Malaphax Posted October 17, 2017 Report Share Posted October 17, 2017 Here's the big review thread for the Pixel 2 and PIxel 2 XLhttps://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/76whng/google_pixel_2xl_review_megathread/ Then there's the announcement that 8.1 will be coming "soon" and that they'll activate a dedicated image processing chip on board pixel 2 model phones. Key point is that it's programmable and so they can update it over time with new features. I wonder if this is the first time an FPGA style chip is being used on phones by a manufacturer. https://www.blog.google/products/pixel/pixel-visual-core-image-processing-and-machine-learning-pixel-2/ I also have been skimming across a few reviews. I did notice a trend. The PIxel 2 has a Samsung AMOLED panel which is considered good. The Pixel 2 XL has the LG POLED panel which I've seen reported as... not great. Here are some comparisons between both of them: [one] [two] Here's another interesting part about e-sim and project fi integration: Quote If you have a Fi eSIM setup and insert a normal plastic SIM card for another carrier, something fascinating happens: you can switch between carriers at will! In Settings -> Network & Internet -> Mobile Network -> Carrier, you'll have both "Project Fi" and "SIM" listed under carriers, and a tap on one or the other will switch to that service. It's not as handy as a dual SIM phone, which will let you connect to both networks simultaneously, but it's a good start. Now that's very interesting. I wonder if there's any advantage to that. I guess I could technically use both project fi and t-mobile at the same time. But... why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malaphax Posted October 25, 2017 Report Share Posted October 25, 2017 Got my pixel 2. So far I'm happy with it. Size is almost identical to my nexus 5x, technically it's slightly smaller, I noticed the width more than the height difference. Haptic feedback is quite a bit better. It feels sharper and quicker, more percussive feeling. The e-sim thing works as advertised for project fi. I didn't put in my sim, everything seems to work as usual. Data transfer was also pretty painless. I checked t-mobile's website and terms/conditions again, seems like I could just activate a line with them for 1 month and get the rebate, the only thing that concerns me is some language about "could take 8 weeks to process" I assume that's for the rebate to go through, not a requirement that you have service for that long. They do require you to buy one of their sim cards which is whatever. Still a nice deal. So far my plan is to stick on project fi and just get the rebate out of t-mobile. I see no real reason to switch off project fi right now. Screen is solid, doesn't appear to have the blue shift of the pixel 2xl. Google added a nightime mode similar to f.lux that makes everything warmer at night if you're into that sort of thing. Always on ambient display seems interesting. I'll try that out for a bit. Camera seems good, but I haven't messed with it all that much. I'll do my best to take more pictures and post a few of them. The "motion photos" thing is a little weird. It's on by default and in more static images it's absolutely pointless. It also drops the quality significantly to 1024x768. But it's sort of nifty in a few cases. You do have to turn the motion off in google photos to see the full quality image, and it seems to be a semi-global setting (ie turning on/off motion turns off motion on all photos). I've uploaded an example picture/video of my cat. In this case the motion works well cause you can see his tail moving around. Portrait mode seems cool, but it does seem to narrow the focus of the shot. Also you need distance between the object and the background... just like on a traditional camera I suppose. Pixel launcher is alright. I'll try it out for a week or two and see where I land on it. Honestly the customization options available on nova are really good and I might just move back to it at some point. The default icon pack is trash. I really hate what google did putting everything in white circles, it looks like absolute garbage. PROBLEMS I heard about clicking/high pitch whining on pixel 2's. That's real, and I have it. Mine clicks when NFC is activated and has what I'll lovingly refer to as "coil whine" because that's about as close as I can get to describing it. I can only hear the whine when my ear is pressed up against the phone. I also heard some rumors about a software patch to fix it (lol wut?) and depending on how badly I'm bothered by it I might ask google to fix it at some point. I don't think it's a super major issue, I get a similar whine in many headphones connected to poorly shielded electronics and honestly this is even less obvious. I don't really use NFC, so for now I've disabled it. I'm on the September security patch. There isn't an October security patch (there actually is but it's just a renamed version of September patch lol) for the pixel 2 phones, which is weird. I guess they're just going to go straight into November? I'll keep an eye out for more news. videoplayback.mp4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuhla Posted October 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2017 12 hours ago, Malaphax said: The e-sim thing works as advertised for project fi. I didn't put in my sim, everything seems to work as usual. Data transfer was also pretty painless. I checked t-mobile's website and terms/conditions again, seems like I could just activate a line with them for 1 month and get the rebate, the only thing that concerns me is some language about "could take 8 weeks to process" I assume that's for the rebate to go through, not a requirement that you have service for that long. They do require you to buy one of their sim cards which is whatever. Still a nice deal. So far my plan is to stick on project fi and just get the rebate out of t-mobile. I see no real reason to switch off project fi right now. So is this napkin math of your plan correct? -$650 = Pixel 2 64gb +$325 = tmobile promo rebate -$ 50 = initial month of service, then cancel like a week later total cost w/o tax+ship+fees = $375 If you had to do a second month of service (first and last?), then it would be up to $425 w/o tax+ship+fees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malaphax Posted October 25, 2017 Report Share Posted October 25, 2017 1 hour ago, kuhla said: So is this napkin math of your plan correct? -$700 = Pixel 2 64gb (added tax) +$325 = tmobile promo rebate+$110 = Nexus 5X Trade in credit-$ 75 = initial month of service & sim card ($25), then cancel like a week later total cost w/ tax+ship+fees = $340 That's the basic napkin math. It's still much more reasonable than paying the full price of $700. I don't know if I could have stomached the idea of paying full price for the Pixel 2, which would have left me possibly looking for a used pixel as an stopgap which right now is running ~$400 on swappa, alternatively you could buy a new pixel 1 direct from google for $550 +tax and gotten the nexus 5X trade in credit bringing it to ~$440 + tax. I still believe current flagships are too expensive. I think OEMs are testing the upper limits on pricing and that there are better options out there if you look for them, it just won't be a newest generation Apple, Google, Samsung device. The essential phone is down to $500 and you also have options from OnePlus or Xiaomi if you're ok with the People's Republic of China spying on you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T1no Posted October 25, 2017 Report Share Posted October 25, 2017 i was under the impression that the rebate is a tmobile credit. is that still the case ? its used to be like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malaphax Posted October 25, 2017 Report Share Posted October 25, 2017 The rebate is a prepaid mastercard. https://www.t-mobile.com/offers/google-pixel-2-offer Quote Show us proof of purchase for your Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL via our online redemption site, and we’ll mail you a prepaid MasterCard worth 50% of the MSRP of the 64GB Pixel 2. Device must be being used on our Network and all lines on the account, including the newly added lines, must remain active and in good standing until the rebate has been processed which takes, on average, 6-8 weeks from the time of activation. I expect I'll have to pay for t-mobile for roughly 2 months. Even then the rebate is well worth it. I'll see about working on this sometime this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuhla Posted October 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2017 Hmm. I forgot about the trade in credit. I also have a feeling the "...6-8 weeks..." is going to end up requiring 2 months of service. Still though it eats away at the initial cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malaphax Posted November 1, 2017 Report Share Posted November 1, 2017 Not to parrot the news cycle but it sounds like the essential phone's software issues are actually getting patched. I've heard the camera went from dumpster fire to decent. https://www.xda-developers.com/essential-price-cut-software-updates/ I still think they're still on android 7.1.1 but they do have up to october security updates and supposedly the android 8.0 beta will roll out "soon" They also cut the price to $500, which makes that a pretty solid deal. Honestly this was one of the only other phones on my shortlist to upgrade to, I still believe it's the best looking phone out there. Now that this years major phone launches are complete, I'm very interested to see what features get copied to other OEMs next year. I really like the idea of LG's V30 and it's panoramic second camera. I feel like the 18:9 (it's really just 2:1) aspect ratio is going to be a new standard. I think we're very quickly approaching the same limits we ran into with computers, and OEMs will need to differentiate themselves by offering small variances in design to separate themselves from the samsung juggernaut. My pixel 2 has been treating me well. I've been digging into settings and finding stuff like notification LED and wifi assistant, they both were turned off, but I'll be using both of them from now on. The t-mobile thing is literally a button to swap between the esim and the sim card slot - no reboot required. But I did run into a minor snag, if you use the tmobile sim it tries to swap your SMS app away from hangouts and you need to swap back to project fi and reboot if you do swap default sms apps. I'll try to do something silly with the tmobile account like stream music off of it or something else just to show some activity on it in case they check for whatever reason. The rep I dealt with said I was her first pixel 2 customer that came through (unsurprising). I'm making an effort of sticking to the stock experience for a while before I start swapping out to nova launcher or doing other cutomization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malaphax Posted November 1, 2017 Report Share Posted November 1, 2017 Oh yea there was this that got announced as well. https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/1/16519692/razer-phone-android-gaming-specs-release-date-price-photos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T1no Posted November 2, 2017 Report Share Posted November 2, 2017 looks good but now a days its kinda hard to ignore a so so camera on a cellphone. that sound grill tho. lint from pocket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malaphax Posted November 2, 2017 Report Share Posted November 2, 2017 Random photo from today, using auto/hdr+ Looks pretty good to my untrained eye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuhla Posted November 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2017 23 hours ago, Malaphax said: The rep I dealt with said I was her first pixel 2 customer that came through (unsurprising). *in my head* 19 hours ago, Malaphax said: Oh yea there was this that got announced as well. https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/1/16519692/razer-phone-android-gaming-specs-release-date-price-photos I thought the Nexbit Robin was kind of cool (for multiple reasons) just not cool enough to buy one. Also haha when he talks about the back of the phone and he pans over and shows his Roccat mouse. "Massive front stereo speakers" Nice. Aesthetically has all the same strengths (imho) as the robin. "gaming, gaming, gaming" Yeah I don't do that on my phone. 120hz display. Cool. I imagine this will come to other phones in time. 4000 mah battery. Cool. 8GB memory. Future proof I guess?... No bloatware. Cool. Expandable storage. Cool. Cool phone except that it's going to be a dumpsterfire because because it's made by Razer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malaphax Posted November 2, 2017 Report Share Posted November 2, 2017 The 120hz display is cool, but it requires an IPS type display rather than an OLED, I feel like OLED is the better technology and allows other cool stuff like always on and better contrast. I've also heard that in 8.0 google implemented a variable framerate which has helped cut down on any screen tearing issues when scrolling. They're using nova prime as the default launcher which I give some major credit for. That's a nice little bonus since this phone will most likely appeal to the same people that use nova launcher. The speakers are supposedly really good, which I can absolutely get behind. Unfortunately it also means that it's not water proof, only sony and google have released dual front facing speakers in a waterproof package and I consider waterproof to be a standard item on high end phones now. One minor issue is the volume buttons are on the opposite side of the phone from the power button, which is an awkward design choice and frankly a bit stupid. I expect this phone will have some software problems and that 120hz won't work on half the apps. Also the cameras are basically crap, which is a very rough sell for a $700 device. As much as I have a sincere dislike for all things razer, I still wish them well because I want more competition and more crazy designs in the smartphone space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T1no Posted November 6, 2017 Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuhla Posted November 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2017 https://fi.google.com/about/2017-cyber-monday-terms/ Quote .... Limited-time offer of $100 Fi service credit and one Google Home Mini with the purchase and activation of a Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL from Project Fi in the U.S. starting November 27, 2017 at 12:01 AM PT through November 30, 2017 at 11:59 PM PT or while supplies last. .... Does that essentially mean.... $649 (64gb) -$100 (Fi service credit) -$110 (Nexus 5X Trade in credit) $439 before tax and ship? If true, that's kind of neat, simple deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuhla Posted December 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 "Here are all the phones updated to support Project Treble [Continuously Updated]" article - http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/11/26/phones-updated-support-project-treble-continuously-updated/ Quote When updating older phones and tablets to Oreo, the manufacturers can choose whether to support Treble or not. Every single device that starts off with Android 8.0 Oreo (or higher) already supports Treble. This includes the Google Pixel 2, Sony Xperia XZ1, HTC U11 Plus, and other phones that launched with Oreo. .... Ahh. Ok. This is a distinction I did not realize. If the device launches with 8.0 then treble support is required. Not optional. Sidenote: Wondering when dxomark will be able to review Sony Xperia XZ1. Sony Xperia XZ (non-1, last version) scored pretty decent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedi2155 Posted December 7, 2017 Report Share Posted December 7, 2017 That is a pretty drastic feature update. I'm impressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuhla Posted December 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2017 "Qualcomm made a USB-C DAC to show off its hi-fi audio tech" article - https://www.engadget.com/2017/12/07/qualcomm-usb-c-hi-fi-dac/ Dunno if it's a gimmick or not but, if not, that's kinda cool. Also..... On 11/28/2017 at 10:18 AM, kuhla said: https://fi.google.com/about/2017-cyber-monday-terms/ Does that essentially mean.... $649 (64gb) -$100 (Fi service credit) -$110 (Nexus 5X Trade in credit) $439 before tax and ship? If true, that's kind of neat, simple deal. ....apparently Google has brought this deal back and is going to run it all month long: https://fi.google.com/about/dec-2017-device-promo-terms/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T1no Posted December 9, 2017 Report Share Posted December 9, 2017 or you can get it from the google store. 100 bucks google store credit google mini and w/e your trade in credit is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuhla Posted December 21, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2017 On 12/8/2017 at 1:00 PM, kuhla said: "Qualcomm made a USB-C DAC to show off its hi-fi audio tech" article - https://www.engadget.com/2017/12/07/qualcomm-usb-c-hi-fi-dac/ Dunno if it's a gimmick or not but, if not, that's kinda cool. ....... Apparently Razer has one too. https://www.amazon.com/Razer-Phone-USB-C-3-5MM-Adapter/dp/B07798HM3H/ Some people posted some positive things about it and it's not too expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuhla Posted January 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2018 On 1/3/2018 at 4:10 PM, kuhla said: Google has weighed in on the issue: https://security.googleblog.com/2018/01/todays-cpu-vulnerability-what-you-need.html *cough* could I get an update Google please... still on Nov 5 patches.... Post above from other thread. So I got an update yesterday. Now up to DECEMBER patch level. Still on 8.0 Where is 8.1? Where is my January patch level? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malaphax Posted January 5, 2018 Report Share Posted January 5, 2018 Wut lol. I'm on January 8.1 I was on December 8.1 I didn't realize they even had December 8.0. Although at this point I'm on their newest device and I believe you're on one of their oldest supported devices. Gotta give apple credit for having longer device lifetimes and better update rollouts. Sidenote: I did receive my prepaid credit card from t-mobile and promptly cancelled my line with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuhla Posted January 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2018 16 minutes ago, Malaphax said: I was on December 8.1 I didn't realize they even had December 8.0. Proof posted in chat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuhla Posted January 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2018 "Xperia XA2, XA2 Ultra, L2 hands-on review" https://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_xa2_xa2_plus_l2_4272_hands_on-review-1708.php No more front-facing speaker(s). You are dead to me Sony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malaphax Posted January 9, 2018 Report Share Posted January 9, 2018 It's a mid tier device, not their Z line. If their Z line uses the same chassis without front facing speakers then you can get mad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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