The New Phone Thread

[Touring_Rob]

Apparently pixel fold is out next year so I'm waiting for that. Pixel 4 is still doing everything perfectly for the time being.

 

[Ay Ay Ron]

Tbh, I don't need a phone. I'm paying £20 for 80gb on O2 on sim only and my P30Pro is fine. I just keep seeing new deals and for another £20 pm I could have a new phone and a watch.

 

[Gally]

Tbh, I don't need a phone. I'm paying £20 for 80gb on O2 on sim only and my P30Pro is fine. I just keep seeing new deals and for another £20 pm I could have a new phone and a watch.

P30 pro! Wow! That's wasn't out yesterday! How's the battery @Aaron.. ?

 

[Ay Ay Ron]

P30 pro! Wow! That's wasn't out yesterday! How's the battery @Aaron.. ?

Battery is still decent tbh. It lasts a full day generally. If I'm watching videos/playing games a lot in work I might have to put it on charge in the evening but that's rare.

I've had this 18 months or so and it was a refurbished unit too.


Seen the pixel watch battery lasts up to 24 hours. That's no good for me, I'm used to my Garmin lasting a month if it's only used as a watch. If I used it as a GPS then I'd charge it that day but up to 24 hours for just a watch isn't great from Google.
How long do Apple watches last? Or other brands? Granted my Garmin wasn't able to take calls, pay, maps etc.

 

[Gally]

Nothing last like a Garmin mate. Apple even the Ultra is 2, 3 days at very most with activities.

 

[Ay Ay Ron]

Nothing last like a Garmin mate. Apple even the Ultra is 2, 3 days at very most with activities.

Thats with activities though. Up to 24 hours if used as a watch, 8-9 if using features 🙁

Maybe I'll get it and flog it to fund another Garmin.

 

[Gally]

Agreed. I've started taking this for granted but here's a few random shots from last sat out in Nottingham. The closeups are great quality imoView attachment 1615419View attachment 1615420View attachment 1615421

Love the first shot. Crispy!

 

[Gally]

Thats with activities though. Up to 24 hours if used as a watch, 8-9 if using features 🙁

Maybe I'll get it and flog it to fund another Garmin.

The pixel watch is the norm though. If you're used to Garmin, it will always be hard to change. The captain thing that Michael Fisher uses is my favout but it's 4 figures!

 

[Ay Ay Ron]

The pixel watch is the norm though. If you're used to Garmin, it will always be hard to change. The captain thing that Michael Fisher uses is my favout but it's 4 figures!

Is it? I wasn't sure tbh as I've only had a Garmin. Seemed a little low but if it's the norm then I'd have to get used to charging it each night I suppose.

 

[riz]

Very tempted to go for the Pixel 7pro. Can be had for around £40 per month on a 2 year deal which also includes the Pixel watch with an RRP of £350 or so, which is handy as my Garmin decided it wasn't waterproof anymore and my G-Shock has lost a button.

That offer is bonkers.
I'm tempted to change my s21Ultra for one but will wait for the reviews.

 

[Chili Red]

I will remember that next time I need to take a photo of my stormtrooper helmet in the garden!

Still two weeks til mine arrives, can’t wait. I was delayed ordering it because I couldn’t put my number in the field required, there was a bug. Oh well.

It’s so pretty! 😍

 

[Gally]

Beautiful!

 

[Gally]

Short story. My first screen protector on a phone (they mark easier these days but crack less easy) put it on not bad. One tiny spec of dust. Always annoyed me since purchase.

Anyway, I had a spare and Emma had another 2 for me. Yesterday morning after a shower. Lots of steam in the bathroom, perfect.... Fucked up all 3 of them now I have no screen protector on my phone, the spec of dust now seems insignificant!

I usually run naked but I got a look at my colleagues screen after 2 or 3 months more use than mine, did not look great, usual complaint on the new victus screens so I put a thin Samsung one on. Great clarity etc and no issue... Apart from application!

Got two more at home to try today... Will update later... Stay tuned! 😂

 

[Willo40]

Very tempted to go for the Pixel 7pro. Can be had for around £40 per month on a 2 year deal which also includes the Pixel watch with an RRP of £350 or so, which is handy as my Garmin decided it wasn't waterproof anymore and my G-Shock has lost a button.

That's an amazing deal mate, i am paying £40 a month for my 6 pro which was the best deal i could get a couple of months ago, pretty happy with mine apart from a couple of niggles, like you can't cast your phone to the TV, but overall it's a very good phone.

 

[Ay Ay Ron]

That's an amazing deal mate, i am paying £40 a month for my 6 pro which was the best deal i could get a couple of months ago, pretty happy with mine apart from a couple of niggles, like you can't cast your phone to the TV, but overall it's a very good phone.

Yeah i remember you needing the Google puck to do that when I had my Pixel 2.

I'm trying to get O2 to price match a website I've never heard of 😂

 

[Darryl_1983]

Wife ordered a Pixel 7 Pro last night to replace her 6 Pro. I've decided not to bother upgrading mine as it still does everything i need and i'll not notice the minor upgrade and slightly better camera.

Only reason she's changing really is because her 6 pro seems to have a slight issue with the microphone when recording videos.

Paid £850, with £300 trade in value, and will hope to sell the pixel watch as she's no long bought a new fitbit. So cost of the upgrade should be around £300-350, which is pretty good. She did consider getting the iphone 14 pro max, but at £1200, it's a much bigger price jump.

 

[Darryl_1983]

That's an amazing deal mate, i am paying £40 a month for my 6 pro which was the best deal i could get a couple of months ago, pretty happy with mine apart from a couple of niggles, like you can't cast your phone to the TV, but overall it's a very good phone.

Used to be able to do this with apps.

I currently use AllCast to cast videos and pictures from my phone to our TV and that works really good.

 

[JamesBryan]

You can't cast to TV with newer Pixels?

I can on my Pixel 5 i'm sure...

 

[Touring_Rob]

They keep removing features and its annoying. The face unlock on my Pixel 4 is brilliant, but for the 5 and 6 they ditched it.

I didn't see a decent increase in anything between my 4 and her 6 other than battery life. The 4 had a better processor than the 5 too and the same physical camera hardware so I never bothered hankering after an upgrade.

I'm going to hold out until it gets too slow to use or dies, or on the off chance that Google do release their folding phone next year.

 

[Gally]

They keep removing features and its annoying. The face unlock on my Pixel 4 is brilliant, but for the 5 and 6 they ditched it.

I didn't see a decent increase in anything between my 4 and her 6 other than battery life. The 4 had a better processor than the 5 too and the same physical camera hardware so I never bothered hankering after an upgrade.

I'm going to hold out until it gets too slow to use or dies, or on the off chance that Google do release their folding phone next year.

New fingerprint sensor and face unlock massively improved on the 7.

 

[JamesBryan]

They keep removing features and its annoying. The face unlock on my Pixel 4 is brilliant, but for the 5 and 6 they ditched it.

I didn't see a decent increase in anything between my 4 and her 6 other than battery life. The 4 had a better processor than the 5 too and the same physical camera hardware so I never bothered hankering after an upgrade.

I'm going to hold out until it gets too slow to use or dies, or on the off chance that Google do release their folding phone next year.

Ahh right, never felt the need for face unlock.

Always used the fingerprint which has been faultless on my 5. The 4 was a bit slower to unlock.

 

[Touring_Rob]

New fingerprint sensor and face unlock massively improved on the 7.

Ahh 7 has face unlock back?

 

[Touring_Rob]

Ahh right, never felt the need for face unlock.

Always used the fingerprint which has been faultless on my 5. The 4 was a bit slower to unlock.

Same, until I got the 4 and the face unlock was so good. Pretty much used that exclusively for 3 years now. The only time I missed fingerprint was in shops during covid because of the mask. It will unlock the phone before I've even got my hand into position, so by the time its out of my pocket and angled at my face its already unlocked, or while driving with phone on windscreen which is also pretty handy for full voice control without touching the phone.

 

[Gally]

Ahh 7 has face unlock back?

Yup! Seems to be good by all accounts so far.

 

[Darryl_1983]

You can't cast to TV with newer Pixels?

I can on my Pixel 5 i'm sure...

I'm using a pixel 6 pro to cast videos and picture saved on the phone to my TV. Not sure if I'm not understanding what you're trying to do, so sorry if I'm missing your point

 

[JamesBryan]

I'm using a pixel 6 pro to cast videos and picture saved on the phone to my TV. Not sure if I'm not understanding what you're trying to do, so sorry if I'm missing your point

Just with @Willo40 saying he can't cast using his 6, made me question why you can't with newer Pixels.

You say you're using 3rd party casting apps? Never used to have to do that.

 

[RSRowe]

Haven't read all the responses, but has anyone gone from iPhone to Pixel? Curious as to what your thoughts are.

A few years ago I had a brief foray from the iPhone 6S to the Samsung S9. Ended up switching back once my contract had ran it's course, as I didn't massively get on with it. Thought the whole UI was cumbersome and complicated, and found it very annoying how it took an age to take a picture. I replaced it with an 11 pro which just seemed to work so much better - the only feature I really missed was the fingerprint unlock on the back

 

[Willo40]

Used to be able to do this with apps.

I currently use AllCast to cast videos and pictures from my phone to our TV and that works really good.

Do you have to pay for AllCast? i tried a couple of apps at the weekend but they were free trials then you had to pay? i didn't mess about for long though.

 

[Willo40]

Just with @Willo40 saying he can't cast using his 6, made me question why you can't with newer Pixels.

You say you're using 3rd party casting apps? Never used to have to do that.

My 6 shows the cast feature, but it won't connect to my TV, i have read it's been disconnected?

 

[Touring_Rob]

Haven't read all the responses, but has anyone gone from iPhone to Pixel? Curious as to what your thoughts are.

A few years ago I had a brief foray from the iPhone 6S to the Samsung S9. Ended up switching back once my contract had ran it's course, as I didn't massively get on with it. Thought the whole UI was cumbersome and complicated, and found it very annoying how it took an age to take a picture. I replaced it with an 11 pro which just seemed to work so much better - the only feature I really missed was the fingerprint unlock on the back

Yes I switched from an iPhone 5 to the original Pixel XL when it first came out and have never switched back.

New Android is pretty slick, not as slick as iOS. I think these days the choice between android (basically Samsung or Google imo) and Apple is made based on what other devices you own.

I personally run Linux and Windows exclusively, and android just works better for me. If I had a Mac I would 100% have an iPhone and an Apple watch.

I personally prefer Google phones over other Androids because they get software releases first and seem to be supported for longer, plus the google addons (photos etc.) just work. Without knowing a great deal I would say the Samsung hardware is probably better out of the two. Apple just does UI so well.

 

[Touring_Rob]

My 6 shows the cast feature, but it won't connect to my TV, i have read it's been disconnected?

My og pixel would cast to my very old smart TV, the 4 does not. I always just figured it was because the TV was ancient. It was a really useful feature for showing people photos etc. The YouTube cast still works but that's operating in a different way, not actually casting any video and more telling the YouTube app on the TV what to play.

 

[Gally]

Haven't read all the responses, but has anyone gone from iPhone to Pixel? Curious as to what your thoughts are.

A few years ago I had a brief foray from the iPhone 6S to the Samsung S9. Ended up switching back once my contract had ran it's course, as I didn't massively get on with it. Thought the whole UI was cumbersome and complicated, and found it very annoying how it took an age to take a picture. I replaced it with an 11 pro which just seemed to work so much better - the only feature I really missed was the fingerprint unlock on the back

Quite a difficult one that. The 11pro was a fantastic phone, really brought iPhone back from some mediocority imo and started moving people back from Android.

I can only suggest watching some you tube videos. The switching thing is very popular just now to show how easy or hard it was.

It still boggles my mind some of the simple things that you cannot do on an iphone. I just found out the other day that you don't have notification icons in the top bar of your home screen? That to me is weird in itself.

However the new phones are very good. It's not really an easy thing to do because you really have to throw yourself in. What I would say, don't judge Android by a an S9, the OS has changed a lot.

 

[Touring_Rob]

It still boggles my mind some of the simple things that you cannot do on an iphone. I just found out the other day that you don't have notification icons in the top bar of your home screen? That to me is weird in itself.

Really!? That something I probably use more than anything else without even realising I am using them. I often look at notifications before deciding if I can be arsed to spend the time working out whats going on etc.

 

[Willo40]

My og pixel would cast to my very old smart TV, the 4 does not. I always just figured it was because the TV was ancient. It was a really useful feature for showing people photos etc. The YouTube cast still works but that's operating in a different way, not actually casting any video and more telling the YouTube app on the TV what to play.

My S20 would cast to my TV no problem, and my tv has the mirror feature.

 

[Darryl_1983]

Do you have to pay for AllCast? i tried a couple of apps at the weekend but they were free trials then you had to pay? i didn't mess about for long though.

I think there is a free version with ads, and a paid version. But I've had the paid version for as long as I can remember to be honest, so it may have changed

 

[Willo40]

I think there is a free version with ads, and a paid version. But I've had the paid version for as long as I can remember to be honest, so it may have changed

Thanks mate, will have another look, it's not a show stopper, just a bit annoying sometimes.

 

[Touring_Rob]

I think there is a free version with ads, and a paid version. But I've had the paid version for as long as I can remember to be honest, so it may have changed

Probably easier to get a chromecast if they still exist? Assume they would work?

 

[Willo40]

Probably easier to get a chromecast if they still exist? Assume they would work?

i think i read if your TV has chromecast it will work yes.

 

[Gally]

You use the google home app to cast to chromecast or any app will cast staright to chromecast. Also things like samsung tvs usually show up whilst viewing content and will ask if ypu want to share to screen.

 

[Touring_Rob]

You use the google home app to cast to chromecast or any app will cast staright to chromecast. Also things like samsung tvs usually show up whilst viewing content and will ask if ypu want to share to screen.

Ahh thats probably why mine has stopped working, my Samsung TV is 8 years old this year!

Basically 1000 years old in tech terms