Question Are you keeping your Pixel 6?

[blackhawk]

Yea good point. That's prob what I'll do. Or the s21 fe

No SD card slot means no 1tb data drive, and no spen which is very nice when you need it ie bt remote shutter release or Smart Capture.

A new N10+ Snapdragon running on Q or the more problematic N20U running on 11.
I opted for second N10+, it's color renderinf exceeds all the above, but no variable refresh (which also screws with the color rendering) and no 5G (which is still a mixed blessing at best).
The cam of the N20U is better but with the hump, the N10+ nonetheless grabs excellent images.
Android 10 is also before Android was turned into a hopeless fubar. The N20U is running on 11...

Expect fall next year until anything good comes out of Samsung in the way of flagships, maybe 2023. 2021 was a bust, 2022 maybe the same for Samsung.
Android will likely take at least 2+ years to get their junk together and sync it with developers.
Not a pretty picture... and expect supply chain issues too.

 

[Sui77]

That's wild that you've owned every pixel phone. I'm still on the 3XL and can't find any pros of upgrading to the 6 or 6 Pro that appeal to me other than the superior camera. Reasons I'm staying with the 3XL:

1. I primarily use my phone as a phone.... the 3XL does a decent job of phone call quality.
2. Speakers on 3XL are front facing
3. Finger print scanner is on the back of the phone
4. Phone is the perfect size
5. Phone just feels solid

If I could upgrade anything on the 3XL, it'd be:
1. Better speakers
2. Phone speed to be what it was when I purchased the 3XL. Everything is a bit slower now. I'm guessing a factory reset would solve this, but maybe not if all the apps are tuned to work with the latest phones?

I have a 3XL and a 2XL, just got the 6.
I like the 3XL more, the cam is good enough, FP at the back, bigger, LESS WEIGHT

The speaker of the 6 are also fine, the tone is a bit more harsh and higher.

 

[Sui77]

Yup I'm keeping it, its better than my Pixel 2XL

much better?

 

[abowlby]

For those commenting on how slippery the device is - 100% correct. Also, it's a grease festival. I wanted to add/share that my experience with the Bellroy leather case while pricey has been sublime. I rarely would make a post to recommend a case, but this case really improves the in hand experience.

 

[cartonneexpress]

I came from a Mi Mix 2 and then a Mi 9t... both eventually flashed with Lineage OS + Full GApps + Lawnchair + hosts-level adblocking. Absolutely loved that system and all the google services. But I thought since the Pixel 6 seems to be a great phone and I'm a big boy now, I'll treat myself to the real deal... spoiler: I'm not impressed.

Because I was eyeing that phone for a while, I also chanced upon a Poco F2 Pro. I kinda set it up simultaniously with the Pixel, and I have to say I like the Poco so much more. Even though it is slightly bigger, it is so much nicer to hold and to use, while the Pixel is just chunky and weird in the hand. At the same time the Pocos screen has smaller bezels and feels much more spacious and generally more beautiful - and all that without a punch hole. The punch hole on the Pixel on the other hand seems ridiculously big. Granted, this is my first phone with a punch hole, but I absolutely hate it. It is so big and always noticeable. The fingerprint sensor and general unlocking procedure on the Poco is much much better. The system, camera and apps feel just as quick on this 2020 Phone/Chipset as on the oh-so sponctacular Tensor. Oh, and the battery lasts me longer on the Poco as well...

The one point that the Pixel could have driven home is the camera. But honestly, it is not at all what I was hoping for. The pictures falling out of that camera seem completely overprocessed and colors are saturated unaturally. I don't enjoy the photos it takes at all. And the weirdest thing is that it doesn't allow for adjustments. I can't even turn off HDR in the stock camera app. Yes, it's a technically solid camera with better resolution, detail, and sharpness than the Poco F2 Pro gets, but the difference in detail is not that big. And that is from someone who loves taking a lot of pictures. I prefer the pictures the Poco generates.

So literally the only thing the Pixel's got going for it in my opinion are some Software tricks and refinements, like the magic eraser (party trick grade retouching, that has already been ported to non-tensor phones), Automatic punctuation during voice input (the google voice input itself is just as quick and acurate on the Poco), and the always-on "what song is playing" thing. There might be more, but they are so lirrelevant for me that I haven't noticed them.

Long story short, at less than half the cost (while giving you a charger in the box!) I enjoy the F2 Pro so much more than the Pixel 6, that I will defintely get rid of the Pixel again.


Oh, and in an almost unrelated matter: Dear phonemakers, please stop being weird and bring back the technological marvel that is the pop-up front camera.

So I've stuck with the Pixel a little longer, but I'm definetely done with it by now. Here are some more things that annoy me:

- the standby battery drain is ridiculous. It will easily lose 25% over night.
- charging feels like 5 years ago. It won't accept charge from a third party 30w charger that I have in use. It takes 2 hours to charge from 15% to 100% and the battery only lasts 24 hours with mild usage. This would be fine if quick charging for effective intermittend recharges would be possible - bu it's not.
- Weird bugs, like the screen not turning back on after taking the phone from the ear. It also constantly "detects" that I am driving and offers to turn on driving mode - while I sit at my desk.
- in complete darkness the screen does not auto-dim down all the way
- and prbably a few other things that I'm forgetting now

And what is actually the biggest impediment for me, even though this is a Android 12 thing and not the phones fault, is that they freaking removed SIP provider support from dialer! This was a super important feature for me. I have been using this for years and loved how well it was integrated. Now they just remove it. Taking features away for no apparant reason makes no sense to me, and I am more upset about this, than about the missing headphone jack in the chunkiest phone ever build...

 

[WarVic]

i'll probably keep it just to get the android updates first (this is my first pixel), but im not super thrilled with it so far... maybe some software updates will make it better.

Things im not impressed with:
- In screen fingerprint scanner is very bad for me.
- Random reboots
- not impressed with sound quality
- no gesture to turn on flashlight?
- no beep after saying 'hey google' when it is ready for input.
---update Fixed this. Settings > Accessibility > Voice Access > Switch on Use Voice Access.
- No face unlock

Other than that, I like the looks / feel / speed / display / wireless charging / free earbuds

Random reboots sound like serious hardware issue. I don't remember having a single phone in the past having it. I'd return the phone straight away.

 

[Burt Squirtz]

Random reboots sound like serious hardware issue. I don't remember having a single phone in the past having it. I'd return the phone straight away.

Serious hardware issue? That's quite an assumption .This is also easily caused by kernel or a litany of other OS processes. For example, I was getting these in early builds of Kirisakura.

Highly probable to be a software issue that will easily be fixed in future updates..

 

[blackhawk]

Serious hardware issue? That's quite an assumption .This is also easily caused by kernel or a litany of other OS processes. For example, I was getting these in early builds of Kirisakura.

Highly probable to be a software issue that will easily be fixed in future updates..

Not worth the chance. If it does it in safe mode, could be either firmware or hardware... I lean more towards it being hardware.
It shouldn't have been released until it was stable. Not typical behavior.

 

[4tifjaved]

I have now returned mine

I absolutely love the hardware but I could not get use to Android 12

Extra steps to turn WiFi/5g on and off
No NFC toggles
Notification shade looks like something from 5 years ago and takes up the full screen
No face unlock

At a glance takes up about 1/3 of the screen

You don't buy a Google phone with stock Android to then download third party launchers

Coming from OnePlus 8 ... This phone just works with Android 11. Never had to install any third party apps to make it work for me

 

[Justin933]

Regular usage I cannot get it to reboot, it only happens when I am using an image find script to bot on a game.. phone gets hot and reboots. I suspect it's either the game or macro software not playing friendly with A12.. gonna risk it and keep in hopes things are updated/fixed.

 

[thetrickster213]

Keeping it, love the minimal software, just waiting for more dev support

 

[WarVic]

Serious hardware issue? That's quite an assumption .This is also easily caused by kernel or a litany of other OS processes. For example, I was getting these in early builds of Kirisakura.

Highly probable to be a software issue that will easily be fixed in future updates..

Perhaps I remember one phone I had with random reboots issue. It was a very long time ago and... it was Nexus 6P . Random reboots grown into not so random and, finally, infinite bootloop. Well, we all know what was the problem . So I woun't take chances with Pixel 6.

 

[freeflyer]

I've now swung the other way. I was going to send it back, but currently in 'keeping it' mode. Theres a lot of hidden features tucked away, and with a Spiegen slim case on it, it feels okay.

 

[freeflyer]

You don't buy a Google phone with stock Android to then download third party launchers

But people add third party launchers even to bloatware phones. They're always far more customisable than stock. You can't expect bare android to work how you want it, so theres nothing wrong with installing a launcher.

 

[blackhawk]

But people add third party launchers even to bloatware phones. They're always far more customisable than stock. You can't expect bare android to work how you want it, so theres nothing wrong with installing a launcher.

The launcher is the pivot point for UI, it should be a large reason to buy the phone.
Well designed stock UI's exceed 3rd party launcher performance, stability, usability and are integrated to optimize/fine tune it that for that particular platform.

Android 11/12 are a mess, 3rd party developers have less resources and motivation than the large phone manufacturers* to adapt the launcher for use on these new OS versions.



*yes, well... the manufacturer should be more motivated
Pixel developers apparently never got that memo.

 

[Nimueh]

The launcher is the pivot point for UI, it should be a large reason to buy the phone.

Huh what? I've had Samsung, LG, Honor, Lenovo, Xiaomi, OP and now Google devices. I have never, on ANY phone, used the stock launcher (except when I started using Android and didn't know better).

While OP was the only phone where I was happy using a stock rom (OOS 10 to be exact) I didn't like the stock launcher there either. Those never have decent options, some won't even let you change the grid size.

I don't know anybody that has ever said "Wow, this stock launcher is great and one of the reasons I'm buying this phone!". I'm fairly certain you're pretty much on your own with that opinion

 

[blackhawk]

Huh what? I've had Samsung, LG, Honor, Lenovo, Xiaomi, OP and now Google devices. I have never, on ANY phone, used the stock launcher (except when I started using Android and didn't know better).

While OP was the only phone where I was happy using a stock rom (OOS 10 to be exact) I didn't like the stock launcher there either. Those never have decent options, some won't even let you change the grid size.

I don't know anybody that has ever said "Wow, this stock launcher is great and one of the reasons I'm buying this phone!". I'm fairly certain you're pretty much on your own with that opinion

Perhaps. One of the best ways to boot loop an Android is a buggy launcher... been there, done that. The launcher is much more than just an app, it's the foundation of the UI.
It should be an important consideration. After using the "best" paid for abd and free launchers and 2 back to back boot loops I wasn't impressed.
All had issues. The stock launcher was the best, so it remains with minimal trade offs ie the white page indicators and lack of control over icon lettering color.
A 3rd party launcher can't replace a well implemented stock launcher ie Swiss Army knife syndrome.

 

[freeflyer]

I'm now beginning to really like this phone, apart from one thing. The appalling zoom !! Granted, it has no zoom lens, but is pretty appalling even compared to my old mate 20 pro (optical zoom of course). I'd have expected a little better perhaps, even with the lack of a dedicated zoom lens.

 

[Si73]

I came from a Pixel 4 XL which I had for 2 years and really miss face unlock but overall I really do like this phone. So far I have no issues or complaints. Yes the back is slippy but always I keep my phones in a case so doesn't affect me. Definitely keeping.

 

[android_dan]

So I took the time to reset the phone last night and only restored contacts. When I set FP this time I uped screen sensitivity (and left it there) followed directions exactly, and I have yet to have the phone not open the first try. About the only disappointment left is charging. That, it seems, I'll just have to deal with.