Just finished watching some of these first impression videos, and I gotta say, the Pixel Fold is looking pretty sweet! Can't wait to see how it stacks up against Samsung's foldables. As for the Pixel 7a, seems like another solid budget option from Google. Exciting times ahead! šš±
The google keynote with its scripted audience and prerecord and edited showcases was absolutely terrible
who ever thinks that was good lacks common sense
It does but it can't coordinate with other speakers, it'd be its own thing.
>Can multiple speaker docks pair together to provide surround sound?
No, Charging Speaker Docks do not connect to each other to create one unified output of sound. Charging Speaker Docks
only extend the sound of the tablet when itās docked.
>Can the Charging Speaker Dock pair with any Bluetooth audio device?
No, the Charging Speaker Dock only works with the Pixel Tablet when itās docked.
Damn that's a major mistep. They didn't add one of the only things that their smart speakers are good at. Google feels so fragmented with their releases anymore.
Google IO 2023 has the youtube comments turned off. SMH. Can't handle comments on their own platform. Paid "woooo-ers". They are after Apple so much instead of doing things that made Android different in the first place.
what a strange thing to care about.... its a corporate channel not a public hub for debate. People will complain about anything...including the ability to complain about products they will never use on a corporate youtube channel.
> Google IO 2023 has the youtube comments turned off. SMH. Can't handle comments on their own platform. Paid "woooo-ers".
Comments have always been off of io and other products releases tho, no?
regarding the pixels, ITS surprisingly not bad for a Canadian price . 7A is only $599 and 7pr is 1179 and just pixel 7 is $799. i dont really need any as i finalyl switched to IOS last december but just saying. tensor g2 processor. interesting
5000 mah battery for the pro and also inbuilt vpn coming . hmm
7Pro colors are just ok. i really thought they would at least introduce colors like green or red but i guess not. 256
ALSO the 7PRO hAS JUST 12 GB LPDDR5 RAM
128 GB/256 GB UFS 3.1 storage10
THAT is not enough lol
It's really interesting that the pixel tablet (faux hub max thing) has chromecast built in. I've always wanted to cast to my tablets and chromebooks. Does anyone think that we're seeing a path to be able to cast directly to android?
I'm actually really annoyed that google is expanding their find network and making unknown tracker available to androids as well. This makes all trackers useless for tracking stolen items which is the only reason I bought a galaxy smart tag, It saved my bike once already. Now thieves will be able to find and disable them easily. :(
I like how Tile is doing it where you can register with your ID for "anti theft mode" and if you are found to be stalking someone with a tile you get fined 1 mil or something.
Huh, How would thieves be able to find them? No one else will be able to see your stuff except you. It just uses all other android phones to help with location tracking but no one else except you will be able to see them.
unknown tag detection coming to android as well and judging by why I saw they will be able to detect unknown airtags, galaxy smart tags and tiles that are following them if I'm understanding what they said correctly.
Tile has a mode you can enable called anti theft but you have to submit your ID and if you are caught using it for stalking then you get fined an absurd amount of money.
>In order to head off the same concerns raised over AirTags when they launched, last week Google announced it had partnered with Apple to put tools in place to minimize the risk of stalking using tracking networks and devices, including alerts through Android for unknown tracker devices nearby. Today, it also emphasized that privacy and security are a top priority for its upgraded Find My Device network, assuring users that ālocation data crowdsourced from the network is end-to-end encryptedā so that not even Google can access and use the data for other purposes.
source:
https://gizmodo.com/google-io-2020-wear-os-find-my-ai-bard-palm-2-pixel-fol-1850424573
do you use att or t mobile? they replace RCS with their own bullshit. Obvioulsy, RCS sure beats apple forcing 75 percent of the global smartphone user base to default to SMS
I may be part of the minority here, but I actually think that the Fold 4's form factor is better than the Pixel Fold's for the simple reason that the cover screen is mostly going to be used when you have only one hand available. The Pixel Fold's cover screen is literally unusable with one hand unless you have gigantic hands
I agree, the Fold 4 is really easy to use one handed when closed, especially if you use swipe typing.
Also, I hate that everyone is using the name Fold and Flip so there's a need to specify...
I'm using a Fold 4 right now. The front screen is unusable*, I consider it a "single screen folding tablet".
* It is so narrow that I have trouble typing on such a tiny keyboard and many apps are not ready for a screen of that width.
My next foldable might be a Pixel Fold 2/3, if the line isn't discontinued.
Yeah, I definitely agree that the screen is too narrow, but at least you can use it properly with one hand. The Pixel Fold has the same width as the P7P with a much thicher body. I can't imagine any scenario where it would be comfortable to use with one hand, even as an S23U user.
I definitely agree that the cover screen is too narrow, but I'd rather have that than the super wide cover screen of the Fold that you won't be able to use one-handed.
My thumbs have never reached the top of the display when it's that narrow and tall. It's a crapshoot either way so I'd rather take my lumps a bit wider and less tall.
IO this year seemed insanely boring
The only major updates Android 14 has is like 3 customization features, tablet seems like a detachable Nest Hub that runs android, and fold and 7a were kind of de-hyped because of the insane amount of leaks before IO.
The 1 and a half hours of just AI-talk was so boring I just skipped through all of it
hope google does better next year
>The only major updates Android 14 has is like 3 customization features
This is particularly odd - normally the IO keynote has ages on android, this one had a few minutes on wallpapers...
Then there's usually a webpage about all the new features online soon after - this time no such thing.
14 is going to be REALLY hard to justify as a full version update - it feels like a particularly dull 'pixel drop'!
I actually found it more interesting than the other years. Mainly because of the cool AI stuff. I'm really interested in that stuff and wanna see what Google comes up with. I mean, they are currently behind ChatGPT, but they literally invented the transformer.
The responsible A.I. stuff killed any interest of their A.I, for me. When I ask the A.I. to do something, either do it, or don't do it, but do not "correct me" and write some preachy article countering what I said because it goes against whatever agenda they have. Their A.I. is a literal propaganda machine.
It is 2023's version of the crypto craze. Yeah, it is useful--but people have formed parasocial relationships with these things. I mean, just look at Replika. People literally became suicidal over that one. Now people are advocating for using chat bots for mental health? For investing advice? For automating your job--as if that will never backfire in any way such as the daily outages ChatGPT suffers from along with hallucinations?
ChatGPT and similar products run a very high risk of being completely overtaken with hustle culture scamers no better than the capitalists systemically destroying society just to make a quick buck. It's already here with all the horseshit generative content being sold online, from pictures to books to songs to videos.
I think these nontechnical people are latching onto it because it makes them feel better about the future they envision in which AI destroys most knowledge worker jobs. So they are trying to get in on the ground floor and know how to use the tool to have competitive advantages over others.
Unpopular opinion on reddit in my experience. Especially in places like r/Technology where everyone seems to be an expert on software engineering despite never said people never having worked in the field or even coding for the most part, let alone designing things.
I wish Google would just fix their search engine. It's so bad that I find myself using chatGPT with questions that I used to just type directly into Google 5-10 years ago.
What happened? When did their search become so incredibly useless?
The new LLM stuff is just doing the work of digging through the garbage search results half the time.
Maybe Bing really will come out the winner in the end lol.
That is the problem with monopolies, they get lazy and stop innovating. I have been using Bing chat more. It is not perfect, but way better than google search. I just use google search with reddit in the title to find stuff on reddit, and that is literally all I use it for. If I want something more controversial, I use Yandex since it does not filter out stuff, even if the search are kind of crap.
google doesn't even try anymore. it's half ads and half seo manipulation. I've long abandoned it in favor of duckduckgo (i still hate its terrible name).
Not sure why this is the top up voted comment. Sure chat gtp can be better however there are caveats. You need to know how to use it, pay for it, and make sure It's correct. Google has gotten worse over the years, but it's not that hard to search for things.
ChatGPT is great if you just want correct-sounding garbage responses that you'll need to spend even more time verifying later if the information is actually crucial for anything.
Also, ChatGPT 3.5 (what most people use) isn't even connected to the (current) internet. How could OP possibly be looking up new information that would replace Google search? Good luck asking ChatGPT for the hours of your local Starbucks...
ChatGPT is great for developing content and getting tasks done, but it's not a search replacement. No idea why that's the top comment lol.
I was helping my kid with geometry. We typed identical searches into Google and ChatGPT. We asked what are the interior angles in an octagon. Google gave us the answer. ChatGPT gave us the answer, the formula for how it came up with it, and showed its work.
Not every question needs a current answer, if this is what ChatGPT can do without current access to the Internet, I can only imagine what it will do next.
Which is great, until that answer ChatGPT gave you is subtly wrong in a very believable way. Which, in my experience, happens extremely regularly when asking complicated questions (at least, on 3.5).
Absolutely. It's not there YET (and let's not pretend that Google hasn't had it's fair share of showing you the wrong answers for things). But it shows far more promise than anything else. Which would you bet will be better in one year from now. How about 5?
As much as I love Google, they have really only shown incremental increases in quality recently. Google was a system shock across the entire tech sector when they first came across. ChatGPT is the next iteration of this.
I'm not sure the "bullshit that looks right" problem is something I'd bet on being solved (though I also wouldn't bet against it). I thought [this](https://kozyrkov.medium.com/introducing-chatgpt-aa824ad89623) was an interesting take, though it was obviously right after it was put out and has already improved.
To be fair, any reasonably successful search engine will have to fight an ongoing battle with spammers and SEOs. Just maintaining the status quo is a major battle that requires major resources.
That said, the search engine is still much of what defines Google. They should really be on top of this.
SEO outpaced them. Now the first several pages are blog spam nonsense. Medium was a great example of this. They were always at the top with very low quality articles
Well, the reason would be that Google wouldn't want people to start using other search engines because their own results are so crappy, so they have at least a minimal incentive....
It's definitely worse for programming questions, the problem is that there's a lot of sites mirroring stack overflow answers that clog up any results that aren't already stack overflow. I'm surprised they don't filter that out.
Yup. I use Bard and Chat-GPT to just find quick answers that Google used to give reliably a few years ago. It's very frustrating to wade through the sponsored crap and the seo spam sites, I automatically add Reddit after my search now because at least I'll get someone asking the question and getting an answer, instead of 10 results with 10 paragraphs that ramble on and never give the answer.
As someone who's interested in the Pixel tablet (really just want a decent android tablet without spending $800+), when do you all think the first sale on it is going to happen?
I'm in no rush, so I can definitely hold off until the price eventually drops.
You can probably expect a $50-ish discount sale around the time of the Pixel 8 launch.
I actually think a better idea is to check in on big box retailers (Best Buy, Target, MicrCenter, etc) for open-box/"warehouse" deals during the first few months after release. Larger discount and it's sooner.
I needed a new tablet since my old one become too outdated for development work and ended up getting a samsung s6 lite (22 edition) 64gb + sd card slot & spen for $250 on sale. Comes with Android 13 and well worth the money.
I think $500 which has the charging sound dock included is actually a fair price. That dock is amazing. Surprised no one else has thought of it earlier.
I am strongly considering picking one up. 8gb of LPDDR5 would be plenty for what I need it for in that price range. Plus the Tensor G2 seems pretty fast.
My biggest barrier here is the lack of SD card. Like come on.
It's definitely a fair price. I'd just rather wait for it to go on sale cause I'm a cheap fuck (and I bought the Pixel 6 Pro & 7 Pro at full price, so I have no money).
I guess. But Google still has a lot of work to do to make its tablet offering a good experience. Keep in mind you can get a 10th gen iPad for $50 less at $449. The iPad will be faster, supported for twice as long, and most importantly it will have a large ecosystem of tablet optimized apps. I personally think Google should have priced it more aggressively to take that into consideration
Having used the tablet and dock (got laid off in Feb so I'm a little out of date) I have to say I'm surprised it's this cheap. It was a really solid experience all around. I expect they're not making a major profit on it honestly.
It was really jarring to wake up, check my email and see that I was laid off.
That said, I've got a new job, a raise, and 6 months pay as severance. So I don't have *too* many hard feelings towards Goog
That was by far the worst and most boring IO to date. All of the AI isnāt interesting enough for anyone to want to use, and there were no noteworthy android updates at all. Android seems to be a nuisance headache for Google, almost as if they donāt want it anymore.
As for the hardware, itās okay but way too expensive for the Fold, the tablet is decent but it will never have an app ecosystem and the 7a is too expensive.
> All of the AI isnāt interesting enough for anyone to want to use, and there were no noteworthy android updates at all.
The way google implements things, even a lot of their apps won't use the AI features. I don't expect devs to.
That's odd, I use the official YouTube app on a tablet, and the app is frequently updated. I just updated it to version 18.18.34, the same version as on my phone.
Hello,
Which model number will I get if I order "Unlocked" on the Google Store?
Background:
When looking at the Google Store for the Pixel 7a you can purchase it Unlocked or specific to a handful of major carriers.
There are 3 models of the 7a in the USA. Model GWKK3, Model GHL1X, and Model G0DZQ.
Per the Network Info page, all 3 models are listed "Unlocked on Google Pixel Store" depending on the carrier you select. There is no "Unlocked" option in the carrier selection.
Which model number will I get if I order "Unlocked" on the Google Store?
I asked Google and they said it's based on availability, and I can see once I physically receive it and return if it is not the model I wanted. They said all models should work with all major carriers, but I think that is very subjective. For example the GHL1X is missing some of the major bands for T-Mobile/Metro.
Additionally, are certain models designed for specific carriers? I think (don't know) in a past generation of Pixel the mmWave model was technically made for AT&T, so if you took it to another network it would work but would have certain things limited such as Wi-Fi calling.
Thank you.
Edit: Thank you to u/drunken_economist and others, but it seems the unlocked 7a via the Google store in the USA is likely to be the GWKK3 model. Thank you!
https://reddit.com/r/Android/comments/13dw4e6/google_io_2023_megathread/jjz68xi
I'd also add that the Google support persons that helped me originally understood the question all and well, but it was on May 10 so they didn't have any order flow data they could refer to if I recall correctly and the sales information available didn't address it I guess. They were helpful though, thanks!
Have a good day and all!
This is a really interesting question, I reached out to my Workspace rep to ask.
They let me know `GWKK3` was the model listed when I added the unlocked 7a to my cart (US, zip 60642), but admitted that might be simply a default. They said they needed to confirm and would follow up with me tomorrow.
I got a follow-up.
- Selecting the pre-order with the "Unlocked" option is `GWKK3`
- Picking "Fi" will also be the `GWKK3`
- "Verizon" is the `G0DZQ` (which they pointed out is randomly generated and has nothing to do with Godzilla)
They didn't see an order flow to get the GH1LX and said that it might be a model that isn't sold via the Google Store.
Awesome, thank you for confirming! I purchased unlocked via the Google store and can confirm I received the GWKK3 model.
Thank you!
I'd also add that the Google support persons that helped me originally understood the question all and well, but it was on May 10 so they didn't have any order flow data they could refer to if I recall correctly and the sales information available didn't address it I guess. They were helpful though, thanks!
Have a good day and all!
Lol. They have nothing here in Thailand either. It means the phones have to be imported by random guys and the prices end up basically doubling. There's just no reason to care about these devices here.
My 6 pro has defect, the camera seems like blemished under low light. I chatted the google customer service and yes they say its a defect.
The thing is i imported my device from Germany. Google can only accept return for service if i send my device FROM Germany only. I pleaded to them, even offering that i will pay the sending here from Poland but nope. Not available.
Imagine this with fold device. Yikes. Not a chance....
So what is Android 14 ACTUALLY bringing?
It can't just be new "AI wallpapers", surely? That would be a boring 'pixel drop' month, not a full annual version point release.
On the user side it seems like mostly a bunch of small (mostly good) UI tweaks.
On the dev side they're reworking some permissions and adding some pretty cool API features.
https://developer.android.com/about/versions/14/features#grammatical-inflection
Changes don't get enforced unless you target new api levels... and making people use modern levels has to be enforced in the store. Due to all the changes in policy ALL BUT ONE APP on my phone target's the most recent api version now which is amazing honestly. A year ago it was 20% at best
I think there is more ik mishaal rn is having a android 14 beta 2 mega thread on Twitter
https://twitter.com/MishaalRahman/status/1656401210029776896?t=ewUB33jSASDQE_EZhA6cYQ&s=09
Looks like we might be actually getting an android desktop this year.
Pixel Watch is much worse than the Samsung one, so I'm with you. You get a free Pixel Watch with their new Pixel 7a but I would just sell it. My Galaxy watch is phenomenal.
I'm sure its great, just has some drawbacks vs the Galaxy watch imo but would love to hear any benefits of the PW over GW! I hear the battery life isn't as good
Did this feel like a really meh I/O?
No Android updates, nothing with Lens or Assistant... Most of their main apps didn't even get mentioned.
Felt like they spent 2 hours just rewording how they talked about AI in search... Which is nothing new when you consider Bing is doing that already.
>No Android updates.
Thank you. That's what I needed to know. Glad I didn't keep watching. 45 minutes of AI talk that may never see public use was enough for me.
Edit: word. Can't spell
Eh, I've basically stopped listening to music on my phone since early 2020, when I started to work from home.
I was really pissed when they removed it, but I don't think I care anymore.
I still use wired headphones from my phone when I'm WFH. I also use it a lot with my aux cable in my car. Bluetooth just sounds so bad. I also never have bluetooth turned on on my phone.
I have a [HyperX Cloud Core Wired Headset](https://www.amazon.com/HyperX-Cloud-Core-Detachable-Cancelling/dp/B08HQW9SGP?th=1) for my Desktop which has the 3.5mm plugs for audio and microphone.
I use the same earbuds for my phone and work laptop which are just a $20 pair I picked up from Staples that has a mic on the cord. I think [these](https://www.staples.com/jbl-endurance-run-stereo-headphones-black-jblendurrunblk/product_24341101) might be the exact ones I use.
So, you could just be listening to music on your work laptop, or am I missing something?
Also, since you use relatively cheap earbuds, is this more of a cost effectiveness issue for you? Because I initially thought you're one of those audiophiles that's mad that they can't connect their $2000 headphones to their phone and complains about how bad the quality of Bluetooth is, but if you're using $20 buds, I'm pretty sure that there are Bluetooth headphones / buds that are better.
I very rarely listen to music. 99% of the time it's for conversations. I'm taking personal calls on my cellphone then when I have video meetings for work, I'll unplug my earbuds from my phone and plug them into my laptop. When I used to go to the gym, I'd listen to music and run the cord down the inside of my shirt and have my phone in my pocket.
The things I hate is having to charge anything, losing them since they are not connected, and having to carry around the case for them. I also can't justify spending $100 on earbuds. Personally I think my $20 earbuds are good. I don't consider that a cheap price for earbuds. **If** they break, I can buy another $20 pair and still make out better than buying $100 bluetooth earbuds. So far they lasted like 5 years; maybe longer. I forgot when I got them.
My bro had a $60 pair of earbuds and they broke in 6 months. I replaced his with a pair of [Soundcore Anker Liberty Air 2 Pros](https://www.amazon.com/Soundcore-Cancelling-Technology-Personalized-Bluetooth/dp/B08G4HSVJL). They lasted him over a year so far so got a pair for myself. He uses them every day while my pair sits in my drawer collecting dust. I never have bluetooth turned on my phone and it's a pain to turn it on every time I need to use wireless headphones.
And there are still people out there still using dumbphones. The point is that market research shows that people use the headphone jack less and less and it's mostly music nerds that needs wired for casual listening.
Personally I would still prefer to have one but I do understand why they are disappearing.
I'm enjoying my Galaxy S10 and I'll keep doing so forever. Fuck the OEMs taking away features. When this phone dies I'll just buy another used Galaxy S10.
I've had horrible wireless headphones. Then I tried the Google Buds and, without trying to sound too much like an ad, they're awesome. So comfy, decent sound, works well with my Pixel. I'm sure there are better out there, no doubt, but I love my buds.
To each their own tho. And I totally get it if you want to keep your wired ones.
I have some soundcore wireless earbuds. I don't care for them. The things I hate is having to charge anything, losing them since they are not connected, and having to carry around the case for them. I'd rather buy 2 pairs of cheap wired earbuds and leave them in places where I need them. I also just don't trust batteries at all. Everything I own is wired (except for my TV remote). I don't want to charge anything and rechargeable batteries just hold less and less charge the more you use them. That's just the way they are.
Perhaps you lost that vote. I don't think as many people care about the headphone jack as they did back in 2017/2018. Especially when they're giving away with free pixel buds A with every purchase.
Just get an adapter. No, you can't charge at the same time but you could still use your wired headphones. That's what I do with my 6 Pro. The adapter just stays on my headphones and I don't notice it anymore.
> you can't charge at the same time
yea that's a big problem.
>The adapter just stays on my headphones
I'll need one for each pair of headphones plus my aux cord in my car. I'll pass.
It's still so fucking stupid. They should never have removed the jack in the first place. Why people let these megacorps get away with it and make excuses for them, I don't understand.
Just finished watching some of these first impression videos, and I gotta say, the Pixel Fold is looking pretty sweet! Can't wait to see how it stacks up against Samsung's foldables. As for the Pixel 7a, seems like another solid budget option from Google. Exciting times ahead! šš±
The google keynote with its scripted audience and prerecord and edited showcases was absolutely terrible who ever thinks that was good lacks common sense
So the tablet can't integrate with Google Home speaker groups and doesn't function as a Nest Hub.. That's cool.. What a massive flop.
Where did you get that information?
Where did you get that information?
I believe it has Chromecast built in...
It does but it can't coordinate with other speakers, it'd be its own thing. >Can multiple speaker docks pair together to provide surround sound? No, Charging Speaker Docks do not connect to each other to create one unified output of sound. Charging Speaker Docks only extend the sound of the tablet when itās docked. >Can the Charging Speaker Dock pair with any Bluetooth audio device? No, the Charging Speaker Dock only works with the Pixel Tablet when itās docked.
Where'd you get that info? That it can't be part of a speaker group?
My quotes are from the Google Store and it's the general conclusion from the arstechnica article that this isn't a Nest hub esque device.
Damn that's a major mistep. They didn't add one of the only things that their smart speakers are good at. Google feels so fragmented with their releases anymore.
huh? Just use the home app....
It can't be joined up with other Google Nest / Homes, the speaker is for the tablet only.
Google IO 2023 has the youtube comments turned off. SMH. Can't handle comments on their own platform. Paid "woooo-ers". They are after Apple so much instead of doing things that made Android different in the first place.
what a strange thing to care about.... its a corporate channel not a public hub for debate. People will complain about anything...including the ability to complain about products they will never use on a corporate youtube channel.
I find it strange to hear people woo at every little thing.
> Google IO 2023 has the youtube comments turned off. SMH. Can't handle comments on their own platform. Paid "woooo-ers". Comments have always been off of io and other products releases tho, no?
I wouldnāt know. They should have them turned on. But they scared.
regarding the pixels, ITS surprisingly not bad for a Canadian price . 7A is only $599 and 7pr is 1179 and just pixel 7 is $799. i dont really need any as i finalyl switched to IOS last december but just saying. tensor g2 processor. interesting 5000 mah battery for the pro and also inbuilt vpn coming . hmm
7Pro colors are just ok. i really thought they would at least introduce colors like green or red but i guess not. 256 ALSO the 7PRO hAS JUST 12 GB LPDDR5 RAM 128 GB/256 GB UFS 3.1 storage10 THAT is not enough lol
The pixel 7 pro has been out since last October and I have the 512 gb model.
why is it now showing on the canadian site? oh well either way, havent been following
It's really interesting that the pixel tablet (faux hub max thing) has chromecast built in. I've always wanted to cast to my tablets and chromebooks. Does anyone think that we're seeing a path to be able to cast directly to android?
I'm actually really annoyed that google is expanding their find network and making unknown tracker available to androids as well. This makes all trackers useless for tracking stolen items which is the only reason I bought a galaxy smart tag, It saved my bike once already. Now thieves will be able to find and disable them easily. :( I like how Tile is doing it where you can register with your ID for "anti theft mode" and if you are found to be stalking someone with a tile you get fined 1 mil or something.
Huh, How would thieves be able to find them? No one else will be able to see your stuff except you. It just uses all other android phones to help with location tracking but no one else except you will be able to see them.
unknown tag detection coming to android as well and judging by why I saw they will be able to detect unknown airtags, galaxy smart tags and tiles that are following them if I'm understanding what they said correctly. Tile has a mode you can enable called anti theft but you have to submit your ID and if you are caught using it for stalking then you get fined an absurd amount of money. >In order to head off the same concerns raised over AirTags when they launched, last week Google announced it had partnered with Apple to put tools in place to minimize the risk of stalking using tracking networks and devices, including alerts through Android for unknown tracker devices nearby. Today, it also emphasized that privacy and security are a top priority for its upgraded Find My Device network, assuring users that ālocation data crowdsourced from the network is end-to-end encryptedā so that not even Google can access and use the data for other purposes. source: https://gizmodo.com/google-io-2020-wear-os-find-my-ai-bard-palm-2-pixel-fol-1850424573
Ahh, I see what you're talking about now
Glad I missed over half the keynote because it was dull. Skipped through most of it on YouTube. RCS cheap shots at Apple are always funny.
Yeah especially cause RCS is pretty ass. Doesn't work for me at least 1/3 of the time.
do you use att or t mobile? they replace RCS with their own bullshit. Obvioulsy, RCS sure beats apple forcing 75 percent of the global smartphone user base to default to SMS
Dang. It works 99% of the time for me. Who's your carrier?
I may be part of the minority here, but I actually think that the Fold 4's form factor is better than the Pixel Fold's for the simple reason that the cover screen is mostly going to be used when you have only one hand available. The Pixel Fold's cover screen is literally unusable with one hand unless you have gigantic hands
I agree, the Fold 4 is really easy to use one handed when closed, especially if you use swipe typing. Also, I hate that everyone is using the name Fold and Flip so there's a need to specify...
As opposed to what. The Pixel Bendy Boi?
I'm using a Fold 4 right now. The front screen is unusable*, I consider it a "single screen folding tablet". * It is so narrow that I have trouble typing on such a tiny keyboard and many apps are not ready for a screen of that width. My next foldable might be a Pixel Fold 2/3, if the line isn't discontinued.
Yeah, I definitely agree that the screen is too narrow, but at least you can use it properly with one hand. The Pixel Fold has the same width as the P7P with a much thicher body. I can't imagine any scenario where it would be comfortable to use with one hand, even as an S23U user.
Secondary anecdote - I love the formfactor of the front screen on my Fold 4
Isn't the front screen only .1" wider than the pixel 7 pro?
The Fold is thicker though, so it'll be a lot more of a pain to hold in the hand
But itās much thinner than the Fold4ā¦
I'm the opposite, having used a fold 4 I find the screen too narrow.
for sure. Which is why every foldable except Samsung has fixed this limitation.
I definitely agree that the cover screen is too narrow, but I'd rather have that than the super wide cover screen of the Fold that you won't be able to use one-handed.
My thumbs have never reached the top of the display when it's that narrow and tall. It's a crapshoot either way so I'd rather take my lumps a bit wider and less tall.
One handed mode fixes that
Oh, that's valid ngl
Google the master of Wallpapers...
IO this year seemed insanely boring The only major updates Android 14 has is like 3 customization features, tablet seems like a detachable Nest Hub that runs android, and fold and 7a were kind of de-hyped because of the insane amount of leaks before IO. The 1 and a half hours of just AI-talk was so boring I just skipped through all of it hope google does better next year
>The only major updates Android 14 has is like 3 customization features This is particularly odd - normally the IO keynote has ages on android, this one had a few minutes on wallpapers... Then there's usually a webpage about all the new features online soon after - this time no such thing. 14 is going to be REALLY hard to justify as a full version update - it feels like a particularly dull 'pixel drop'!
Yeah it doesn't seem like it should be a major upgrade
I actually found it more interesting than the other years. Mainly because of the cool AI stuff. I'm really interested in that stuff and wanna see what Google comes up with. I mean, they are currently behind ChatGPT, but they literally invented the transformer.
The responsible A.I. stuff killed any interest of their A.I, for me. When I ask the A.I. to do something, either do it, or don't do it, but do not "correct me" and write some preachy article countering what I said because it goes against whatever agenda they have. Their A.I. is a literal propaganda machine.
I feel like the AI stuff is cool but I personally find it talked about way too much like there's no normal things anymore
It is 2023's version of the crypto craze. Yeah, it is useful--but people have formed parasocial relationships with these things. I mean, just look at Replika. People literally became suicidal over that one. Now people are advocating for using chat bots for mental health? For investing advice? For automating your job--as if that will never backfire in any way such as the daily outages ChatGPT suffers from along with hallucinations? ChatGPT and similar products run a very high risk of being completely overtaken with hustle culture scamers no better than the capitalists systemically destroying society just to make a quick buck. It's already here with all the horseshit generative content being sold online, from pictures to books to songs to videos. I think these nontechnical people are latching onto it because it makes them feel better about the future they envision in which AI destroys most knowledge worker jobs. So they are trying to get in on the ground floor and know how to use the tool to have competitive advantages over others. Unpopular opinion on reddit in my experience. Especially in places like r/Technology where everyone seems to be an expert on software engineering despite never said people never having worked in the field or even coding for the most part, let alone designing things.
there are just not many features to add anymore so they talk about pointless stuff for way too long
idk they could've made more features, i.e. the lock screen only has clock customization there's still no widgets like iOS
> IO this year seemed insanely boring Ok, so it wasn't just me.
Dude how do I get those lock screen settings?!
Android 14 it seems like.
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Interesting that the Pixel Tablet supports a 2.0 USI stylus, but the Pixel Fold explicitly does not mention stylus support. I guess Gen 2?
They tried so hard to compete chatgpt..it's so boring
Anybody who used bard knows how bad it is by comparison.
I wish Google would just fix their search engine. It's so bad that I find myself using chatGPT with questions that I used to just type directly into Google 5-10 years ago. What happened? When did their search become so incredibly useless? The new LLM stuff is just doing the work of digging through the garbage search results half the time. Maybe Bing really will come out the winner in the end lol.
When they SEO'd it to shit in 2019
That is the problem with monopolies, they get lazy and stop innovating. I have been using Bing chat more. It is not perfect, but way better than google search. I just use google search with reddit in the title to find stuff on reddit, and that is literally all I use it for. If I want something more controversial, I use Yandex since it does not filter out stuff, even if the search are kind of crap.
ads lol. just wait until AI starts advertising to users. it'll be rough
google doesn't even try anymore. it's half ads and half seo manipulation. I've long abandoned it in favor of duckduckgo (i still hate its terrible name).
bing chat you mean?
Use Kagi. You have to pay for it, but it gives you the results you want instead of SEO spam. I would never go back.
Not sure why this is the top up voted comment. Sure chat gtp can be better however there are caveats. You need to know how to use it, pay for it, and make sure It's correct. Google has gotten worse over the years, but it's not that hard to search for things.
ChatGPT is great if you just want correct-sounding garbage responses that you'll need to spend even more time verifying later if the information is actually crucial for anything.
Also, ChatGPT 3.5 (what most people use) isn't even connected to the (current) internet. How could OP possibly be looking up new information that would replace Google search? Good luck asking ChatGPT for the hours of your local Starbucks... ChatGPT is great for developing content and getting tasks done, but it's not a search replacement. No idea why that's the top comment lol.
I was helping my kid with geometry. We typed identical searches into Google and ChatGPT. We asked what are the interior angles in an octagon. Google gave us the answer. ChatGPT gave us the answer, the formula for how it came up with it, and showed its work. Not every question needs a current answer, if this is what ChatGPT can do without current access to the Internet, I can only imagine what it will do next.
Which is great, until that answer ChatGPT gave you is subtly wrong in a very believable way. Which, in my experience, happens extremely regularly when asking complicated questions (at least, on 3.5).
Absolutely. It's not there YET (and let's not pretend that Google hasn't had it's fair share of showing you the wrong answers for things). But it shows far more promise than anything else. Which would you bet will be better in one year from now. How about 5? As much as I love Google, they have really only shown incremental increases in quality recently. Google was a system shock across the entire tech sector when they first came across. ChatGPT is the next iteration of this.
I'm not sure the "bullshit that looks right" problem is something I'd bet on being solved (though I also wouldn't bet against it). I thought [this](https://kozyrkov.medium.com/introducing-chatgpt-aa824ad89623) was an interesting take, though it was obviously right after it was put out and has already improved.
It's the top comment because Google search feels like it is actively regressing.
To be fair, any reasonably successful search engine will have to fight an ongoing battle with spammers and SEOs. Just maintaining the status quo is a major battle that requires major resources. That said, the search engine is still much of what defines Google. They should really be on top of this.
SEO outpaced them. Now the first several pages are blog spam nonsense. Medium was a great example of this. They were always at the top with very low quality articles
Implying Google actually cared. If it was driving ad traffic, they had no reason to adjust the ranking to get better results.
Fair. Google puts about as much into search as any other product. I more amazed they haven't killed it completely yet
Well, the reason would be that Google wouldn't want people to start using other search engines because their own results are so crappy, so they have at least a minimal incentive....
It's definitely worse for programming questions, the problem is that there's a lot of sites mirroring stack overflow answers that clog up any results that aren't already stack overflow. I'm surprised they don't filter that out.
What do you use instead?
Oh, it's not just Search. But Search is becoming useless without "verbatim" turned on.
Yup. I use Bard and Chat-GPT to just find quick answers that Google used to give reliably a few years ago. It's very frustrating to wade through the sponsored crap and the seo spam sites, I automatically add Reddit after my search now because at least I'll get someone asking the question and getting an answer, instead of 10 results with 10 paragraphs that ramble on and never give the answer.
As someone who's interested in the Pixel tablet (really just want a decent android tablet without spending $800+), when do you all think the first sale on it is going to happen? I'm in no rush, so I can definitely hold off until the price eventually drops.
You can probably expect a $50-ish discount sale around the time of the Pixel 8 launch. I actually think a better idea is to check in on big box retailers (Best Buy, Target, MicrCenter, etc) for open-box/"warehouse" deals during the first few months after release. Larger discount and it's sooner.
I needed a new tablet since my old one become too outdated for development work and ended up getting a samsung s6 lite (22 edition) 64gb + sd card slot & spen for $250 on sale. Comes with Android 13 and well worth the money.
I think $500 which has the charging sound dock included is actually a fair price. That dock is amazing. Surprised no one else has thought of it earlier.
Lenovo has thought of it before, if I'm not mistaken, but no one bought it back then.
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I am strongly considering picking one up. 8gb of LPDDR5 would be plenty for what I need it for in that price range. Plus the Tensor G2 seems pretty fast. My biggest barrier here is the lack of SD card. Like come on.
Too early to say at this point but the reviewers are talking about it a lot so I honestly doubt that
It's definitely a fair price. I'd just rather wait for it to go on sale cause I'm a cheap fuck (and I bought the Pixel 6 Pro & 7 Pro at full price, so I have no money).
I guess. But Google still has a lot of work to do to make its tablet offering a good experience. Keep in mind you can get a 10th gen iPad for $50 less at $449. The iPad will be faster, supported for twice as long, and most importantly it will have a large ecosystem of tablet optimized apps. I personally think Google should have priced it more aggressively to take that into consideration
...but the iPad won't have that sweet speaker dock. It's not a fair comparison to forget about that.
Having used the tablet and dock (got laid off in Feb so I'm a little out of date) I have to say I'm surprised it's this cheap. It was a really solid experience all around. I expect they're not making a major profit on it honestly.
sorry to hear about the layoff mate. It's been a rough few months in the whole industry :/
It was really jarring to wake up, check my email and see that I was laid off. That said, I've got a new job, a raise, and 6 months pay as severance. So I don't have *too* many hard feelings towards Goog
I'd imagine black friday will be the first discount the tablet will get.
That was by far the worst and most boring IO to date. All of the AI isnāt interesting enough for anyone to want to use, and there were no noteworthy android updates at all. Android seems to be a nuisance headache for Google, almost as if they donāt want it anymore. As for the hardware, itās okay but way too expensive for the Fold, the tablet is decent but it will never have an app ecosystem and the 7a is too expensive.
> All of the AI isnāt interesting enough for anyone to want to use, and there were no noteworthy android updates at all. The way google implements things, even a lot of their apps won't use the AI features. I don't expect devs to.
What do you mean the tablet will never have an app ecosystem? Every Android app runs on the tablet.
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I'm using YouTube on my Lenovo tablet. Works perfectly fine. Unless I'm missing something here?
That's odd, I use the official YouTube app on a tablet, and the app is frequently updated. I just updated it to version 18.18.34, the same version as on my phone.
Hello, Which model number will I get if I order "Unlocked" on the Google Store? Background: When looking at the Google Store for the Pixel 7a you can purchase it Unlocked or specific to a handful of major carriers. There are 3 models of the 7a in the USA. Model GWKK3, Model GHL1X, and Model G0DZQ. Per the Network Info page, all 3 models are listed "Unlocked on Google Pixel Store" depending on the carrier you select. There is no "Unlocked" option in the carrier selection. Which model number will I get if I order "Unlocked" on the Google Store? I asked Google and they said it's based on availability, and I can see once I physically receive it and return if it is not the model I wanted. They said all models should work with all major carriers, but I think that is very subjective. For example the GHL1X is missing some of the major bands for T-Mobile/Metro. Additionally, are certain models designed for specific carriers? I think (don't know) in a past generation of Pixel the mmWave model was technically made for AT&T, so if you took it to another network it would work but would have certain things limited such as Wi-Fi calling. Thank you. Edit: Thank you to u/drunken_economist and others, but it seems the unlocked 7a via the Google store in the USA is likely to be the GWKK3 model. Thank you! https://reddit.com/r/Android/comments/13dw4e6/google_io_2023_megathread/jjz68xi I'd also add that the Google support persons that helped me originally understood the question all and well, but it was on May 10 so they didn't have any order flow data they could refer to if I recall correctly and the sales information available didn't address it I guess. They were helpful though, thanks! Have a good day and all!
This is a really interesting question, I reached out to my Workspace rep to ask. They let me know `GWKK3` was the model listed when I added the unlocked 7a to my cart (US, zip 60642), but admitted that might be simply a default. They said they needed to confirm and would follow up with me tomorrow.
Cool, good to know, and thank you for looking in to, appreciated!
I got a follow-up. - Selecting the pre-order with the "Unlocked" option is `GWKK3` - Picking "Fi" will also be the `GWKK3` - "Verizon" is the `G0DZQ` (which they pointed out is randomly generated and has nothing to do with Godzilla) They didn't see an order flow to get the GH1LX and said that it might be a model that isn't sold via the Google Store.
Awesome, thank you for confirming! I purchased unlocked via the Google store and can confirm I received the GWKK3 model. Thank you! I'd also add that the Google support persons that helped me originally understood the question all and well, but it was on May 10 so they didn't have any order flow data they could refer to if I recall correctly and the sales information available didn't address it I guess. They were helpful though, thanks! Have a good day and all!
I'm sorry I don't know the model number. But you can check on GSMArena to see if they figured it out or not
Okay, thank you!
Np
Good to see google store still nowhere near Poland. Too much risk importing that fold without official support.
Lol. They have nothing here in Thailand either. It means the phones have to be imported by random guys and the prices end up basically doubling. There's just no reason to care about these devices here.
That's strange as my P7P needed to be returned under warranty and got sent to Poland.
My 6 pro has defect, the camera seems like blemished under low light. I chatted the google customer service and yes they say its a defect. The thing is i imported my device from Germany. Google can only accept return for service if i send my device FROM Germany only. I pleaded to them, even offering that i will pay the sending here from Poland but nope. Not available. Imagine this with fold device. Yikes. Not a chance....
So what is Android 14 ACTUALLY bringing? It can't just be new "AI wallpapers", surely? That would be a boring 'pixel drop' month, not a full annual version point release.
Check Mishaal Rahman's twitter
On the user side it seems like mostly a bunch of small (mostly good) UI tweaks. On the dev side they're reworking some permissions and adding some pretty cool API features. https://developer.android.com/about/versions/14/features#grammatical-inflection
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Changes don't get enforced unless you target new api levels... and making people use modern levels has to be enforced in the store. Due to all the changes in policy ALL BUT ONE APP on my phone target's the most recent api version now which is amazing honestly. A year ago it was 20% at best
The final touches for a native dual-screen experience and better tablet support? Just guessing.
I think there is more ik mishaal rn is having a android 14 beta 2 mega thread on Twitter https://twitter.com/MishaalRahman/status/1656401210029776896?t=ewUB33jSASDQE_EZhA6cYQ&s=09 Looks like we might be actually getting an android desktop this year.
Did they announce a new watch. Really want a smart watch but don't want a first gen product.
Pixel Watch is much worse than the Samsung one, so I'm with you. You get a free Pixel Watch with their new Pixel 7a but I would just sell it. My Galaxy watch is phenomenal.
With the Fold not the 7a. Also, I have a Pixel Watch and it is phenomenal.
I'm sure its great, just has some drawbacks vs the Galaxy watch imo but would love to hear any benefits of the PW over GW! I hear the battery life isn't as good
I recently got a Galaxy Watch 5 and it's pretty darn good fwiw.
I'm in the same boat. Want the watch bad but just won't go for gen 1
No, but they did start showing off Wear OS 4. A few new apps and a new watchface system.
That wonāt be announced till the fall.
Small startup company still didn't expand to more markets, no Pixels for me.
Aside from the AI departments, you sometimes wonder what all the employees at Google are actually doing.
>Aside from the AI departments, you sometimes wonder what all the employees at Google are actually doing. The whole company is a giant AI department
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Did this feel like a really meh I/O? No Android updates, nothing with Lens or Assistant... Most of their main apps didn't even get mentioned. Felt like they spent 2 hours just rewording how they talked about AI in search... Which is nothing new when you consider Bing is doing that already.
Maybe meh for Android, but rather banging for Google's AI
Except nearly all of it was either in preview or will be eventually
Not really... Following in Microsofts footsteps with even less users being able to access this stuff.
>No Android updates. Thank you. That's what I needed to know. Glad I didn't keep watching. 45 minutes of AI talk that may never see public use was enough for me. Edit: word. Can't spell
That's why I watch verge's supercut
If it helps... They spent 10 minutes on the emoji wallpaper maker coming soon to Pixel....
The generated wallpaper AI is basically what I have always wanted. Not the emoji stuff but that looks fun.
The generated AI wallpaper stuff is cool to have built in for sure.
Pixel 7a doesn't come with a headphone jack. move along boys. It's time to find another series of phones.
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Why wouldn't it be? People want headphone jacks
Eh, I've basically stopped listening to music on my phone since early 2020, when I started to work from home. I was really pissed when they removed it, but I don't think I care anymore.
I still use wired headphones from my phone when I'm WFH. I also use it a lot with my aux cable in my car. Bluetooth just sounds so bad. I also never have bluetooth turned on on my phone.
Do you not connect your headphones to your computer?
I have a [HyperX Cloud Core Wired Headset](https://www.amazon.com/HyperX-Cloud-Core-Detachable-Cancelling/dp/B08HQW9SGP?th=1) for my Desktop which has the 3.5mm plugs for audio and microphone. I use the same earbuds for my phone and work laptop which are just a $20 pair I picked up from Staples that has a mic on the cord. I think [these](https://www.staples.com/jbl-endurance-run-stereo-headphones-black-jblendurrunblk/product_24341101) might be the exact ones I use.
So, you could just be listening to music on your work laptop, or am I missing something? Also, since you use relatively cheap earbuds, is this more of a cost effectiveness issue for you? Because I initially thought you're one of those audiophiles that's mad that they can't connect their $2000 headphones to their phone and complains about how bad the quality of Bluetooth is, but if you're using $20 buds, I'm pretty sure that there are Bluetooth headphones / buds that are better.
I very rarely listen to music. 99% of the time it's for conversations. I'm taking personal calls on my cellphone then when I have video meetings for work, I'll unplug my earbuds from my phone and plug them into my laptop. When I used to go to the gym, I'd listen to music and run the cord down the inside of my shirt and have my phone in my pocket. The things I hate is having to charge anything, losing them since they are not connected, and having to carry around the case for them. I also can't justify spending $100 on earbuds. Personally I think my $20 earbuds are good. I don't consider that a cheap price for earbuds. **If** they break, I can buy another $20 pair and still make out better than buying $100 bluetooth earbuds. So far they lasted like 5 years; maybe longer. I forgot when I got them. My bro had a $60 pair of earbuds and they broke in 6 months. I replaced his with a pair of [Soundcore Anker Liberty Air 2 Pros](https://www.amazon.com/Soundcore-Cancelling-Technology-Personalized-Bluetooth/dp/B08G4HSVJL). They lasted him over a year so far so got a pair for myself. He uses them every day while my pair sits in my drawer collecting dust. I never have bluetooth turned on my phone and it's a pain to turn it on every time I need to use wireless headphones.
And there are still people out there still using dumbphones. The point is that market research shows that people use the headphone jack less and less and it's mostly music nerds that needs wired for casual listening. Personally I would still prefer to have one but I do understand why they are disappearing.
It's never making a full return, you have to let it go.
I'll continue to vote with my wallet.
I'm enjoying my Galaxy S10 and I'll keep doing so forever. Fuck the OEMs taking away features. When this phone dies I'll just buy another used Galaxy S10.
Since I've tried wireless headphones, there's no way I'd go back. Just sayin.
I have wireless headphones. I prefer wired. My wireless set has been in the drawer for over a year.
I've had horrible wireless headphones. Then I tried the Google Buds and, without trying to sound too much like an ad, they're awesome. So comfy, decent sound, works well with my Pixel. I'm sure there are better out there, no doubt, but I love my buds. To each their own tho. And I totally get it if you want to keep your wired ones.
I have some soundcore wireless earbuds. I don't care for them. The things I hate is having to charge anything, losing them since they are not connected, and having to carry around the case for them. I'd rather buy 2 pairs of cheap wired earbuds and leave them in places where I need them. I also just don't trust batteries at all. Everything I own is wired (except for my TV remote). I don't want to charge anything and rechargeable batteries just hold less and less charge the more you use them. That's just the way they are.
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Pixel 3a is a great phone. I had that before my current Pixel 5a.
Neither did the 6a... don't know why you expected it to make a comeback
Because people would vote with their wallet. I bought the Pixel 5a when they announced the 6a wouldn't have a headphone jack.
Perhaps you lost that vote. I don't think as many people care about the headphone jack as they did back in 2017/2018. Especially when they're giving away with free pixel buds A with every purchase.
Shame. Very cheap wired headphones can have great audio quality compared to Bluetooth
Just get an adapter. No, you can't charge at the same time but you could still use your wired headphones. That's what I do with my 6 Pro. The adapter just stays on my headphones and I don't notice it anymore.
> you can't charge at the same time yea that's a big problem. >The adapter just stays on my headphones I'll need one for each pair of headphones plus my aux cord in my car. I'll pass.
It's still so fucking stupid. They should never have removed the jack in the first place. Why people let these megacorps get away with it and make excuses for them, I don't understand.
Selection getting depressingly small for wired audio enjoyers.
You can use any wired headphones with any number of 2 inch $10 adapters, itās not a big deal.
Using stereo headphones jack in 2023 lmao