[nextos]

I don't dislike Pixel hardware because it's the only phone supported by GrapheneOS, which makes Android tolerable.

But the software is ridiculous in some regards. I bought an Pixel sometime ago, new in a box from Google, and it took two battery charges to go through a gazillion of OTA updates to get it to the latest Android. I know I could have plugged it in and flashed the latest ROM directly, but is a normal user supposed to do that? It seems that nobody cares at Google.

Aside from this, if you look into the network dump of a brand new Pixel it is scary / amazing how many connections it is doing every day. And nobody knows why it's connecting...

I wish SailfishOS became a bit more polished to be a viable alternative to iOS and Android. It's almost there. It passes the above test with flying colors, it's completely silent. Just an NTP connection every 12 h. The UI is a joy to use, reminiscent of the N9, and a few great indie developers.

[to11mtm]

> It seems that nobody cares at Google.

My dystopian response is that they know if you're going 'all in' on their branded phone you are either geeky enough to deal with it, or drank too much kool-aid to care.

[wutbrodo]

> if you're going 'all in' on their branded phone

This inference doesn't make any sense. The Pixel isn't some weird niche project. The Pixel and the Galaxy SXX are perennials on the lists you find from a cursory "best android phone" Google query. This is about as casual as it gets, beyond walking into a Best Buy or Verizon and asking for an Android phone (which will also steer you to these two phones pretty often, assuming they're in-budget)

[The_Colonel]

> This is about as casual as it gets

As casual as it gets ... in 11 countries out of 195. And even in countries where it is sold, it's usually online-only with no physical stores or service centers.

[scarface74]

Why would Google “care” about a phone that sells only an inconsequential 2 million a quarter? If they make 4 billion a year in revenue on selling Pixel phones, that is around a quarter of how much Google reportedly pays Apple to be the default search engine on iOS devices.

In other words, Apple makes more from Google in mobile than Google makes from selling Pixels.

[n0tth3dro1ds]

> Why would Google “care”

Because their logo is on the device. If it’s so inconsequential as to not care about quality, then perhaps they shouldn’t bother.

They’re up against Apple. Criticize all you want, but Apple cares about customer experience and quality. Pixel is supposed to be representing their competing operating system. It should be a quality product, even if volume is low. They should accept it as a loss leader if they have to.

[scarface74]

If you haven’t noticed, Google has the attention span of a crack addled flea.

This is the same company that was all in on bringing high speed internet to cities and left city streets in ruin in the process.

https://www.tellusventure.com/microtrenching-fail-drives-goo...

[nextos]

Their marketshare is not so tiny anymore. It grew 380% to 3% in North America: https://www.androidauthority.com/google-pixel-market-share-3...

If the same trend is maintained, it will soon become the fourth biggest manufacturer, right after Apple, Samsung and Lenovo.

Not huge, but not serving a small niche either.

[scarface74]

Sounds like every startup pitch.

“We started out at .01% of the market and we doubled in size to .02% of the market in a year doubling in size! We saw faster growth than the leader”

[nextos]

I agree the headline is exaggerated, but 3% of the NA market is quite significant.

It's no longer a fringe device such as Jolla in the EU market.

[scarface74]

Hardware needs scale to be profitable and successful. 3% of the NA market is not scale.

[eertami]

And USA is only 4% of the world population... ;)

[neilv]

I was happy with GrapheneOS on Pixel 3, and would still use it except it's EOL for some firmware security updates.

The Pixel 4a hardware I then got (didn't want a 4) is fine with GrapheneOS, though an "a", and I prefer the 3.

The Pixel 5 seems OK so far, though the display colors on this particular unit (don't know about the model) are noticeably less vibrant than the 3.

I hope GrapheneOS keeps going on a good path, and that there's an appealing option for hardware after the Pixel 5. (I can't yet justify the cost of a non-backordered Librem 5, for how little I use a smartphone, and I have mixed feelings about the PinePhones.)

[dylan604]

>And nobody knows why it's connecting...

I highly doubt that. I'm sure the people that wrote the code know exactly what it is doing. Does the number of knowledgable coders vs the poplulation of the planet approach nobody when rounding?

[nextos]

I meant users.