Google is the only one implementing the full spec for bootloader relocking with custom keys, so as far as I’m concerned they’re the only viable manufacturer now (RIP OnePlus, you used to be good).
The default UX on most phones just plain outright sucks. I keep hearing Samsung is better, IMO modern OneUI sucks just as much as TouchWiz sucked. Everyone tries to differentiate themselves by how much bloatware they load up on the phone so customers go wow it’s got so many features! Lately they’re all in on the AI fad as well, and subscriptions, and their own store.
Been a custom ROM user forever, and I have no intention of letting go of that. My phone is almost 5 years old now, and it still runs better than the out of the box experience of any phones on display at the stores. Raw hardware performance is utterly useless if the stock OS immediately wastes it all and some more.
So I’m not excited about the Pixels but they’re also the only viable option.
They’ll probably use another mediocre modem that will again make cellular reception mediocre. Until they fix that problem, there is no reason to take that phone line seriously.
Pixel is the only game in town for anyone who wants a secure and privacy friendly smartphone as they’re the only ones that run GrapheneOS.
I do like the look of the 9, especially finally being able to get a smaller Pro model but the prices are getting silly and my 7 Pro is still working fine. Maybe the 10 or 11.
I’m also keeping an eye on Fairphone but they need to add all the hardware GrapheneOS needs to support them for me to be interested. And it’d help if they weren’t launching with last gen specs. Fairphone 5 came out after my P7P but is inferior in most ways, I just can’t justify paying for a downgrade as much as I support the mission.
It was a fantastic phone… except for the two times it got stuck in a boot loop until the battery died.
Bonus points for the second time, when, thanks to a google update for emergency services, it decided it should dial emergency services every time it restarted…meaning I had to stay up until 330am that night, hanging up on emergency services, until the battery finally died.
A year or two ago, I bought a P7 Pro to replace it, hoping it’d have all the good of the P3, but with better camera, bigger screen, and no boot loop.
It is indeed bigger, the camera can zoom more, but isn’t necessarily better, there’s no boot loop issues which is great…but I find i have more cases of the phone locking up and needing a restart…and the in-screen fingerprint sensor (and gesture controls) are absolute hot garbage compared to the P3.
The fingerprint and gesture annoyances have been enough that my plan now, unless there’s something significant that changes things, is to go back to an iPhone for my next phone.
It’s a glitch where the buttons break down mechanically, so it just thinks the user is holding the power button constantly, so as soon as it is off, it’ll turn back on.
For the “regular” versions it works like that. Release in October. For the “A” versions it has been a different story. That’s been more like every 11 months; since the 5A it has moved from August to May.
ah yeah. I actually just got a 7a. honestly I find these short upgrade times to make it harder to pay attention to the stuff at all. Its like eating at a place all the time as opposed to eating out rarely and being hungry to experience that favorite place when you can.
I haven’t been “excited” about any phones or really much of any technology at all in years. There’s just been very little practical progress and a whole lot of regress. What does P9 bring to the table that’s new? Fucking useless and annoying AI trash?
I have a pixel 6 and my wife has an 8 pro. We’ve had pixels since 3. They’ve been good phones and we plan to keep getting pixels when we need to upgrade.
I’d like to get a Pixel for GrapheneOS but I’m sorta waiting to see if the upcoming fold has pen support. If not, I’ll probably just get an earlier model since it’s cheaper.
Moved to pixel from HTC for the fast software updates. My next phone will likely be a pine phone or something similar; build quality on my last two pixels hasn’t exactly been up to snuff.
I’m riding this 6a all the way to bricktown, then I’m switching to a repairable alternative. Also never buying Google hardware or registering for Google services ever again.
Do you have any prospects in mind for a repairable phone? I’m of a similar mindset, but the premium on the existing ‘repairable’ phones out there is so high that I don’t feel like I can justify it.
No not really. I said it a bit vague because I think because of EU mandates more phones will be repairable(Soon TM hopefully). I wholly agree with you about the price of, for example, Fairphones. On the other hand my usage has changed radically from 10y ago, and consequently my phone is holding on much longer, so I’m saving up in the extra years this phone is surviving for a more expensive and arguably worse phone except for the repairability. Every day, it becomes worth more and more to me to be as independent from (large) corpo’s as possible, so effectively it’s becoming a better and better deal 😊. Same story for laptops, except it’s Framework instead of Fairphone