaller one - almost everyone would. It’s not just people who weren’t going to buy the phone anyway that are complaining, but also those that are still buying it or decided to no longer buy it.

People voice their opinions, especially about products in hopes that the company hears them and makes changes for the current or next products. Although the notch is unfortunately permanent, Google DOES listen to their customers to an extent. They updated the color profiles on the Pixel 2 after people complained, and dimmed the nav bar icons and extended the manufacturer warranty to 2 years after customers reported burn in issues.
 
superbovine said:
I guess everyone just seems so entitled about shit. Whatever, I buy what I like. :D
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I wouldn’t classify this as entitlement otherwise you’d pretty much call anyone who constructively criticizes as entitled. Last year the Pixel 2 XL had a subpar display and everyone criticized Google for it. Now this year you have one of the best panels as a result. I’m willing to bet the Pixel 4 next year will have a notch (...or maybe not) that is only a small fraction of the size as the Pixel 3 XL due to the criticism it is receiving now.

No one is stopping you from buying what you like. If the notch doesn’t bother you then by all means buy and enjoy the phone. But I wouldn’t be so quick to discredit others’ criticisms and call them entitled as it seems that Google is listening and improving the quality of its phones as a result.
 
Yeah I'm undecided on the notch until I see it in person, but it's not like it's a deal breaker.
And I don't think you're being fair to call it discrediting of constructive criticism when I'm talking about people with table-flip reactions to one single thing etc. There's nothing constructive about what I'm speaking of.
I guess I just have more rational expectations than some people these days. I mean if the new mustang comes out with funny looking headlights, I wouldn't post excessive diatribes about how Ford screwed themselves over and I'll never own another Ford in my life and I can't believe they are so stupid to do that and obviously no one wants this and so on.
I think we are talking about two very separate scenarios. To me, not liking something that's cosmetic doesn't qualify someone to condemn an entire product let alone corporation based on their personal preference and be able to rationalize it as being constructive.
Same goes for people hating Apple for the samesal hating Apple. Doesnt make their argument valid if you extract a single fact that is right so suddenly they can act like imbeciles.
I dunno. Guess I'm just getting old.
 
superbovine said:
Yeah I'm undecided on the notch until I see it in person, but it's not like it's a deal breaker.
And I don't think you're being fair to call it discrediting of constructive criticism when I'm talking about people with table-flip reactions to one single thing etc. There's nothing constructive about what I'm speaking of.
I guess I just have more rational expectations than some people these days. I mean if the new mustang comes out with funny looking headlights, I wouldn't post excessive diatribes about how Ford screwed themselves over and I'll never own another Ford in my life and I can't believe they are so stupid to do that and obviously no one wants this and so on.
I think we are talking about two very separate scenarios. To me, not liking something that's cosmetic doesn't qualify someone to condemn an entire product let alone corporation based on their personal preference and be able to rationalize it as being constructive.
Same goes for people hating Apple for the samesal hating Apple. Doesnt make their argument valid if you extract a single fact that is right so suddenly they can act like imbeciles.
I dunno. Guess I'm just getting old.
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The individuals that post diatribes against Google and swear off their products because of the design of the Pixel 3 XL are outliers. I wouldn't pay any attention to these people as they're likely there to just stir the pot - otherwise known as internet trolls. Typically they consist of the hardcore fanboys from the opposing "team". The individuals I'm referring to that criticize the phones are typically level headed customers/users and tech reviewers.

I've played with the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL at my local Best Buy. The 3 XL's notch is comically large and the large chin at the bottom does make it, in my opinion, one of the ugliest modern phones. But if you ignore those design elements it's still a great phone and the display - especially on the 3 XL - is miles better than its predecessor. As I said earlier in this thread, I was pretty much all in on the Pixel 3 to be the replacement for my Essential phone. But the $150 price increase and inability to trade-in my Essential phone unfortunately swayed me away from the purchase.
 
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