Pixel 8 leak promises 7 years of OS updates—even more than an iPhone::Just about everything has leaked about the $699 Pixel 8 and $999 8 Pro.
I’ll believe it when I see it. Apple has a demonstrated track record of supporting their phones for years, Google has a demonstrated track record of killing anything that isn’t an immediate run-away success. So sorry Google, but I can’t just take your word for it.
they have so far kept all promises about updating their pixel line.
The promises they’ve made previous have been FAR less than their competitors. Previous pixel phones have only enjoyed 3 years of updates according to my research (Pixel 4, 4A, 5, and 5A), where as Apple devices (a clear competitor in their space) will still let you load the latest version of iOS (17) on the iPhone XR, a phone released in 2018, 5 years ago. The iPhone 8 is still receiving security updates, which was release in 2017, a full 6 years ago. I would be happy to see some competition in the space, but Googles promises fly in the face of their reputation here, and actions speak louder than words. I hope they do live up to their promises, but I simply won’t believe it until I see it for myself.
yea obviously apple has been better in the past, one of the reasons i switched from pixel to iphone. however, whenever they have said X years of updates for a given device, they have kept it. it’s literally the only thing i would trust them on.
They haven’t said this though. This is a leak from someone else that may or may not be true.
Google makes promises they keep. They might kill stuff off, but they arguably are always fair about it. I was a stadia user, they basically let me do a bunch of gaming and get a bunch of gaming hardware for free in the end.
Nest products have also had a very long lifespan, only the very very earliest hardware that uses nest infrastructure has been killed off. That includes the Wi-Fi products which are supported much longer than the routers of many competitors in that space (e.g. Netgear).
Google A) hasn’t had the market pressure and B) up until recently hasn’t had their own chip, which has made them rely upon Qualcomm … which has been a huge issue for all Android carriers.
Now that Google has their own chips, I would’ve be surprised if even the Pixel 6 and 7 get extended lifetimes.
Not to mention, if they make a promise, they can get sued for breaking it… so if this leaves the rumor mills, and they say “7 years minimum”, I would absolutely take them at their word.
nothing to do with how long they update their phones operating system.
Not with updating the OS, but you said “updating their Pixel line” which is exactly what this is.
I had a pixel phone once. A few months in the phone got a bag update that crippled the device. They fixed it nearly a year later. I had a Lagship not a flagship. #neverforget.
Not only does Google need to demonstrate that they will do updates. They have to do a good job at it.
When has Google failed to deliver on the promise of updating their phones? Yeah it’s been way less than apple, but they have stuck to it every time.
You’re 100% right about Google, but iPhone’s also have a shit record for longevity. At least with android you can ROM them to update them. IPhone’s just become useless bricks after Apple abandons them.
Respectfully, I disagree. I see far more people using older iPhones than using older Andriods. Personally I’ve never gotten a flagship Andriod to last more than a year without serious usability issues, like Google Maps running at 2 frames per second. I tried all the popular brands, Samsung, LG, Motorola, etc, and they all consistently ended up unusable after just a year of use, even if I factory reset them, they’d be right back to where they were in a month or two. I even took great care to leave them as factory as possible, installing only basic apps like gmail, Discord, Telegram, Chrome, etc. No power user stuff like Tasker or customization.
I got so fed up I switched to iPhone in 2020, and I’m still rocking the same 12 Pro Max I bought back then. My usage hasn’t changed from Andriod, but I feel like my phone is reliable again. I don’t have to worry about my phone crashing, and loosing Google Maps mid-merge, or not being able to call people if I’m in need. This three-going-on-four year old phone just got the latest iOS upgrade, and you could still go back a few gens if you wanted. Hell, my partner just found one of the first few iPod touches at a thrift store the other day, and even that still works just fine, you can install and use apps like normal.
Challenge: build quality lasts only 2.6 years.
You need to get a case and screen protector on your phone.
The only thing that’ll let down my hardware is the battery.
Build quality ≠ wear & tear
Never had a lemon of a Pixel device? Count yourself lucky.
This is nice. I have a Pixel 6 running GrapheneOS which has 5 years of updates, so hopefully I won’t have to buy another phone until then.
I hope that by then, the hypothetical Pixel 11 has a replaceable battery, due to the EU regulations and that would make my (almost) perfect phone (if only they included a 3.5 jack too).
The fairphone still beats that with 10 years of support. If only you could buy them in Canada…
If this is true, it would obviously be great. But I’ll believe it in 7 years if/when the Pixel 8 gets Android 20 (assuming they go on with their yearly release cycle).
I’m not even sure they have the vertical integration to be able to do it. Some proprietary firmware for a modem that’s not updated to work with later Linux kernels and all of a sudden it won’t work with newer versions.
But if they can manage that, great.
Even then it’s probably not for me. The last Pixel I tried for a week or so was the Pixel 6 Pro. The “Pro” Pixel line is their flagship lacking a lot of flagship specs: the SoC is basically a customized Exynos, which makes it rather inefficient compared to Qualcomm and Apple, resulting in pretty poor battery life despite sizable battery capacity. The optical (!) fingerprint sensor feels very slow (reminds me of first generation Touch ID, even though that probably was worse) and technically it’s also less secure than an ultrasonic one. The camera system is usually up there, but hardly the benchmark anymore. If you want the “Google experience” (whatever that may be) it’s probably great but other than that.
Also, storage options are very inconsistent with these. The biggest I could get in Germany was 256 GB with the 6 Pro, and that was only in black. Other colors were limited to 128 GB. There is a 512 GB version in some countries, but Google simply refuses to offer it here. Service/repair seems pretty horrible from what I’ve heard. 7 years of software updates don’t help when you can’t even get your battery changed quickly without hassle.
Phones overhyped by “tech” YouTubers. Their “a” series tend to offer great value for the money though, especially if you wait a few months after launch where prices from retailers drop quite significantly.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The big news is that Google is finally giving its Pixel phones a longer support window.
Google pitches the Pixel phones as the flagship of the Android ecosystem, and now, if this spec sheet pans out, the OS maker is finally giving them an update plan to match.
That would comfortably lead all major manufacturers, leaving only Google and Fairphone at the top of the charts.
The specs for the Pixel 8 Pro include something called a “Super Actua” display, which the marketing docs say will work “even in direct sunlight.”
Manufacturers keep picking this fight with the sun, and while I guess brighter is better, I’m still not confident any phone will put a dent in sunlight.
The Tensor 1 and 2 had CPU clusters headlined by two Arm Cortex X1 CPUs and benchmarked similarly.
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