Google Android catch-all

Worked for me, Taharka, and things do look zippier right now. Thanks

EverythingsTentative wrote:

It will probably be called something else. You can also check accessibility and turn off animations altogether.

Aha! It was under Settings -> Advanced Features -> Reduce Animations. Thanks!

I just got the prompt to install Android 10 on my OG Pixel XL. Is it safe yet? I'm skeeered.

I haven't seen any issues on my 3a, although I don't use the phone that much.

I'm on 10 and it's working well. The only hiccup I had was that my Verizon app was causing a 30 second delay whenever I tried to place a call. After a quick internet search, I found out that the Verizon app was the culprit. Once that was removed, everything has worked fine.

A follow up on the Fossil Gen 5 battery life. Much improved over the Gen 4. Probably a combination of a larger battery and software updates to reduce battery consumption. I've noticed, for example, that my watch face "sleeps" - i.e. turns off active background - much more frequently. The end result is I've not run out of battery yet in a day, despite a few long days with "Golf Pad Pro" running for 6 hours early on.

The touch face seems to be a little more responsive as well.

I've ordered a ROG Phone 2. I should have it on Monday. I'll let those interested know how great/terrible it is.

Ordered the pixel 4xl this morning. My 2xl started cracking this weekend. It must have been anticipating Google's event.

Has anyone tried out Play Pass, their answer to Apple Arcade? I glanced through the list of offerings but wasn't especially intrigued--the interesting thing about Apple Arcade is the volume of new stuff coming out, and that doesn't appear to be here. But maybe there's exciting stuff in there I missed?

I was just telling my friends that the mobile gaming initiative that interests me most right now is Microsoft's Project Xcloud, which is in free beta on Android right now. AAA games on the go!

They finally added PS4 remote play to all Android devices last week, not just Sony ones. I played Spider-Man on my phone in Nashville over the weekend. Pretty awesome.

mrlogical wrote:

Has anyone tried out Play Pass, their answer to Apple Arcade? I glanced through the list of offerings but wasn't especially intrigued--the interesting thing about Apple Arcade is the volume of new stuff coming out, and that doesn't appear to be here. But maybe there's exciting stuff in there I missed?

Neither really interest me, but from what I heard, the play pass just lets you remove ads from games without paying to. So most games that are super annoying right now would be ok for a monthly fee.

mrlogical wrote:

Has anyone tried out Play Pass, their answer to Apple Arcade? I glanced through the list of offerings but wasn't especially intrigued--the interesting thing about Apple Arcade is the volume of new stuff coming out, and that doesn't appear to be here. But maybe there's exciting stuff in there I missed?

When I signed up it was $2 a month for a year. That made it a no brainer for me. We will see if I keep it after the year though. I do feel like I have gotten my moneys worth already though. I've played Grimvalor, Titan Quest, Monument Valley 2, Bridge Constructor Portal, Space Marshalls, Hex, Cytus 2. All games that I like but would probably never bought out-right.

After having the ROG Phone 2 for a little over a week I gotta say, I'm a bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong, it is a great phone, but I feel like the reviews I watched set my expectations a bit high especially concerning the battery. MKBHD said this could be a 4 day phone. Maybe, if you don't use it, but at that point any phone can be a 4 day phone if you just turn it off. I am charging it a lot less than my One Plus 5t, but the main reason I wanted a new phone was because the battery was gone and couldn't hold a charge for 4 hours. I am usually plugging this phone in about every 36 hours. That's good, but my expectations were set a bit too high.

For me, I already own most of the games I'd be interested in that are a part of the pass. So, I have zero interest in the pass until it puts stuff in that costs $15 normally and I'd rather pay $2 or $5 for the month pass.

EverythingsTentative wrote:

I am usually plugging this phone in about every 36 hours. That's good, but my expectations were set a bit too high.

It's almost like a phone you plug in every night is preferable to midday charging. Who knew?!?

Seriously though, I don't believe a two day phone exists for regular users and if it did it would only be able to do it for the first couple of months before degradation sets in.

kazar wrote:

Ordered the pixel 4xl this morning. My 2xl started cracking this weekend. It must have been anticipating Google's event.

Directly from Google? If so, are they doing any type of previous-device trade-in like they've done in the past?

I've never liked night charging and only do it when the battery is very low or when I had a phone that couldn't sleep all night without dying. Somewhere in the back of my head I am still convinced that over charging is still a thing even though I've been told it doesn't matter with smart batteries.

Looks like if I switch to T-Mobile (which I was going to do anyway) I can essentially get a free Pixel4 XL. I am still really liking my Pixel 2XL but I will appreciate all the upgraded features on the 4 epecially the screen.

So many people on the web over the past day are so damn hung up on the specs. I've come across so many families Galaxy phones that have amazing tech in them but they run like ass compared to the Pixels.

I keep my phone plugged in all day at work and all night overnight and have never had a problem with batteries losing charge over time or anything. I occasionally read something that will make me wonder if I'm doing the wrong thing, but really I've never had a battery problem using phones the way I do, so, I try not to think about it.

My Pixel 2 is definitely not running so great lately, though... I've had the system UI crash a few times and am experiencing a lot of delays when switching apps, where it's nonresponsive for a good 10 seconds or so. I'm hoping this is instability in Android 10 that will get bug fixed out soon, rather than just the planned obsolescence death march of an older device. I'm trying my very best to get out of the "new phone every 2 years" mindset, but this isn't helping.

The only thing that is making me even consider picking up a 4 is the improved camera. I really don't use my phone for anything but Android Auto, music/podcast/audible, very occasional Kindle reading when my actual Kindle isn't with me, and the camera.

My electronics are almost always charging unless I am out and about. I don't want to be stuck somewhere with an uncharged device when I need it.

I always have a battery pack with me

I really wondering if I can keep a phone for three years. I think this is the first time where I don't feel a burning desire to upgrade my device after two years. Maybe I've just become more complacent/responsible or phones are just kinda getting stagnant and not super exciting.

I'm honestly more excited about the Pixel buds than I am about any other recently released phone ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Tempest wrote:

I really wondering if I can keep a phone for three years. I think this is the first time where I don't feel a burning desire to upgrade my device after two years. Maybe I've just become more complacent/responsible or phones are just kinda getting stagnant and not super exciting.

I'm honestly more excited about the Pixel buds than I am about any other recently released phone ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm 2 1/2 years on the S8+ and see no reason to upgrade until next year, maybe even a year after that.

Did they improve the buds? The first generation were pretty universally considered garbage from what I read. I was going to buy 'em but ended up giving them a pass due to the reviews.

I only plan to upgrade when the apps that I regularly use stop working. Otherwise, I'm happy with my current phone. In fact, I'd love it if it worked for the next 20 years! Of course, previous to mid-2017, I'd been using a flip phone so it would probably just have to break before I'd really need a new one.

r013nt0 wrote:
kazar wrote:

Ordered the pixel 4xl this morning. My 2xl started cracking this weekend. It must have been anticipating Google's event.

Directly from Google? If so, are they doing any type of previous-device trade-in like they've done in the past?

There was an option to trade in during the checkout process. My phone started to have cracks in the screen last week and the fingerprint sensor died so I didn't go through that path.

Regarding overcharge, my gut says it wouldn't be hard to have an internal switch that stops sending power to the battery when it reaches 100% and then run the phone off of the power connected. Now, I don't know if they actually do that, but it wouldn't be hard so I expect there to be some protection against killing batteries.

Regarding the buds, I never tried them, but found their design to be better then the Apple ones. I still chuckle every time I see someone waking around with two white rods popping out of their ears. The new buds which come out next spring will remove the cord and they have been redesigned shape wise. We won't really know until they get released next spring.

I don't know of any lithium ion devices that don't either have a mechanism to stop charging, or do a maintain trickle charge, when battery nears 100%.

From what I have read you can maximize lithium ion charge cycles (lifespan) by keeping them between 20-80%. Keep in mind charging from 20 - 80 only counts as 6/10 of a charge cycle.

Heat and constantly depleting then charging to 100% reduce overall life.

Chairman_Mao wrote:

I'm 2 1/2 years on the S8+ and see no reason to upgrade until next year, maybe even a year after that.

Same here with the Note 8. I've got Verizon salivating to upgrade me but - for the first time since my forced upgrade of the Note 7 - I'm not feeling the urge.

My wife is wondering whether I've been replaced by an alien

I reassured her by replacing my [golf] irons last week.

Decided to start futzing around with Waze again since so many people in here sing its praises. Nice to see that they finally added some granularity to the alerting.

....but you still cannot silence red light camera alerts for some unholy reason! What the actual f*ck is wrong with them? I don't need to be reminded of all of the red light cameras I pass twice a day during my commute to work! You can turn off speed cameras, but not red light cameras. Bonkers.

I do like that my car icon is an open wheel race car though, that's cool.