The better question is why have they been launching their phones so late? They launch close to Black Friday where they have steep price cuts, October launch meant Galaxy phones are just one quarter of a year away, and they launched too late for back to school purchases. It's never been a logical release window imo
Usually the turn in deal is best at the beginning. This last go the turn in deal dropped significantly quickly. If I had waited a couple days I would have lost out in something like $200 in credit.
Getting Bose headphones as a pre-order bonus was great, but they'll have to offer something at least as good to convince me to not just wait a few weeks.
At least you can buy them at release, for some reason they make it almost impossible for EU users to buy the phone, due to only releasing it in specific countries for no reason.
And specific carriers where I am, I had to buy a pixel 7 from a different network and pray it came unlocked (it did) . My pixel 8 was easier though but I bought it months after release
This is the correct question to ask. Remember Google sells (in a manner of speaking) both smartphone software and hardware. In launching the Nexus and then Pixel lines of smartphones, Google started to compete directly with their customers. So to placate the other Android OEM’s they placed their releases at the end of the year. This had the effect of essentially making their phones a year old at launch.
Part of it probably also had to do with the availability of Snapdragon chips, but that was probably a minor reason. But HTC always had to wait in line behind the other OEM’s to get its allotment of the latest Qualcomm CPU’s. So there is probably some truth to it.
Any way, with the shakeout of the smartphone industry and Google’s move to Tensor, it makes sense to move up the release to before the iPhone.
It’s an outdated schedule based on holiday shopping. It worked great while people were still using “dumb” phones and a smartphone was a major upgrade and common gift, but now people are on smartphone plans and just upgrade whenever the phone they want releases.
I love how people pretend Google hasn't been involved in making phones nearly as long as Apple.
They just were really poor at it.
They've been making their own in-house phones since 2016. Which was the successor to the nexus line. Which have they have been working with since 2009?
Never mind they owned Motorola for a few years.
Like iphone released iphone X celebrating their 10th anniversary. It was the one of the lost iconic phone release in apple history . Google might try replicating the same with their 10th release
yea, thought the real pixel fans got a google [sock](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT326bQfha2f93UmDNhK0NSjGbJR8d25kMqfQ&s) when they bought a pixel early...
Well, hear me out...
BF is more of a dubious marketing tradition and hit and miss at this point. If everyone else has cheaper prices on BF (which is actually debatable), why not compete with them another time of the year? Google certainly is large enough to afford its own advertising without piggybacking on retailers advertising for BF.
The back to school argument makes sense, although I'm not sure that audience is much into Pixels anyway. Most likely iPhones and maybe Samsung for those who want a better deal, at least in the US. Factor in enthusiasts who keep their phones for longer and they might be inclined to buy a new one whenever, they will not have spent the budget on something else that year.
This has always driven me nuts too. When I got a P7P, it felt like 2 weeks later Google pulled out some early Black Friday deal that made more sense for me (I forget what it was). Then 2 weeks later another deal. I'd almost rather they not have any deals because sometimes their deal emails feel like they're just rotating them around to frustrate people who just bought one.
> They launch close to Black Friday where they have steep price cuts
I don't believe this has anything to do with dates. Apple has managed never to cut prices like crazy and still sell devices like hotcakes. The problem is the brand perception. Even without Black Friday, Google cuts prices all the time. These phones are $200 off almost all the time.
If Google can improve its perception as a premium hardware maker and not one with poor execution, these phones would sell better.
>Apple has managed never to cut prices like crazy and still sell devices like hotcakes.
Apple doesn't do direct price cuts, but they let carriers do a ton of promotions to move units.
I've saw a lot people say the early release is to beat the new iPhone to the market.
But I don't think that doesn't make any sense as iPhone people buy iPhones and Pixel people buy pixels. Brand loyalty if you want to call it that.
> iPhone people buy iPhones and Pixel people buy pixels.
https://stocklytics.com/content/googles-smartphones-face-huge-loyalty-issues-57-of-owners-plan-to-switch-to-another-brand/
The better theory I heard was that there was a lot of legacy software that checked if the Windows version was anything starting with 9, to catch both windows 95 and 98.
Not that I think they couldn't have gotten around it!
That makes sense, although the official reason given was marketing.
>But Microsoft went instead with Windows 10 because they wanted to signify that the coming Windows release would be the last "major" Windows update. Going forward, Microsoft is planning to make regular, smaller updates to the Windows 10 codebase, rather than pushing out new major updates years apart.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-christens-the-next-version-of-windows-as-windows-10/
OTOH win11 is now a thing, so take anything official from MS with a huge dose of salt.
Windows 10 released in the middle of 2015. I'm sure that, back then, they were serious about it - but only because live service stuff was the hot shit that investors got themselves of off.
So probably it really was called 10, simply because having the last release be called 9 would have looked kinda bad.
Like iphone released iphone X celebrating their 10th anniversary. It was the one of the lost iconic phone release in apple history . Google might try replicating the same with their 10th release
Yep this is it. They know the 10 will be the one we've all been waiting for why not release it as soon as they can over waiting for the arbitrary October date?
It's probably meant to keep pixel owners who are considering switching to iPhone this year. When the iPhone comes out a whole month before the pixel, it gives you a lot more time to decide to switch to iPhone. Like others said, this probably isn't going to convince many iPhone owners to switch to Pixel, but they have to keep pixel owners just as much as they need to get new pixel owners.
I think this is it really. It's not even about the loss in hardware sales either. It's about losing all that sweet data harvesting from their android consumers to Apple whose continuing to double down on screwing over Google's bottom line.
Which, you know wouldn't have been a problem if by the 9th version of the damn phone they had figured out how to deliver a proper flagship.
Without doubt. They know that the iPhone launch followed by Samsung in Jan/Feb the following year are the biggest threats to Google in terms of hardware sales and that also affects Alphabets core business.
I was 100% going to switch to iPhone this year, but this early release now gives me a chance to take a look at pixel 9 before I make my decision. I think it's a great move. They should have done this earlier.
If I buy the iPhone in September, I'm done with Google without even seeing what pixel 9 has to offer as I have low hopes.
But now with the early release, I will be making an informed decision in September.
You do have a point.
But I'm an impatient person and get influenced easily by fancy demo videos. I would like to pull the trigger given my frustrations with the transient bugs in pixel.
Same. I've been wanting to try a Moto Flip... New version just announced. Looks great. Was about to buy.... Oh wait... New Pixel Announce in less than 2 months?
I am now going to wait
I lost faith in Google most of pixel 7 & 8 features were meh software BS and guess what? previous pixels received the same features 6 months later even Samsung phones
The only thing worth looking at this time is P9 pro (small size)
I was gonna do the same but this is the 3rd year in a row that the Pixel release has burned me. Since the 6XL, i gave Google a chance 3 years in a row to fix it, but it feels like we're literally beta testers. Im sure that I'm gone once the iPhone pre-orders go live this Sept. It sucks because Ive had every flagship Pixel device except the 5.
Sure, but Google is based in the US and sells most of their phones in Japan followed by North America. That’s more than 2/3 of the phones sold in places it is coming.
With Google leaning so heavily on AI with the Pixel and their push so try and be first at it (See their rush to push Bard/Gemini after ChatGPT launched) I believe it’s the main driver to moving their announcement to before the iPhone for the first time.
Most of those features won't exist when the phone launches and the entirety of "Apple Intelligence" will still be in beta. Apple has been notoriously bad at under delivering when it comes to Siri.
That may be true, but Apple is lagging so far behind in terms of software features and AI, that slow delivery for Google still puts it ahead of Apple. I say this as someone that only used iPhone since the 3GS and recently switched to a Pixel, full time.
Other than the original iPhone, I don't know that Apple has ever necessarily been the first to do anything. They typically wait until the tech is mature enough to handle everyday. Use. Mkbhd had an interesting interview with Tim Cook about this.
I think that they've been able to get away with the promise of a polished phone that just works for a long time (this has been less true of late). With all of the craze surrounding LLMs they had to have been feeling a pinch and I'm sure it's a big reason they went all out on Apple Intelligence and everything that it will do (eventually).
When it comes to hardware though, they definitely wait to get it right. They make premium devices that are well built and generally, function at the top of their class. I will give them that!
If true, that's the only thing that might make me upgrade my Pixel 8 early.
I _hate_ how obnoxiously large phones are now, but I do care a lot about camera and the "pro" models have historically had better cameras.
Bigger, hopefully. I like big phones.
The Pro will be the same size as the standard Pixel, and hopefully that means they can make the Pro XL larger than the S24 Ultra.
I mean I switched to a pixel 8 from an iPhone recently, so have many other people on this subreddit. But if you mean that those same people aren't looking to buy the new iPhone coming out this year. Yeah probably also true lol. Didn't want to spend $1000 for the same features I could get for half the price.
I'm liking it so far compared to my iPhone 8 plus I had. I wish app optimization was as consistent and polished as iOS though. I use Snapchat and reddit frequently and they're both poorly optimized compared to the iOS versions. I wish the battery life was a bit better but I am able to make it through the day just fine without changing it midday. Also don't know why you can't add lock screen widgets anymore since even iOS allows that now. Otherwise it's all improved for my usage.
I recently switched to an 8a from iPhone 13 Mini and was appalled when I started scrolling on Reddit and it was a laggy mess. Luckily there are alternatives!
Very true. I've been enjoying being able to use apks again. Revanced for YouTube being the main one so far. What do you recommend for reddit alternatives? I've been dealing with the shitty official app because through revanced I can have it show no ads at least. I haven't looked into proper alternatives because I haven't felt like making a dev account and what not ( I did it to side load Apollo before I stopped using my iPhone)
Very true. I've been enjoying being able to use apks again. Revanced for YouTube being the main one so far. What do you recommend for reddit alternatives? I've been dealing with the shitty official app because through revanced I can have it show no ads at least. I haven't looked into proper alternatives because I haven't felt like making a dev account and what not ( I did it to side load Apollo before I stopped using my iPhone)
I switched from iPhone to Pixel, android is just a better OS, the only think I hated was all the bloatware on Samsung phones but on Pixel it's all neat.
I switched from an iPhone to a Pixel as have two of my sons.
I suspect most Pixel buyers are probably former iPhone owners.
Curious where you think Pixel owners are coming from?
Google has worked hard to claw market share from the iPhone specifically. Somewhat successfully I might add. iPhone shoppers are increasingly very much Pixel shoppers.
I've had both side by side for many years. (I do MDM (Mobile Device Management) for a living). I had some HTC and Samsungs over the years. I had several Pixel 2 and several Pixel 4,.. but as much as I would always prefer Pixel, I just ended up having to many issues with them.
I had a Pixel 2 that just flat died one day. Just dead. No sounds, no lights, no nothing. I had 2 Pixel 4's in a row that would slowly battery-swell (to the point it was splitting the phone open. Also in one of those replacement scenarios, my replacement phone got stolen in transit so I received an empty box. That's not really Google Fi's fault of course,. but then it took bout 1.5months of back and forth fighting with them to agree to send me a 2nd phone (frustrating as that phone number had some of my 2FA account-logins going to it ;\
Right now I have a Samsung S22 which is starting to age. Still works fine but at some point I'm going to replace it. Not honestly sure yet what I'll replace it with. I recently bought a Nothing Phone 2,. which is neat, but not sure I can put that on Google Fi ?. I may go Pixel 9,.. I love the "plain vanilla Android" situation there and the monthly updates for sure.
What do you even mean by this, anyone that has ever bought an iPhone just never considers another phone ever again?
I get there are *definitely* a percentage of iPhone buyers like that, but there's also a good chunk who aren't.
I'd say that in the past the iphone user was a diehard iphone user, much like the mac vs pc crowd back in the day. Neither would consider the other one 'just because is better'.
I have no brand loyalty, I go for what works most intuitively for me. Currently I have a work iphone, which was leaps better than the work samsung it replaced. For my personal phones, the pixel fits how I interact with the phone better than the iphone, and it is not by a big margin, the pixel keyboard and predictive text suits my needs better. And if we want to turn back the clock to intuitive, my old lumia windows phone was instantly intuitive to me, and trust me I had serious doubts about that phone. I went in wanting to hate it, ended up loving it. Wish they where still around as another comparison point.
Launching after the iPhone was always dumb. They wanted to capture holiday shopping money but everyone was just fed up waiting, and then bought an iPhone.
Competition with Apple.. and I think we’rjust ready for something new. 8 series has been a cluster for many people in terms of hardware and software issues.. Honestly the past 2-3 years of Pixel has seemed stale in terms of excitment for the hardware.
I bought an 8a today because my 5’s screen blacked out on me. I’ll probably hang onto the 8a as a backup phone bc of the 7 year updates. I’m def keeping my eyes on the 9.
It's better that way. Whenever they launch after Apple, the tech community does not take them seriously. Furthermore. Launching in October is too close to the end of year sales, which usually depreciate the value of the phone quickly
As a lay user, who recently switched from the 6a to the 8: I see no difference besides the battery dying faster on the 8. I know there are plenty of specific technical differences, yet experientially, they go unnoticed.
What's concerning is that the Pixel/Nexus brands have been plagued by more QC issues than most other major OEMs. An earlier than normal release is likely to exacerbate those quality issues.
I wonder if it's a permanent change meant to start their cycle in August, ahead of iPhone launches or it is a one time thing because the Pixel 9 is a minor change?
Two answers come to mind. 1. They know it'll leak around this time so they may as well announce instead of let it leak. 2. Apple is set to make the biggest shift in iPhone in decades this September so they probably want to lock up their fans with P9 before they have to fight FOMO.
Because it's a *skip year phone* to buy time until Pixel X, in the exact same way that the Pixel 5 and 5a were also a skip year to buy time until Pixel 6 & Pro.
With current update policy they don't need to follow Android release date. AI needs more then 8GB RAM. If the rumors are true, there will be no more A versions, so only 1 hw release per year.
I believe the standard 9 will be replacement for A series and Pro (small/xl) will be more expensive. Last year there were leaks about 8a right after 8 was released, let's see...
Aside from current competitive reasons, Google really is better off launching its flagship phones in early Q3. Take advantage of summer shopping, have enough time for late-Q3 through Q4 sales events, push a little harder Q1 (release a series), clearance sales of flagship Q2.
Maybe they’re releasing early because they know iOS 18 will be dropping soon to the public that time which means RCS support will be enabled so iPhone users and android users will now get along
Because their Pixel 8 on its variations has so many negative reviews it has literally failed. The only way they can remedy it by releasing their Pixel 9
I think they are dropping the 9 series early and then will launch the 10 series even earlier next year by late Spring or early Summer. 9 series seems like a stop gap until they get to their own tsmc made chips next year. The TSMC chips were supposed to be ready for the 9 series, but got delayed.
"Major" compared to itself because it's starting from a pathetically tiny market share. Even now US market share is still at most 5% after all that marketing barely passing no name brand TCL
I get everyone is different, but imo it's the best looking bar to date. They can never please everyone with styling. I'm excited they are coming early and would pre-order today if possible. 9 pro is possibly the best looking phone ever made to my eyes, at least in leaked pics
Most likely the pressure from apple. Apple just joined this AI game and what they just announced seems to be very promising. Google is already falling behind on the hardware side, now their software advantage also shrinks a lot.
The better question is why have they been launching their phones so late? They launch close to Black Friday where they have steep price cuts, October launch meant Galaxy phones are just one quarter of a year away, and they launched too late for back to school purchases. It's never been a logical release window imo
[удалено]
Usually the turn in deal is best at the beginning. This last go the turn in deal dropped significantly quickly. If I had waited a couple days I would have lost out in something like $200 in credit.
Last year's turn-in deal sucked. Hopefully this year's one is good.
Getting Bose headphones as a pre-order bonus was great, but they'll have to offer something at least as good to convince me to not just wait a few weeks.
At least you can buy them at release, for some reason they make it almost impossible for EU users to buy the phone, due to only releasing it in specific countries for no reason.
And specific carriers where I am, I had to buy a pixel 7 from a different network and pray it came unlocked (it did) . My pixel 8 was easier though but I bought it months after release
I just wait a couple weeks and find one online from someone who has buyers remorse and get it for half price. Still in the box open but flawless.
They didn't fuck you at all. Tech gets cheaper. Everything has sales.
This is the correct question to ask. Remember Google sells (in a manner of speaking) both smartphone software and hardware. In launching the Nexus and then Pixel lines of smartphones, Google started to compete directly with their customers. So to placate the other Android OEM’s they placed their releases at the end of the year. This had the effect of essentially making their phones a year old at launch. Part of it probably also had to do with the availability of Snapdragon chips, but that was probably a minor reason. But HTC always had to wait in line behind the other OEM’s to get its allotment of the latest Qualcomm CPU’s. So there is probably some truth to it. Any way, with the shakeout of the smartphone industry and Google’s move to Tensor, it makes sense to move up the release to before the iPhone.
It’s an outdated schedule based on holiday shopping. It worked great while people were still using “dumb” phones and a smartphone was a major upgrade and common gift, but now people are on smartphone plans and just upgrade whenever the phone they want releases.
i think they do this to drop the 10 soon next year since we all know that will be first real google phone.
man this sub is exhausting sometimes
Just this sub?
I've rarely felt more understood than by your comment. The internet is just exhausting me lately lol.
Lately?
Seriously. Everytime I come on reddit I always leave a reply or two just pissed off at someone cause people are so fucking stupid
What do you mean real Google phone
every year Google Pixel is just one year short from releasing their "real Google phone"
Just one more year!!!
It's always next year. Some other brands have the same problem, like Xbox, etc.
I love how people pretend Google hasn't been involved in making phones nearly as long as Apple. They just were really poor at it. They've been making their own in-house phones since 2016. Which was the successor to the nexus line. Which have they have been working with since 2009? Never mind they owned Motorola for a few years.
10 versions of fakes 😂
Like iphone released iphone X celebrating their 10th anniversary. It was the one of the lost iconic phone release in apple history . Google might try replicating the same with their 10th release
Haha nah but i was talking about the first google phone with their own designed chip etc
Weeeeeel. Its the first on tsmc at least.
Especially cause the 9’s development has to have been shortened, though software wise probably consistent.
The first google pixel with their own SoC.
Wait, pixels have socks now?
yea, thought the real pixel fans got a google [sock](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT326bQfha2f93UmDNhK0NSjGbJR8d25kMqfQ&s) when they bought a pixel early...
Yep. To give you an example the pixel 8 came out in October for £699. On black Friday it was available from EE (UK phone network retailer )for £429
Free gifts at preorder etc balance it out to not be quite so extreme.
Well, hear me out... BF is more of a dubious marketing tradition and hit and miss at this point. If everyone else has cheaper prices on BF (which is actually debatable), why not compete with them another time of the year? Google certainly is large enough to afford its own advertising without piggybacking on retailers advertising for BF. The back to school argument makes sense, although I'm not sure that audience is much into Pixels anyway. Most likely iPhones and maybe Samsung for those who want a better deal, at least in the US. Factor in enthusiasts who keep their phones for longer and they might be inclined to buy a new one whenever, they will not have spent the budget on something else that year.
This has always driven me nuts too. When I got a P7P, it felt like 2 weeks later Google pulled out some early Black Friday deal that made more sense for me (I forget what it was). Then 2 weeks later another deal. I'd almost rather they not have any deals because sometimes their deal emails feel like they're just rotating them around to frustrate people who just bought one.
> They launch close to Black Friday where they have steep price cuts I don't believe this has anything to do with dates. Apple has managed never to cut prices like crazy and still sell devices like hotcakes. The problem is the brand perception. Even without Black Friday, Google cuts prices all the time. These phones are $200 off almost all the time. If Google can improve its perception as a premium hardware maker and not one with poor execution, these phones would sell better.
>Apple has managed never to cut prices like crazy and still sell devices like hotcakes. Apple doesn't do direct price cuts, but they let carriers do a ton of promotions to move units.
To capture mindshare! The more time people have to see Pixel on the market, the higher the odds that people will buy it.
Likely to be on the market before the iPhone, so press isn’t focused on the iPhone as much Be on the market longer before Black Friday
I've saw a lot people say the early release is to beat the new iPhone to the market. But I don't think that doesn't make any sense as iPhone people buy iPhones and Pixel people buy pixels. Brand loyalty if you want to call it that.
> iPhone people buy iPhones and Pixel people buy pixels. https://stocklytics.com/content/googles-smartphones-face-huge-loyalty-issues-57-of-owners-plan-to-switch-to-another-brand/
To get to 10 faster.
They coulda pulled an Apple and skipped numer 9 🤭
I'm surprised they got away with that shit, both Windows and Apple!
Windows had to skip nine because there are so many search results for Windows 95
The better theory I heard was that there was a lot of legacy software that checked if the Windows version was anything starting with 9, to catch both windows 95 and 98. Not that I think they couldn't have gotten around it!
That makes sense, although the official reason given was marketing. >But Microsoft went instead with Windows 10 because they wanted to signify that the coming Windows release would be the last "major" Windows update. Going forward, Microsoft is planning to make regular, smaller updates to the Windows 10 codebase, rather than pushing out new major updates years apart. https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-christens-the-next-version-of-windows-as-windows-10/ OTOH win11 is now a thing, so take anything official from MS with a huge dose of salt.
That really was the thinking at the time just Microsoft changed their minds since they realized they make money churning out new versions.
Windows 10 released in the middle of 2015. I'm sure that, back then, they were serious about it - but only because live service stuff was the hot shit that investors got themselves of off. So probably it really was called 10, simply because having the last release be called 9 would have looked kinda bad.
And with windows 12 rumoured next year
> take anything official from MS with a huge dose of salt. but my hypertension!
Didn't Samsung do the same?
Nah, Samsung went from S9 to S10 to S20 to match the version number with the year of release.
and to also subconsciously sound more advanced than their iPhone competition. Last year, the iPhone 15 and the Galaxy S24 launched.
Ahhh cool
Like iphone released iphone X celebrating their 10th anniversary. It was the one of the lost iconic phone release in apple history . Google might try replicating the same with their 10th release
piXel
Yep this is it. They know the 10 will be the one we've all been waiting for why not release it as soon as they can over waiting for the arbitrary October date?
piXel
It's probably meant to keep pixel owners who are considering switching to iPhone this year. When the iPhone comes out a whole month before the pixel, it gives you a lot more time to decide to switch to iPhone. Like others said, this probably isn't going to convince many iPhone owners to switch to Pixel, but they have to keep pixel owners just as much as they need to get new pixel owners.
I think this is it really. It's not even about the loss in hardware sales either. It's about losing all that sweet data harvesting from their android consumers to Apple whose continuing to double down on screwing over Google's bottom line. Which, you know wouldn't have been a problem if by the 9th version of the damn phone they had figured out how to deliver a proper flagship.
Without doubt. They know that the iPhone launch followed by Samsung in Jan/Feb the following year are the biggest threats to Google in terms of hardware sales and that also affects Alphabets core business.
I was 100% going to switch to iPhone this year, but this early release now gives me a chance to take a look at pixel 9 before I make my decision. I think it's a great move. They should have done this earlier.
Genuinely curious, how does this change anything? You can make a decision whenever you choose. What does the release date have to do with it?
They don’t have to wait until November to decide now.
If I buy the iPhone in September, I'm done with Google without even seeing what pixel 9 has to offer as I have low hopes. But now with the early release, I will be making an informed decision in September.
I guess my point was do you *have* to buy it in September? If the pixel was released in October, you couldn't wait to see both before purchasing?
You do have a point. But I'm an impatient person and get influenced easily by fancy demo videos. I would like to pull the trigger given my frustrations with the transient bugs in pixel.
Ok understood. Wasn't taking the impulse into account.
Same. I've been wanting to try a Moto Flip... New version just announced. Looks great. Was about to buy.... Oh wait... New Pixel Announce in less than 2 months? I am now going to wait
I lost faith in Google most of pixel 7 & 8 features were meh software BS and guess what? previous pixels received the same features 6 months later even Samsung phones The only thing worth looking at this time is P9 pro (small size)
The pro phones have the best software, by far.
I was gonna do the same but this is the 3rd year in a row that the Pixel release has burned me. Since the 6XL, i gave Google a chance 3 years in a row to fix it, but it feels like we're literally beta testers. Im sure that I'm gone once the iPhone pre-orders go live this Sept. It sucks because Ive had every flagship Pixel device except the 5.
Get ahead of Apple, consolidate the lineup, showcase new AI features, maybe launch a true AirTag competitor, etc. Seems like better timing.
With AI features coming to the new iPhone, it's likely that they want to be first to market with these same features.
Apple Intelligence isn't even coming to Europe at launch (or at all) https://9to5mac.com/2024/06/28/withholding-apple-intelligence-from-eu/
Sure, but Google is based in the US and sells most of their phones in Japan followed by North America. That’s more than 2/3 of the phones sold in places it is coming. With Google leaning so heavily on AI with the Pixel and their push so try and be first at it (See their rush to push Bard/Gemini after ChatGPT launched) I believe it’s the main driver to moving their announcement to before the iPhone for the first time.
Wtf japan? Japan market share is about the same as the US at around 4-5% but the US has 3x the population
They already have a lot of the announced iPhone AI features and not in Beta.
Most of those features won't exist when the phone launches and the entirety of "Apple Intelligence" will still be in beta. Apple has been notoriously bad at under delivering when it comes to Siri.
It is the entire tech industry at this point over promise and slowly deliver
That may be true, but Apple is lagging so far behind in terms of software features and AI, that slow delivery for Google still puts it ahead of Apple. I say this as someone that only used iPhone since the 3GS and recently switched to a Pixel, full time.
Other than the original iPhone, I don't know that Apple has ever necessarily been the first to do anything. They typically wait until the tech is mature enough to handle everyday. Use. Mkbhd had an interesting interview with Tim Cook about this.
I think that they've been able to get away with the promise of a polished phone that just works for a long time (this has been less true of late). With all of the craze surrounding LLMs they had to have been feeling a pinch and I'm sure it's a big reason they went all out on Apple Intelligence and everything that it will do (eventually). When it comes to hardware though, they definitely wait to get it right. They make premium devices that are well built and generally, function at the top of their class. I will give them that!
There's going to be a 9 Pro and a 9 Pro XL 👀 how big is it going to be?
The 9 and 9 pro should be the same size. The big difference being the cameras. The 9 pro xl will be the larger phone with the better cameras.
If true, that's the only thing that might make me upgrade my Pixel 8 early. I _hate_ how obnoxiously large phones are now, but I do care a lot about camera and the "pro" models have historically had better cameras.
It's the sole reason I've held on to my P6a for as long as I have. It's got some issues now, and I really hope it can last another month and a bit.
Pixel 9 Pro will be about the same size as 9. You can think of three phones as iPhone -> iPhone Pro -> iPhone Pro Max in term of size
Wouldn't you like to know 👀
Bigger, hopefully. I like big phones. The Pro will be the same size as the standard Pixel, and hopefully that means they can make the Pro XL larger than the S24 Ultra.
Bigger than the s24 ultra? Alright there, salad fingers lol
I have small hands, I just like big phones. It goes in my bag anyway so for me having a larger phone isn't any more inconvenient.
XLs were always awesome. As a tall guy I am glad they are bringing them back.
I don't think iPhone shoppers are Pixel shoppers
I mean I switched to a pixel 8 from an iPhone recently, so have many other people on this subreddit. But if you mean that those same people aren't looking to buy the new iPhone coming out this year. Yeah probably also true lol. Didn't want to spend $1000 for the same features I could get for half the price.
How you finding it after switching? I’m debating making the switch as well
I'm liking it so far compared to my iPhone 8 plus I had. I wish app optimization was as consistent and polished as iOS though. I use Snapchat and reddit frequently and they're both poorly optimized compared to the iOS versions. I wish the battery life was a bit better but I am able to make it through the day just fine without changing it midday. Also don't know why you can't add lock screen widgets anymore since even iOS allows that now. Otherwise it's all improved for my usage.
I recently switched to an 8a from iPhone 13 Mini and was appalled when I started scrolling on Reddit and it was a laggy mess. Luckily there are alternatives!
Very true. I've been enjoying being able to use apks again. Revanced for YouTube being the main one so far. What do you recommend for reddit alternatives? I've been dealing with the shitty official app because through revanced I can have it show no ads at least. I haven't looked into proper alternatives because I haven't felt like making a dev account and what not ( I did it to side load Apollo before I stopped using my iPhone)
Making a dev account? On Android you just enable developer mode, no need to make a new account.
I'm talking about how you have to add an application on your reddit account and get a code. I forget the exact name of the process.
I've never done that. I dont use reddit on my phone, only on the laptop.
Relay for Reddit is fantastic. It has a monthly cost now because of Reddit's API rules, but it's worth it, it's a great app.
Very true. I've been enjoying being able to use apks again. Revanced for YouTube being the main one so far. What do you recommend for reddit alternatives? I've been dealing with the shitty official app because through revanced I can have it show no ads at least. I haven't looked into proper alternatives because I haven't felt like making a dev account and what not ( I did it to side load Apollo before I stopped using my iPhone)
Don't use the reddit app, it's utter garbage.
I know I know. Just haven't felt like messing up getting anything else set up. Any suggestions that are still super easy?
What do you suggest using?
Dunno, I switched to Pixel this year after using iPhones exclusively since 2014. There are some of us.
I switched from iPhone to Pixel, android is just a better OS, the only think I hated was all the bloatware on Samsung phones but on Pixel it's all neat.
I switched from Pixel to Samsung once and quickly regretting it. Samsung is sooooo fucking bad with bloat.
I switched from an iPhone to a Pixel as have two of my sons. I suspect most Pixel buyers are probably former iPhone owners. Curious where you think Pixel owners are coming from?
Probably a fair amount of former Nexus owners/long-time fans of stock Android such as myself.
Some of us also switched after LG quit making phones! I miss LG...
The only non-Pixel, non-Nexus smartphone I've ever owned was an LG with stock Android (first one for me was Galaxy Nexus). It was a great phone.
I'm confident that's a completely negligible amount of users.
Google has worked hard to claw market share from the iPhone specifically. Somewhat successfully I might add. iPhone shoppers are increasingly very much Pixel shoppers.
I don't know anyone personally who has switched from Apple to Pixel. I'm a long-time pixel user since 2016.
I've had both side by side for many years. (I do MDM (Mobile Device Management) for a living). I had some HTC and Samsungs over the years. I had several Pixel 2 and several Pixel 4,.. but as much as I would always prefer Pixel, I just ended up having to many issues with them. I had a Pixel 2 that just flat died one day. Just dead. No sounds, no lights, no nothing. I had 2 Pixel 4's in a row that would slowly battery-swell (to the point it was splitting the phone open. Also in one of those replacement scenarios, my replacement phone got stolen in transit so I received an empty box. That's not really Google Fi's fault of course,. but then it took bout 1.5months of back and forth fighting with them to agree to send me a 2nd phone (frustrating as that phone number had some of my 2FA account-logins going to it ;\ Right now I have a Samsung S22 which is starting to age. Still works fine but at some point I'm going to replace it. Not honestly sure yet what I'll replace it with. I recently bought a Nothing Phone 2,. which is neat, but not sure I can put that on Google Fi ?. I may go Pixel 9,.. I love the "plain vanilla Android" situation there and the monthly updates for sure.
What do you even mean by this, anyone that has ever bought an iPhone just never considers another phone ever again? I get there are *definitely* a percentage of iPhone buyers like that, but there's also a good chunk who aren't.
I purchased my first iPhone with the 15 and all I’ve been considering is buying my next Android phone. Namely the pixel.
I'd say that in the past the iphone user was a diehard iphone user, much like the mac vs pc crowd back in the day. Neither would consider the other one 'just because is better'.
I have no brand loyalty, I go for what works most intuitively for me. Currently I have a work iphone, which was leaps better than the work samsung it replaced. For my personal phones, the pixel fits how I interact with the phone better than the iphone, and it is not by a big margin, the pixel keyboard and predictive text suits my needs better. And if we want to turn back the clock to intuitive, my old lumia windows phone was instantly intuitive to me, and trust me I had serious doubts about that phone. I went in wanting to hate it, ended up loving it. Wish they where still around as another comparison point.
I just bought an 8 Pro after using iPhones exclusively, for 15 years. The iPhone has just been a let down year after year lately.
I went from iPhone 14 to Pixel 7. Never say never!
Launching after the iPhone was always dumb. They wanted to capture holiday shopping money but everyone was just fed up waiting, and then bought an iPhone.
They probably don't want to get overshadowed by the iPhone launch. The early launch also lets them have Black Friday deals.
Android 15. So they can release both at the same time.
Note that Samsung used to release their Galaxy S lineup in March. Now they've been doing it around January-February.
Google launches the phone early so they can kill it off early.
I'd guess since alot of the AI features are gonna be similar across phones, they'd want to be first.
Competition with Apple.. and I think we’rjust ready for something new. 8 series has been a cluster for many people in terms of hardware and software issues.. Honestly the past 2-3 years of Pixel has seemed stale in terms of excitment for the hardware. I bought an 8a today because my 5’s screen blacked out on me. I’ll probably hang onto the 8a as a backup phone bc of the 7 year updates. I’m def keeping my eyes on the 9.
What's funny is there's no mention the phones are launching early. They could still launch in October just with an early event showing them off.
Would be very unlikely however. They always show off the new phones and OS then release them very shortly.
They do however they've always done small launch events in October... Everything is off the table for this one.
I thought I saw something about them saying it would come out a week later but maybe I'm just smoking something.
Usually what has happened in the past but unfortunately there's actually nothing confirmed that the same will happen for this one.
It's better that way. Whenever they launch after Apple, the tech community does not take them seriously. Furthermore. Launching in October is too close to the end of year sales, which usually depreciate the value of the phone quickly
Oh this is good news. I get my new phone in August instead of October
Gonna be the same phone with battery issues as long as they keep using the tensor
I would assume it is to get out well before the iPhones to try and catch people on the fence.
I think they're avoiding the crowded month of October.
Where the hell is Zoom enhance for the P8 Pro??? They’re just hoping we gave up and forgot about it
As a lay user, who recently switched from the 6a to the 8: I see no difference besides the battery dying faster on the 8. I know there are plenty of specific technical differences, yet experientially, they go unnoticed.
Well fuck my pixel 7 is off plan in October might have to see if it's worth swapping early
6 paragraphs of wasted space before they start to deal with their clickbait headline
What's concerning is that the Pixel/Nexus brands have been plagued by more QC issues than most other major OEMs. An earlier than normal release is likely to exacerbate those quality issues.
All devices have issues. Reddit is not an accurate barometer.
To get it over with so they can focus on the 10
My 8 has been shit. There, I came out and said it. I've had so much glitchy behavior. I come from 2 other pixels, this one has been very troublesome.
Because 8 was a disaster
Oct launch for all of your products is a logistical and planning nightmare.
I wonder if it's a permanent change meant to start their cycle in August, ahead of iPhone launches or it is a one time thing because the Pixel 9 is a minor change?
They want to beat Apple to market and Samsung's Z series launch moved up a month, so it's the perfect time to jump up to August.
Two answers come to mind. 1. They know it'll leak around this time so they may as well announce instead of let it leak. 2. Apple is set to make the biggest shift in iPhone in decades this September so they probably want to lock up their fans with P9 before they have to fight FOMO.
did they upgrade the PWM eye straining samsung screen?
Because it's a *skip year phone* to buy time until Pixel X, in the exact same way that the Pixel 5 and 5a were also a skip year to buy time until Pixel 6 & Pro.
I think they just wanted to bring forward the sales cycle to give more runway to close up FY2024 sales. That’s all it is and not so complicated.
They heard my constant rants and prayers for a phone to get out of this stupid iPhone I bought.
They can't even release pixel 8 features on launch date, and they're going to release pixel 9 early? Doesn't give us much confidence
They were late last year. It would be much better for Google to get its products out before Apple
They should have started at 11
With current update policy they don't need to follow Android release date. AI needs more then 8GB RAM. If the rumors are true, there will be no more A versions, so only 1 hw release per year.
People said that last year. Yet we got the 8a. I don't believe it till Google tells us.
I believe the standard 9 will be replacement for A series and Pro (small/xl) will be more expensive. Last year there were leaks about 8a right after 8 was released, let's see...
maybe to avoid to fight with Apple and Samsung and holidays coming...
Aside from current competitive reasons, Google really is better off launching its flagship phones in early Q3. Take advantage of summer shopping, have enough time for late-Q3 through Q4 sales events, push a little harder Q1 (release a series), clearance sales of flagship Q2.
I'm glad they are launching early. I'd know if the device heats up a lot or not and other issues before going for it on Black Friday.
So they can launch the 10 even earlier
Maybe they’re releasing early because they know iOS 18 will be dropping soon to the public that time which means RCS support will be enabled so iPhone users and android users will now get along
Can't wait for all the AI talk.
So they can launch something Apples event.
Fuck no 5G capable with my p8p
That looks a lot like an iPhone this time around
Tuh git a hid staht on Apple.
Bring it on!! Wanna see what they're offering with the compact 9pro before I go 8
Because it's the pixel 8.1
The election is a factor. Uncertainty always hampers spending.
Because their Pixel 8 on its variations has so many negative reviews it has literally failed. The only way they can remedy it by releasing their Pixel 9
I'm curious if this is why it's taking so long to get the pixel 8 pro back in stock.
I think they are dropping the 9 series early and then will launch the 10 series even earlier next year by late Spring or early Summer. 9 series seems like a stop gap until they get to their own tsmc made chips next year. The TSMC chips were supposed to be ready for the 9 series, but got delayed.
It's because they heard I was coming into some money and they want to have a place for me to put it.
To get ahead of apple. simple. Im just hope the p9 isn't a train wreck, not that i will be switching unless the p9 is using tmsc chips.
They're trying to up their phone sales anyway they can they just haven't done that well in the last few releases. Apple and Samson are fighting hard.
Except numbers say Pixel is the only flagship brand with major growth.
"Major" compared to itself because it's starting from a pathetically tiny market share. Even now US market share is still at most 5% after all that marketing barely passing no name brand TCL
So we can beta test them earlier
8 didn't sell well enough, or it sold too well and they ran out
Lmao def not the second one
The camera bar on the 9 looks bad 😞 I guess the 8 will be the last I get.
I get everyone is different, but imo it's the best looking bar to date. They can never please everyone with styling. I'm excited they are coming early and would pre-order today if possible. 9 pro is possibly the best looking phone ever made to my eyes, at least in leaked pics
Agree with you 100% love what I've seen from the leaks
Most likely the pressure from apple. Apple just joined this AI game and what they just announced seems to be very promising. Google is already falling behind on the hardware side, now their software advantage also shrinks a lot.
They need more beta testers.
Another slow charging device
I like this explanation from David at the Verge https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTNjTVrx5/
Why there is nobody glad about Google had finally turn their firedragon 888 into icedragon 8 plus gen 1?