Counter-anecdote: I got a Pixel 6 pro at launch. With the very notable exception of multi week delays in some security updates, it has been the best phone I have ever owned. Great camera, great screen, great battery life, no stability problems, and most importantly, no overheating after which plagued older Pixels under heavy usage.

But YMMV - based on a perusal of forum posts, it seems that one's experience, among other things, depends on one's geographic region (which may be a proxy for the exact firmware model of your device). Mine is a US model, intended for Google Fi. A disproportionate number of complaints seem to be from users in certain EU countries.

I've one from EU distribution for over half a year now. There were some very minor issues with the interface at the beginning(removed with updates later). Apart from that all is great. If there are multiple crashes per day I would get it replaced, because it's clearly faulty unit.

It's a high value connected device with error reporting.

If it were crashing multiple times per day, you'd hope that Google would proactively contact the user and offer a replacement.

That's a cool idea. Using the telemetry to find (unusually) faulty hardware and reaching out to the customers to proactively offer a replacement could be some next level customer service.

One can dream ...

Yes and no. The big issue with me is the fingerprint reader behind the screen doesn't always work, and am resorting to punching in my pin about half the time.

The Pixel 2 fingerprint reader on the back was the fastest. The Pixel 4 face recognition was often faster than the Pixel 6.

Also I use google assistant for driving to get navigation, and when it screws up the destination instead of one step to fix it, it's usually two more steps or more. (e.g. "1201 Eighth St" vs "1201 State St" and others)

I increased my screen brightness till it would work most of the time. Hopefully that will help your fingerprint reader at least. I have a Pixel 6 Pro for reference.

What processor does yours have?

My P6P is also the worst phone I can remember, but unlike you, I also really dislike (main) camera. It oversharpens people's faces to absurd degree in anything but optimal light. Faces are discolored (often gray), wrinkles come up, hair often looks kind of greasy. (for landscapes the camera is pretty good though)

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.

> 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.

> 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)

> 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.

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.

> 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.

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...

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.

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”

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.

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

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

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.)

>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?

I meant users.

I own a Pixel 6 and can't recall the last time I experienced a crash of any sort.

Mine doesn't crash (anymore, it did when v12 came out), but my cell/data goes offline randomly and I get worse service than my peers in many places. It also overheats when exposed to almost any sunlight at all no matter the ambient temperature (it's overheated in my car with the ac on and no case) or when charging and doing a video call at the same time.

My Nexus 4 and Note 5 were solid phones, but every android phone I've had after that has been awful in one way or another.

The final straw for me has been android auto on this phone. Completely unusable and unsafe. So many crashes and lockups and touching any cable causes it to disconnect (but my wifes iphone doesn't do this so it's not just the cables). At this point I'm looking at an iPhone for my next phone. Something like android would be nice, but I also want a premium phone that works.

My Note 5 is actually still going strong and is smooth and responsive (except for lack of updates). The battery hasn't swelled or anything.

Same

I totally agree with that. Got the pixel 6 after a Pixel 2 and Pixel 4a. The first thing I didnt like was the size. I find it VERY uncomfortable to handle, and also very heavy!

I also had many problems with it. Heating, unresponsiveness, and after getting the latest upgrade to Android 13 it got even worse.

That was my last Pixel phone and probably my last Android.

I went through a similar process. I ended up getting a Pixel 5, they are still being sold new-in-box on Amazon. I really liked the size and weight of the 4a but wanted something that had 5G support. The 5 is actually smaller and lighter than both the 4a 5G and 5a 5G. Very thankful to the folks who run gsmarena.com, it's extremely helpful for this sort of thing.

Welcome to the club. The 3a was the best phone I ever owned. Then it broke (my fault) and after going through 3 bunk replacements in a row, I realized that Google literally does zero QA and stopped trying.

Maybe the Pixel 3 was better, but I still have a Pixel 2 XL which came with a USB-C-to-headphone adapter which simply does not work, and also it's very picky about which USB ports it will connect to - it seems to prefer USB-C. Once you get over these issues though, it's an Ok phone...

A defining feature of the 3a (despite being perfect for my baby hands) was a built-in headphone jack, which is now considered a "budget" feature :-)

I would recommend trying GrapheneOS. Easy to install on Pixels and have heard great things. The OS focus is on Privacy and Security which can come with some cutbacks but still might be worth it to you

return it, it's broken - it shouldn't behave like this. Don't live with these bugs

I don’t understand how could you pay such a vast amount of money for a phone that is not even subpar… it is unusable by your own testimony. Not trying to be snarky or anything, but why didn’t you return it?

You only get 15 days to return it and a lot of us wait until the next patch to see if that fixes issues which are on a monthly cadence now. Unfortunately after buying so many Google devices unless some major changes happen I won't be buying another one.

All phones have these problems. Every phone has glaring problems you have to live with or work around.

I've now got quite a few phones on my desk (6 right now) plus all the other historical ones. It's surprising to see the differences, quirks, and little gems. My main phone has now become an 13 Pro Max, it's solid, reliable and smooth (but my main reason was the camera/video quality). While features might be hidden via gestures I don't think I've ever seen a problem or bug with anything - certainly nothing that is repeated or sticks out in my mind.

But that said the functionality of Android is much wider in scope, which is a blessing and a curse.

For my startup one of the core features is uploading photos/videos, and lots of them.. getting to know how each platform deals with background processes has been very eye opening. Apple : there's a couple of ways, it's on our terms, maybe, if we feel up to the task - but you know what you're getting. Android : here's the kazillion different changing API's on how to do it... you'll get there with better performance of what you want (maybe) but good luck navigating the landscape !

I suspect Androids eco system problems is just keeping up with ever changing APIs, or learning what worked fine on your Sony xperia 1 ii, fails miserably on your first customers Samsung S20.... then realising you're doing it wrong on the apis, then re-writing it, then the api's change....

So the chance of app bugs is far, far higher in Android.

As a person that has been dealing with Android programming since version 1.6 I have to say that things got very stable since version 4.4 Kitkat. That's 9 years ago...

The ecosystem has improved, and added a bunch of new optional stuff, a new language, a new way of making UIs, etc. Retrocompatibility is still very good.

Some other things never change though.

The "stability" of Android Studio stable releases, how much Android build system requires as developer workstation (Google employees must all use gaming rigs), the artisanal tooling on the NDK front, lack of easier JNI integration after 10+ years,...

Across several android and iOS phones (including some of the first android phones in the US market), I have not personally experienced issues anything close to what I’ve read about from the Pixel line.

We need to push manufacturers to be better, especially about providing timely and stable OS updates.

People are pushing them. That's why the iPhone passed all Android devices combined in US market share last week. That's the pushing. A lot of longtime Android users have obviously finally gotten tired enough of the quality issues and have fled to iPhone.

I have, on OnePlus

> All phones have these problems. Every phone has glaring problems you have to live with or work around.

No?

Danger Sidekick II

Palm Treo 700

Motorola Droid

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

LG G2

Google Nexus 6P

Google Pixel XL

OnePlus 7Pro

None of them had glaring problems I had to live with or work around.

The battery life up until the LG G2 was a problem -- I usually needed to recharge mid-day if I was doing anything active. The G2 had the best form factor ever -- honestly, they should have kept the external dimensions the same and just improved the internals each year. 5.2" screen, 460 ppi. 138.5 x 70.9 x 8.9 mm. 143g. Eventually it developed a touchscreen fault that slowly spread.

The Nexus 6P was a great phone, but big. It developed battery problems after about a year. Up until then, fine.

The Pixel XL was a little disappointing because it didn't really feel like much of an advance, but it didn't have the battery problem.

I'm still using the 7 Pro, which, for a bigphone, is not bad. It has the excellent motorized pop-up selfie cam, which I like because I hardly ever use it. When I do use it, it deploys quickly. Battery life is starting to degrade (2.5 years in) and I'm thinking about either a Pixel 7 or an Asus Zenphone 9 this fall.

So, no. Not every phone has glaring problems.

Maybe in the Android world they do (but I kinda doubt it), but certainly not in the Apple ecosystem.

It depends on your definition of problems. For Android users Apple's ...design intentions are unpalatable

As a fairly long time Android user (Android 2.2 -> 12 from various manufacturers), the iPhone 13 Mini in my pocket works really well.

I honestly can't even say one is better than the other, just different, and they've mostly stolen the good ideas from each other over the years anyway.

>fairly long time Android user

>Android 2.2 -> 12

Ha, that’s pretty much the entire history, minus the HTC Dream.

Same run for me. Started with Samsung Captivate (Galaxy S1). Jumped to iPhone 12/13 mini when Google designers hired Buffalo Bill and pushed his skin-lampshade-inspired-design in Android 12 (Material You Will Put The Lotion On Its Skin).

For quite a few Android/iphone users it was the free phone their employer could get at the time with their corporate plan

I had my fair share of iOS bugs as well, the worst ones are clearly the broken account syncs

Don't know what you're talking about. My pixel 6 pro or whatever works great and the pixel 5 I have works fine.

"All phones have these problems" is just false.

I more or less agree.

I have two exceptions that come to mind... My Galaxy J7 (Original version) was a lovely little device that still works, aside from lack of updates from the mfg. It wasn't fancy or fast, but it was cheap and has been able to do what I needed it to.

I bring that one up specifically because it wasn't a 'flagship' phone which tend to be as polished as possible (although often wind up with quirks on/related to new features), but a cheapish low to midrange (which often see problems around hardware choices and/or bugs around software for said hardware choices [^0])

I'm also going to give the 'WTF' shout-out to the Original Nexus 7 with HSPA+, you had to jump through some hilarious hoops to make it a device usable as a 'phone', and talking on it was something that became a meme among my colleagues... yet sadly was more 'reliable' than most of the HTC/LG shitshows of the day.

For a number of years, I was on a 'tiered' setup where my phones were WinPho, and I had either the aforementioned Nexus, or later a Samsung Galaxy Tab for my android 'needs'. The WinPhos sucked from an app standpoint but were otherwise the best 'smart phones' IMO between 2012-2016 [^1][^2]

[^0] I often wonder how many problems are related to firmware bugs versus a problem with the underlying hardware. As an example from another semi-related sector, consider the Intel Puma 6. You can try to mask some/most of the problems in firmware, but at the end of the day the design has a problem. Sometimes I wonder whether the extremely aggressive release cycle of phones is/was a way to 'mask' the problem.

[^1] Here! was far superior to Google navigation IMO, even had offline map downloading before it was cool. Call quality was always good, none of the weird drops/bugs I'd see on android, SMS was good except dual sim support on the late models.

[^2] I'll admit I don't really use iPhone. I buy them for my dad (he loved his WinPho for the simplicity and tile interface, but 'I like this too!' so that is what he sticks with now).

Phone quality is uneven with some OEMs consistently producing crap and others sometimes laying eggs. Your sample size is likely small. Many people don't buy a new phone until the old one doesn't work anymore. So you could trivially have only experienced 2-3 phones total. It would be trivial then to conclude all phones have these problems even though its not so.

Try a Motorola or a well reviewed model from another manufacture paying attention especially to people's complaints and whether or not they represent legit flaws. Spend at least 30 minutes reading reviews before you buy.

> Every phone has glaring problems you have to live with or work around.

I can only think of one phone i have used that has what I would characterize as “glaring problems”.