Shrimp or Shrimps posted:

Right now the only real reason I see to import a Chinese phone to the west is for the gimmicky stuff (like the gaming phones with air triggers) or for the foldables if you don't like either the Samsung or Pixel.

Carpet posted:

Turns out I can use my Local Guides 15% discount for the 7a, but I can't also get the current offer of a free Chomecast 4K. However, I can get up to £53 by trading in my 3a, or Cex are offering £70-90 for Grade B and A so might go with them instead.

Carpet posted:

I haven't looked into contracts as I've currently got a SIM only service with Three Mobile - currently paying £25 for unlimited data but have been considering reducing that to 25GB for £14 as I don't normally use more than that in a month (or even their 120GB plan for £2 more). Looking at their contract deals, the phone is £20 cheaper over 36 months, but the plan costs more overall.

Carpet posted:

I forgot Carphone Warehouse was a thing. The plan does look good but the Pixel I ordered from the Google Store arrived and I'm using it now I'll have to remember them in a few year's time!

bull3964 posted:

https://9to5google.com/2023/09/25/pixel-8-actua-display/

A few more leaks. P8P is apparently going to have a display that can hit 2600nits of peak brightness and is a full 1-120hz LTPO panel. It also looks like the Pro is getting matte back glass finally. That's something sorely missed from the Pixel 4.

bull3964 posted:

Also, even after the better part of a decade collecting these health metrics, I still really don't know what to do with them or how knowing them helps me in any way.

bull3964 posted:

Seems like there may be other reasons to skip the Pros this year in iPhone land anyways. Looks like the marketers got ahead of the engineers in using titanium and made the phone suffer for it outside of overall weight. This year's iPhone 15 Pro MAX is the first iPhone since bend gate to fall the JerryRigEverything bend tests and there have already been reports of worse drop resistance due to the frame (on top of scratches galore).

bull3964 posted:

It's part of USB-C PD 3.0 and 3.1 as an optional component.

So, it's very much standards compliant, but you also can't assume watt=watt.

For example, Samsung requires ~4amp for their 45w charging. So, is not enough that it be a 45w charger, it has to be able to hit 45w in the volt/amp combo that the device wants and you have to use a 5amp cable or it will max out around 27w as it hits the 3amp limit on the phone's voltage limit.

bull3964 posted:

Not necessarily. There are many 45w and 60w PPS chargers that top out at 3 amps. It was notable this year when the Anker Ace 45w came out that it could do Samsung Super Fast Charge 2.0 because the 2.0 means >3a. Before that, you almost only got greater than 3a if you went with a PPS charger that could do 100w on a single port.

Pixel 7 pro will do the charge rapidly toast so long as it can negotiate 18w or higher, so that by itself can't be used to determine the charge protocols (the OG pixel 18w adapter will give a charge rapidly toast on the Pixel 7 Pro.)

Samsung will say "Fast Charging" so long as it's 15w. "Super Fast Charging" means it can do at least 25w while Super Fast Charging 2.0 means 45w.

I've found my S23U is a great quick way to test my cables to see which ones are 5A capable. Plug it into one of my PPS 100w adapters and if I get the 2.0 toast, it's a 5A cable. If it's just Super Fast Charging, I know it's only a 3A cable.

For example, the Anker Ace has this published for its PPS parameters. The first grouping is what's relevant for the Samsung Super Fast Charging 2.0 since it's about 10v@4.5a at the max.

PPS: 3.3V-11V 5A /3.3V-16V 3A /
3.3V-21V 2.25A (45W Max)

The other thing that PPS does is allow the amps and volts to change dynamically without having to handshake again in small increments.

Mental Hospitality posted:

Someone got their hands on a Pixel 8 Pro already.
https://youtube.com/shorts/fsAUjOqnOm0?si=wccvoJ0MMNQhobzT

According to the poster, it retains the optical fp scanner. Might still use the same GN1 sensor for the main camera as well. I personally am just super hyped for the new display and it looks like the G3 might be a pretty decent SoC this year.

bull3964 posted:

CLAM DOWN posted:

gently caress I want the 8 Pro, what is wrong with me other than everything

bull3964 posted:

We won't know anything about battery until things get into user hands (and even then outliers are going to be the most vocal so heaps of salt.)

But the SoC is more efficient (both in process node and ARM Cortex models) and the displays should be more efficient (especially the Pro's LTPO.)

Mental Hospitality posted:

I like the new Android 14 lock screen styles. The vertical info theme on the AOD looks very sharp. Also, is predictive back still something that needs to be enabled in developer options? I thought that was going to be a system wide thing on the public version but I haven't noticed it in action.

Incessant Excess posted:

I may be missing something obvious but that stuff isn't regulated, is it? Isn't it just Google deciding whatever level of security they can achieve with a single cam is good enough? It's not independently verified or whatever, is what I'm trying to say.

CaptainSarcastic posted:

Anyone else have several Google Play system updates available in a row? I upgraded to Android 14 on my Pixel 6 yesterday, and today thought I'd check to see if there were Play updates, and there was - 4 in a row. I'd install one, restart the phone, check again, find another update, rinse and repeat.

Do the Play updates function more old-school in that you have to install updates in order and I somehow just had a backlog? Or did they release several as a follow-on to Android 14?

BabyFur Denny posted:

That's just confirmation bias and stuff like that gets posted every single update. Phones would be pushing 24h SoT if it were true.

gourdcaptain posted:

One weird minor issue is they force ahead of time compilation on apps which mostly makes app installs take slightly longer, but on the update to Android 14 that was pushed today to stable brought back the dreaded "Optimizing Apps: 1 of 189" screen from old versions of Android during the update reboot.

Tremors posted:

If someone happened to spill soda on their phone what's the best product to use to get the buttons unsticky? Rubbing alcohol?

UncleGuito posted:

I've been lucky enough to test the Pixel 8 Pro for the past few months - here are some impressions!

- It's certainly the most premium feeling Pixel device to date. It almost kinda feels like an iPhone with the sturdiness of the build quality. There's no hollowness here and the weight combined with the materials definitely feel like an upgrade vs the 7 Pro.
- The haptics are significantly better. They are more pronounced and are easily noticeable in your pocket, etc.
- The screen is also an upgrade (not to mention the flat display improved usability for me). The pixels seem closer to the glass and the brightness can crank up pretty far in direct sunlight.
- The cameras, as expected, are fantastic. The biggest improvements for me were in macro, wide angle, and night sight photos. Macro especially can achieve some insane results, and both wide angle and night shots produce less noise and lens flare.
- The new Magic Editor tools are nuts. The feature to cut an object and move it to a different part of the photo has worked flawlessly in my tests and I have no clue how it works so well. Audio Magic Eraser also works really well and I can see it being super helpful.
- Performance wise, it's a bit snappier than the 7 Pro but I don't really do gaming or intensive stuff with my phone so this wasn't a huge area of interest to me. I've only ever had to reboot the phone for software updates and I haven't had to force close anything or mess with non-default settings.
- Battery life seems a bit better than the 7 Pro and idle battery life drain is improved - although not sure if this is more related to Android 14 optimizations than the actual hardware.
- It can still get warm at times under heavy load. It's not as frequent or noticeable as the 7 Pro but still present when using Android Auto, setting up the phone, or intensive AI stuff. It hasn't gotten warm during normal use (browsing, videos, etc).

Let me know if there's anything else you're curious about!

UncleGuito posted:

Call quality has been great so far. Super clear and no issues with Verizon. Also haven't noticed any issues with 5G like my 7 Pro. I don't think the video thing is arriving til later this year? SOT is usually around 6.5 hours - easily lasts the day.

I haven't tried much video but can do some tests today. MKBHD published a car video earlier today that showcases a huge improvement in video quality (apparently better than the latest iphones) but the audio struggled with the wind.

The buttons are clicky and sturdy. Not quite iPhone level but better than the vast majority of other Android phones (including previous Pixels).

Another thing to note on photos: the shutter speed or processing seem to be significantly improved to the point where moving subjects (dogs, kids, etc) often come out just fine with little to no blurring.

Face unlock is also finally here for payments and authentication - it works really well.

UncleGuito posted:

Unfortunately no.

bull3964 posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS8x2TicxQ8

Talks about the product segmentation stuff and the fingerprint reader (which I have the opposite experience with), but overall very very positive review. He basically places it right alongside the flagshipiest of flagships.

Kirios posted:

NGL Android 14 has been my favorite major upgrade in a few years.

VictualSquid posted:

While I am here: Has there been any info on weather the 8a will have the temp sensor?

KICK BAMA KICK posted:

Messages offering to auto-delete 2FA codes after 24 hours must be new with Android 14? Honestly that kind of thing is my favorite kind of new phone feature, somebody just noticing a small, easily solvable annoyance and fixing it.