To Pixel or not to Pixel, that is the question.

[Jizz_Beard_thePirate]

superchunk said:

Captain_Yuri said:

I just wanted to quickly post Business-Insider's Camera review for Pixel vs iPhone 7 and Galaxy S7

http://www.businessinsider.com/google-pixel-vs-iphone-galaxy-s7-camera-comparison-2016-10/#in-my-first-hours-with-the-pixel-my-impression-was-pretty-negative-again-and-again-it-made-obvious-mistakes-in-color-balancing-and-focus-that-you-rarely-see-from-the-s7-or-iphone-in-this-example-id-told-each-camera-to-expose-for-leaves-on-the-upper-left-of-the-frame-3

It essentially shows what I have suspected all along. In perfect conditions with great lighting and etc, Pixel camera does get ahead of the S7 and iPhone 7. But in less than ideal conditions (which is real world conditions), it has a hard time keeping up with the Galaxy S7 in most cases and in some cases, the iphone 7. Still a fantastic camera though but not the best according to them. The S7 once again, takes the cake.

Camera

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Google-Pixel-XL-vs-iPhone-7-Plus-vs-Galaxy-S7-edge-blind-camera-comparison-vote-here_id86869
http://www.theverge.com/2016/10/18/13304476/google-pixel-vs-iphone-7-samsung-galaxy-s7-edge-camera-comparison

I've read many other reviews, and of course used my actual device, all in all the sum is that Pixel/S7 are better than iPhone7 in pretty much every scenario. PIxel and S7 compare well. Some cases one is better than other but they are very similar overall. Additionally the new camera app has a ton of great features that match anything S7 has with the exception of the stabalization. S7 does not take the cake. There are certainly real-world scenarios where Pixel is better, but there are enough shots that show S7 as being better as well to justify a statement like, "they are effectively equal". Some reviewers are coming back to notate how leaving Pixel on HDR+ Auto recieves the best results. 

Pixel can even make animated GIFs from your burst mode pics. Pretty awesome.

Some other topics we went back and forth on...

Split Screen Apps

Yes, Pixel has this feature. While an app is open, long-press the recent apps button to add a 2nd app to the screen.
http://phandroid.com/2016/10/18/google-pixel-tips-tricks/

Water Resistence

Yes, Pixel doesn't have the rating. Interviews has shown that Google, with its first in-house phone, ran out of time to finalize what was required for the best rating. However, real-world tests show it works even after being submerged for over an hour.

http://bgr.com/2016/10/23/google-pixel-review-water-resistance/
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2016/10/google-pixel-underwater-test-1-hour/

Personal Observations

First off, this phone is insanely fast and responsive. I touch the fingerprint sensor and its near instant on. Comparing to my wife's S6, this is a night/day difference when going in/out of apps or into home screen when locked. I'm sure S7 would be closer, but I think the fact that this is similar/better hardware (w/S7) on vanilla Android, it would still be noticeable that Pixel is more responsive.

Night Light feature is pretty awesome but a little thing.
Assistant is bugging me as I have used Google's standard voice for years and it was near-perfect. This is definitely a different system as it is relearning my voice patterns. Still accurate, but I can tell a slight difference. Overall Assistant is a feature upgrade however.
USB-C is crazy fast charge and universal. I have a 3rd party USB-C car charge that is just as fast as my home.
Battery life itself is really good. All day is a buzz phrase and YMMV of course, but I notice a much better life span with higher screen brightness than I've had with any previous phone. (I leave my brightness set vs using auto)
I do miss my gesture functionality from MotoX. But Pixel added some shortcuts that are almost as good such as double-click power button to open camera and the awesome pop-up shortcuts on apps are fantastic.

Any specific question, let me know.

Wait how are they effectively equal when S7 beats the Pixel in auto-focus, stablization and low light? Software cannot over-come hardware issues regardless of how many updates it has. Pixel lacks Samsung's OIS, Dual Pixel auto-focus and ISOCELL lowlight. When there are enough shots in great lighting to make both Pixel and S7 be better in certain situations, the tie breaker comes to the rest of the features.

Oh and the S7 can do something similar to the gif thing from pictures

Split Screen apps: Samsung had this since the Galaxy S4. Sure it didn't work with all the apps but the apps it did work with was the ones that people used the most frequently anyway.

Water-Resistance: The issue with this is that it will vary from test to test. There is no guarantee that it will work from phone to phone. Galaxy S7 lasted over 16 hours under water in tests so Pixel lasting over an hour isn't exactly impressive considering other non-water resistant phones can last similar amounts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_HbztTpL08

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vn3JOnun3Y

What the rating does is that it gives you a guarantee that every phone will last a minimum amount of time in those conditions. And running out of time doesn't really mean much considering how many other things it is lacking. What did they spend all that extra time in? :/

And it is good to see that you are enjoying your phone though!