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zimmertr
TJ Zimmerman



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zimmertr
TJ Zimmerman
PostWed Oct 12, 2022 9:29 am 
Pixel 7 line was announced and is available for pre-order now. Looks like the 7 Pro will be mostly the same as the 6 Pro with the exception of some camera FoV/zoom changes, some new fancy software features, and face unlock. https://store.google.com/category/phones https://www.androidpolice.com/google-pixel-7-pro-vs-pixel-6-pro/

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Tom
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Tom
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PostWed Oct 19, 2022 1:52 pm 
Here's an analysis of zoom levels on the Pixel 7 Pro. https://petapixel.com/2022/10/17/something-is-strange-with-the-google-pixel-7-pros-zoom-processing/ Looks like intermediate zoom is a bit of a joke. The center of image will be sharp since it's basically the image from the 5x telephoto. However, the rest of the image is filled in by enhanced digital zoom from the 1x lens, but rather than downsampling the 48 MP image to 12 MP and cropping it like they do up to 1.5x zoom (traditional digital zoom) they crop the 48 MP image first and downsample the result. They also shake sensor a little to get multiple images to average them to get a sharper digital zoom, but end of day it's still digital zoom! The colors may also be a little different between the 2 blended images, so that may further degrade the image. Of course you could take the glass half full perspective that it's better than enhanced digital zoom alone (which I'm pretty sure is the case on the Pixel 6 Pro up to 4x, and obviously the standard Pixel 6 and 7 without telephoto lens). Anyway, if you primarily shoot at < 5x you might want to consider a phone that has a shorter telephoto. Sure, it's great having 5x when you need it but somewhat a double edged sword between 2x and 5x. Not that there aren't other benefits to the 7 Pro like the ultra wide macro lens.

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Tom
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PostTue Nov 01, 2022 7:18 pm 
I had a hard time convincing myself upgrading to the Pixel 7 Pro was worth it, but the trade in offer was just so insanely good, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to upgrade and rid myself of the 6 Pro. My wife liked her Pixel 6, but mentioned it was rebooting a lot as of late, so decided to upgrade her phone as well. For her it was pretty much an even trade ($599 for the Pixel 7 - $100 gift card - $490 trade in for the Pixel 6). Unfortunately I had waited until the last day to pull the trigger and Best Buy was sold out of the base model, so it cost ~$110 to upgrade to the 256 GB version. Still not bad. For me it was ~$155 ($899 for 7 Pro - $200 gift card - $545 trade in for 6 Pro). Heck, why not! Let me just say I'm pleasantly surprised by how much better the 7 series is. I have far less hesitation recommending them than I did the 6 series. The fingerprint sensor works reliably now. Not as fast as other flagships but these phones are such an excellent value otherwise, hard to complain. Face unlock works too (I was a little worried it wouldn't work in a dark room but seems fine). but only in good light. The 7 series are a tad smaller than the 6 series, but they feel noticably smaller and better balanced in the hand. The 6 series were top heavy, these feel just right! The button placement is improved as well.
Pixel 6 (left) vs. Pixel 7 (right).   Note horrible $35 Google case on Pixel 6 (just say no!)
Pixel 6 (left) vs. Pixel 7 (right). Note horrible $35 Google case on Pixel 6 (just say no!)
Pixel 6 Pro (left) vs. Pixel 7 Pro (right).
Pixel 6 Pro (left) vs. Pixel 7 Pro (right).
I hated the curved screen on my 6 Pro and wasn't holding my breath the 7 Pro would be any better. The 7 Pro is still curved but noticeably less, the waterfall effect is mostly gone. I actually kind of like it now. With the top heaviness gone and the curve muted, I really think I'm going to like this one enough to take the place of my beloved Pixel 3, something the 6 Pro could not. For color I went with hazel as the reviewers said it looked the best. While I'm not a green person I really like it. I've always had a difficult time locating my phone in the bedroom due to being black, so the hazel with gold accents is going to be much easier to find. Love the Ringke clear matte case I purchased for it as well. The matte so doesn't pick up fingerprints, while still allowing the color of the phone thru in all its glory. Really stoked so far, the pictures don't do it justice!

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fourteen410
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PostTue Nov 01, 2022 7:37 pm 
I've been eyeing the Pixel, but I'm a little reluctant to buy one because of how big brothery Google is. Perhaps I'm naive for thinking that Samsung offers more privacy?

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Tom
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PostTue Nov 01, 2022 7:50 pm 
Pretty much with android you're going to have Google on your phone regardless so I wouldn't sweat it. Get the best phone for you. Personally I hate phones that oversaturate colors and that's Samsung and Apple in the marketing race to the bottom. You can turn it off I suppose but I prefer the more natural default color on the pixel phones and that philosophy translates to their photo processing as well.

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Opus
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PostWed Nov 02, 2022 12:05 pm 
I also switched to the Pixel 7 Pro a few weeks ago. I'd had a Samsung Galaxy s10 for years before this and was overall really happy with it. It started having some audio issues on Zoom calls and I wanted the better cameras. Camera quality on the Pixel is vastly better than the Samsung and having everything from a 12mm wide-angle all the way to a 125mm zoom is very convenient. The quality isn't as good as a dedicated point-and-shoot but it's pretty hard to beat having that range in something that fits in your pocket. It is a bulky phone though, especially coming from a smaller Samsung, so I'm looking forward to future phones when the camera technology shrinks down into smaller models. Also regarding waterproofness, I only had issues with my old Samsung maybe 3x over all the many trips I took it on. I usually kept it in my pants pocket or sometimes in a waterproof pouch on my pack strap. Those few times were exceptionally rainy overnight trips and it got wet enough that when I plugged in the battery cable it warned me about water in the charging port and wouldn't charge. It did eventually dry out and no lasting damage. Phone also worked fine that whole time, just ran out of power. Some random test photos:

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Tom
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PostWed Nov 02, 2022 1:35 pm 
I don't think they necessarily need to make the phones bigger because of the cameras. I think it's just marketing to justify the higher cost. Pretty sure they could easily fit the same cameras in the non-pro form factor. There are rumors of a Pixel ultra with a larger sensor. That might be a different story. I've always preferred smaller phones and don't find the larger size adds any value. My Pixel 3 displays more icons on the home screen by than the 7 Pro, go figure! With the larger screens they just waste a ton of space. All the larger size does IMO is make the phone harder to hold, and it's annoying that Google Chrome refuses to offer an option to put the address bar at the bottom (they did for a while and then removed it!) which makes it harder to navigate on taller phones, forcing you to third party browsers. It's also frustrating they don't add more granularity to the display size option. By default the dpi is a little too small for my aging eyes. The option to "make everything bigger" unfortunately goes a little too far in the other direction. For goldilocks you need to enable developer options (tap multiple times on build number) and set "smallest width". dizzy.gif It's the same thing as display size, but you can fine tune it as much as you want. I found 395 or so works best for me. P.S. Avoid changing font size as that won't necessarily apply to web pages, it just makes the system font bigger. You really just want to scale the display size so everything gets bigger.

Opus
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Cyclopath
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Cyclopath
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PostWed Nov 02, 2022 1:50 pm 
fourteen410 wrote:
I've been eyeing the Pixel, but I'm a little reluctant to buy one because of how big brothery Google is. Perhaps I'm naive for thinking that Samsung offers more privacy?
I would definitely get the Samsung over the Google phone, but they'll both be running the same Google software sending all the same details to the mother ship.

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Tom
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Tom
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PostWed Nov 02, 2022 2:05 pm 
If you're choosing a phone with camera being the primary deciding factor I'm not sure I would limit choice to brand. You might want to choose, say, the Samsung Ultra over the Pixel 7 Pro if you want more zoom granularity. If you shoot a lot of vidieo you might not pick either as the iphones are superior in that regard.

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fourteen410
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PostWed Nov 02, 2022 10:17 pm 
Cyclopath wrote:
I would definitely get the Samsung over the Google phone
Why's that?

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Tom
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PostTue Nov 15, 2022 7:17 pm 
Going on 3 weeks with the 7 Pro and have to say I'm loving it. I thought the larger size would be an adjustment but already used to it and enjoying the extra real estate. Same with the curved screen, they really hit the sweet spot with the muted curve, color me a curved screen convert as well. My wife has the 7 and kind of wishing she had a larger screen. We are considering switching to Mint Mobile or xfninity and noticed they some excellent deals. Mint has the 7 Pro with one year of service for $589. I did my math right the 1 year of service is worth $180 so the 7 Pro nets to $409. Edit: looks like Mint Mobile is de-prioritized T-Mobile without roaming so not sure it's a good option for hikers. https://slickdeals.net/f/16161328-mint-mobile-128gb-google-pixel-7-pro-unlocked-smartphone-12-month-4gb-plan-589-w-port-in-free-s-h xfinity has a similar promotion. The 7 Pro is $399, and the 7 is $99 (after $500 off). Their wireless plans are an excellent value if you already have xfinitiy home internet. You get Verizon coverage so much better option in the backcountry. Their shared GB data plans are not deprioritized and they don't charge by the line. For our family of 3 (we never use more than 10GB data combined) it would only be $60 per month + tax all in. Could technically get $500 off up to 10 phones as extra lines doesn't really cost anything beyond tax, lol. https://slickdeals.net/f/16148467-xfinity-mobile-add-a-line-and-save-500-on-pixel-7-7-pro-when-you-transfer-your-number-and-pay-over-24-months-399

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puzzlr
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puzzlr
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PostThu Nov 17, 2022 2:18 am 
Tom, like you I upgraded from a Pixel 3 XL (big battery) to a Pixel 7 Pro. I loved the battery life on my Pixel 3 (3 day trip in airplane mode, no problem), but it wasn't charging well anymore and I really wanted a telephoto lens. They gave me $150 for my old Pixel 3. So far it's a nice step up. It's only a tiny bit larger (I was worried about that). I like being able unlock with gloves on via face id. I feel like some photos are over sharpened but haven't done careful comparisons at various settings. I'm just testing out the RAW now for those photos I really care about. The super wide angle is convenient, but I don't like the distortions around the edges so much. I might prefer to keep stitching photos in some cases. Big disappointment is the battery life. The Tensor chip might do a lot but it sucks up the battery faster than the Pixel 3 despite the mAh increasing from 3700 to 5000. Even in battery saver mode it uses charge faster than I like. I don't use my phone a lot so I was in the habit of charging it about every 3 days. Now with this phone it's daily. I bought a small portable battery pack to ensure I don't run out of power on a long day trip.

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Tom
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PostThu Nov 17, 2022 9:12 pm 
Hmm, as far as battery life it could be face unlock or something else excessively draining your battery. I've gone more than 1 day without charging but I don't have face unlock enabled (just doesn't work reliably enough in darker environments). With light usage around town I don't think 3 days is out of the realm, but would be a pipe dream on a hike taking lots of photos (or worse, shooting video). That's going to be CPU intensive, much more so than your older phone as it's doing that much more processing - unfortunately it's a double edged sword. For sure I wouldn't enable face unlock on a hike if I wanted to conserve battery since that will be constantly triggering the camera. Double click the power button to activate camera, no need to unlock. If wearing gloves that aren't touchscreen compatible you can click volume up or down to take a photo (or hold down volume for video). You could also disable screen lock on your hike. If you do, make sure to also disable tap / lift to activate display or it's going to be constantly turning on the phone while in your pocket. Learned that lesson the hard way.

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