Google Pixel 4 announcement and owners thread

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#2338607 17-Oct-2019 09:10

ShinyChrome:
zyo:

Basically a OnePlus 7T with better camera, far worse battery and design from 2016.

I dont understand why Google keeps pushing these premium devices when the entire pixel lineup has been a sales failure (maybe with the exception of 3A).

That was my first thought, especially given how "clean" OnePlus tries to keep OxygenOS. The 7T also has better base memory and storage, slightly faster CPU/GPU, an additional camera, and can be found for a lot cheaper. None of which really matter to their target audience I guess.

So I guess they are sticking to their strategy of a software company trying to play at being a niche hardware company.

I also don't see any mention of a fingerprint sensor for the Pixel, so I am guessing they are all in on 3D face unlock?

Yeah face unlock only. Will see how it works but I'm not a fan of FaceID on my work iPhone XR

dafman

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#2339656 17-Oct-2019 10:39

Can anyone explain any real practical functionality gain for the user with Soli/motion sense? Waving your hand to skip to next song is hardly worth a mention, nor is momentarily dimming your alarm screen as you reach for it. Have I missed anything genuinely useful or practical with Soli's introduction?

Minimal added value for the user but significantly more data harvesting potential for Google?

muppet

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#2339657 17-Oct-2019 10:41

dafman:

Can anyone explain any real practical functionality gain for the user with Soli/motion sense? Waving your hand to skip to next song is hardly worth a mention, nor is momentarily dimming your alarm screen as you reach for it. Have I missed anything genuinely useful or practical with Soli's introduction?

Minimal added value for the user but significantly more data harvesting potential for Google?

lol, what you gonna harvest with radar images?

Google have detailed what they think it'll be useful for here, but don't forget the fine print "1 Pixel 4’s Soli implementation does not include all capabilities and interactions described here "

Won't work in NZ either, not approved.

dafman

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#2339666 17-Oct-2019 10:57

muppet:

lol, what you gonna harvest with radar images?

Personally, not sure I would want to leave a Pixel 4 on a bedside cabinet overnight ...

From Google:

Soli is a miniature radar that understands human motions at various scales: from the tap of your finger to the movements of your body.
Soli understands movement from all angles.
Soli recognizes the body cues that typically start and end interactions, just like you recognize when someone establishes eye contact with you.
Soli is aware of the location of the people in its sensing area, just like you’re aware of someone entering the room you're in.

ShinyChrome

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#2339669 17-Oct-2019 11:05

dafman:

muppet:

lol, what you gonna harvest with radar images?

Personally, not sure I would want to leave a Pixel 4 on a bedside cabinet overnight ...

From Google:

Soli is a miniature radar that understands human motions at various scales: from the tap of your finger to the movements of your body.
Soli understands movement from all angles.
Soli recognizes the body cues that typically start and end interactions, just like you recognize when someone establishes eye contact with you.
Soli is aware of the location of the people in its sensing area, just like you’re aware of someone entering the room you're in.

Well when you put it like that...

Save us, Morgan Freeman!

robfish

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#2339686 17-Oct-2019 11:45

I used www.biapplebuddy.com to get my Pixel 3XL

They were brilliant. They even recommended that I wait a couple of weeks for the US$200 off special.

My 3XL is a fantastic phone and I am not convinced yet that spending more on a 4XL is worth it.

Rob

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Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

lchiu7

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#2339927 17-Oct-2019 21:09

zyo:
lchiu7:

It says Soli not available in NZ but not sure how that is enforced. One thought was they would sell different SKU's depending on the country so if you got an Aussie one then you would have Soli. Another thoughts is would use GPS to detect where you were and turn it off in in a country where the Soli frequencies are not authorised.

I see Amazon is selling them (pre buy) including US$100 Amazon gift card. So that make the 4 US$699 which is reasonable.

When you first setup the device your selected country will determine the features available.

Looks like it might be more sinister than that.

https://www.androidpolice.com/2019/10/15/pixel-4s-motion-sense-will-disable-itself-in-unsupported-regions/

If that is true then I guess I will cancel my pre-order on Amazon with the $100 gift card :-(

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

lNomNoml

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#2339951 17-Oct-2019 22:23

Soli was a really silly idea IMO, we end up paying for a feature we can't use now.

lNomNoml

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#2339957 17-Oct-2019 22:30

robfish:

I used www.biapplebuddy.com to get my Pixel 3XL

They were brilliant. They even recommended that I wait a couple of weeks for the US$200 off special.

My 3XL is a fantastic phone and I am not convinced yet that spending more on a 4XL is worth it.

Going to need to wait for those specials as the duty I calculated is $313, so in total it all works out to be just shy of $2000 for the XL Orange 128GB

heavenlywild

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#2339995 18-Oct-2019 08:43

A yawn fest I am afraid. Lots of gimmicky tech being introduced and it isn't limited just to Google themselves.

64GB storage as base? Tiny batteries for a 90 hertz screen? No finger print sensor to unlock your phone at night?

No wonder the smartphone industry is going backwards in sales.

I really wanted a Google phone this time but it looks like I will have to see what Sammy comes up with in the new year. I am not holding my breath though.

NzBeagle

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#2339999 18-Oct-2019 08:56

heavenlywild:

A yawn fest I am afraid. Lots of gimmicky tech being introduced and it isn't limited just to Google themselves.

64GB storage as base? Tiny batteries for a 90 hertz screen? No finger print sensor to unlock your phone at night?

No wonder the smartphone industry is going backwards in sales.

I really wanted a Google phone this time but it looks like I will have to see what Sammy comes up with in the new year. I am not holding my breath though.

I haven't really tried face unlock on any phone, but I struggle to see the requirement, with the fingerprint on the back of my current pixel, it's unlocked on the way out of my pocket, on my work phone, it's on the front, so can be easily unlocked while on the desk, I feel like they're trying to create a solution for a problem that didn't exist??

The 90hz screen sounds compelling, and I manage the battery life on the Pixel 2, so it's not the end of the world.

I was hoping a wide angle lens (could move on from my Moment Lens) rather than a tele.

And then a couple of software changes, which surely they could roll to existing handsets?

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KrazyKid

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#2340106 18-Oct-2019 11:17

Relevant part of post - Face unlock works when you are dead :) (or asleep)
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/10/17/pixel_4_face_unlock/

Semi-relevant:

Just came back form Aussie and the Pixel 3 was down to $AU 849 a week ago.
Despite that I brought a Pixel 3A XL for $AU 800.

(Got the GST back so that was nice saving on top)

Why buy the 3A XL over a full Pixel 3 - Better battery life, no notch, still great camera. And plastic back. My phone lives in a case, looks are not that important and I don't like how glass backs shatter.
Plus I like larger screens so it had to be an XL model.

Very happy with the 3A. Fast when using it, long battery life, and great camera.

If I wasn't going to pay just $849 of a Pixel 3, I don't see how I'd pay $1400 (or so) for the Pixel 4. The features are not that much better. The radar fairly pointless currently, maybe the improved camera is worth it for some???
Mind you I'm not ever going to spend $1400 on a phone so I'm not quite their target market.

nzkiwiman

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#2340271 18-Oct-2019 15:10

Having now read more; I am happy with the 3a - the extra features are not going to be available in New Zealand and it does away with a few things I really like (like a fingerprint sensor)

everettpsycho

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#2340333 18-Oct-2019 18:00

We managed to get a 3 and 3XL when in the UK back in may on a great deal, I think we paid £300 & £350 for them on a 2 year contract that we were allowed to cancel on day 1. I was looking at getting a 3a while there but at £400 we ended up scoring the full fledge pixels for less money so seemed a no brained to take the better specs.

Still liking them as devices and as much as I don't need top end performance anymore it's nice they are responsive. I don't really see much reason to change to a 4. I do t feel like the new features are anything special, the pixel 3 camera is great for a single lens so don't feel the need to change for a dual lens. The quirks sound interesting but not upgrade mo way interesting. I'll probably end up keeping this until Google stops supporting it then weigh up options like I did with the old nexus 5 a few years back.

ShinyChrome

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#2341583 22-Oct-2019 08:50

Pixel 4 can't record 4K video at 60fps as Google thinks you don't need it

Google: We don't want to weigh down your phone with extra storage, so we thought we would help you out and not include features that use too much of it! Watch out for the Pixel 5, where we get rid of storage all together and just have RAM! You only need Google apps, so why not have them loaded permanently into memory all the time! We even removed the cameras and microphone because we know where you are the all day, every day, so let us take care of that picture/sound/video!

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