Apparently so, according to the specs page. I thought the whole thing with this company was that they're developing a competing OS not based on Android?
What do they need Andy for, then? The press I've seen with him over the past year seemed to be pushing the narrative that he started this company to 'correct the mistakes' of Android...decided that's too much work?
I think the general feeling among people/reviewers who have got their hands on one is that it is cool; the question is whether it's $700 cool. That's a lot of money to give a company without a proven track record.
The sub-sections underneath the "Phone" menu are Accessories, Materials, Colors, Screen, Camera, Specifications, Order. OS doesn't seem like something they want to discuss much. (They are all about this whizzy 360º camera though!)
Selling but not shipping. No word on actual ship dates on any of the three linked sites (direct, Best Buy, or Sprint) unless I'm looking in the wrong place.
Edit: Sprint is currently estimating August 28 on their shipping page.
I do... and i know a lot of others in tech that aren't as hyper to line up for a new phone. Also, so far, in my opinion- after the iphone 6- there hasn't been any major differences.
I don't (unless I break or lose phone). I try to keep using the same computer/phone/gadget for 3-4 years to get my money worth these days.
I just feel like it's a rip off to ask me to shell out £500 every two years for new iPhone, £600 for new iPad and £2000 for new MacBook Pro (prices are my best guess, I think new iPhones actually go for as much as £700 with better specs). So I try to go using my current tech longer.
It's also environment friendly. Bad for companies if more customers start thinking like this because they depend on selling the same device over and over again with minor tweaks.
I'm still clinging to my iPhone 5. Im waiting patiently for the soon to be announced iPhone 8 and I am only buying the 8 because my poor 5 is starting to not hold a charge, and is totally out of space and OS updates have ended.
Off topic a bit, but I think this is wonderful. If you are so inclined, consider trying to replace the battery on the phone. The total cost would be around $25 (including tools), and you'll have the pleasure of giving the device a new lease of life (whether you choose to donate/sell later, is up to you). I recently did this repair myself, and it was easier than I had expected it to be.
I thought about that, but combined with EOL software updates its a little harder to justify just replacing the battery. Ive already had one app I can't download because the OS is too old.
The OS runs a little slow on the 5's hardware now too. :/
My past iPhones have gone quite a bit longer than 2 years with 24hr+ battery life. But that's probably because they start out with ~72hr battery life (under my use patterns, which are ~20min web browsing, average of a couple pictures or videos a day, nearly zero talk, ~30-40/day whatsapp or text messages, no Facebook or other social media, no gaming. Using navigation or other battery-hungry things cuts into that, of course.)
>Project Fi is available on the Pixel, Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, and Nexus 6. Currently these are the only smartphones to support our network of networks. You must have the North American model of the above devices in order to use it on the Project Fi network.
That's for official support. Project Fi worked fine on my iPhone SE.
However, I had problems with Project Fi sending my calls to random other peoples' phones across the country even when I was using my sim in my Nexus so I went back to T-Mobile.
I recall it "working" on other phones, but it's stuck on T-Mobile or Sprint (depending on your phone's hardware), and you lose out on some functionality since it uses specific bands[0]. Plus you still need an approved phone to activate it.
AFAIK, Fi uses both T-Mobile and Sprint if you have a dual band phone, and wifi if you're in a building without reception. Most phones have been dual band for a couple years now.
Hey, this happened to me. The reason was that one of my older phone numbers was available to Google somehow, and it made that number a backup number to Fi. So when I dropped a call, it made a call to that old number, which is now owned by someone else (A nice lady who even helped my wife debug what was going on.).
Since FI is GSM won't it work in any GSM phone? I think it just defaults to tmobile so you won't get any fi features like switching to sprint dynamically or wifi calling/texting. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
At this point, the only thing I care about is whether or not they plan on releasing quality software updates in a timely manner for a reasonable amount of time...
> Essential Phone will get guaranteed Android OS updates for 2 years and will get monthly security updates for 3 years, so your phone will always be secure and have the latest features.
I do not think the word "always" means what they think it means :)
The worst piece is that they usually measure from first day of sale, not last. If you buy this same phone next year, you'll only get a year of updates.
I am mostly moving on from an LG G2 to the new Essential Phone. For the past year I have been running AICP, currently at Android 7.1.x Prior to that I had about a year of Cyanogenmod.
Granted, third party roms are not for the average user but it amazes me how few on HN seem to run them and instead whine about why their 3 or 4 year old phone is no longer getting the latest greatest. People here like to point to Apple/iOS but really, how many of the iPrecious users are still on an iphone 4 or 5? Seems that crowd rolls over every 12 to 18 months so what difference does it make?
Too short IMO, I personally would value having a 5yo device still useful, above that I can accept limitations in terms of new; below it's just pushing for renewal for no reason.
Batteries don't last that long still, last I heard you get about 1000 charges before you need to do serious maintenance to a phone, in which case you'll probably want the latest and greatest anyhow.
Oh and btw, it's very possible that speed is a software issue. Latest gmail app update tweaked a few things in how mailboxes are loaded and it's way snappier.
I have a moto g3 quadcore and 1G(maybe 2G)RAM. I cannot reason about slow performance for non gaming / pixel heavy stuff.
Anecdotal, but I have an Asus EEE from aeons ago (2010, I think?) that still has about 60%-70% battery health, which is not bad, considering that this little guy was brutally abused throughout its existence (it was my main PC in University).
I also have a first generation Moto G (~2014) and an app I have here (OS Monitor) reports 70% battery health. In practical terms, the battery lasts a day of normal usage.
On the other hand, I have a ~2 year old Toshiba, and Linux here is reporting 0% battery health and a "last full capacity" of 0 mAh. If I unplug it, it goes under in 5-10 minutes (factory battery life was about 2:30 hours).
I read that the biggest battery killer is heat, not charge/discharge cycles.
Regardless, and if I am not mistaken, that figure of 1000 charge cycles is for cycles of 100% discharge (or as close as you can get before the protection circuits cut in) followed by 100% charge. This rarely happens in the "real world" and thus that figure will probably be much higher when adjusted for real world conditions.
This is just another example of consumer hostile planned obsolescence. Rechargeable batteries are consumables. Most cell phones used to have removable batteries so when it wouldn't hold a charge any more you could easily replace. Now most phones have integrated batteries which can only be replaced with an expensive and inconvenient visit to a repair center.
You're niche. Most people don't care as long as their phone is fast and they can use their phone all day. By the time a phone's battery becomes unusably short (my iPhone 4s still holds a charge for about a full day), most people agree their phone is ready for replacement.
I agree. I am currently using my 2011/12 vintage Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (albeit as a play phone) with Lineage OS (Android 7.x) and it works pretty good. Batteries are getting harder to find but still available. It works great.
The simple fact that we have to rely on volunteers to have a recent OS on our phone shows how problematic updates are on Android. Hopefully Project Treble will make the lives of Lineage devs easier.
You have a good point. I am very grateful to Cyanogenmod and Lineage OS and contribute what I can - it really puts the vendor junkware with its non-removable bloatware to shame. I once wrote a giant rant on XDA Developers after spending a long night debugging a Nook HD+ tablet and its highly-obnoxious habit of reinstalling uninstalled bloatware on a reboot.
(Off-topic) I still prefer Android with its volunteer ecosystem due to the freedom it offers me with respect to my devices. I have tried to switch to iOS a couple of times due to my perception of their stronger privacy policies but my use cases, which I have been familiar with since the days of Palm, are incompatible with non-rooted iOS use models.
I can see (though don't entirely agree) why companies feel some pain, when the customer paid for the phone, but the public's expectation is free updates for "life" (however you define that). I wonder if having a subscription where they reduce the cost of the phone for the general population, and let others sign up for a paid subscription model for updates, backed up by some kind of SLA type agreement would work. I definitely would prefer a model where instead of finding other ways to screw you (selling data) they get paid by me and serve my needs.
Apple offers ~3 years of software updates included in the price of the phone.
Right now, Android companies COMPLETELY FAIL to match Apple's update value.
The idea that Android companies should switch to a paid update subscription model, while iDevices retain free updates for most of device life, would be a hilariously incompetent decision.
"They're better than us, we know it, so why not subscribe to us and pay us monthly to help us catch up to what they were doing a decade ago?"
iOS 10 launched in September 2016, and I think the 4s was kept current up until then.
Also five years for the iPhone 5 (2012-2017). since iOS 11 supports the iPhone 5s, it will also get its fifth years of updates. (Hopefully more! Mine is still going strong, the arm64 processor was revolutionary.)
Five years does not seem to be an outlier for iPhones anymore.
Taking the 4S as an example because that was my old phone:
Launched October 2011 (w/ iOS 5.0)
Discontinued September 2014
Last OS update August 2016 (iOS 9.3.5)
OS becomes outdated September 2016 (iOS 10 released)
So even if you bought it at the tail end of its availability, you had two years of updates. If you bought it when they were new, you got 5 years of updates.
For reference, the September 2016 release of iOS 10 (which the 4S didn't get) corresponds to the iPhone 7 release. Software for the 4S was maintained through the releases of 5, 5S, 6, and 6S.
Granted it chugged a bit on the newer OSes and developers (especially 3rd party and web developers) started to waste enormous chunks of screen space because they collectively didn't give a shit about anyone who still had a 4" phone, but it's better treatment than you'd have gotten with any Android phone.
What confuses is me is what kind of work needs to go in to updating android on different phones? If Android is compatible with the architecture of the phone shouldn't the software update from Google work?
When you have as many types of hardware as Android supports, it becomes a shit show. iOS can do updates for longer because the hardware isn't all over the place.
Unfortunately there is no real standard hardware architecture for Android devices. Some pieces are the same, but every device has different incompatible components. So the device vendors have to re-apply a unique set of patches every time.
AFAIK, they don't use Google's software updates, because they have their own "distribution" that's mostly the same but slightly different from the vanilla Android version, so they need to merge those changes and test them before they can push the updates to the phones they made.
And even when Android phone manufacturers bring updates, you have no idea when it's going to be. At a minimum, months after the reference version comes out (excluding Google's line of course).
Except, you know, all Android manufacturers are free to support their OS as they see fit and have different update cycles.
The closest apples-to-apples comparison would be Google's Nexus and Pixel lines to iPhone. In that case, the Nexus 5 came out in 2013 and received updates into 2016, before being dropped for Nougat. Pretty much all of their phones have seen similar support (N4: 2012-2015, N6: 2014-present, etc).
It really shouldn't be difficult, it's not as if Intel is worrying about how to support some computer sold in 2009. The reason it's difficult is because the companies have chosen to set up a short term process which means reapplying and testing hacky patches to every upgrade. If they stopped forking the linux kernel and invested in putting their systems on the mainline they could have excellent support, and dust their hands of the product on day one.
Sony seems to be nudging in that direction with their unified kernel, which should mean they at least only have to backport hacks once. They also have some vague attempts at mainline support.
I've often wondered why it's so difficult to make a standardized OS distribution for ARM processors. You would think it should be as simple as
Google provides core OS -> manufacturers add drivers -> done
(Of course this skips the "manufacturers add shitware" step).
But I've been told ARM just doesn't work that way and for whatever reason that I don't completely understand, hardware can't be abstracted this way on ARM.
My understanding is that unlike the PC world where hardware can report itself or be found easily the way things tend to be connected on ARM boards make it so that's not feasible or even possible. Someone just has to tell the kernel up front what is where.
The comment about FaceTime made no sense. On iPhone you can use all the apps he mentioned. In terms of security, I trust FaceTime far more than I trust What’s App who, in their policies, make it clear some data is shared with Facebook. Using What’s App as a counterargument to FaceTime is rather strange to me. Signal maybe, but you can run that on iPhone just fine as well.
Yeah, i was confused about that... that whole 'closed system' section was much weaker than i thought. I thought somehow they were going to build a standardized app that can interface with all these closed apps- but then again, how would they do that to begin with?
Why would I spend $700+ on a phone with a dubious fate when I can spend $230 on a Moto G5 Plus and have Lineage OS running on it in no time, for a long time?
It looks basically the same as every other smartphone and is mass-produced with no "craftsmanship" involved. The concept of "premium" materials for what's essentially a disposable device just seems ridiculous.
I think the entire blog post is meant to address that question. It is trying to differentiate from the cheap Android phones. For me this is the most interesting point:
> Devices shouldn’t become outdated every year. They should evolve with you.
Also the design looks much nicer than average cheap Android phones.
Which is basically what any other Android phone manufacturer would offer for their flagship phones, except for the fact that they don't guarantee it. Samsung, HTC, Sony, Google, even LG, all have similar track records with the margin of error within half a year or so.
Make me a $200 phone with 3 years of updates and I'll be impressed, or an Android flagship with 5 years.
What exactly is Lineage OS? Their website is pretty hostile towards anyone trying to answer that question easily. The about page consists solely of two definitions of 'lineage', neither of which is a cutesy reference to the project.
LineageOS is the continuation of CyanogenMod after Cyanogen Inc decided to close their Seattle office and pivot away from Android. The best way I can put it is "easily buildable Android for unlocked devices" (that is, assuming your device is supported - if it isn't, it's a bit more work). There are a handful of modifications but overall it's close to stock.
at a $700 price point for two years of os updates and three years of security updates, it seems runner-up to iphones with four year (or more) timelines on os updates, maybe longer for security updates, for a comparable price point.
This used to be the case, but I'd argue not as much anymore. I had the 3gs for ~4 years and by the end it was nearly unusable due to updates (noticeably worse every time). I'm now nearly at the 5 year mark on my 5s and on the latest ios, no problems. It's not as snappy as my wife's new phone but completely usable.
i would agree here. both of my parents and the wife have just as much time logged on their full-updated 5s' as well and, save for foreseeable decrements in battery performance, they think their system performance is generally indistinguishable from new.
Well, if you stay outside of the Google Play Store, you don't really need a Google account to get it working. Bought a new one this month, and I was able to do basic functions + receive a security update before I got home and typed in the password from my password manager.
As someone who worked in a large OEM company releasing tons of smartphones, I'm actually impressed it only took 100 people to getting this out. I presume there was an incredible amount of sleepless nights, as this is no easy task.
To be fair though, Sprint is one of the easier carriers to work with after T-Mobile. I can't imagine them releasing a phone on AT&T or Verizon, as their process is grueling. I guess since they're selling an unlockcked version of their phone, it doesn't really matter to power users. However, most sales for smartphones are from contracts sold directly from carriers so it'll be interesting to see how they'll do in the market with their current strategy (similar to One Plus One).
Props to them though. It's not just about carrier certification. Releasing a smartphone is a long complex process. Some engineers at Sprint were briefly talking about how great the phone was, so I have high hopes.
Pretty sure they used Sharp as a partner, so it isn't like they started from scratch. That guess is based on this Sharp phone looking mighty familiar (http://www.gsmarena.com/sharp_aquos_s2_taken_apart_a_bezelle...) and Rubin having worked with Sharp extensively during the Danger days. (most of the Sidekicks were made by Sharp)
I'm kinda sort interested in this device, but honestly I'm in the sit and wait given that Sharp isn't exactly a name brand anymore.
Sharp for some reason refuses to sell their smartphones outside of Japan. When I lived there I had a Sharp phone - and it was amazing. Smoothest non-stock android experience I've had. Recently they were selling [did this finally happen?] off their phone business to foxconn because it was falling behind.
Man, if you actually tried to sell your phones, Sharp, they might have sold? Funny concept.
If this phone is indeed a Sharp creation, I'm all over it.
Can confirm, the Sharp phone I owned in Japan had an absolutely fabulous screen, 1080p in 4.5" (I long for compact flagships), vivid colour with customisable profiles, including an electronically switchable privacy filter (using the toggle buttons in the notification shade) with 3 designs! The OS had been optimised to run smooth as butter, even with crapware. Too bad it also had to have all the docomo apps.
There's a physical layer of the screen between the touch glass and the LCD that can be turned on, reducing the viewing angle. Anyone looking from the side will instead see a floral pattern, butterfly pattern, or something else I forget (stars?), depending on your setting. (You can't pick beyond these three because each pattern is physically its own layer it looks like)
This is classic Japanese market electronics. Rather than increase bottom line, add loads of niceties to compete.
My phone was a smartphone, a mobile wallet (osaifu-keitai, tap-to-pay), my train pass (osaifu-keitai is different hardware to android pay, as it works on turnstiles, even when the phone is dead/off, and has been a thing since 2004), a television (over the air!), an answering machine (no messages stored by carrier; the phone picks up if you don't answer and records it to the SD card), had those privacy filter things, and a really responsive camera.
Sadly, it has a non-replaceable battery and refuses to update android unless it can connect to a docomo tower (I think docomo hosts it's phone's system updates on internal network only, not internet). I had to retire the phone long before the hardware gave out.
I'm pretty much stuck with the phone's stock android because A) It's sharp, so the android hacking community hasn't heard of it. and B) I don't think any ROM would have drivers for any of the galapagos features. (especially I need osaifu-keitai, which as well as being a wallet and my train pass, has all of my arcade top scores associated with it (whenever I go, I just tap the phone and the arcade machine looks me up - unlocks all the bonuses I've achieved and my prefs))
> There's a physical layer of the screen between the touch glass and the LCD that can be turned on, reducing the viewing angle.
Oh, wow.
> Anyone looking from the side will instead see a floral pattern, butterfly pattern, or something else I forget (stars?), depending on your setting.
Wow.
> (You can't pick beyond these three because each pattern is physically its own layer it looks like)
I see.
> This is classic Japanese market electronics. Rather than increase bottom line, add loads of niceties to compete.
TIL the Japanese are still ahead of us with stuff that's really nice, and the rest of the world succumbed to being flooded out with high-fructose corn syrup laden toy electronics that hack our attention spans.
> My phone was a smartphone, a mobile wallet (osaifu-keitai, tap-to-pay), my train pass (osaifu-keitai is different hardware to android pay, as it works on turnstiles, even when the phone is dead/off, and has been a thing since 2004), a television (over the air!), an answering machine (no messages stored by carrier; the phone picks up if you don't answer and records it to the SD card), had those privacy filter things, and a really responsive camera.
Wow.
I can't find it now but I remember seeing a Japanese phone that had OTA TV, a GPS, and even a fingerprint reader on the back. I checked the date, and the thing was made in 2008. Shakes head
> Sadly, it has a non-replaceable battery and refuses to update android unless it can connect to a docomo tower (I think docomo hosts it's phone's system updates on internal network only, not internet). I had to retire the phone long before the hardware gave out.
Hah.
> I'm pretty much stuck with the phone's stock android because A) It's sharp, so the android hacking community hasn't heard of it. and B) I don't think any ROM would have drivers for any of the galapagos features.
Mmmm...
> (especially I need osaifu-keitai, which as well as being a wallet and my train pass, has all of my arcade top scores associated with it (whenever I go, I just tap the phone and the arcade machine looks me up - unlocks all the bonuses I've achieved and my prefs))
_wow_ that is absolutely awesome.
What's really sad is that if this sort of integration ever came to the US I know it'd be used in the most invasive ways possible :(
I wonder if there are any videos documenting any of this out there. I wouldn't mind seeing this stuff in action, especially the game console bit. That's awesome.
Yeah, Foxconn bought Sharp last year. One interesting thing I heard (from words of mouth) was Gou decided to follow through with the purchase after Sharp reduced the price by 35%. Gou was mighty proud of the acquisition for awhile until the Japanese Yen devalued considerably, leading him to speculate foul play from the Japanese in the original deal.
They already sell the Aquos Crystal phones on Sprint, which are really nice phones for the price point. When I borrowed my buddy's on Sprint, I was able to pull over 100mbps down when we were out boating on Lake Washington. AT&T could only hit 15mbps and T-Mobile was sitting around 40Mbps comparatively.
One of the things that made me mad was that they only brought the aquos crystal over, which is a gimmick phone. It's a pretty good mid-range phone, but I saw reviews slam it on specs, implying that Sharp couldn't compete. Sharp had much more powerful phones available at the time, but not in the US.
The problem with the US market is that reviewers look for any superficial reason to slam you.
> Man, if you actually tried to sell your phones, Sharp, they might have sold? Funny concept.
Smartphones are a brutal business to be in, especially in North America, where Apple and Samsung have basically locked up the high end of the market and everyone else is fighting for the scraps (and usually losing tons of money in the process). Probably Sharp just realized there was really no way to break in, especially considering they'd have to start from scratch with channels like carrier partnerships, retail presence, and advertising.
There's a huge difference between "successful" enough to keep the company going and "successful" in the Apple/Samsung way of sales dominance in the market.
Meh, I bought my first OnePlus phone a few months ago and while the phone itself is great, I've been thoroughly unimpressed with their support and unavailability of most accessories, both from OnePlus and 3rd parties. It's a huge turn off and I won't buy another one.
Some of the bloatware (minimal as it may be) is very intrusive, including ads sent as notifications through system apps that can not be blocked or silenced. Their support gaslights you about topics like that.
That's another annoying thing. OnePlus uses a specific type of charger, the Dash(tm) charger, so you can't just buy any random USB charging unit, or else it will take all day to charge. And the chargers are expensive. The other problem is that the screen is not flat, so you need to buy a curved screen protector. For the OnePlus 3, they've been sold out for months, and have no plans to restock them. Furthermore, there are no good 3rd party screen protectors. So if you have a OnePlus 3, you just have to use it without a screen protector.
These problems are not acceptable for a modern phone company.
I can only agree with the dash charger, I've had no problems getting what turned out to be better screen protectors than the official from Amazon for my one plus three.
On the plus side I plug my dash charger in and forty minutes later I've got a charge that will last the day.
But agreed that if I forget to bring it on overnight trips it's annoying.
Well I can assure you from personal experience, which is the oneplus three without a screen protector that I'm typing on right now, that the plastic protector that came with the phone started peeling off and getting dirt trapped between it and the screen in less than a month after purchase.
Hmm I charge it overnight with a slow charger, that feels like it's better for battery life time, on the other hand, when I need it quickly recharged, it's over half full in 30 min. That really changes they way you deal with charging and is worth some annoyances (which I personally don't experience) to me.
Also, the phone came with a screen protector which is still on after 1 year of use.
I recently contacted OnePlus support for the first time last month after I dropped my phone and shattered the screen. The whole process was extremely fast and smooth. Quick reply from OnePlus, they organized shipping to my nearest repair center and even the actual repair was quick.
I bought a OnePlus 3 this year to replace my Nexus 5 after catastrophic hardware failure. :(
The phone is great in every way except ergonomics. It's so fat that holding it hurts my hand. Apparently they had a smaller model for the generation before the 3, but the OnePlus 5 is absurdly fat only; I'm not going to be able to keep buying their phones.
I replaced my Nexus 5 with a OnePlus 2, great phone, but apart from some speed boosts and camera upgrade I kinda really miss my Nexus 5.
The NFC, it being super light, small, wireless charging, great design, fast updates. No idea what phone to get next. Nothing I've seen really matches the Nexus 5. :(
Any idea if they are planning to get this work with Project Fi service? I've always wondered what changes in hardware are required to get it compatible with Google's Fi service. Anyone knows?
I currently use a Nexus 6, and I run into issues with the battery as well as general performance when the battery is low (despite turning off battery saver). Otherwise the phone is fine (if a bit too large and less sexy than an iPhone). I'm also becoming more concerned about privacy, and in that respect I think Apple will probably always care more than Google.
Just one man's opinion, but if you're looking for a quality phone for Project Fi, the Pixel is all-around very good, especially relative to the Nexus 6. I can't speak directly to the Pixel XL, but I've been more satisfied with my Pixel than any iPhone or Android device to date, and the general sentiment from tech reviewers seems to echo my opinion on it.
I switched from N6 to Pixel XL, and difference is very significant: no lags at all, I now don't know what more I would want from the phone.
For N6, I think they had some hardware bug in memory card controller, which degradated performance because of some data fragmentation.
(Reached maxdepth) the pixel 2 is likely coming out in a few months. From https://fi.google.com/about/faq/#supported-devices : """
Why is Project Fi only available on the Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X and Nexus 6, and Pixel devices?
These devices are the first smartphones that support our network of networks. They work with the Project Fi SIM card, which supports multiple cellular networks, and have a state-of-the-art cellular radio tuned to work across network types.
"""
The first part about SIM support seems much more relevant than the second part about their state-of-the-art radios. The Nexus 6 came out in November 2014. Carrier oligopolies are the reason for this as far as I can tell.
I ordered Project Fi service recently, got my SIM card over 2 weeks ago and to this still still am unable to activate it and use the service. Their support has gone back and forth with me, and even escalated it to engineerse but nothing has been done to resolve the issue. Moreover they typically respond days later and ask me vague questions like whether or not I enabled Project Fi within Google Apps policy settings (I did that long before calling support). The whole thing has been a clusterfuck to be honest and I'm waiting one final response before I just cancel the whole effort outright and keep on keepin' on with AT&T. The sad part is that I purchased a 5X just for this.
> However, most sales for smartphones are from contracts sold directly from carriers so it'll be interesting to see how they'll do in the market with their current strategy
Is this still true? I just bought a new phone (on Verizon) and they didn't even have a contract subsidy option anymore. I know T-Mobile also dropped this a couple years ago.
>I'm actually impressed it only took 100 people to getting this out. I presume there was an incredible amount of sleepless nights, as this is no easy task.
There are 10 man companies in China making custom phones from reference designs. On my own memory, there was a company that managed to make a phone in under 3 month in 2011
Now we'll know exactly how many Andy Rubin fanboys there are in the world. Why would anyone else buy a $700+ phone from a startup which might not even be there next year? My prediction: a few tens of thousand units will be sold mostly in the US, darn near zero anywhere else.
I, too, think the price point won't help this phone much. Hopefully there will be enough buyers to keep this phone alive. The specs are good and the attachment camera will probably be very useful.
Genuine question, I am waiting for the soon to be announced iPhone 8, but what I am curious about is what is the selling point of this phone? The camera? Security? Why would I want this phone? I don't follow google or their employees companies much. Personally google makes horrible UI's and services IMO. The latest interaction with them by me has been Google fiber + TV. The fiber is fine and fast but the TV is a tire fire. I'm not impressed with the UI of android. So I really am curious what would compel me to buy this phone?
I like the drop test results. My pixel's glass chipped when it fell out of my pocket when I was sitting on a concrete floor. First phone I've ever gotten a case for.
Can't imagine any actual users caring about Andy Rubin in the slightest. However, they have enough funding to be there long enough to honor their warranty, and the phone really only needs to last two years. But who cares, if the phone works and it has an unlockable bootloader? Someone on XDA will prepare new OS images.
> My prediction: a few tens of thousand units will be sold
Woah. Tens of thousands? I would think a few thousand at most. There must be more to this story than I'm currently aware of. (This is the first I've ever heard of it.)
Well, the manufacturing order is probably for a few tens of thousands, and if sales don't go as they hoped, they could cut the price. As far as Android phones go it's not a bad phone. But pricing it at the iPhone levels was a mistake.
I think I can sum it up like this: no worldwide delivery for a substantial amount of products you can buy online + higher shipping costs + import cost (in my country, anything above ~30 bucks) + occasional delivery failure + at least a month of waiting for the actual delivery.
I once payed ~$30 import tax for ~$40 worth of books from Amazon. I ended up purchasing Kindle (no delivery inside of my country, so I had it delivered to another country + didn't declare it at the airport) just to avoid dealing with all of the above for book deliveries.
And I'm not living anywhere remotely inaccessible. I've lived most of my life like 500 meters + a river away from the European Union country.
In a previous life, I worked on a duty calculator, to help merchants inform their customers about any estimated duties, taxes and fees associated with the importation of goods.
Being in the US, it's pretty easy getting goods so cross border commerce pains is something we can't easily empathize with.
Really, Android updates rely on every single vendor approving/releasing it? I thought this is why lots of people/vendors ran "stock" android which is what I'd assume a "pure" android phone like Essential would do..
Fair. But, it seems to me that having to choose between Android, iOS, or any other OS is an expression of who you are. For others, there are more properties that express them. /shrug
I think their point is that lots of people customize the appearance of their phones by adding custom cases, stickers, and other decorations to them, and they want to give you a blank slate to do that rather than force you to either accommodate their branding into your expression or cover it up.
That you make enough money to afford a smartphone plan, plus anywhere from $30 to $50 a month to pay for the phone itself, either up front or as part of the contract.
That you likely don't just own an iPhone, but also an mac laptop (or desktop), as well as at least one Apple TV. (i-devices don't integrate well with non-Apple ecosystems)
It's also likely that you have tens to hundreds of dollars invested in the iTunes and App stores.
In short, it says you have money. A commitment to around $100 a month on a phone, plus the implied other devices and digital purchases, is not a trivial outlay if you're making less than your average individual.
It's also entirely possible that you simply value projecting the impression of money to others enough to justify the outlay of money for the iPhone, but that still relies on the impression of money.
So, you don't have more money than the average person in Europe? Because that's the "stereotype" you're trying to debunk here, the rest are the reasons the stereotype exists.
WRT iPhone integrating with Sony TV - how? Not something I've ever heard of before.
And somewhat off. My phone is two generations old, so the amortized per-month cost of the phone is rather lower. Cheap, last-gen macbook Air[1], but no Apple TV. I've bought exactly one album from iTunes, but yes, apps. You've basically caught me mid-migration away from the ecosystem. It takes a while.
[1] At this point, the only things keeping me from switching entirely to Linux are backing up the iPhone and running OmniFocus. And when I have time to noodle with it, I'm liking orgmode.
I have an iPhone, and a mac (two actually,) and an AppleTV, and an Apple Watch. There are a pair of beats headphones sitting next to me on the coffee table.
Somehow, I still manage to write free software that I care about, release it for free, and contribute to other FOSS projects. Caring about free software doesn't mean I have to use ONLY free software.
A marketing person would say you like simplicity and reliability. You'll probably pay more for something if it has perceived quality above it's peers. Being slightly overbuilt leads to reliability.
For example, you have a good chance of wearing boots rather than sneakers, because they can deal with mud puddles or snow or whatever. They cost more, but they are simple and reliable in all environments.
You are expressing those values, other people pick up on it. just because you don't cultivate an image, you still have an image.
It is a statement, but not one that his selection of phone is making.
In other words, if he states that's why he got a particular phone, then yes. However, just by having a particular phone, nobody can draw any significant information from it other than he owns a phone.
There is always the significant chance that the person did not choose their phone (e.g. work phone).
I'm curious how to differentiate "public expression" between something you intend, and something you don't - too.
Ie, if OP uses a flip phone from the 90s, s/he may clearly not care about their phone and may not use it as a form of expression. Nevertheless, I'll be damned if it doesn't express something about that person. That person is deviating from the norm, which is always an expression of something - knowingly or otherwise.
So I'd argue that even if they wanted to be needlessly pissy in these comments about how untrue the statement is to their own personal self - I'd argue it's still accurate. It may not be an intended form of personal expression, but it's definitely one of many things that informs the nearby public. Everyone makes external "book cover" readings, after all - to one degree or another.
edit to clarify: What statements can you (anyone, not just personally you) make about the expression I'm making with any degree of accuracy or confidence?
If you were to get this phone, I'd hazard that you're interested in supporting this kind of brand and what it stands for, even if only a small aspect of it.
You could hazard that guess, but you could be wrong or at the very best case you're making an assertion that you cannot prove true or false in which case it seems pointless to try to draw further conclusions from it.
edit: Actually you could only assert that I have a cigar. I could have purchased it as a gift for someone else, or am currently being asked to transport it, or maybe I found it on the ground... etc. It certainly does not with any certainty make a 'public expression' about me.
I think I can safely say that offering a variety of colors would not be an appealing feature to you. I also feel safe guessing battery life is a bigger factor in your purchasing decision than the brand of the phone. You're probably not very influenced by which celebrities use which phone. You also probably don't buy new phones on release day.
> I think I can safely say that offering a variety of colors would not be an appealing feature to you. I also feel safe guessing battery life is a bigger factor in your purchasing decision than the brand of the phone. You're probably not very influenced by which celebrities use which phone. You also probably don't buy new phones on release day.
- Maybe it's a work phone and I had no choice in the matter?
- Maybe I have a specific requirement (like a specific app I need) which requires a specific platform?
- Maybe my preferred phone recently broke and I could only immediately afford the phone in my hand?
- Maybe the phone was a gift and I had no say in the matter?
There are lots of not-unlikely scenarios like the above which mean any conclusion you might try to draw would have a very low level of accuracy.
I'm not interested in defending/participating in your particular evaluation of whatever phone you think I might have, I'm just making generic points that those guesses are essentially worthless, except for making internal musings and assumptions about me (which you could do about anything).
> There are lots of not-unlikely scenarios like the above which mean any conclusion you might try to draw would have a very low level of accuracy.
But it sounds like all my conclusions are still accurate in all your hypothetical scenarios. I never tried to guess which phone you had. Only a few basic things that would be prime targets for advertising. Such as in every hypothetical you mention, the fact that <pick a celebrity> uses a certain phone has no influence on the purchase. Except maybe the gift, but then it's not about your thoughts on phones, but the one purchasing the gift (hopefully they know you well enough that you prefer function over form).
> I'm just making generic points that those guesses are essentially worthless
Not at all. They may not 100% apply to your directly, but a company isn't selling to you. They're selling to a statistical distribution including you.
The guesses are only worthless now that you're offering hypothetical scenarios. Your earlier comment is definitely telling about your decisions in using and purchasing a phone.
I think you're saying there is some subset of people out there that consider their phones to be some non-trivial public statement about who they 'are' and what they 'stand for'. I agree with that. I find it ridiculous, but I agree that there are probably folks out there like that.
I guess I'm just complaining out loud because I don't like the idea of every product that is pushed at me trying to claim that it somehow defines me as a person and what I stand for.
This is a fancy way of saying it's a fashion accessory for many people. Just like clothes, cars, housing, etc. I bought one because the materials seem like they will be nice, and that has value to me.
The price certainly supports that point of view. I saw the name "Essential Phone" and was expecting something basic, low-cost, and simple. Instead it's priced at the top end of the market (about 3x what I would ever dream of spending on a phone).
Seems like they really meant "uncluttered", but "essential" sounds better. Who knows, if it isn't a good phone I will return it and wait for the next Pixel.
This quote from Antoine de Saint Exupéry fits pretty well here, if there is any french passing by.
J'interdis aux marchands de vanter trop leur marchandises. Car ils se font vite pédagogues et t'enseignent comme but ce qui n'est par essence qu'un moyen, et te trompant ainsi sur la route à suivre les voilà bientôt qui te dégradent, car si leur musique est vulgaire ils te fabriquent pour te la vendre une âme vulgaire. Or, s'il est bon que les objets soient fondés pour servir les hommes il serait monstrueux que les hommes fussent fondés pour servir de poubelles aux objets.
> No, it's really not. It's literally just a tool I use for communication.
I'm curious, wouldn't that imply you're not the demographic they're seeking? So are you basically saying, "I'm not in their demographic"? Or is there another point to your comment that I'm missing. I ask because often I see people get pissy about statements like this, almost as if they think the web page was curated for them.
I could make a webpage targeted at guitarists with something like "Your guitar is something you cherish", and clearly that statement isn't true for someone who neither owns a guitar nor plays. So what purpose is a statement like this?
I don't make snarky comments at bra commercials on TV about how I don't have breasts and therefor am not concerned with support. Do you (assuming you're male, of course haha)?
I don't like the marketing appeal to some sort of deep emotional instinct that the advertisement is making. I think it's ridiculous that consumer goods represent who I am and what I might stand for. That's silliness and hyperbole, right? To say that a person's phone choice defines them in any sort of meaningful way is extremely silly to me. This feels similar to something like:
"This product stands for freedom! You stand for freedom don't you?"
The guitar analogy is not accurate - your statement about cherishing the guitar is evaluated internally and is true or false. It's not the same as saying the guitar publicly and externally (and deliberately!) defines you and what you stand for.
"There goes lolsal - now there's a guy that really stands for non-branded personal compute devices!" Give me a break.
> To say that a person's phone choice defines them in any sort of meaningful way is extremely silly to me.
For someone buying a mainstream product like a Samsung or Apple phone, I'd agree that it doesn't mean very much. To someone buying a niche product like this though, it definitely says something about the person's values.
It's amazing for me to see that Apple, once lightyears ahead with the original iPhone, is now being overtaken by small companies with features such as bezel less displays, wireless charging, high bandwidth data coupling etc.
Of course we'll have to see if Essential can actually deliver on their promise...
This is not a really fair comparison. For a device whose primary purpose is generally media consumption, a headphone jack is a real feature. To me it's currently a must as I don't want to buy more head phones when I already have a few really good pairs.
I know you say generally, but I usually use my phone for communication, not media consumption. It may be an age bracket thing, as the folks I associate with seem to be much the same. At most, I browse the web.
As also a fan of Apple, the lack of a headphone jack bites me about once a week and reminds me that I'm using an artificially constrained device. I also have BT headphones and they are comically unsuited for use with gaming and music apps.
At least with Apple, you can expect things like this because they're an (often annoyingly) opinionated company. No idea why all the Android companies followed suit, though. Wired headphones aren't going anywhere in the next few decades.
Same. I also really, really like the AirPods. It's gotten to the point where sometimes I forget they're in my ears and it feels like the music is just playing in my head. It's a really weird but exciting feeling for me.
Could you recommend a pair of cheap, studio quality, headphones that use bluetooth? Also a pair of good value, audiophile quality earbuds that use bluetooth?
Please don't suggest Beats by Dre, or Apple. They aren't either.
I didn't mention the insertion of shit codecs, either. Or replacing them every couple of years when the soldered in battery dies (as opposed to my Sony MDRs, that I've been using almost daily for a decade). Or trying to use them for 6+ hours a day, and keep them charged.
Or the killer feature of knockabout earbuds: that they cost $10 or so you can use them without worrying about leaving them somewhere, and afford to keep a pair in every bag.
Another thing, there's simply not enough 2.4ghz bandwidth available in a crowded environment [like an airplane] for everyone and their pet dog to have 2 channels of skip free low latency high def audio
Depending on what you call "cheap", Plantronics' Backbeat Pro. Works well with a cable attached to a sound desk, works well on Bluetooth with an Android phone, works well plugged into a Macbook, just about works on Bluetooth with a Macbook when you turn the Magic Trackpad off and make sure the Mac is trying to send it a high quality stream.
Slightly off-topic: my experience with Bluetooth does make me wonder how many people have been put off by Apple's Bluetooth stack. But given the alternative is a work-provided USB headset, I just plug the headphones in.
Or I could buy a phone that doesn't require an audio adapter, which is easily lost and prevents you from charging the phone and listening to music at the same time.
Removing the headphone jack is a rediculous and unnecessary regression. We have plenty of choice among phones, and I won't compromise on something that could have so easily been included -- and is included by almost every competitor.
It's because 1) they want to save space inside the housing for other components, and 2) industry leaders want to move the industry beyond wired headphones.
694 comments
[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 370 ms ] threadHave they discussed whether the phone is designed to be rooted easily ? Like a nexus device, for instance ?
https://twitter.com/essential/status/870381000852996099
https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/6eppuc/the_essenti...
Edit: Sprint is currently estimating August 28 on their shipping page.
What it has is a 2 year $99 extra warranty, on top of a $699 price.
I just feel like it's a rip off to ask me to shell out £500 every two years for new iPhone, £600 for new iPad and £2000 for new MacBook Pro (prices are my best guess, I think new iPhones actually go for as much as £700 with better specs). So I try to go using my current tech longer.
It's also environment friendly. Bad for companies if more customers start thinking like this because they depend on selling the same device over and over again with minor tweaks.
The OS runs a little slow on the 5's hardware now too. :/
Thanks to non-replaceable batteries, most phones will barely last half a day after 2 years. That was the only reason I upgraded.
The vast vast majority of people with access to mobile phones do not have the way or means to replace them at the rate you suggest.
That probably means:
- waterproof and dustproof
- shock resistant for drops from waist height to a hard surface
- replaceable battery
- stronger (heavier) frame
- a bezel around the screen that comes out a millimeter or two to protect it
- a back not made of glass
That sounds like a phone worth paying $700 for.
>Project Fi is available on the Pixel, Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, and Nexus 6. Currently these are the only smartphones to support our network of networks. You must have the North American model of the above devices in order to use it on the Project Fi network.
However, I had problems with Project Fi sending my calls to random other peoples' phones across the country even when I was using my sim in my Nexus so I went back to T-Mobile.
0. http://arkienet.com/2016/03/fi-on-a-non-nexus-phone-is-like-...
Thank you!
> Essential Phone will get guaranteed Android OS updates for 2 years and will get monthly security updates for 3 years, so your phone will always be secure and have the latest features.
I do not think the word "always" means what they think it means :)
(Sorry, not a native English speaker)
Granted, third party roms are not for the average user but it amazes me how few on HN seem to run them and instead whine about why their 3 or 4 year old phone is no longer getting the latest greatest. People here like to point to Apple/iOS but really, how many of the iPrecious users are still on an iphone 4 or 5? Seems that crowd rolls over every 12 to 18 months so what difference does it make?
(with protection plan) $5 per week for 3 years for security updates
$7.60 per week for 2 years for OS updates
Why, if it still works fine?
//Nexus 7 (2012) user here
I have a moto g3 quadcore and 1G(maybe 2G)RAM. I cannot reason about slow performance for non gaming / pixel heavy stuff.
https://i.imgur.com/9dnRrA0.jpg
When I bought the extended battery kit it lasted from 3-5 days. 3 major Android releases later it is rivaling some dumbphones.
Not having to worry ever about battery life has been life-changing and I'm not going back.
It still works fine, although I do use Firefox with ad-blocking extensions. I doubt I'll need to replace it for at least another year.
I also have a first generation Moto G (~2014) and an app I have here (OS Monitor) reports 70% battery health. In practical terms, the battery lasts a day of normal usage.
On the other hand, I have a ~2 year old Toshiba, and Linux here is reporting 0% battery health and a "last full capacity" of 0 mAh. If I unplug it, it goes under in 5-10 minutes (factory battery life was about 2:30 hours).
I read that the biggest battery killer is heat, not charge/discharge cycles.
Regardless, and if I am not mistaken, that figure of 1000 charge cycles is for cycles of 100% discharge (or as close as you can get before the protection circuits cut in) followed by 100% charge. This rarely happens in the "real world" and thus that figure will probably be much higher when adjusted for real world conditions.
(Off-topic) I still prefer Android with its volunteer ecosystem due to the freedom it offers me with respect to my devices. I have tried to switch to iOS a couple of times due to my perception of their stronger privacy policies but my use cases, which I have been familiar with since the days of Palm, are incompatible with non-rooted iOS use models.
Apple offers ~3 years of software updates included in the price of the phone.
Right now, Android companies COMPLETELY FAIL to match Apple's update value.
The idea that Android companies should switch to a paid update subscription model, while iDevices retain free updates for most of device life, would be a hilariously incompetent decision.
"They're better than us, we know it, so why not subscribe to us and pay us monthly to help us catch up to what they were doing a decade ago?"
I wouldn't mind getting an additional Android device, but two years of upgrades really isn't enough. It's nice to get a new OS upgrade every year.
Also five years for the iPhone 5 (2012-2017). since iOS 11 supports the iPhone 5s, it will also get its fifth years of updates. (Hopefully more! Mine is still going strong, the arm64 processor was revolutionary.)
Five years does not seem to be an outlier for iPhones anymore.
For reference, the September 2016 release of iOS 10 (which the 4S didn't get) corresponds to the iPhone 7 release. Software for the 4S was maintained through the releases of 5, 5S, 6, and 6S.
Granted it chugged a bit on the newer OSes and developers (especially 3rd party and web developers) started to waste enormous chunks of screen space because they collectively didn't give a shit about anyone who still had a 4" phone, but it's better treatment than you'd have gotten with any Android phone.
The closest apples-to-apples comparison would be Google's Nexus and Pixel lines to iPhone. In that case, the Nexus 5 came out in 2013 and received updates into 2016, before being dropped for Nougat. Pretty much all of their phones have seen similar support (N4: 2012-2015, N6: 2014-present, etc).
Sony seems to be nudging in that direction with their unified kernel, which should mean they at least only have to backport hacks once. They also have some vague attempts at mainline support.
Google provides core OS -> manufacturers add drivers -> done
(Of course this skips the "manufacturers add shitware" step).
But I've been told ARM just doesn't work that way and for whatever reason that I don't completely understand, hardware can't be abstracted this way on ARM.
> Devices shouldn’t become outdated every year. They should evolve with you.
Also the design looks much nicer than average cheap Android phones.
They only promised 3 years of security updates.
Make me a $200 phone with 3 years of updates and I'll be impressed, or an Android flagship with 5 years.
LineageOS is the continuation of CyanogenMod after Cyanogen Inc decided to close their Seattle office and pivot away from Android. The best way I can put it is "easily buildable Android for unlocked devices" (that is, assuming your device is supported - if it isn't, it's a bit more work). There are a handful of modifications but overall it's close to stock.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/6e6f48/exclusive_t...
Why should I care about this?
To be fair though, Sprint is one of the easier carriers to work with after T-Mobile. I can't imagine them releasing a phone on AT&T or Verizon, as their process is grueling. I guess since they're selling an unlockcked version of their phone, it doesn't really matter to power users. However, most sales for smartphones are from contracts sold directly from carriers so it'll be interesting to see how they'll do in the market with their current strategy (similar to One Plus One).
Props to them though. It's not just about carrier certification. Releasing a smartphone is a long complex process. Some engineers at Sprint were briefly talking about how great the phone was, so I have high hopes.
I'm kinda sort interested in this device, but honestly I'm in the sit and wait given that Sharp isn't exactly a name brand anymore.
Man, if you actually tried to sell your phones, Sharp, they might have sold? Funny concept.
If this phone is indeed a Sharp creation, I'm all over it.
This is classic Japanese market electronics. Rather than increase bottom line, add loads of niceties to compete.
My phone was a smartphone, a mobile wallet (osaifu-keitai, tap-to-pay), my train pass (osaifu-keitai is different hardware to android pay, as it works on turnstiles, even when the phone is dead/off, and has been a thing since 2004), a television (over the air!), an answering machine (no messages stored by carrier; the phone picks up if you don't answer and records it to the SD card), had those privacy filter things, and a really responsive camera.
Sadly, it has a non-replaceable battery and refuses to update android unless it can connect to a docomo tower (I think docomo hosts it's phone's system updates on internal network only, not internet). I had to retire the phone long before the hardware gave out.
I'm pretty much stuck with the phone's stock android because A) It's sharp, so the android hacking community hasn't heard of it. and B) I don't think any ROM would have drivers for any of the galapagos features. (especially I need osaifu-keitai, which as well as being a wallet and my train pass, has all of my arcade top scores associated with it (whenever I go, I just tap the phone and the arcade machine looks me up - unlocks all the bonuses I've achieved and my prefs))
Oh, wow.
> Anyone looking from the side will instead see a floral pattern, butterfly pattern, or something else I forget (stars?), depending on your setting.
Wow.
> (You can't pick beyond these three because each pattern is physically its own layer it looks like)
I see.
> This is classic Japanese market electronics. Rather than increase bottom line, add loads of niceties to compete.
TIL the Japanese are still ahead of us with stuff that's really nice, and the rest of the world succumbed to being flooded out with high-fructose corn syrup laden toy electronics that hack our attention spans.
> My phone was a smartphone, a mobile wallet (osaifu-keitai, tap-to-pay), my train pass (osaifu-keitai is different hardware to android pay, as it works on turnstiles, even when the phone is dead/off, and has been a thing since 2004), a television (over the air!), an answering machine (no messages stored by carrier; the phone picks up if you don't answer and records it to the SD card), had those privacy filter things, and a really responsive camera.
Wow.
I can't find it now but I remember seeing a Japanese phone that had OTA TV, a GPS, and even a fingerprint reader on the back. I checked the date, and the thing was made in 2008. Shakes head
> Sadly, it has a non-replaceable battery and refuses to update android unless it can connect to a docomo tower (I think docomo hosts it's phone's system updates on internal network only, not internet). I had to retire the phone long before the hardware gave out.
Hah.
> I'm pretty much stuck with the phone's stock android because A) It's sharp, so the android hacking community hasn't heard of it. and B) I don't think any ROM would have drivers for any of the galapagos features.
Mmmm...
> (especially I need osaifu-keitai, which as well as being a wallet and my train pass, has all of my arcade top scores associated with it (whenever I go, I just tap the phone and the arcade machine looks me up - unlocks all the bonuses I've achieved and my prefs))
_wow_ that is absolutely awesome.
What's really sad is that if this sort of integration ever came to the US I know it'd be used in the most invasive ways possible :(
I wonder if there are any videos documenting any of this out there. I wouldn't mind seeing this stuff in action, especially the game console bit. That's awesome.
The problem with the US market is that reviewers look for any superficial reason to slam you.
Smartphones are a brutal business to be in, especially in North America, where Apple and Samsung have basically locked up the high end of the market and everyone else is fighting for the scraps (and usually losing tons of money in the process). Probably Sharp just realized there was really no way to break in, especially considering they'd have to start from scratch with channels like carrier partnerships, retail presence, and advertising.
OnePlus has none of these and seems very successful.
- Asking when accessories would be available on their site (car chargers and screen protectors were out of stock)
Supposedly Lineage runs well on them btw.
These problems are not acceptable for a modern phone company.
On the plus side I plug my dash charger in and forty minutes later I've got a charge that will last the day.
But agreed that if I forget to bring it on overnight trips it's annoying.
And the phone has worked flawlessly for my needs.
Huh? The phone ships with the screen protector already applied.
I was referring to tempered glass protectors. I didn't realize that people still use plastic ones.
Again, I can assure you from personal experience that this isn't true.
Also, the phone came with a screen protector which is still on after 1 year of use.
The phone is great in every way except ergonomics. It's so fat that holding it hurts my hand. Apparently they had a smaller model for the generation before the 3, but the OnePlus 5 is absurdly fat only; I'm not going to be able to keep buying their phones.
Patents and different cellular bands (meaning radical antennae design).
2 - I used a friend's phone; I didn't like the fingerprint scanner on the back. ymmv.
These are obviously nitpicks, but the Pixel is $900 out the door (128g, tax, case, etc.)
The first part about SIM support seems much more relevant than the second part about their state-of-the-art radios. The Nexus 6 came out in November 2014. Carrier oligopolies are the reason for this as far as I can tell.
Is this still true? I just bought a new phone (on Verizon) and they didn't even have a contract subsidy option anymore. I know T-Mobile also dropped this a couple years ago.
There are 10 man companies in China making custom phones from reference designs. On my own memory, there was a company that managed to make a phone in under 3 month in 2011
If that drop test is duplicated by a third party that would indeed be impressive.
Thanks for answering my question.
Woah. Tens of thousands? I would think a few thousand at most. There must be more to this story than I'm currently aware of. (This is the first I've ever heard of it.)
Of course, it's only being sold in the US. Do you know how awful it is for a single customer to try to buy something from another country?
Would you mind elaborating?
I once payed ~$30 import tax for ~$40 worth of books from Amazon. I ended up purchasing Kindle (no delivery inside of my country, so I had it delivered to another country + didn't declare it at the airport) just to avoid dealing with all of the above for book deliveries.
And I'm not living anywhere remotely inaccessible. I've lived most of my life like 500 meters + a river away from the European Union country.
In a previous life, I worked on a duty calculator, to help merchants inform their customers about any estimated duties, taxes and fees associated with the importation of goods.
Being in the US, it's pretty easy getting goods so cross border commerce pains is something we can't easily empathize with.
No, it's really not. It's literally just a tool I use for communication.
People seem to believe they can infer a very weird amount from a smidgen more than 1 bit of information.
That you likely don't just own an iPhone, but also an mac laptop (or desktop), as well as at least one Apple TV. (i-devices don't integrate well with non-Apple ecosystems)
It's also likely that you have tens to hundreds of dollars invested in the iTunes and App stores.
In short, it says you have money. A commitment to around $100 a month on a phone, plus the implied other devices and digital purchases, is not a trivial outlay if you're making less than your average individual.
It's also entirely possible that you simply value projecting the impression of money to others enough to justify the outlay of money for the iPhone, but that still relies on the impression of money.
- I'm currently buying a new ThinkPad.
- I have never owned an Apple TV. My iPhone integrates just fine with my Sony TV.
- I have never bought anything in iTunes.
- My phone plan costs 10€ per month.
Seems like stereotypes aren't that simple.
WRT iPhone integrating with Sony TV - how? Not something I've ever heard of before.
And somewhat off. My phone is two generations old, so the amortized per-month cost of the phone is rather lower. Cheap, last-gen macbook Air[1], but no Apple TV. I've bought exactly one album from iTunes, but yes, apps. You've basically caught me mid-migration away from the ecosystem. It takes a while.
[1] At this point, the only things keeping me from switching entirely to Linux are backing up the iPhone and running OmniFocus. And when I have time to noodle with it, I'm liking orgmode.
Somehow, I still manage to write free software that I care about, release it for free, and contribute to other FOSS projects. Caring about free software doesn't mean I have to use ONLY free software.
What you're doing with that argument is called gatekeeping http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Gatekeeping
For example, you have a good chance of wearing boots rather than sneakers, because they can deal with mud puddles or snow or whatever. They cost more, but they are simple and reliable in all environments.
You are expressing those values, other people pick up on it. just because you don't cultivate an image, you still have an image.
It's a statement a large share of poeple would say, so it doesn't mean much.
In other words, if he states that's why he got a particular phone, then yes. However, just by having a particular phone, nobody can draw any significant information from it other than he owns a phone.
There is always the significant chance that the person did not choose their phone (e.g. work phone).
I like functional black slabs that don't try to be "trendy"
Ie, if OP uses a flip phone from the 90s, s/he may clearly not care about their phone and may not use it as a form of expression. Nevertheless, I'll be damned if it doesn't express something about that person. That person is deviating from the norm, which is always an expression of something - knowingly or otherwise.
So I'd argue that even if they wanted to be needlessly pissy in these comments about how untrue the statement is to their own personal self - I'd argue it's still accurate. It may not be an intended form of personal expression, but it's definitely one of many things that informs the nearby public. Everyone makes external "book cover" readings, after all - to one degree or another.
edit to clarify: What statements can you (anyone, not just personally you) make about the expression I'm making with any degree of accuracy or confidence?
If you were to get this phone, I'd hazard that you're interested in supporting this kind of brand and what it stands for, even if only a small aspect of it.
edit: Actually you could only assert that I have a cigar. I could have purchased it as a gift for someone else, or am currently being asked to transport it, or maybe I found it on the ground... etc. It certainly does not with any certainty make a 'public expression' about me.
I think I can safely say that offering a variety of colors would not be an appealing feature to you. I also feel safe guessing battery life is a bigger factor in your purchasing decision than the brand of the phone. You're probably not very influenced by which celebrities use which phone. You also probably don't buy new phones on release day.
- Maybe it's a work phone and I had no choice in the matter? - Maybe I have a specific requirement (like a specific app I need) which requires a specific platform? - Maybe my preferred phone recently broke and I could only immediately afford the phone in my hand? - Maybe the phone was a gift and I had no say in the matter?
There are lots of not-unlikely scenarios like the above which mean any conclusion you might try to draw would have a very low level of accuracy.
I'm not interested in defending/participating in your particular evaluation of whatever phone you think I might have, I'm just making generic points that those guesses are essentially worthless, except for making internal musings and assumptions about me (which you could do about anything).
But it sounds like all my conclusions are still accurate in all your hypothetical scenarios. I never tried to guess which phone you had. Only a few basic things that would be prime targets for advertising. Such as in every hypothetical you mention, the fact that <pick a celebrity> uses a certain phone has no influence on the purchase. Except maybe the gift, but then it's not about your thoughts on phones, but the one purchasing the gift (hopefully they know you well enough that you prefer function over form).
> I'm just making generic points that those guesses are essentially worthless
Not at all. They may not 100% apply to your directly, but a company isn't selling to you. They're selling to a statistical distribution including you.
The guesses are only worthless now that you're offering hypothetical scenarios. Your earlier comment is definitely telling about your decisions in using and purchasing a phone.
I guess I'm just complaining out loud because I don't like the idea of every product that is pushed at me trying to claim that it somehow defines me as a person and what I stand for.
J'interdis aux marchands de vanter trop leur marchandises. Car ils se font vite pédagogues et t'enseignent comme but ce qui n'est par essence qu'un moyen, et te trompant ainsi sur la route à suivre les voilà bientôt qui te dégradent, car si leur musique est vulgaire ils te fabriquent pour te la vendre une âme vulgaire. Or, s'il est bon que les objets soient fondés pour servir les hommes il serait monstrueux que les hommes fussent fondés pour servir de poubelles aux objets.
So that it doesn't break as easily if it falls down? At least that's my reason.
> Devices are your personal property. We won’t force you to have anything you don’t want.
I'm curious, wouldn't that imply you're not the demographic they're seeking? So are you basically saying, "I'm not in their demographic"? Or is there another point to your comment that I'm missing. I ask because often I see people get pissy about statements like this, almost as if they think the web page was curated for them.
I could make a webpage targeted at guitarists with something like "Your guitar is something you cherish", and clearly that statement isn't true for someone who neither owns a guitar nor plays. So what purpose is a statement like this?
I don't make snarky comments at bra commercials on TV about how I don't have breasts and therefor am not concerned with support. Do you (assuming you're male, of course haha)?
"This product stands for freedom! You stand for freedom don't you?"
The guitar analogy is not accurate - your statement about cherishing the guitar is evaluated internally and is true or false. It's not the same as saying the guitar publicly and externally (and deliberately!) defines you and what you stand for.
"There goes lolsal - now there's a guy that really stands for non-branded personal compute devices!" Give me a break.
For someone buying a mainstream product like a Samsung or Apple phone, I'd agree that it doesn't mean very much. To someone buying a niche product like this though, it definitely says something about the person's values.
Of course we'll have to see if Essential can actually deliver on their promise...
So, my observation that Apple is no longer ahead of the competition (in terms of innovation, not volume) holds true.
But of course I am being downvoted into oblivion...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVME_l4IwII
To this customer, getting tangled in your headphones is a bigger problem than shit sound and $400 headphones that die after a year's use.
I just kept adapters on the ends of my two pairs of headphones and it wasn't an issue.
Then I got AirPods (any good BT headphones would work) and care even less.
I was a tiny bit worried, but it ended up being a non-issue for me.
At least with Apple, you can expect things like this because they're an (often annoyingly) opinionated company. No idea why all the Android companies followed suit, though. Wired headphones aren't going anywhere in the next few decades.
Please don't suggest Beats by Dre, or Apple. They aren't either.
Or the killer feature of knockabout earbuds: that they cost $10 or so you can use them without worrying about leaving them somewhere, and afford to keep a pair in every bag.
Slightly off-topic: my experience with Bluetooth does make me wonder how many people have been put off by Apple's Bluetooth stack. But given the alternative is a work-provided USB headset, I just plug the headphones in.
Also WTF at your username
https://www.amazon.com/s/?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywo...
Removing the headphone jack is a rediculous and unnecessary regression. We have plenty of choice among phones, and I won't compromise on something that could have so easily been included -- and is included by almost every competitor.
It's because 1) they want to save space inside the housing for other components, and 2) industry leaders want to move the industry beyond wired headphones.
Another audio device lacking the cheapest, most popular and reliable audio interface... No thanks.
[1] http://www.red.com/hydrogen
Who can think of this as a good idea is beyond me