For the same exact reason that google and microsoft are trying to get people to sign some account with them.

I use the whole google universe, when i set up an iphone i have to connect every single app to my google account and it s a pain in the ass, if i do the same on android its super fast. Right now the only reason i have an apple account is because i set up an iphone at work to get used to the system for when my users ask me a question about their iphone and i dont look like i m 80 when i take it. If apple provided decent services they would attract more people and make it more likely that they start buying into the apple universe.

Blackberry gave BBM to android years too late, and apple will do the same with imessage

Really? With what?

They are selling ****load of surface pro and surface book

Surface pros. People are jumping from MacBook to surfaces in big numbers

samsung s7 is BY FAR the phone i've been the happiest with (after using flagship android phones or nexus since the htc hero). it's honestly very close to perfect for me. (i always use nova launcher anyway, hehe)

Curious now about all the Axon 7 hype, it's not too big in the US because carriers won't use it, which is stupid, IMO but I realize getting a flagship device for half price of comparable models is not profitable.
Does anyone have one and have any problems?

Interested to see the S8, as above the S7E has been an absolute joy to use this past year.

I have to admit that when I saw a long demo of the top of the range Surface Book I was impressed. The shop was fairly empty, and I said that I was looking for a small 2-in-1 device for travelling so wouldn't buy a Surface device, but the guys there clearly like playing with it. It just has awesome form factor and build quality.

Got one at work. I wish the windows store was better(hopefully it will get some traction) . As a light PC it's the best I ve had. Running it with dock + a 4k screen it replace a desktop easily.
Give me the same kind of form factor with some similar arm hardware for 500$ Running chrome OS with play Store and I d be set at home. Until then I doubt I'll leave the surface at work often

took advantage of the current Verizon trade in promo to swap my Droid Turbo 2 for the Pixel. So far:

- loving the Pixel's size. it's smaller than the Droid Turbo 2, it's a form factor where it's easy for me to use with one hand. Perfect size for me (which is different for everyone). I could have got the Pixel XL for the same price basically but didn't want the bigger phone

- 128gb onboard storage. this wasn't a huge problem on my old phone due to SD card, but it's a bit simpler to have everything in one place

- screen. WOW. this is so so much better than my Droid Turbo 2 or anything else I've seen. everything is small (which I love) but crystal clear. such a beautiful screen. best one I've personally used.

it only cost me $100 after trading in my busted up Turbo 2, great deal. (the way it works is they give you a small credit each month, so I'm charged a net of $4 for the next 24 months, but I'm pretty sure after a while I can just pay off the balance)

I didn't realize this was a USB-C, so it's a bit annoying that my entire collection of Micro-USB is now useless, but cables are pretty cheap. oh well. the upside is USB-C does seem better

only big deal is I miss the Moto Active Display system. That was pretty GOAT, worked amazing - I could just nudge the phone at any time to see if I had any new messages. I can't get Ambient Display to work like that. any tips?

Glad you like the phone, it's my favorite of all time so far.

If you have the newest OS update, check out 2 new "moves" (settings -> moves -> scroll to bottom 2): double tap to wake and lift to wake. I love double tap, use it all the time. Lift not so much, because if I'm lifting the phone I'm probably just unlocking it already with the fingerprint sensor (but still have the move turned on LDO).

I've never had a Moto phone, but I'm pretty happy with the ambient display, along with the notification LED.

(Ohhh almost forgot, make sure you even have the Ambient Display turned on in the first place! Notification LED needs to be enabled as well. Dig around in the settings or google it, it's pretty easy)

Thanks...I *think* the issue is that I need to have a lock screen set up to get notifications? without my phone locked I don't think I get notifications?

plenty of times my phone is just sitting on my desk with the screen off (but not locked) and this is when I'd like notifications to come through

The amount of rage I have about the shipping delays for my pixel XL 128 can't be healthy. Ordered 10/24, they're now expecting ship on 1/13.

Hm... I honestly don't have a clue how things work without a lock screen.

I would assume notifications still come through (that's just a function of apps) - but maybe they don't trigger your Ambient Display without a lock screen? Maybe that's what you meant to say - if so I don't know

pro tip : not using a lockscreen when you have fingerprint scanner is just a terrible idea.

right, that's the situation I think

Moto Active Display would trigger regardless of the lock screen being on or off, it was independent of that

lol how do I use the fingerprint scanner? I looked for that on the lockscreen settings but I don't see that option? I don't even know what the fingerprint scanner does...

Settings -> Security -> Pixel Imprint. You may also need to turn on a Screen Lock like a PIN or Pattern lock (this will be the fallback to unlock your phone after reboots, or if your fingerprint isn't working for some reason, or if you want a wife/friend to be able to use it).

What the fingerprint scanner does is let you have the security of a lock screen without any of the inconvenience. You'll quickly get the muscle memory of placing your finger on the scanner, so you can take the phone out of your pocket or pick it up off the table and it'll already be unlocked and screen-on when you start using it. Seriously, it's fast and super convenient. The argument of "security isn't worth having to enter a PIN/pattern every time" no longer applies.

ok, got it, that works, thanks.

still, there are plenty of cases where having the phone perma-unlocked is more convenient - this is why they have the proximity sensors feature so you're at a certain address (ie home) the phone will never lock - right? like on my nightstand it seems silly that my phone would need to be locked. (or if it's charging?)

I'm actually on chat with Pixel support now and they are telling me Ambient Display SHOULD work even if the phone is unlocked (but screen is sleeping) but...I don't know. the LED light does pulse if I get a gmail in this instance, but the screen stays black.

Sure, you can use Smart Lock to white-list your home and other locations if you like. You can also use Smart Lock to keep the phone unlocked when connected to certain bluetooth devices such as your car. The point is that with the fingerprint sensor, you've eliminated the biggest barrier to people locking their phones. Smart Lock addresses the edge cases.

I dunno, I agree there are times where locking your phone is a little inconvenient, but seems well worth the trade-off in case I ever lose my phone or it gets stolen. Also prevents my friends from messing with it.

right

anyways, if there are other Pixel owners out there, can you test this for me?

1) Turn off all screen lock security
2) Keep all notifications on including ambient display, led, etc
3) send yourself a message when your screen goes to sleep

does your Ambient Display turn on? Google Support is telling me it should, but of course they can't figure out why mine doesn't work, so that doesn't help me. my LED light goes on and the phone quickly vibrates, but the screen stays black. this does seem like a bug?

This, I was stupid for years not using any lockscreen security while my phone would give access to alot of stuff, with fingerprint scanner you have no excuse at all since you wake up you phone instantly.

Take it to the Apple Store and...oh, wait.

(sorry, couldn't help myself )

Lol - I'd much rather post to an online forum than get my physical form to a store aaaaaany day of the week.

IMO the Apple customer service experience crushes the (disparate) Android experiences. This was me yesterday:

- chat on my phone using the built in support functionality on the Pixel (which is nice!)
- but this takes literally 90 minutes going through a series of comically bad suggestions, ending in a factory reset and instructions to "get back in touch with me after an hour if that doesn't work" (???)
- the email from my Google support person goes to my Gmail spam (lololol) so I don't even see how to get back in touch with them after an hour
- I get back on chat with someone else who can see my previous convo, and tells me "sorry about that, I suggest you take it back to Verizon where you bought it"
- WTFWTFWTFWTF
- (if the end results is going to be 'take it back to the store' then the utility of having Google Support on the phone seems very limited and that's certainly not what I want to hear 3 hours later)
- I'm pissed, I get a 3rd support person on chat who says I can indeed send it back to Google for a replacement, but they won't send me a new phone until then (b/c I didn't buy from the Google store). this would be an ok option I guess except for the fact that I traded in my Droid Turbo 2 to get this phone so I don't have any good backup at home

so now after all that still need to go to Verizon store. where, it's the holidays, so that will take a lot of time

so that experience leaves us a lot to be desired. again, in hindsight I should have just gone to Verizon (I think?) but the Support functionality is begging to be used on the Pixel.



(and after all that, I'm not even positive a replacement phone will fix the problem. the support person swore to me that Ambient Display should work without the phone locked but googling shows this is a really common problem other people have, I think it's just an outstanding bug that a lot of phones have)

((totally will use the fingerprint scanner to lock my phone every 10 minutes or so but there are still tons of times I want my screen sleeping while the phone is unlocked and want to see notifications))