Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s iPhone

Re:Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s i... by dhruvio on Tuesday October 04, 2016 @02:10PM (#12637793)

The Zuk Z2 is good for devs. Costs around USD 260 from online Chinese retailers. Great specs and battery life, easily unlockable bootloader, and lots of unofficial cyanogenmod builds available if you search github.

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Re:Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s i... by pasbesoin on Tuesday October 04, 2016 @01:45PM (#12637539)

Haven't heard/read about this aspect, yet. Pixels are more locked down?

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Re:Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s i... by archiepeach on Tuesday October 04, 2016 @01:50PM (#12637596)

One of the things that makes a phone developer-friendly is how accessible it is from a price perspective, i.e. not a £599 price tag.

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Re:Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s i... by mankyd on Tuesday October 04, 2016 @01:54PM (#12637631)

Is that true? Usually developer friendly means not-carrier-locked, which has always commanded a _higher_ price tag.

Meanwhile, iPhones have no cheap developer option either. When has developer equated with cheap?

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Re:Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s i... by archiepeach on Tuesday October 04, 2016 @02:08PM (#12637778)

You're right, not being carrier-locked is another attribute of a developer-friendly phone. I wasn't saying developer equates with cheap, but typically "developer" phones are secondary devices that people feel comfortable hacking on without risking destroying their daily driver. Therefore it wouldn't make a huge amount of sense to pay for a top-of-the-range phone when it will likely be a secondary device.

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Re:Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s i... by pasbesoin on Tuesday October 04, 2016 @02:45PM (#12638133)

Ah. I did think a bit of that. Agree.

Not that I'm defending it, but it looks like Google is moving from being a platform provider to a (for profit) device provider.

Given the endless bullshit surrounding third party vendor foot dragging, abandonment, etc., I'm not sure they had any other choice. For my part, I'm done with anything Android that isn't directly from Google (or maybe Samsung, for a phone). And even Google, I distrust, after they left Motorola and my Moto X to "rust" before I was even done with its contract/payments term.

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Re:Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s i... by paublyrne on Tuesday October 04, 2016 @04:17PM (#12639064)

And even Google, I distrust, after they left Motorola and my Moto X to "rust" before I was even done with its contract/payments term.

The Moto X is still getting prompt updates, regardless of the sale, no? My Moto G does at least. Certainly no rust on it.

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Re:Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s i... by pasbesoin on Tuesday October 04, 2016 @07:56PM (#12640631)

My 2013 Moto X, bought in early 2014, got left by Google/Moto/Verizon on the 5.whatever that doesn't fix Stagefright.

Until I switch away from Verizon, I stuck my already activated SIM into a Nexus 5x -- the first Nexus to work on Verizon's network.

That Nexus 5x just got the upgrade to Android 7. Because the update is shipped directly from Google and Verizon has no control over it with respect to my independently acquired Nexus 5x.

At the time I bought the Moto X, from a Motorola then owned by Google, Google/Motorola/Verizon was promising that this new ownership/alliance would ensure timely updates. Yeah... so much for that. Updates came slower, and all too soon choked out.

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Re:Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s i... by VikingCoder on Tuesday October 04, 2016 @02:00PM (#12637706)

$27 a month is pretty dang accessible for a developer, in my opinion.

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Re:Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s i... by apocalyptic0n3 on Tuesday October 04, 2016 @04:39PM (#12639277)

That's on contract. As a developer at a small agency, getting a $650 purchase approved can take months or even longer because every expense is larger than you think.

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Re:Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s i... by VikingCoder on Wednesday October 05, 2016 @09:40AM (#12643672)

That's not on contract with a carrier. That's direct through Google.

"From $649 or $27.04/month for 24 months with Google Store Financing*"

https://store.google.com/config/pixel_phone

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Re:Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s i... by hesarenu on Wednesday October 05, 2016 @01:23AM (#12641720)

In India you can get a Marshmallow devices for low as $100. Performance is acceptable for the price.

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Re:Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s i... by ocdtrekkie on Tuesday October 04, 2016 @02:02PM (#12637722)

It's been rumored to be getting much harder, yes: http://www.techtimes.com/articles/178843/20160922/are-you-pl...

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Re:Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s i... by randomsofr on Tuesday October 04, 2016 @01:30PM (#12637372)

Oneplus

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Re:Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s i... by asenna on Tuesday October 04, 2016 @02:19PM (#12637885)

Have they improved their OS yet? (Cyanogen or Oxygen? I am not sure what it is right now)

I got a OnePlus One when they launched (Ditched the Nexus for the first time in years). Can't say about the development experience on it but I've had some terrible experience with their Cyanogen OS.

It was fine at first, and then every single update broke something major (Like getting stuck on fullscreen video, Speakerphones not working, etc). The next update would fix it but break something else.

I decided to only stick to vanilla Android Nexus after that.. And now that's gone.. sigh

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Re:Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s i... by Eridrus on Tuesday October 04, 2016 @01:38PM (#12637453)

How are they with the monthly security updates?

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