• candyman337@sh.itjust.works
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        2 years ago

        So to name a few issues:

        • pixel 1: headphone jack issue so bad they needed to issue a recall, audio would just FULLY stop working, loud speaker as well.

        • pixels 2, 3 (and theorized 4 and 5): using cheap ram that literally just died within 3 years. They refused to issue a recall claiming that was “fine for the expected life span of the phone”

        • Pixels 1-4: if you let them discharge long enough, they don’t charge anymore, ever!

        • Pixel 4/a and 5/a: lemon units. Bad ram, bad flash storage, things like that. Some would be very slow and others would be fine. My pixel 5a died in 7 months.

        • During this period of time from the 4 though 6 lines they were notorious for trying to deny your warranty replacement any way they could. It took me 5 months to get a new pixel 5a.

        • Pixel 6: buzzing coming from loud speakers (not sure if recall issued)

        • Pixel 6 and 7: first 2 tensor chips, known for draining battery too quickly and overheating.

        • Pixel 8: OLED issues, I think random lines showing up on the display. They have issued a recall tho.

        So in sum:

        • In the older pixels there were some shitty cost cutting measures they used in order to recoup cost of development of the phones.

        • their warranty service around this time was also piss poor

        • QC issues with just about every pixel phone released.

        Where we stand today:

        • their warranty replacements are much better I’ve heard.

        • There are significantly less glaring issue with the pixels, and they’re still reasonably priced

        So, back in the day, if you got lucky you got a decent phone for a good price, if you got unlucky you got a shit phone and they probably wouldn’t replace it. Now, you’ll probably get a good phone, with some semi useful AI features and a decent warranty.

        • Who knew?@sh.itjust.works
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          11 months ago

          Can confirm, my Pixel 4a 5g just suddenly died one day and wouldn’t respond to anything or even boot, almost exactly two years after I activated it.

        • K0W4L5K1@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          2 years ago

          I’m sorry but you could easily find facts like this about every phone company from the past as of now they are great phones but cannot comment on the AI tools because I remove those

          • Bimbleby@lemmy.world
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            2 years ago

            As much as like to shit on Apple for many other reasons, they’ve had fairly few mishaps with their phones. Even counting bending phones, “you’re holding it wrong” etc., their track record is still decent compared to the competition.

            • candyman337@sh.itjust.works
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              2 years ago

              Yeah but they’ve got their own issues. They’re so anti right to repair and their OS is so much more restrictive. That’s how it is under capitalism, kind of just have to pick your poison :/

          • irelephant [he/him]🍭@lemm.ee
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            2 years ago

            The ai tools are thankfully just an app. I could easily remove it. Unlike google assistant your phone had to be unlocked to do anything basic like pausing music.

          • candyman337@sh.itjust.works
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            2 years ago

            The shitty ram thing is especially egregious and was not the industry standard at the time, especially for your flagship phone.

            The weird audio issues on multiple devices is also out of the norm.

            Current pixel phones are pretty good! But it’s clear that for at least the first 4 gens they had some QC and quality of parts issues.

            Edit: also to add, it’s a basic thing that if your phone is dead dead then you should use wall power to power the circuit to charge the battery. But if you let it sit for a few months, your older pixels will not charge again unless you put in a new battery with some charge, that is definitely out of the norm and is also something that should have been rectified sooner.

        • IMongoose@lemmy.world
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          2 years ago

          My 5a just shut off while I was using it and wouldn’t turn back on one month after warranty period. Google was going to deny a replacement until I bitched that each previous pixel I had had died or became unusable and I was going to move to iphone. They gave me a “one time exception” and sent me a replacement. I traded it for a 7 but if this one dies I’m done.

    • Farid@startrek.website
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      2 years ago

      Yeah, Nexus phones were great, but Pixel phones are also good. And Android is definitely not “getting worse”.

      Agree with the rest though.

      • candyman337@sh.itjust.works
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        2 years ago

        Android is getting weird. It’s not bad but some UI choices just don’t make sense. They’re making everything super large, and required so many swipes and clicks for certain settings. They’ve lost the plot a bit. Also, having used both iOS and Android, iOS gestures are leaps and bounds ahead of Android. Genuinely, it’s no contest.

        All this being said I prefer Android, I just wish they put more thought about ease of use and feature refinement rather than changing for changes sake. Like we are JUST NOW getting an update to the gesture controls. They’ve been basically unchanged since Android 11/12 they have had ample time to refine them a bit.

  • Zloubida@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    I hate Google and try not use it anymore but there’s still one thing I can’t do without : Google Maps.

      • leekleak@lemmy.world
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        2 years ago

        Organic Maps are great, however if you’re looking for shops and restaurants (or rather their reviews) Google Maps are second to none.

        • thedarkfly@feddit.nl
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          2 years ago

          OSM can technically replace Gmaps for shops and restaurants if enough people were using and updating it.

          However, Gmaps in unbeatable for public transportation :( no alternative at all

          • leekleak@lemmy.world
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            2 years ago

            Oh, I’m well aware of that, but there are so few cities that have been mapped to the degree to compete with gmaps, that I doubt we ever will reach that level.

            Also reviews. I’m not sure if there even is a way to fix that without creating a separate program with a separate ecosystem in the process…

            • yynt@lemmy.ml
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              2 years ago

              Unfortunately the reviews at GMaps are becoming less and less reliable though, as many businesses begin to have bad reviews removed through lawyers.

              I’ve had it happen to a couple of mine, where Google forwarded the request of a law firm to prove I had actually been at a restaurant more than 5 years ago (where I reviewed it with 3*).

              Even if you can prove it, most people won’t and in that case the restaurant went from 3.8 stars to 4.6, which is a shame really. It confirms a hunch that just as with Amazon the reviews get a lot less reliable.

          • Holyhandgrenade@lemmy.world
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            2 years ago

            In Europe you can usually download an app for the public transit in that specific country/city. However, Google Maps is the only one that will show you how to get to a specific address (not just the train/bus station).

            • dunz@feddit.nu
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              2 years ago

              I use Transportr for that. It integrates with the different local metro systems. Works great in Sweden at least🙂

      • fossphi@lemm.ee
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        2 years ago

        OSM is great in some places. But outside of the more techy areas, it’s a barren land. I something do my part with streetcomplete, but anyway, it’s not there yet (in most places)

      • scrooge@infosec.pub
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        2 years ago

        I can never stick with those alternatives, the traffic conditions feature is simply too good to miss

  • Roopappy@lemmy.ml
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    2 years ago

    What exactly does Google have left that people like? Gmail?

    Shhhh! Dammit. Now they are definitely going to realize they haven’t ruined it yet.

    • dellish@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      The way Gmail orders conversations/email chains makes it SO hard to figure who’s reply to what and what the latest email is. Each email in the chain contains the entire chain before it and you end up reading everything twice just to work out what the hell is going on.