pixel phobia: A time period used to explain my worry of shopping for a brand new Google-made telephone due to my love-hate relationship with the Pixel 6 Professional, which was presupposed to be “Android’s iPhone”.
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As you may know Google already took the wraps off the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Professional throughout Google I/O. Earlier than we proceed, in case you’d wish to take a deeper dive into Google’s determination to point out off its flagship telephones practically half a 12 months earlier than they hit the cabinets, head over to the “Google solves leaks by “leaking” Pixel 7, Pixel Watch, Pixel Pill” story. In a nutshell, it seems as if Google’s plan behind the early Pixel 7 reveal comes with two main targets:
- Discourage additional leaks and set the tone and expectations on the corporate’s personal phrases
- Construct anticipation, in addition to social media presence across the upcoming Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Professional (eg, experience the hypetrain)
And now it is the time to provide you a heat warning about “that hypetrain” that I boarded in 2021 after I wrote many tales concerning the Pixel 6 collection earlier than their launch… Because the leaks stored coming, and we noticed increasingly of the Pixel 6’s design (Google pre-announced this one too), I grew increasingly excited and ultimately pre-ordered the flashy Pixel 6 Professional! I do know.To be honest, the telephone nonetheless seems to be prefer it belongs in a museum – the Sorta Sunny coloration scheme is exceptionally tasteful, however sadly this is not the entire story…
Google Pixel 7: Why I’d by no means pre-order a model new Android flagship once more, even when it seems to be pretty much as good because the Pixel 7 Professional
Listed here are Pixel 7 and Pixel 7. Does the 7 Professional look tempting? Sure, in fact it does. Shut up. No, you shut up.
As a tech author and somebody who’s been utilizing the Pixel 6 Professional for about seven months now, I can warn you about three crimson lights that should do with the Pixel basically:
- The surface magnificence may not match the what’s on the within (aka the telephone’s reliability)
- Pixel 7 collection {hardware} upgrades could be scarce in comparison with Pixel 6
- The Pixel 7’s resale worth will not be touching the iPhone’s anytime quickly
In my opinion, these three factors will apply to nearly some other Android telephone, too, since (sadly) no Android machine is immune to those challenges. However let’s break them down…
What if Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Professional are software program and {hardware} bugs wrapped in magnificence – like my Pixel 6 Professional?
First issues first, in fact, there is no method I am going to miss on warning you concerning the bugs. Why am I telling you concerning the Pixel 6’s bugs? Nicely, as a result of… Pixel 7 is not assured to be excellent, if its predecessor is something to go by…
Certain, when shopping for the Pixel 6 Professional, I used to be getting a fantastic glass slab which indicated a premium expertise, however as you may know from the handfuls of reports tales we have reported, the software program (and {hardware}) expertise on the Pixel 6 Professional was something however first-class, particularly at launch. I will not undergo all of the bugs since I’ve already performed that 1,000,000 instances right here at PhoneArena, however two issues stand out:
- The Pixel 6’s bugs had been/are too many to disregard
- Google took a lengthy time to deal with them or did not absolutely repair them
For instance, I discover the auto-brightness on my five-year-old iPhone 8 to be extra dependable than that on my Pixel 6 Professional. Additionally, the under-display fingerprint reader on my three-year-old Huawei P30 Professional is noticeably extra responsive than on the model new Pixel. Each points are associated to software program different {hardware}, and each are one thing you employ day-after-day, day-after-day.
Pixel 6 fingerprint reader will get an enormous enchancment however solely after one 12 months?!
Mockingly, as an instance my frustration with Google’s method of dealing with bugs, I am completely satisfied to report that we hear the fingerprint reader efficiency on Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Professional has gotten considerably higher on Android 13 beta 2.
We’ll nonetheless have to attend for the ultimate model of Android 13 to ensure this stays constant, however what makes this an interesting case is that even when Google actually fixes the fingerprint reader on Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Professional, it will occur actually an entire 12 months after the telephones have launched. That is as a result of the ultimate public model of Android 13 will probably be launched alongside Pixel 7 in October.
Sure, this repair would come outrageously late, but in addition, it’d present that the awful fingerprint reader efficiency on Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Professional was certainly one thing that might be mounted, however for some cause, not till a 12 months after the telephones had been launched?!
Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Professional aren’t anticipated to deliver many upgrades
The heading on this one speaks for itself, however let me elaborate…
Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Professional had been already the massive daring leap for Google. For starters, the Pixel 6 Professional fully reimagined the corporate’s earlier efforts by introducing a model new design – back and front. An entire redesign is a really uncommon prevalence in at present’s telephone market, even when we add Samsung different Apple to the combo, so it is certainly a notable feat on Google’s half.
Moreover, Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Professional gave us tensor – Google’s first in-house processor, which takes on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon and Apple’s A-series of chips with a ton of good options, albeit with a much less spectacular uncooked efficiency on paper.
Then, the cameras on the Pixel 6 and 6 Professional had been additionally an enormous soar for Google. Take the Pixel 6 Professional, which made headlines with 4 model new sensors in comparison with its predecessor. The factor is that judging by Google’s historical past, you higher imagine the corporate will squeeze each drop of efficiency out of these shooters, which kind of tells the broader story.
And at last, I do not anticipate the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Professional to look or really feel a lot totally different than the Pixel 6 and 6 Professional. I do know that as a result of we have already seen the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Professional, and you’ve got too. And for the file, I am so not anticipating the 2nd Gen Tensor to outperform the Snapdragons or Apples of the world, at the very least in the case of uncooked efficiency.
All that being stated, if we put the Pixel 6 apart, Google’s by no means been an organization that depends on flashy {hardware} upgrades, so I imagine we’ll see much more good software program and digital camera options because of Tensor 2 and Android 13. Similar to I imagine that the cameras on the Pixel 7 will certainly get higher, as Google will learn to take advantage of out of the already highly effective digital camera sensors present on the Pixel 6.
Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Professional: Extra poor-release-value Android flagships on the horizon?
Upgrading yearly? Get able to pay up.
Now for the massive one…
€300-400 for Pixel 6, down from €650 at launch
€550-650 for Pixel 6 Professional, down from €900 at launch
To present you an instance, I managed to barter the value of a used Pixel 6 all the way down to €300, which is good in case you are the customer and simply sorry for those who’re promoting the machine. That is greater than half the value for a six-month-old flagship telephone from Google.
And since I’ve first-hand expertise in itemizing my Pixel 6 Professional on the market, I can let you know that ultimately, I’d must accept €700 and that is if I am prepared to incorporate the model new pair of Bose 700 headphones I bought with my Pixel (for the pre-order), which means the telephone itself would go for €500-550. From €900 at launch.
My phrase of recommendation to those that like to purchase, promote, and improve usually or yearly will probably be:
- For those who’d be shopping for a model new Google/Android flagship, keep in mind that this one will depreciate in worth very quickly
- Do not fall for Google’s bundles (until you’ve got seen a couple of critiques of the telephone and really want the added freebies)
Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Professional: Cautiously optimistic (as a substitute overly enthusiastic like in 2021)
Cautious!
Ultimately, that is the one takeaway… I keep cautiously optimistic concerning the Pixel 7 collection, as a substitute of being overly enthusiastic like I used to be in 2021 for the Pixel 6.
So, even when I did resolve to purchase a Pixel 7 Professional, I would actually look ahead to a very good eBay deal, eg, return to my previous methods of buying telephones. Pixel 6 Professional was the primary flagship telephone I’ve ever purchased at launch, and it could be the final one.
Until… Look… How do I say it… Nicely, until a USB-C iPhone with a model new design and a periscope zoom digital camera, which holds its worth for a lot, for much longer than any Galaxy or Pixel pops up subsequent 12 months?
Possibly?