the price of Pixel phones just doesn’t make sense

I prefer Android over the iPhone but as Paul has pointed out a few times, the price of the Pixel phones is too high. There are several reason but I wanted to mention 2 of them:

Reason #1: you only get 2 years of major updates! Today Google confirmed that the Nexus 6P and 5X will not get Android 9 (though I believe they still get security updates for another year?). I think that’s crazy, the Nexus 6P and 5X are still good phones and they deserve Android 9, it’s not like they came out in 2013.

Reason #2: performance degradation. Even Nexus/Pixel phones suffer from this! It was more forgivable with the lower pricing of the Nexus phones, but for the amount of money Google is asking for a Pixel phone, performance degradation is just not acceptable.

So even though Android has many advantages over the iPhone and I do prefer it, I’m switching to an iPhone 8 this summer when my contract is up. I don’t think Android 9 is going to fix the performance degradation issue, and for the amount of money Google is asking for the Pixel 2, I expect more major Android updates guaranteed.

Conversation 9 comments

  • Bdsrev

    07 March, 2018 - 10:33 pm

    <p>Edit: I just read that for the <span style="color: rgb(33, 33, 33);">Pixel 2, they extended major updates to 3 years, which does change things. But people that bought the 1st gen Pixel phones got screwed, they paid iPhone prices but got the same update support as Nexus devices. </span></p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      08 March, 2018 - 9:42 am

      <blockquote><a href="#251317"><em>In reply to Bdsrev:</em></a></blockquote><p>Honestly, three major feature updates is reasonable. Few people who can afford this type of device would keep using it after three years anyway, and the benefits from those feature updates will become increasingly minor over time.</p>

      • Bdsrev

        08 March, 2018 - 3:31 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#251412"><em>In reply to paul-thurrott:</em></a></blockquote><p>You're right and I agree. I was mistaken because I read so many people upset about the 1st gen Pixel only getting 2 years of major updates, I wasn't aware that Google extended this to 3 years for the Pixel 2. </p>

  • arunphilip

    08 March, 2018 - 12:35 am

    <p>IIRC, there is an element of Qualcomm support involved – apparently Qualcomm provides updated drivers/firmware for their SoCs/baseband hardware for only 2 years, which is what also limits OS support to a similar extent. It's something I read in another article, one that I'm unfortunately not able to pull up a reference for quickly. </p>

    • offTheRecord

      08 March, 2018 - 2:32 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#251336"><em>In reply to arunphilip:</em></a></blockquote><p>This is interesting, given that other OSs, such as Lineage OS, seem to be able to stay up to date. In fact, my almost 6 year old Nexus 4 continues to get current security updates for Lineage OS (and is currently using the most recent version of Android 7 — which, considering it originally came with Android 4, isn't too shabby).</p><p><br></p><p>I think many folks would be happy to continue getting security updates for a much longer time even if the actual Android version could no longer be updated on a specific device. I know I would be happy with that. If the LineageOS folks can get this done, presumably Google could, too — especially, on their own devices.</p>

    • Bdsrev

      08 March, 2018 - 3:34 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#251336"><em>In reply to arunphilip:</em></a></blockquote><p>I think this isn't true because, as of the Pixel 2, Google is promising 3 years of major updates. Or maybe Google recently convinced Qualcomm to extend support to 3 years</p>

  • wright_is

    Premium Member
    08 March, 2018 - 3:42 am

    <p>We buy low end to mid-range phones instead. </p><p>My daughter has a Hauwei Mate 9, my wife a Hauwei P-Smart, other daughter a Motorola G and I have a Hauwei Mate 10 Pro – which is almost up to Pixel 2+ standards, but a couple of hundred Euros less (I think I saved nearly 300€, compared to the Pixel 2+)</p>

    • offTheRecord

      08 March, 2018 - 2:16 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#251357"><em>In reply to wright_is:</em></a></blockquote><p>Yep. We picked up a few of the Moto G5 phones, recently, when Media Markt had them on sale for <span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">€129. Although they are clearly lower-end phones, I was surprised at how capable they are relative to the Nexus 5X that mine replaced (my 5X died after it caught the Bootloop illness). I would have preferred a Moto G5 Plus (which Amazon had on sale at Christmas time for €192, but I thought about it too long and missed the sale) and I'm eyeing the new 2018 Nokia 6 rumored to be out for less than €280, but for now the Moto G5 is just fine — especially, for the price.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Another option is to buy last year's top-end phone. At Christmas time last year, one could have picked up a Galaxy S7 for </span><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">€399. I would expect similar deals on the S8 (and Pixel 2) this year.</span></p>

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    08 March, 2018 - 9:55 am

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