Google Pixel 5 Is A Rip Off

 The Pixel 5 is a rip off. There is literally no other way for me to put it. Let me explain why this phone (and the 4A 5G as a result) is a rip off and is not worth 700$ USD. Yes I have heard that in some regions the phone is 599$ and that is more palpable, but still, not worth it considering the actual cost of manufacturing.

Let's first start with the predecessor, the Pixel 4. I purchased a Pixel 4. I still use it. Its a nice device. With some tweaks the battery life is more than bearable for me. But this had all the flagship phone check boxes and came in at a nice 799$ price tag. This wasn't terrible considering it was every box checked except the battery. Now, remove 100$ and we step down in CPU, GPU, RAM speed, Storage speed, Build quality, we loose radar/soli and face unlock, squeeze function, front facing speaker, and the Neural core.

So you are telling me, that removing cutting edge radar tech, and stepping down to 2017 level's of performance is "only" 100$? Wow.

Also. The Pixel 4a 5G is a pixel 5, minus the water proofing, 90hz display, and "fake" metal body. And apparently that costs 200$. 

I am sorry but this makes no sense. These price differences don't make any sense at all considering devices like the Galaxy s20 FE has top end specs, checks all the boxes, has BETTER EVERYTHING for the same price as the pixel 5.

I get it. Its about the software, you get updates, etc. But really, 99.9% of people will not care. The s20FE is better in every measurable way, and you can tell me that the Pixel 5 has a better camera. Its the SAME CAMERA that has been used since the Pixel 2. You would think considering its such an outdated sensor that it would cost less. Nope.

Want more? The OnePlus 8 is 599$ (was 699$) and it has even better specs than the S20 FE. Things like 30 watt fast charging, under display finger print scanners, bigger screens, bigger batteries, etc. And now the iPhone 12 which looks to be freaking amazing and unique compared to its predecessors, is only 100$ more than the Pixel 5.

There is also this strategy, that the samsung and apple agreed to raise prices of their flagships to 1000$ so that then they could sell you mediocre 2-3 year old hardware for 700$. This is very plausible since in reality, the flagships aren't worth nor cost 1000$ and are only marginally better than their 800-900$ variants. This is pretty obvious with things like the new note and s20 series, where, the ultra is a whopping 1200-1400$ (You could buy an RTX Titan for this money and play video games at 8k) and has pretty much NOTHING but gimmicks over its 1000$ version.

We have hit the wall of diminishing returns. The only devices that are honestly worth the money are the 300-400$ price range, where, you can get a new device every year and not really feel the hit on the wallet, and still enjoy a decent experience through out said year of ownership. It really felt like phones would get better and eventually we would hold on to them longer, making the prospect of owning an android device for 2+ years viable. But alas, this is not the case with the new pricing system, which pretty much makes it pointless. Over 3 years you can either own the Pixel 4a, 5a, and 6a (if we account for the future) and it would cost you just as much as the latest flagship except you would have to hold that for 3 years and deal with the plummeting value.

Enjoy consumerism. GG well played.

Pixel 4 - The Phone Google doesn't care about

Wow it has been 4 years since I have written something on this blog, and the views keep coming on old content. You thought I was gone huh?

I know this blog is supposed to argue in favor of android, but after the launch of the pixel 4, I have seriously considered buying an iPhone for the first time, EVER. Why? Because google really does not care about the pixel 4. AT ALL. Here are a few reasons.

Battery life. You knew this was coming. I understand that 99% of people can get through the day with the Pixel 4's battery. Even I can. 4 to 5 hours of screen on time is all I really need even on the heaviest days. My Pixel 2 XL rarely goes bellow 35% battery. So why does everyone seem to care that they can't get comparable battery life out of this phone compared to other flagships? Price. This phone costs between 800 and 1000 bucks. There are plenty of phones out there that have better battery life. But here is the issue, you can't fit a bigger battery life into these phones because of all the new tech that is being put in them. The new Soli sensor's and face unlock and infrared and so on take up space. So yeah, beat it. Honestly, reviewers who test these phones hammer them with use cases that are totally unreasonable. No one uses their phones for 24 to 48 hours without charging, and if you get stranded without a charger or you get lost in the middle east on the run from terrorists, I think you have bigger issues than what percent your battery says. Seriously, stop using your phone so much. I have seen screenshots that show 2 hours of twitter usage at max brightness. WHY? Personally I consider myself a heavy user, but with auto brightness, wifi, and dark mode, I can make my OLD AS HELL nexus 5 last a full day on 2300mah, let alone 2800mah on a brand new super efficient smartphone. Try using your galaxy note at full 1000 nit brightness on twitter for 2 hours. GOOD LUCK.

Gestures. You know, considering people are trying to multitask while using their phones, this is actually a good feature. Everyone says this is a gimmick but Soli is a God send. Maybe in the future we will be able to swipe through tinder and text while driving using gestures and not have to look away from our phone. I will simply point a middle finger at my phone and it will type "F*ck You" and send the text on its way. Seriously, this is such a useless feature at the moment because the only place I will use it, is my alarm clock and google play music, but I mean, its not like I have a life where I can't pick up my phone sometimes. Hell I have a JOB I can't pick up my phone all the time.


Face unlock. Guess what, now your spouse will be able to unlock your phone when you are asleep and snoop through your text and browser history! Let me give you a pro tip. Use incognito mode in chrome, delete texts from your side chick, and use a freaking pin on your photos app. There you go! Now you won't get a divorce. Moving on.

Low brightness display. 400 nits is just not bright enough guys. Seriously, I am getting old, like closer to 30 years old, and I am slowly going blind. I have a hard time seeing my phone because I am outside so much because now that I'm old I have enough time to hang out with my non existent spouse at the park watching my non existent kids play candy crush on their iPad. Nope. Can't see anything google, notch up the brightness please!

High refresh rate screen! YES. FINALLY. This feature is great, but apparently it does not work as intended, because it switches to 60hz when you don't need 90hz. Honestly, I got killed playing PUBG on my phone the other day because I didn't have a 90hz screen and he did so he had a competitive edge, so now I am salty that phones have become like PC gaming, I am sorry but I saw you first because I have a high refresh rate monitor. Beat that.

The phone snaps like a kitkat. Here is the thing guys, yesterday, I sat on my phone and never noticed it. Luckily it's a Pixel 2 XL and its so durable I dropped it at work without a case from the second floor onto concrete and it was 100% OKAY. I wonder how many of you guys sit on your phone for fun, I am sure if you run it at max brightness, charge it, and play PUBG on it, you will be able to warm your ass with it while sitting on it. What a brilliant idea. Just don't get a pixel 4 it will snap into pieces.

I think this sums up everything wrong with the pixel 4 and why paying money for a SUPERIOR piece of software compared to iOS or Touchwiz (my bad, One UI) is not worth it. But I am upgrading from my 2XL to the Pixel 4. Because I value an absolutely unobtrusive user experience. I have cut down my phone usage significantly. I spend at most 4 hours on it a day if that, that is including youtube, prime movies, and crunchyroll. Speaking of witch I recently got into anime, and damn it looks like crap on 400 nits 90hz at 1440p. I think I need Sony to make me another 4k HDR phone except at 120hz because my animations just don't look good enough.

Stock Android Galaxy S4

OK, so i read this bit on GSM arena this morning.

QUOTE""

While it's quite unlikely that we'll see a new Nexus phone at this year's Google I/O, which starts later today, Samsung might have a surprise in store – a pure Android version of the Galaxy S4 flagship, a "Google Edition".

This phone will reportedly drop the company's TouchWiz modifications and use the stock AOSP version instead. Now, we should note that this is an unlikely pipedream, but it would be a great option to have.

Except, there are problems – Samsung has put a lot of custom software on the Galaxy S4, but it's there to run a lot of the custom hardware and features. Air View, Air Gestures, IR remote, Adobe RGB screen mode, Multi-window and so on, all rely on Samsung's proprietary software. Many of the camera features too (though Android's stock Photo Sphere will make a good replacement for 360 photo).

The S4 as it is now runs Android 4.2.2, the latest version available as of today, so at least Samsung has that bit covered. Though without the complications of TouchWiz, software upgrades will potentially come a lot more quickly.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition will launch in June on T-Mobile, or so say the rumors. We have our fingers crossed, but it's still an unlikely thing to happen.

""UNQUOTE

Now this is all fine and well, but that is not the only reason everyone but americans do not prefer the S3 and S4. 

read the next blog post here:

http://argue4android.blogspot.com/2013/05/why-people-hate-samsung-galaxy-s3-and-s4.html

Android News Update 3/26/2013

Well it seems like HTC is really trying to stay afloat. Its method at the moment is to produce alot of different phones for everyone instead one popular phone like Samsung. HTC is having a hard economic time right now and needs more income and popularity, so lets help the on company that has stuck with android from the beginning. They are releasing a new Desire P, huh, P really, ah who cares, its an HTC right? But the biggest thing is not the cheap plastic samsung galaxy s 4, but the HTC ONE, which is a full metal body, super thin and not to large not to small, its perfect with the new HTC Sence 5 UI.

Ever since Motorola was bought by google, it has taken a significant image from google, check out the new Motorola X, a beauty isn't it?

It will be the first phone with a 4000mAh BATTERY, that is huge and will last any hard core gamer for more than 24 hours, that is awesome. I see the UI is standard google. but you have to admit, it is great looking.

People are waiting for the New Samsung galaxy s4, which samsung has always been gay. Plastic, huge, over glorified, and lots of advertising. My friend fell for the s3, and now i quote him "Im never going for samsung again, next is HTC". See that is a real person saying that.

I hope HTC does well with the One, and motorola does well with this awsome X and that samsung well get a big "minus" on their income and hopefully crash. Haha, not gona hapen right, lots of naive people gona fall for samsung this year.

News: LG, Samsung and Alcatel

LG is now making a 5.5 inch Optimus G Pro. That is freaking huge, why, phones are big as it is and getting even bigger is pointless because a tablet is 6.5 inches +. One more inch and smartphones will not longer be phones. its not that i dont like big screens but i only like 4-4.25 inch screens. I dont like really big screens. The LG will start first start selling in japan in mid april.

Samsung has announced that it will be keeping the physical home button on its samsung galaxy s4.

Here is a cool phone that i wish we could have in the USA. From GSM Arena:

TCL has just unveiled its latest smartphone. The Alcatel One Touch Star is a mid-range handset with a stylish design and extremely attractive price tag that we are hoping to see showcased at the MWC in two weeks.

The One Touch Star sports a 4" display, 1GHz dual-core processor along with 512 MB of RAM, a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, a front-facing VGA camera, 4 GB of internal memory with microSD support and a 1,500 mAh battery.

Surprisingly, the device will run on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, which is still pretty rare to be found in the mid-range.

Alcatel One Touch Star will retail for around 2,000 SEK (about $315) in Sweden and is expected to be available in European markets very soon.

Samsung Galaxy S4 estimated time of arival

I recently heard that the Galaxy S4 just "might" be launched by april. This is still juts a leak of news and the date might now be changed to keep the element of surprise but it is now known the Samsung Galaxy S4 will come out in april.

News: Samsung Galaxy S series and more

Today is a big day in history. The Samsung galaxy s series shipments surpass 100 MILLION phones. This is big, because this is a big hit to apple. And since we are on the topic of Samsung  Samsung is launching the new (not really) galaxy s 2 plus phone which is i think really stupid.

LG Has released the Optimus L9, and Huawei is selling there new Ascend and Mate phones but not in the USA, crap that is WHERE I LIVE! I WANT IT.

About the L9, if anyone looked at it, it looks like a freaking samsung s3, which looks like an iPhone, so i do not support it. I also do not like the new UI trend that lg is taking, also copied from samsung which looks like the iPhone so...

The android court rules LG and Samsung guilty of TREASON!

That is all for today i might add on as the day goes.
ENJOY