Google Pixel 8 (128GB): $699 / €799 / £699
Google Pixel 8 Pro (128GB): $999 / €1,099 / £999
I’m excited to see pixel grow but why are we accepting this storage bullshit? 128GB in 2023? Why do we tolerate this storage extortion. Hard drive space costs almost nothing yet they give this unacceptable starting model to sell more cloud bullshit. Apple is even worse at this. Disgusting stuff.
I’m not arguing against your point at all because that seems like a personal matter. However, I am interested in knowing how the typical person uses more than 128GB of storage space. Aside from people with interests that require more space (eg a photographer or traveler), what do people have on their phones that take up more than 128GB of storage space?
Dude android games these days are 10gb+
My point being is that the production cost between 256gb and 128gb driver is almost identical and the phone manufacturers purposefully gimp the product to upsell some random bullshit.
And how many people play these games? I don’t know a single person that does. For all these people, that much storage would be a waste.
Photos (I like to shoot RAW+JPEG), videos and music. Pixels don’t come with micro SD card slots, and other manufacturers have been getting rid of it as well.
Even apps these days are at least 100-200 MB.
Interesting! How do phones typically encode their files, and what are the benefits of shooting RAW+JPEG?
That still doesn’t answer the question though. I have photos and music on my phone and I still have 60+ GB of free storage
Here’s one example: An Insta 360 camera for a single 10 minute video can produce upwards of 10gb of data.
Those video files can only really be transferred to your phone for editing and sharing.
That’s ONE example that doesn’t include gaming (a highly mainstream community) that also requires gigabytes of storage.
I personally like to go camping, offroading, sometimes hiking. The camping can be for days at a time in places with marginal cellular signal. So I personally like having GBs and GBs of mp3s loaded onto my device to listen to.
Probably not a typical use case, but 64+ GB of music isn’t out of the question at all for me
I dont know how, but i have currently 68gb of App data on my phone. Im a photographer and traveler and i already try to push photos to cloud. But sometimes its not possible. So im happy about 256gb, so i dont need to care.
I want to switch to a Pixel 8 Pro, but im considered with that price tag and i need to pay 70€ for additional 128gb of storage…
I mean they promoted it with more MP cameras and better video, that will all take up storage.
I think its fair to call it BS not starting with 256gb as a basis.
You don’t have to accept it, just buy something else. That’s the beauty of Android. I’m using an Xperia 1 IV and really like it. The Mark V is better with heat and a few other things but not enough to switch right away. 512 GB internal, SD card slot, headphone jack… basically everything phone buyers complain about getting removed are all available in one package.
It’s a dark pattern and a trend. It has nothing to do with “accepting it”
Fine, I used a synonym instead of the exact word you used “tolerate”. The point is, the power to tolerate this or not is still in your/our hands. If we only talk and complain, but don’t actually reward with our business the companies who do what we say we want, then the future will absolutely be no on board storage, cloud connected, personal-data-harvesting everything.
So it kind of does have something to do with accepting (or not) these things.
How’s the heat with your phone? Was looking at a 5 IV but the potential heating issues has me worried.
And apparently the 5 V isn’t coming to the US.
Overall not too bad, but using the camera, and especially recording video, will cause it to overheat and ask you to take a break much quicker than it really should. Honestly that’s not a minor issue I guess when one of the main features forces you to stop using it after a relatively brief time. I think the 5 series is better at managing that though.
Two of the reasons why I chose a Motorola Moto G Stylus 5G (2022) over a Pixel 6a with much better other specs was that it has 256GB internal storage and that it has a MicroSDXC slot vs 128GB and no slot. This stuff matters to me.
I’m disappointed that so many features seem locked to the Pro and not the regular P8, and a lot of them don’t make sense to me.
A lot of the AI stuff they talked about towards the end of the keynote seem to be locked with the P8P, even though the regular P8 shares the same chip so it has no reason not to be able to do the same things. Why?
Video Boost also seems to be locked to the P8P, which is more disappointing since half of it is run in the cloud and not on device, along with manual camera controls, which I think should be a basic feature every phone camera should have.
I was originally eyeing the P8P already, but I’m going to wait for reviews before making a decision. I currently have the P6a, and I already feel frustrated that a few software features like motion mode do not get updated to the earlier models. I feel the same frustration for people who want a regular P8 but are going to be missing out on software features not limited by hardware.
Yuck. Minimal upgrades from last generation yet they increase the price. Artificially limiting software features to the pro.
And those prices are for 128gb? Just so they can overcharge you for more memory upgrades.
Honestly? Really disappointed. Once again Google has done a decent job on the software and AI side and totally phoned it in on the hardware.
There is nothing interesting at all happening on the hardware side. Identical design, no increase in storage or ram, no maglock Qi2 charging, STILL no DP-Alt for display out so no Dex like feature, I could go on. To do such a minimal refresh then have the gall to charge $150 CAD more than last year while locking extra features behind the Pro model?
I struggle to see how this could be considered a good launch. They are trying to command premium prices based on software improvements alone, but with mediocre hardware that will never work. Pixel phones do not hold their value for this reason, and the price will fall with the 8a comes out and has all the identical software features at a fraction of the price.
I will give koodos on the one big thing though, and that’s the 7 years of OS updates. That really makes it hard to consider buying a 7 or 7a when the 8 comes with support like that. It will be very interesting to see if the 8a has the same guarantee (same chip so it should) or if they gatekeep that artificially to sell the higher tier.
I also would have liked to see something novel here for repairability. If they had come out with a new design where the battery was easily accessible that would have gone a long way to prove sustainability and comply with the upcoming EU legislation. As it stands I’m not sure 7 years of OS updates are really that important because the phone will not last that long due to already middle of the road hardware and poor repairability.
TL:DR Google has yet again released a mediocre phone with a high price tag.
Design wise they are following apple Samsung keeping same-ish design for brand recognition
I think that’s giving them a bit too much credit. Also, when I say design I don’t mean they have to ditch the visor, which honestly is the only unique thing they have. I’m saying do something different with the camera punch hole like Samsung did when they put a screen in front of it, or add repairability features, or mag charging, etc.
You’re right that we’re in an era of every phone being a flat slab so you want some visual differentiator, and I honestly think the visor (back when it was all black like the pixel 6) looks better than the exposed grouping of cameras the iPhone has. They can keep that overall look for all I care, just… try. Try to do something interesting or novel, or don’t ask flagship prices.
I think its a good indicator that Google isn’t doing anything crazy with this device and trying to keep it mainstream, this suggest they are serious about it. But I get your point love the time when every one was trying something new something different
I think there could be a big hardware change for people who are interested in the photo area. I want to see how that bigger sensor and AI performs. Currently there are not many brands who stand a chance sgainst the Pixel photo quality. Smartphones resching a goof point for a second camera.
But besides this, i also agree that locking Software features is BS and they should not copy Apple with that.
7 years of updates is incredible. A good step towards actual, meaningful sustainability.
The best thing is that it’ll push other Manufacturers to do 7 years as well.
I’m hoping Samsung would be pushed to top this when they’re releasing the S24 series and some of the older devices will also get upgraded to a longer software upgrade period. I just upgraded to a Fold5 after using Asus ROG Phone II for four years and messing with custom ROMs (the ROG Phone II just have one year of OS updates) just to stay up to date in regards to security and software updates is not as fun as it was a dozen years ago.
At a certain point, there is no reason to extend support for the handful of devices that will still be active in 2030.
