[UPDATE 10/4/16] It is official! Pixel and Pixel XL (formerly Nexus 2016)

[Anubis]

mine comes today.

FWIW I never had an issue with my 6p before today when it decided it didn't want to charge anymore off the wall plug - charges fine when plugged into the computer,...... tried 8 different brand new wall warts/cables, very very strange

 

[Capt Caveman]

mine comes today.

FWIW I never had an issue with my 6p before today when it decided it didn't want to charge anymore off the wall plug - charges fine when plugged into the computer,...... tried 8 different brand new wall warts/cables, very very strange

My 6P started acting weird last night. It started draining really fast and shut itself down at 40% battery and every time I restarted it would shutdown. After recharging it, it still is draining really fast but I haven't let it go down to 40%. Probably should and see what happens.

 

[Deeko]

Got mine yesterday. So far so good. Impressions:

- It's by far the smoothest Android implementation I've ever used, in terms of UI responsiveness and fluidity, but my experience with Android is that that tends to get worse over time, so it remains to be seen if the problem is actually solved.

- Build quality feels solid. It feels a little thicker in the hand than expected, but also lighter too. It's well balanced and feels premium. Like the fact that there's no camera bump.

- The camera is quick to start up, focus, and take pictures, which is nice. So far light and color balance is very good, sharpness decent. I wouldn't call it "the best smartphone camera ever" but it's pretty good.

- The speaker is tinny and not great, and if you hold the phone in landscape you'll probably block it with your hand. I have my phone on silent mode or with headphones 99.99% of the time so this doesn't really affect me, but it could some others.

- Hate the fingerprint sensor on the back. Hate it hate it hate it. Front (like Apple and Samsung) or side (like Sony) is 100000x better. I am at a desk most of the day. My phone is on said desk. Now I have to pick it up to unlock which is an abysmal user experience. Plus its two buttons to press rather than one. Seriously, there's a big bezel on the bottom face, would it have been that hard to put it there?

- It comes with a USB-C to USB-C charger. What were they thinking? Maybe Google's engineers all use new Macbooks or something but us normal people have USB everywhere in our homes.

- Can't comment on battery life yet, hasn't been long enough.

 

[Red Storm]

Hate the fingerprint sensor on the back. Hate it hate it hate it. Front (like Apple and Samsung) or side (like Sony) is 100000x better. I am at a desk most of the day. My phone is on said desk. Now I have to pick it up to unlock which is an abysmal user experience. Plus its two buttons to press rather than one. Seriously, there's a big bezel on the bottom face, would it have been that hard to put it there?

What takes two buttons?

I agree that the sensor being on the back is bad for the specific case of the phone laying on a desk, but otherwise I really prefer it for every other scenario to front facing sensors. What's especially nice is that you don't need to actually press anything, you just put your finger on the sensor and it unlocks. I find Touch ID has become not so accurate and fast with my iPhone 6S since I've gone to iOS 10. Maybe the upgrade doesn't have anything to do with it, but I know it definitely was lightning fast when I first used it, and now it is not so.

I hope that the big bezels are just because this is Google's first phone, and future iterations will have a much more modern design (hopefully Xiaomi pushes more OEMs to make their flagship phones with minimal bezels).

 

[Yakk]

- Hate the fingerprint sensor on the back. Hate it hate it hate it. Front (like Apple and Samsung) or side (like Sony) is 100000x better. I am at a desk most of the day. My phone is on said desk. Now I have to pick it up to unlock which is an abysmal user experience. Plus its two buttons to press rather than one. Seriously, there's a big bezel on the bottom face, would it have been that hard to put it there?

Oh hadn't thought of that, I usually keep my S7 phone on a charging pad on my desk at work and just fingerprint unlock to use. This wouldn't work at all.... gonna give a heads up to a few people I know thinking of getting a Pixel.

 

[Deeko]

What takes two buttons?

I agree that the sensor being on the back is bad for the specific case of the phone laying on a desk, but otherwise I really prefer it for every other scenario to front facing sensors. What's especially nice is that you don't need to actually press anything, you just put your finger on the sensor and it unlocks. I find Touch ID has become not so accurate and fast with my iPhone 6S since I've gone to iOS 10. Maybe the upgrade doesn't have anything to do with it, but I know it definitely was lightning fast when I first used it, and now it is not so.

I hope that the big bezels are just because this is Google's first phone, and future iterations will have a much more modern design (hopefully Xiaomi pushes more OEMs to make their flagship phones with minimal bezels).

Ah, you're right, I thought you had to press power and then press the fingerprint sensor, didn't realize you could just press the fingerprint sensor. However that was an ancillary concern - the "using while on desk" issue is still there, sadly.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

The fingerprint sensor thing has been a conversation at my workplace since I got my 6P. It's extremely dividing. I myself *massively* prefer the rear fingerprint sensor, because it fits my use case. I usually pick my phone up, because I prefer my phone held directly in front of me. Picking up my phone and then shifting to put my thumb on the front sensor make the majority of my interaction with the phone take longer. So for me, the rear finger print sensor much more preferred to the front sensor.

Unless a maker starts putting two sensors on the phone, you're not going to please everyone on that front.

 

[Kazukian]

Speed test with iPhone 7+:

I've said a couple of times, phones got fast enough a year or so ago, I was happy with the nexus 6 speeds, but I can see why Google is looking into custom silicone.

 

[Yakk]

Picking up my phone and then shifting to put my thumb on the front sensor make the majority of my interaction with the phone take longer.

I just record both my thumb and index finger and use whichever is more conviennent. Using the index finger while laying flat on the desk without touching the phone otherwise is pretty helpful.

But yeah I agree it's a question of habit and comfort.

 

[Anubis]

- It comes with a USB-C to USB-C charger. What were they thinking? Maybe Google's engineers all use new Macbooks or something but us normal people have USB everywhere in our homes.

.

it also comes with a USB-USB-C cable - just like the 5x and 6p did, which you can plug into any computer with a USB port or plug into any other wall wart that accepts a USB plug (you may or may not get quick charge this way, depends on the wall wart)

the only argument you can make about the included USB-USB-C cable is that its annoyingly short, and I agree with you

 

[Anubis]

speed tests always make me chuckle. people hoot and holler about an app taking 1-2 seconds longer on phone 1 vs phone 2 yet don't give a shit that PC programs can take a full min to open even on a top of the line computer

im in the all phones got "fast enough" 2 years ago camp

 

[gorcorps]

What takes two buttons?

I agree that the sensor being on the back is bad for the specific case of the phone laying on a desk, but otherwise I really prefer it for every other scenario to front facing sensors. What's especially nice is that you don't need to actually press anything, you just put your finger on the sensor and it unlocks. I find Touch ID has become not so accurate and fast with my iPhone 6S since I've gone to iOS 10. Maybe the upgrade doesn't have anything to do with it, but I know it definitely was lightning fast when I first used it, and now it is not so.

I hope that the big bezels are just because this is Google's first phone, and future iterations will have a much more modern design (hopefully Xiaomi pushes more OEMs to make their flagship phones with minimal bezels).

No, you're right about iOS 10 and I've noticed it as well. I can't find a setting for it, but it seems like instead of just unlocking with touchID like it used to do, you have to also press the home button and there's a delay with this new system. It's so much less fluid than it used to be.

edit:
I lied, there is a setting for it. In settings go to "accessibility" and then there's a "home button" line you can click on. Then there's a slider for "rest finger to open" which removes the need to press the home button an extra time. It's much better now.

 

[gorcorps]

The fingerprint sensor thing has been a conversation at my workplace since I got my 6P. It's extremely dividing. I myself *massively* prefer the rear fingerprint sensor, because it fits my use case. I usually pick my phone up, because I prefer my phone held directly in front of me. Picking up my phone and then shifting to put my thumb on the front sensor make the majority of my interaction with the phone take longer. So for me, the rear finger print sensor much more preferred to the front sensor.

Unless a maker starts putting two sensors on the phone, you're not going to please everyone on that front.

For me, since you can still use the pattern unlock when your phone is on a table it really shouldn't be that big of an issue. I also prefer the sensor on the back.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

For me, since you can still use the pattern unlock when your phone is on a table it really shouldn't be that big of an issue. I also prefer the sensor on the back.

Yeah, since I'm required to use a complex password on my phone, having to use anything except the fingerprint sensor is a massive pain.

 

[Deeko]

it also comes with a USB-USB-C cable - just like the 5x and 6p did, which you can plug into any computer with a USB port or plug into any other wall wart that accepts a USB plug (you may or may not get quick charge this way, depends on the wall wart)

the only argument you can make about the included USB-USB-C cable is that its annoyingly short, and I agree with you

Huh, so you're right. I didn't think to dig under the fold and look for a 2nd cable. I've never had a phone come with two cables before so I flip that comment around 🙂 Good on Google, then!

 

[Anubis]

Huh, so you're right. I didn't think to dig under the fold and look for a 2nd cable. I've never had a phone come with two cables before so I flip that comment around 🙂 Good on Google, then!

there is also a USB to USB-C adapter in there that can be used to directly transfer all your files/data from your old phone to your new one

even works from apple -> android

 

[foghorn67]

Love the sensor on the back.

 

[Capt Caveman]

I also prefer the sensor on the back. My Pixel XL can't come soon enough. Second time, my 6P shut down when it got to 40% battery.

 

[MrSquished]

man reading reviews on the Verge and Wired of the Pixel XL really have me wanting to buy this phone. Just may have to do it with my next commission check and relegate my 6P to backup status

 

[Crono]

Anyone here have the HTC 10 as well as a Pixel? I'd love to know if there's a discernable difference in responsiveness and UI smoothness/speed between the two.

 

[Anubis]

for anyone who has one, in the play store search for "Pixel Launcher" - there is an update that is sometimes not auto popping up

it adds in the default weather widget on the launcher where it says the date next to the google search button/tab


took me a while to figure out why that was missing

 

[sze5003]

Those of you who have it, how do you like it? My 6p battery is going to hell since nougat came out. I've done a factory reset and within charging to 100% in my car, after about 10 minutes of use, such as reading the forums, etc I'm down to 91%.

Seems like while the screen is on it drops about 1% a min. Auto brightness off, set to about 20% brightness.

 

[Anubis]

I have the small one, better battery life vs the 6p in the same useage

Yesterday was my first day with it - ~9 hours of music streaming (wifi+google mucis) cpl hours of screen on, 2 hours of that music streaming was on Bluetooth, the horrid cell signal I get at work

I think I got home and had 40-50% left of the battery

all of the above was over the course of 12 hours

that's more then adequate for me

 

[sze5003]

I'm about to chat Google today and see if they will replace my 6p. If I get a pixel I would go for a 128gb option but I honestly don't want to pay $938.

I'd like to keep my 6p until the pixel 2 but at this rate I don't think it will do so well battery wise.

 

[Anubis]

i assume you have factory reset it and all that?