back to article Google Pixel 6, 6 Pro Android 12 smartphone launch marred by shopping cart crashes

Google held a virtual event on Tuesday to introduce its latest Android phones, the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, which are based on a Google-designed Tensor system-on-a-chip (SoC). "We're getting the most out of leading edge hardware and software, and AI," said Rick Osterloh, SVP of devices and services at Google. "The brains of our new …

  1. very angry man

    Pixel Pha

    I got a 4a its the most web UNfrendly piece of shit, so slow sometimes wont even open the bank website, such a pain that it is quicker to fire up the pc, than pick up the phone to check a website, email

    1. beekir

      Re: Pixel Pha

      My 4A isn't that bad but it has gotten considerably worse over time. The simplest features like current weather widgets and always on display are consistently broken from poor update after poor update.

      1. lglethal Silver badge
        Go

        Re: Pixel Pha

        Thank you for this Info guys. I've been contemplating getting a Pixel 4a, as I'm searching for what I consider a reasonably sized phone (i.e. something that fits in one hand!), but which apparently is now considered a "mini" phone and basically no longer exists. God forbid any current phone design should see my old Ericsson T28!

        Considering the Market seems to consist of the Iphone 12/13 Mini (no thanks, not interested in the walled garden), the Google Pixel 4a (ewww google), the Sony 5 II/III (really weird and extra long form factor, not particularly nice in the hand), and the Asus Zenfone 8 (No SD Card and still significantly bigger than my current Sony Xperia X Compact), I've been struggling to decide what to buy.

        I guess I'm leaning towards the Asus now, I am a fan of their PC hardware - anyone able to give a review of their mobile hardware?

        1. LenG

          Re: Pixel Pha

          It all depends what you use your phone for. I recently upgraded my Pixel 2 to a 4a when the battery in the 2 gave up the ghost. I wanted a small light phone with a decent camera and an uncluttered interface without extra bloatware. Once I had turned off the new gesture controls in favour of the 3-button model the 4a gave me what I wanted at a very reasonable price.

          I should add that I do most of my web access via a desktop system with a large screen. I've never come across a phone which provided what I would regard as a comfortable web activity interface.

          1. Ol'Peculier

            Re: Pixel Pha

            I had a Pixel 1 and currently use a Pixel 3XL running the Android 12 beta at the moment.

            Seems to be coping very well, despite being dropped into a mud volcano once...

        2. ferkle

          Re: Pixel Pha

          I've had a 4a for a year now, and have been on the Android 12 beta for a few months, and getting the RTM version OTA last night, and no complaints thus far, which surprised me as I've been a sucker for flagship devices since time immemorial, and last year decided I couldn't stomach the grand or so everyone started asking for them. YMMV but for a cheapish device I can't find anything entirely wrong with it. 5G might be nice, but there's a flavour for that too.

    2. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge

      Re: Pixel Pha

      I also have a 4a and it has been great.

  2. Gene Cash Silver badge

    "Experts have rated Pixel 6 as the most inclusive camera available"

    So who the hell is an expert at "inclusive cameras"? What are their qualifications, how did they get them, and who granted those qualifications?

    This just seems to be a fancy "they said"

    Also, I went to the store and tried to compare the Pixel 6 to the 6 Pro, and it said "no longer available" then crashed.

    1. ZeroPete

      Re: "Experts have rated Pixel 6 as the most inclusive camera available"

      An what does 'inclusive' actually mean ? Inclusive of what . Pedophiles ? Murderers ? Priests ? It all sound very diverse. Which is another word that means nothing.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Whats this "diversity" of which they speak?..

    Last time I was down in the GooglePlex in Mountain View it was about as white as a typical day on Clement St (local SF reference) . As one of the pink people (I've long lost my beach bum tan of my younger years) I was in a very distinct minority. No problem there. Its decades since I worked on a white majority dev team in the Bay Area. 1991 in fact. One more than one occasion I have been the only white guy on a team. But I only hang out with the tech people so what would I know.

    The word "diversity" is one of those weasel words that means just one very specific group and no other. Pure partisan politics and nothing else. What makes it even more ludicrous is that some of the teams I've worked with recently were mostly southern Indians, with the usual mixture of the Gujarati "tech mafia" (is everyone from Allahabad?..), who were darker skinned than most members of the "special" group anointed by the "diversity police". But somehow those people I worked with are still not "people of color" according to the "diversity police". So it seems myself, a Polish guy, a Japaneses guy, and half a dozen Indians are somehow not "diverse" enough..

    Go figure.

    The good news is the only people who make a big deal about this "diversity" swizz are either political hucksters (i.e low grade sociopaths) or those who no discernible technical skills or business talents. In other words utterly worthless people when you have a product to ship. Oddly enough everyone else gets along just fine. Just as we always have. Since long before there was this thing call "diversity"

    1. Snake Silver badge

      Re: Whats this "diversity" of which they speak?..

      Your exposition only demonstrates that you are substituting "diversity" for "cheap cost-cutting bastards who will willingly import lower-cost labor and undercut your salary".

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Whats this "diversity" of which they speak?..

      Not quite sure why you got all the thumbs down, perhaps people didn't read what you actually wrote? Seems perfectly reasonable opinion to me. Diversity police? Anon for obvious reasons.

  4. Phil Kingston

    Manufacturers still trotting out this "24 hour battery life" nonsense then?

    I challenge anyone in the real world to achieve that on one of these.

    1. beekir

      I get 24 hours on my Pixel 4a. I read quite a bit of news on it so there's a lot of screen time, but I keep the brightness around 40%.

    2. ferkle

      My 4a is usually still around 60-70% battery charge available when I put it down to charge at night. A day for me usually being 6am to about 11.30pm. I've no reason to believe that the 6.5 hours where it's not in use would sap that battery, but alas my internalised battery anxiety means I don't test to see if i'd still have 10-20% after 48 hours...

      Last I looked I was in the real world.

    3. Piro Silver badge

      24 hours is extremely underwhelming anyway - I don't know why we've all accepted that phones have to be huge, but battery life is awful.

      5G is bad for battery life, 4G not being particularly great, and then you have all the random battery sucking services running on the device.

      I have an older Android phone (Redmi 4X, battery is from 2017!) that I use exclusively for work, it has a custom ROM and a fairly minimal application load, it's almost entirely idle the whole time, and it can last 4 or 5 days between charges. It can be done.

    4. Cederic Silver badge

      I get around 4 days on my Samsung Z Flip 3.

      Not all of us are constantly on our phones.

  5. Throatwarbler Mangrove Silver badge
    Alert

    Ruh roh

    "Google is also launching a subscription service called Pixel Pass that, for $45/$55 each month, gives you a new Pixel 6/Pixel 6 Pro and a suite of services – Google One, YouTube Premium and YouTube Music Premium, Google Play Pass and Preferred Care."

    This seems like the kind of bundling behavior that gives monopoly-busters raging ... excitement.

    1. Dave 126

      Re: Ruh roh

      Google doesn't have a major market share of subscription music or subscription video services. The situation is very different to Internet Explorer being bundled on Windows when the OS had an overwhelming market share.

      I'm sure there are aspects of Google's (or Alphabet's, whatever) business that are of interest to monopoly regulators... just not the areas areas you outlined.

      (Spotify, Apple Music, Netflicks, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, etc all appear to viable at present)

      1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

        Re: Ruh roh

        Dave 126,

        Google doesn't have a major market share of subscription music or subscription video services.

        Isn't that the point though? They do have a monopoly in search, and a monopoly in phone operating systems. So by bundling services they could be said to be leveraging their monopoly in one market to try and dominate another. Which is a textbook definition of monopoly abuse. And exactly what MS were accused of with Internet Explorer.

        Of course in that case they were offering it for free. So if Google are considered to be under-pricing their bundled service, then it's more likely to be seen as abuse. Whereas if their price is reasonable, and not a loss-leader cross-subsidised from their profits from other markets - then it's all fine.

    2. Robert Grant

      Re: Ruh roh

      I'm not quite sure of the point of it.

      Youtube and Music Premium: $16/mo

      One: $2/mo

      Play Pass: $25/year

      Pixel 6: $599

      Total for 2 years: $1081

      Pass total for 2 years: $1080

      Is it like an interest-free loan, but only worth it if you use every service Google bundles?

      1. Peter D

        Re: Ruh roh

        This used to be described as buying on the never never in Blighty.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    You gotta love this PR speak

    "The phone experience is designed for inclusion at its core," insisted Osterloh. "We've taken real steps in hardware, software and AI to prioritize historically underserved communities, particularly in the camera."

    I guess it means that they've moved the facial recog into the camera and made it detect people with skins that aren't white AND made it impossible to switch off?

    1. Peter D

      Re: You gotta love this PR speak

      Many people will buy these phones and be quite surprised at how many members of their family are, in fact, Inuit.

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