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Google Iphone

Apple Just Killed Google's Killer Phone Feature (bloomberg.com) 159

Google's Pixel smartphones have always been defined by iPhone-beating cameras, backed by the know-how of its software coders. With the release of the Pixel 4, however, the company has lost its lead -- through a combination of Apple's iPhone 11 camera improvements and its own lack of progress. From a report: Alphabet's Google is selling the Pixel 4 through all four major U.S. wireless carriers for the first time. And it's priced like a premium device: the 5.7-inch Pixel 4 starts at $799 and the 6.3-inch Pixel 4 XL costs $899. That's at least $100 more than the iPhone 11 but without software like iMessage that many Apple users consider a social imperative in the U.S.

With the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro, Apple closed the photography gap with better low-light image quality. Its camera software also makes those photos easier to take by automatically enabling night mode when required. Apple remains way ahead of any other phone maker when it comes to video quality. Deprived of its signature advantage, the Pixel 4 struggles to stand out in a crowded smartphone market. The design -- including materials, proportions and screen bezels -- is utilitarian. When compared with more polished handsets from Apple and Samsung, the Pixel 4 is unremarkable. With a single-digit slice of the smartphone market, Google also lacks the user loyalty and inertia to keep selling without a killer feature.

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Apple Just Killed Google's Killer Phone Feature

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  • by celeb8 ( 682138 ) <celeb8@gmQUOTEail.com minus punct> on Wednesday October 30, 2019 @11:18AM (#59362084)
    Why are we posting filler/advertisement articles from Bloomberg? Just bait? Someone wanted to see another Android vs Apple flame-war?
    • Amen! Even the headline is one of those "One weird trick" that offers nothing of value. Could have been: "iPhone Pro camera is better than Pixel 4 at capturing low light images says opinion piece." But that's too much to ask.

    • by Wulf2k ( 4703573 )

      "Apple, your phone seems to have the momentum of a runaway freight train. Why are you so popular?"

  • by msauve ( 701917 ) on Wednesday October 30, 2019 @11:20AM (#59362090)
    Literally. The entire article is simply subjective opinion. No side-by-side comparison of photos, etc.

    I'll wait until DXOMARK does their objective testing.
    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Also the biggest issue with the iPhone is that it's an iPhone. Find if you want an iPhone with iOS but if not it's completely ruled out no matter how good the camera is.

    • by SuperKendall ( 25149 ) on Wednesday October 30, 2019 @11:50AM (#59362230)

      Literally. The entire article is simply subjective opinion. No side-by-side comparison of photos, etc.

      You can look them up online if you really care...

      But at least one point is not at all subjective, the iPhone 11 costs $100 less than the Pixel 4 ($699 for iPhone 11, $799 for Pixel 4).

      There is no Pixel 4, not even the Max, with three lenses either (which does require an 11 pro). That is not subjective.

      Also the cost to upgrade both phones from the base 64GB of storage to 128gb of storage, is $50 for the iPhone 11, and $100 for the Pixel 4. That is not subjective either.

      No more can Apple be considered the highest cost phone when Google has taken the clear lead.

      • by dgatwood ( 11270 )

        No more can Apple be considered the highest cost phone when Google has taken the clear lead.

        Apple should probably fix that, lest they lose their public image as being a premium brand. :-)

      • If I care about the picture that much, I'll bring along the Canon.

        I want the phone to fit in my pocket, have a headphone jack and a reasonably long lived battery.
        The camera is secondary.

        • by jezwel ( 2451108 )

          ...have a headphone jack and a reasonably long lived battery

          As a Pixel 4 owner, I have some bad news on both fronts.
          I also find the split screen functionality both better (can chose any app) and worse (cannot set at anything other than 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 screen in portrait and 1/2 in landscape) than on my many years old Samsung.

          • I have the LG V35 (last Fi compatible phone with a headphone jack that isn't the low end moto thing).
            Being Fi compatible is a big bonus in the US, compared to being stuck with the over-limit practices of the other carriers.

            It's fine, but I'm still waiting to be impressed by some new technology that makes life better.
            How about using some of that AI so that Bluetooth can automatically connect to the one device I want it to instead of one-by-one trying everything in sight?
            How about the phone being the file tra

      • The iPhone 11 is the successor to the XR. It's a cheaper phone with compromises, such as lower display resolution.

        The Pixel 4 is meant to compete with the iPhone 11 Pro, and Pixel 4 XL with iPhone 11 Pro Max.

        • The iPhone 11 is the successor to the XR. It's a cheaper phone with compromises, such as lower display resolution.

          False. Same display resolution as the XR (1792x828). Exact sample pixel density. What other "compromises" do you think it has, so I can continue to point out how five seconds of Googling proves you wrong.

          The Pixel 4 is meant to compete with the iPhone 11 Pro, and Pixel 4 XL with iPhone 11 Pro Max.

          How do you figure that? The Pixel has one less camera lens and a much worse front facing camera

          • Same display resolution as the XR (1792x828). Exact sample pixel density.

            Well thanks for confirming my point. This is lower than the iPhone 11 Pro or any high end phone on the market, including the Pixel 4.

            Google doesn't have a phone to compete with the XR. Another phone in that market is the Galaxy S10e. It also has a cheaper price, less cameras than the "regular" S10, and a lower display resolution.

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Hardware has always been something that Google dabbled in but never fully committed to.

    Yes, yes, I know I'll hear from people telling me they still own the first $GOOGLE_PRODUCT they ever bought, but there's no denying that Google is fickle with stuff, dropping apps and devices when it suits them, and often without much warning.

    • If you install the latest version of Android on an older pixel phone your battery life is now measured in hours. No real fixes from google other than "oh that sucks how about buying a new phone?" And you can't downgrade either.

  • ... that product has topped out.

    Now it's smartcameras.

  • DXOmark or the like? (Score:4, Informative)

    by samwichse ( 1056268 ) on Wednesday October 30, 2019 @11:39AM (#59362192)

    I don't understand why this is even here.

    The article says the iPhone "killed google's killer phone feature" by offering a similar, me too feature. Then says the Pixel doesn't stand out in a crowd of me too devices. LOL ok. But the article doesn't even compare the two features performance, or the cameras' performance, or anything else, really. Just that Pixels don't have iMessage. Is that any real loss? And Apple added a single comparable feature.

    Oh, the author feels the the bezels, and materials are utilitarian, and not polished like Apple?

    This article is useless and the author is clearly biased. Not that I would ever pay more than $300 for a phone anyway, but yeesh.

    Sam

    • by _xeno_ ( 155264 )

      If anything I think Google may have killed Google's phones, because the "killer features" on the Pixel 4 kind of ... aren't.

      It has Google's take on Face ID, which no one who uses Apple devices likes. It removes the fingerprint sensor, the biometric ID that just sort of works and works so well on the earlier Pixel phones. It adds a weird radar gesture thing that reviews have all found difficult to use and unnecessary compared to just using the phone directly. (Seriously, where are you going to be that it mak

      • Who the hell are you talking to? Everyone that I know using FaceID likes it. Not only do I like it, having it on my XR and NOT on my iPad makes my iPad feel broken. Dieter Bohn at the Verge basically said, "you might like a fingerprint sensor, but face unlock is better in virtually every regard".

        Sales of the iPhone 11 also don't really bear out anything you're saying.

        I don't know where you're getting this BS from, but you have no idea what you're talking about.

        • by _xeno_ ( 155264 )

          Yeah, no, no one likes Face ID better than Touch ID. Touch ID worked flawlessly. It let you unlock the phone with an explicit gesture, it didn't see your pocket as a finger trying to unlock your phone so it didn't leave your phone in a that "please enter your PIN to reenable Face ID" state Face ID is constantly in, and it didn't require you to hold the phone at a very specific angle and distance from your face to work. It's even worse on the iPad since you basically have to hold the iPad up to your face and

          • It's very clear that you don't have an iPhone, because you still have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.
            My XR has never—not once—gone into "please enter your PIN" mode in my pocket and locked out my face. My phone unlocks at a variety of different angles. I have it here at my desk on a stand. The angle of the stand and my body in relation to it changes all the time, and it still unlocks reliably. At worst, I'm leaning back when a notification comes in, and I have to lean forward 5cm b

  • Oh, I know - get rid of msmash.

  • by cascadingstylesheet ( 140919 ) on Wednesday October 30, 2019 @11:46AM (#59362214) Journal

    Real time language translation is pretty killer.

    Real time captioning is pretty killer.

  • by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Wednesday October 30, 2019 @11:52AM (#59362242)

    a) It's camera is still the best Android has to offer.
    b) It's not an iPhone.

    Seriously the iPhone 11 could have a blowjob adapter and the Pixel 4 would still stand out for many people. Who put this stupid fanboi opinion slashvertisement on the front page?

    • by mccalli ( 323026 )
      iPhone user here - I completely agree with you. People pick different platforms for different reasons and get whatever works for you.

      I've seen the Pixel 4 pictures and they seem...different to the iPhone 11 ones. Roughly the same, but the Pixel on the whole tends to do things more brightly than the 11 does. That's fine - honestly it's visually more appealing in many cases than pure accuracy would be. Pick whatever you like. Maybe you don't care about the camera at all and want iOS for its catalogue and i
      • Exactly. Comparing the iPhone to Android in an all out war is somewhat irrelevant since people don't switch platforms because they are invested in them, literally in the monetary sense, and phones are well and truly past the growth phase. It was important in the past where there was an ever expanding market for smartphones, but in the west that ship has sailed.

    • The least they could've done was also submit one of the panicked Forbes opinion pieces that say that the iPhone is dead in the water because nobody would EVER buy a phone with a big square camera bump on the back.

      • Except however much people hate something, switching platforms is expensive in the literal sense of having to repurchase content, and complex in the sense of having to migrate data and systems.

        While I said the iPhone could come with a blowjob adapter and no one would switch to it, it could likewise electrocute users at random intervals and people won't switch from it either.

        • Oh, I agree. I'm just saying that this is a bit of a fluff piece, and the Forbes articles are the exact opposite: completely unhinged criticisms of the iPhone and Apple in general, always claiming the sky is falling.

  • by organgtool ( 966989 ) on Wednesday October 30, 2019 @11:58AM (#59362272)
    For many people, the Pixel's killer feature is being the smartphone with the best support for a non-iOS device. In that regard, it's crushing the iPhone 11.
    • In which aspect is it crushing the iPhone 11? Owners' ratings? Sales? Number of units sold? Years of patches issued?

    • Re:Subjective (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Moof123 ( 1292134 ) on Wednesday October 30, 2019 @01:08PM (#59362596)

      +1. People are not hopping back and forth between platforms at any major rate. Modest differences in picture is definitely didn't cause a mass iOS exodus prior to the iPhone 11 release, nor will it now cause a mass exodus from Android to iOS now. Within each walled garden you'll see erosion of one vendor to another (e.g. Samsung to Google), but that's about it. Within the iOS garden the new features will drive upgrade rates from old generations. Most folks make a choice and stick with it for quite some time.

      Most folks just need a good-enough camera, decent battery life, and a screen that does not suck too much. Within Android you also need to worry about low end phones being unsupported, buggy, and likely malware/bloatware laden. Smartphones have plateaued, and recent design changes have become more and more desperate attempts to differentiate from last years model with little noticeable benefit to the buyers.

      Point and shoot cameras have been dead for years, a testament to the fact that smartphone cameras have beeen "good enough" for quite some time.

    • For many people, the Pixel's killer feature is being the smartphone with the best support for a non-iOS device.

      And those people are Fandroid wankers. Zombie Steve isn't holding a gun to your head, just buy what you want that does what you want at the price you're willing to pay, and get over yourself.

  • by Utopia ( 149375 ) on Wednesday October 30, 2019 @12:00PM (#59362280)
    • Wow. I haven't seen a white balance as bad as that of the iPhone 11 in a really long time. I do wonder if there was a wrong setting in there somewhere, because if there wasn't, holy crap!

  • Any smartphone these days is better than the film camera I used when I was growing up. A picture is to remember a moment, and film was always fine enough for that. So article about article about who has the best camera is a bit tired for me. Apple can chase that carrot, meaningless to me.
  • Google Just Killed Apple's Killer Phone Feature

    I'm also available for Birthdays, parties and Bar Mitzvah.

  • but without software like iMessage that many Apple users consider a social imperative in the U.S

    Are Apple users that dumb in the US? To consider a proprietary chat application to be an imperative?

  • by twocows ( 1216842 ) on Wednesday October 30, 2019 @02:31PM (#59362998)
    How many people care about the phone camera? Most phone cameras are fine for what most people want to use them for. And professionals probably use specialized equipment more than phone cameras. Who exactly is this a killer feature for? My killer feature is RetroArch support, which Apple still disallows...
    • A lot of people care about the camera. I dunno man, maybe you've noticed everyone snapping a zillion photos of everything all the time?

      I doubt it's something that will make someone jump from Android to iOS or vice versa, but it might make a difference when deciding to go with one Android phone over another. It's certainly one of the biggest things I think about when I upgrade my iPhone. "Is my camera far enough behind to justify an upgrade?" That usually takes 3 or 4 years, but it's a good metric.

    • Errr a lot of people. Having a good phone camera is the difference between being all good and having to buy another camera. As a professional myself I care even more about a good quality camera precisely because I'm not always lugging my bulky equipment around with me.

  • Wow, if only the Pixel 4 had a killer feature... like a headphone jack. I made that mistake buying the Pixel 2 XL, and now I'm stuck waiting for a decent phone to come along that supports google fi and has a headphone jack. Maybe they'll make a 4a XL with a headphone jack and 128Gb of memory in the spring.

  • oh, so the camera is the killer feature?

    i though it was not being tied to a walled garden,
    or to have the option to buy a phone from any vendor that matches what i'm looking for (and not what apple thinks i need).

    but no, it was the camera all along.

    • oh, so the camera is the killer feature?

      i though it was not being tied to a walled garden,
      or to have the option to buy a phone from any vendor that matches what i'm looking for (and not what apple thinks i need).

      but no, it was the camera all along.

      For lots of people, the camera is a compelling reason to upgrade from their existing phone. I'm not one of them, but I've got an iPhone 6S whose low-light pictures will, I'm sure, be obviously inferior to either the iPhone 11 or the Pixel 4. Will either camera, in isolation, be the reason why people with a decade in one ecosystem or the other switch? Probably not. However, someone on the fence and for whom the camera differences are worth upgrading anyway might end up having the camera be the deciding facto

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