4G Android phone megathread

johnmd20

mad dog
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Dec 30, 2003
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No, but I'm going to try it right now. Thank you.
I ended up ditching LightFlow for Light Manager because for some reason Light Flow did this lock screen thing where the clock stayed on the screen for about 10 seconds when I shut down the phone. This is a problem if you shut down the phone and then put it in your pocked b/c it unlocks with just a touch. Another thing I didn't like about Light Flow was it created actual notifications you had to clear everytime anything came in. I turned those off, too, but the notification still was on the top of the screen. It was cosmetic but distracting.

Light Manager is much better for me but I appreciate the idea you can actually use an App to handle notifications. I don't understand how google could release a phone that was so poorly set up for notifications.
 

saintnick912

GINO!
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Oct 30, 2004
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Water damage can take time to manifest, and sealing will likely be at its best on a new phone. Still, nice to know that getting shot with a super soaker isn't likely to ruin it.
 

Foulkey Reese

foulkiavelli
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Apr 12, 2006
21,795
Central CT
I REALLY like this phone. Great battery life yesterday too. I thought my Droid Turbo 2 was fast but this thing just blows it out of the water. Google Assistant is fairly useful too. It seems to work better than Siri anyway.
 

4 6 3 DP

Member
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Oct 24, 2001
2,370
Im enjoying it as well now that I have worked out the kinks and gotten stuff uploaded.

My only complaint so far is the LED notification light sucks, but I'll get used to it.
 

jayhoz

Ronald Bartel
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
17,364
Weird. I've never paid attention to the notification light on any of my phones. This may be due to the fact that I open my phone 873 times an hour.
 

johnmd20

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Dec 30, 2003
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Im enjoying it as well now that I have worked out the kinks and gotten stuff uploaded.

My only complaint so far is the LED notification light sucks, but I'll get used to it.
See above. Download "Light Manager". It's excellent, and it works. Because there is no getting used to the Pixel notification light. It's useless. A light that blinks every 15 seconds isn't a notification light, it's a torture device.
 

Time to Mo Vaughn

RIP Dernell
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Mar 24, 2008
7,204
Question for other pixel users: are both cut outs on the bottom of the phone speakers? If I play music off Google Music or am streaming a video it seems sound only comes out of the left cut out. If I cover it with my finger almost all sound it eliminated. Covering the other one makes no difference. Can someone else test on their phone?

I figure one may be a speaker and the other a mic, but figured I'd confirm that I don't have a unit with a minor defect. Seems plenty loud as it is.
 

johnmd20

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Dec 30, 2003
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Question for other pixel users: are both cut outs on the bottom of the phone speakers? If I play music off Google Music or am streaming a video it seems sound only comes out of the left cut out. If I cover it with my finger almost all sound it eliminated. Covering the other one makes no difference. Can someone else test on their phone?

I figure one may be a speaker and the other a mic, but figured I'd confirm that I don't have a unit with a minor defect. Seems plenty loud as it is.
It's the same on mine. Right speaker isn't a speaker.
 

FL4WL3SS

Member
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Jul 31, 2006
14,913
Andy Brickley's potty mouth
I switched to the Nexus line for the original Nexus 6 and am still in love with this phone. I'm considering the Pixel, but will probably wait until the price comes down.

The only reason I'm hesitant are the sizes. The original Nexus 6 has a 6" screen with very little bezel, the XL is .5" smaller with s bigger bottom bezel. The Nexus 6 is huge, but I've grown to love the size.
 

johnmd20

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Dec 30, 2003
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Battery update. I charged my phone early Friday morning at 7am. I use my phone moderately, never turn it off, use Airplane mode at night. On the edge, I would be at 0% today. I'm at 57% right now.

Not bad!
 

Time to Mo Vaughn

RIP Dernell
SoSH Member
Mar 24, 2008
7,204
Battery update. I charged my phone early Friday morning at 7am. I use my phone moderately, never turn it off, use Airplane mode at night. On the edge, I would be at 0% today. I'm at 57% right now.

Not bad!
There's really no reason to put your phone in airplane mode at night to save battery. Marshmellow introduced Doze to maximize battery when a phone is not in use, and they've added additional improvements to it in 7.0.

If you're doing it not to receive alerts, I highly recommend using the automatic Do Not Disturb settings.
 

johnmd20

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Dec 30, 2003
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There's really no reason to put your phone in airplane mode at night to save battery. Marshmellow introduced Doze to maximize battery when a phone is not in use, and they've added additional improvements to it in 7.0.

If you're doing it not to receive alerts, I highly recommend using the automatic Do Not Disturb settings.
It isn't a battery issue, I just said that to give an indication of the actual battery on this phone.

There is something about officially shutting down my phone for the day that I enjoy. A respite from the screens and the shift from technology to book reading.
 

johnmd20

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Just to finish up on the battery thing, I charged my phone Friday morning at 7am. Moderately heavy use on Friday and then moderate use this weekend and then heavy use today. I'm at 24%.

That is absolutely insane. Four days on one charge. I almost don't believe it, I think I'm being tricked by Google.
 

johnmd20

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If that's true, that alone might get me to but the Pixel. Crazy stuff.
And I've used my work Email and a lot of bluetooth music listening. It's true.

My S7 edge gave me one day, maybe one day and a few hours, max. This is next level. I didn't think the battery was supposed to be that good on this phone but it's crushing it.
 

jayhoz

Ronald Bartel
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Jul 19, 2005
17,364
That seems a bit too good to be true. I'm seeing references to 6, 7, and 8 hours of screen on time on reddit.
 

Fratboy

Mr. MENsa
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Nov 29, 2003
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My Verizon Pixel XL arrives tomorrow. I got to keep my $60/2GB loyalty plan, and I'm thrilled. Thanks for the reports, @johnmd20. @Foulkey Reese also has amazing things to say too.

No Daydream VR included, but I don't care. This phone looks like a real winner, and that battery life seems unreal.
 

johnmd20

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Dec 30, 2003
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That seems a bit too good to be true. I'm seeing references to 6, 7, and 8 hours of screen on time on reddit.
I'm not sure how it happened but I promise you it did happen. Almost 4 full days. But, again, it was moderate use, not heavy use.
 

Foulkey Reese

foulkiavelli
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Apr 12, 2006
21,795
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The camera on the Pixel makes me want to take a picture of every single thing in my day. Thank god for the clutch free storage or this thing would be full already.
 

jayhoz

Ronald Bartel
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Jul 19, 2005
17,364
My Verizon Pixel XL arrives tomorrow. I got to keep my $60/2GB loyalty plan, and I'm thrilled. Thanks for the reports, @johnmd20. @Foulkey Reese also has amazing things to say too.

No Daydream VR included, but I don't care. This phone looks like a real winner, and that battery life seems unreal.
Mine arrives tomorrow as well. I have a polite, yet sternly worded note on my door telling FedEx dude that he best leave my package on the doorstep.
 

The Napkin

wise ass al kaprielian
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Jul 13, 2002
28,534
right here
I'm about a year overdue for an upgrade (I love my Droid Maxx but it's starting to show signs of age) and the Pixel is very intriguing to me. I generally keep my phones for a long time and am not one to upgrade every time the next shiny comes out. So I'd probably be better off buying it with the $199 2 year contract rather than $27.08/month right? I'm not missing anything with that?
 

jayhoz

Ronald Bartel
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
17,364
Pixel is the right choice if you plan to keep it for longer than 2 years since it will most likely get updates sooner and for a longer period of time than most phones.

Where are you being offered a 2 year contract? I thought subsidized phones were all but dead.
 

The Napkin

wise ass al kaprielian
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Jul 13, 2002
28,534
right here
Yeah, I mean never say anything is definite and all that. But trading this one in after 3 years would be the fastest I've ever upgraded.

I'm getting it from VZW.

 

johnmd20

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Dec 30, 2003
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I got my Pixel from Verizon. There isn't much bloatware on it. It's so damn fast. I thought the S7 edge was fast. I thought wrong.
 

DanoooME

above replacement level
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Mar 16, 2008
19,831
Henderson, NV
Can't wait to get my Pixel. I almost got it this past Friday, but the guy screwed up on when I can upgrade, so I am about 17 days away.
 

Fratboy

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So... This is going to take a little getting used to, but I'm digging it so far. I have the 32 gb version. Bluetooth took a bit to setup, and Verizon needed to activate it for me, but beyond that, I'm digging it.

I'm going to miss the screen notifications, but I've got light flow going so we'll see how that works.
 

Foulkey Reese

foulkiavelli
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Apr 12, 2006
21,795
Central CT
So... This is going to take a little getting used to, but I'm digging it so far. I have the 32 gb version. Bluetooth took a bit to setup, and Verizon needed to activate it for me, but beyond that, I'm digging it.

I'm going to miss the screen notifications, but I've got light flow going so we'll see how that works.
Yea that is the one thing I missed. I forgot it was a Moto feature and thought it was just part of Android. But after a few days I've gotten used to it.
 

Fratboy

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So I've got the battery saver mode on, and it's at 95% going to bed, and it's been maybe like 2 hours off charge, something like that, with light usage.

I have 106 apps installed, including Facebook, Facebook Messenger, and three Supercell games (cough). So we'll see what my battery life looks like in the morning, I'll go as long without charging as I can. I'm optimistic.
 

johnmd20

mad dog
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Dec 30, 2003
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So... This is going to take a little getting used to, but I'm digging it so far. I have the 32 gb version. Bluetooth took a bit to setup, and Verizon needed to activate it for me, but beyond that, I'm digging it.

I'm going to miss the screen notifications, but I've got light flow going so we'll see how that works.
What do you mean, screen notifications? And I found Light Manager to be less intrusive but easier to use than Light Flow, FYI.
 

Seven Costanza

Fred Astaire of SoSH
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Apr 11, 2007
3,016
Moto phones have been flashing notifications on the screen when the phone is locked in lieu of a notification light for a few years.
 

jayhoz

Ronald Bartel
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Jul 19, 2005
17,364
I'm getting lock screen notifications for texts, etc. What are you missing Frat?
 

johnmd20

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Dec 30, 2003
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Yeah, my on screen notifications were there on the Pixel out of the box. That's why I asked.

It's the notification light that is a disaster, but that has been rectified.
 

saintnick912

GINO!
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Oct 30, 2004
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Hadn't seen Light Manager before. I recommended Light Flow above because I had used it in the past (and already paid for it so probably not switching myself).

Mine came in yesterday also. I'm not sure about the pixel launcher, might go back to Nova. Giving it a chance but the default icons are annoying after I found a pack I like (Click UI, so I've had round icons forever).

Very impressed with the snappiness of it, but I've been on an almost-full 16GB borrowed Nexus 5 for the last few weeks so anything will seem fast now. RIP my Sony Z2.
 

teddykgb

Member
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Jul 16, 2005
11,016
Chelmsford, MA
I cancelled my Pixel order in favor of staying with my OnePlus 3. Finally got to play with the pixel in a verizon store and it didn't feel like enough of an upgrade mostly because the OP3 is just a phenomenal device. I was tempted because of the glowing reviews about the software -- the OP3's software lets it down too frequently. But I've read enough about scratches and continued android system drain on the pixel that I figure waiting a couple months and seeing where things stand isn't the worst idea. Was going to go Fi but they seemed to have no idea when my device was going to ship, anyway. Won't be shocked if I end up making the switch in the end but it'll be really hard to give up on this OP3 hardware which I think is nearly perfect.
 

jayhoz

Ronald Bartel
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Jul 19, 2005
17,364
Hadn't seen Light Manager before. I recommended Light Flow above because I had used it in the past (and already paid for it so probably not switching myself).

Mine came in yesterday also. I'm not sure about the pixel launcher, might go back to Nova. Giving it a chance but the default icons are annoying after I found a pack I like (Click UI, so I've had round icons forever).

Very impressed with the snappiness of it, but I've been on an almost-full 16GB borrowed Nexus 5 for the last few weeks so anything will seem fast now. RIP my Sony Z2.
Does this solve your icon issue?

https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/59ig4x/psa_guide_to_using_custom_icons_with_the_pixel/
 

saintnick912

GINO!
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re: jayhoz

I tried that and it doesn't apply a theme, it just lets you make shortcuts on your home screen with icons you choose (possibly from a theme). When the apps update, you have to make them again. Not super satisfying.

re: teddykgb
Agreed, outside of the camera there probably isn't enough of a gap to justify moving from an OP3, which is a great device. I think most of us on here who have Pixels so far were coming from something less capable, often by a large margin. The loaner Nexus 5 I was using was really borderline on battery and free space, and at the end of its update cycle. Hardware-wise, I feel like if Sony still supported the Z2 and mine wasn't physically destroyed, I'd still be using it.
 
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Fratboy

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Nov 29, 2003
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Hadn't seen Light Manager before. I recommended Light Flow above because I had used it in the past (and already paid for it so probably not switching myself).

Mine came in yesterday also. I'm not sure about the pixel launcher, might go back to Nova. Giving it a chance but the default icons are annoying after I found a pack I like (Click UI, so I've had round icons forever).

Very impressed with the snappiness of it, but I've been on an almost-full 16GB borrowed Nexus 5 for the last few weeks so anything will seem fast now. RIP my Sony Z2.
I've used Nova Launcher for years and can't imagine using any other launcher at this point. It just works.
 

TSC

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Oct 25, 2007
12,280
Between here and everywhere.
I'm thinking of making the leap to the Pixel - I've had iPhones since they pretty much came out, and frankly I'm ready for something new.

The only concern I have in reading some reviews is the native text messaging system. iMessage is pretty perfect in how it synchronizes with contacts, with the ability to call straight from the app, and with the ability to videochat right from the app.

Does Pixel have similar capabilities? A few reviews I've read said you need to have 2 or 3 apps to achieve the same functionality.
 

Foulkey Reese

foulkiavelli
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Apr 12, 2006
21,795
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I'm thinking of making the leap to the Pixel - I've had iPhones since they pretty much came out, and frankly I'm ready for something new.

The only concern I have in reading some reviews is the native text messaging system. iMessage is pretty perfect in how it synchronizes with contacts, with the ability to call straight from the app, and with the ability to videochat right from the app.

Does Pixel have similar capabilities? A few reviews I've read said you need to have 2 or 3 apps to achieve the same functionality.
This is kind of true.

You can call from any text app, but the text/video chatting is definitely not as smooth as with Apple. It's the biggest weakness of Android imo.

Google has a great video chat app called Duo, but both users need to have it installed. What I do is use a great 3rd party texting app called Textra that lets you send gifs and all that fun stuff, and then I use Facebook messenger for video chatting. I use Facebook messenger a lot anyway, so it's not a big deal for me.
 

SumnerH

Malt Liquor Picker
Dope
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Jul 18, 2005
31,892
Alexandria, VA
I'm thinking of making the leap to the Pixel - I've had iPhones since they pretty much came out, and frankly I'm ready for something new.

The only concern I have in reading some reviews is the native text messaging system. iMessage is pretty perfect in how it synchronizes with contacts, with the ability to call straight from the app, and with the ability to videochat right from the app.

Does Pixel have similar capabilities? A few reviews I've read said you need to have 2 or 3 apps to achieve the same functionality.
The Google Hangouts app synchronizes with pretty much everything, and allows video calling, texting/etc from your desktop, etc. Multi-way videoconferencing works fine, too.
 

Fratboy

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I'm thinking of making the leap to the Pixel - I've had iPhones since they pretty much came out, and frankly I'm ready for something new.
Don't forget to ask yourself a whole bunch of questions about iOS and Android differences:

*The application ecosystem might be the biggest. Not all iOS apps have an Android equivalent or vice versa, so you might need to do some exploration around that. If you have a paid iOS app, you might need to pay again for the Android version.

*You'll have an easier time finding keyboards than you do for iOS. (My corporate phone has controls on it preventing me from using anything other than the stock keyboard, so I don't know extensive iOS keyboard issues are these days.

*You'll have considerably more flexibility with file management/migration between devices than in iOS, but things don't happen as automatically (as I understand it) with Android. There will be some manual work involved, but you'll know where everything is every step of the way.

*The Mail app works well for iOS, but Gmail is awful. I'm a newly converted fan of BlueMail (thanks @glennhoffmania !) and it suits my purposes well.

*You'll also be able to customize, depending on the app you get, your home screen and launcher, and every part of the top level visual UI experience, which you can't do on an iPhone.

If you're like me, you're considering every single aspect and impact of this. I was ready to jump to iPhone 6 two years ago, but all of these, and other considerations kept me in the Android family.

Question everything.
 

johnmd20

mad dog
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Dec 30, 2003
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I'm thinking of making the leap to the Pixel - I've had iPhones since they pretty much came out, and frankly I'm ready for something new.

The only concern I have in reading some reviews is the native text messaging system. iMessage is pretty perfect in how it synchronizes with contacts, with the ability to call straight from the app, and with the ability to videochat right from the app.

Does Pixel have similar capabilities? A few reviews I've read said you need to have 2 or 3 apps to achieve the same functionality.
I have to say, Message Plus on the Pixel is amazing. It is everything I would want in a texting app. I ditched the native app and went with Message Plus and I'm very happy. But I think Message Plus is a verizon app. And you can call right from the text page but you cannot video chat. But I never use video chat, so that isn't an issue for me.

I've had the Pixel for a week and I'm so beyond happy, I can barely contain myself. The phone is fast, reliable, easy to use and sync, the camera is incredible, and the battery is the best battery I've had since my Palm Treo.