Google Announces Its First Smartwatch, a New Budget Phone (cnbc.com) 29
Google announced several new gadgets during its I/O developer conference on Wednesday, including its long-awaited Pixel Watch, a new budget Pixel 6a phone and headphones. It also teased its flagship Pixel 7 phone, which is coming this fall. From a report: The Google Pixel Watch offers features similar to the Apple Watch's and sports a refined and sleek look that could appeal to customers who use Android instead of the iPhone, which it doesn't work with. It will integrate Fitbit's technology, allowing it to pull on years of research and development from the fitness startup it acquired last year. The Fitbit tech will let users track their sleep, heart rate and workouts. The watch runs Google's Wear OS software that lets users do things such as check messages and download music. Users can also get directions with Google Maps or connect it with their smart home devices, so they can, for example, change their thermostat temperature or make sure the lights are turned off.
Google will release its latest budget Pixel phone this summer. The Pixel 6a has mostly the same design as the Pixel 6, but will be slightly smaller and cost $449. Google promised an all-day battery that can last up to 72 hours when in the Extreme Battery Saver mode, which it said is a first for Pixel phones. It also uses Google Tensor, so the budget phone will have the same power as the more expensive Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. [...] Google teased the new Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro flagship phones. They'll use the next generation of the Google Tensor chip and will ship with Android 13. The company didn't provide pricing, but the Pixel 6 had been targeted at the midrange market with a $599 starting price, while the 6 Pro started at $899.
Google will release its latest budget Pixel phone this summer. The Pixel 6a has mostly the same design as the Pixel 6, but will be slightly smaller and cost $449. Google promised an all-day battery that can last up to 72 hours when in the Extreme Battery Saver mode, which it said is a first for Pixel phones. It also uses Google Tensor, so the budget phone will have the same power as the more expensive Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. [...] Google teased the new Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro flagship phones. They'll use the next generation of the Google Tensor chip and will ship with Android 13. The company didn't provide pricing, but the Pixel 6 had been targeted at the midrange market with a $599 starting price, while the 6 Pro started at $899.
"Budget"? (Score:4, Insightful)
Google will release its latest budget Pixel phone this summer. The Pixel 6a has mostly the same design as the Pixel 6, but will be slightly smaller and cost $449
At that price evidently I buy sub-budget phones.
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The definition of "budget" is undergoing inflation.
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Playing catchup (Score:2)
When it comes to consumer devices Google keeps being a copycat. Surprising, consider the brains aggregated in the company. Is the culture of Google preventing visionaries from creating groundbreaking devices?
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Nokia will sell you a stright up modern, candybar, 0-12 button phone right now. It's 70 dollars. [nokia.com]
God knows what else you can find straight from China. There really is no lack of selection anymore as much fun as it was to complain about the thinness wars.
Re: BUDGET ? (Score:2)
Just got my mom a "Gibbs Phone" as we call it in our family, a flip phone with minimal features, well under $100 from her carrier as I recall.
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Why you just spout the Press Release nonsense without thinking about its veracity FFS ? People want small, thick, sturdy CHEAP phones, not the MASSIVE, FLIMSY, EXPENSIVE PHABLETS the manufacturers force on us. THINK !
Not all people want what you want. I personally have no desire for a small, thick, CHEAP phone. I don't mind paying a premium for a nice piece of equipment. Sturdy? I've owned a succession of flagship Samsung phones over the past 9 years, starting with the Galaxy S4, and I've never damaged any of them, despite using the thinnest silicone cases I could find.
I don't like earbuds, so a headphone jack is a don't-care. I've had to have one battery replaced over 9 years ($100 and a couple of hours at the local UB
And the term "budget" has been redefined... (Score:3)
Google will release its latest budget Pixel phone this summer. The Pixel 6a has mostly the same design as the Pixel 6, but will be slightly smaller and cost $449.
$449 is a 'budget' phone?
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Also CNBC (Score:2)
'It's one banana, Michael. What could it cost, $10?'
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> $449 is a 'budget' phone?
An older Pixel can be had on eBay for $100 and LineageOS slapped on it.
No warranty or "new hotness" I guess.
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I was thinking more like $100 - $200 for a budget phone.
That's get you something like a new low end smartphone from Motorola, Nokia, even a low end Samsung.
Google is a bit out of touch with what a budget phone is.
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I was thinking more like $100 - $200 for a budget phone.
That's get you something like a new low end smartphone from Motorola, Nokia, even a low end Samsung.
Google is a bit out of touch with what a budget phone is.
The dictionary definition of "budget" (as an adjective) is, "reasonably or cheaply priced". These are relative terms, not absolute. What a wealthy person considers cheap may be outrageously expensive to a pauper.
A recent Wired article entitled "The Best Cheap Phones for Almost Every Budget" [wired.com] lists some phones that are as much as $500, which is 2-1/2 to 5 times higher than what you were thinking. Their "Best Under $300" is a $280 Samsung A32. Under the heading, "Another Good Budget Phone", we find the TCL 20
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One actual reason: The factories which processed the food, made the electronics etc., had to shut down due to all of the COVID-19 cases. Because it's not like common sense precautions were or even are being followed. Look what happened at that Amazon facility awhile back. By the time the workers found out on their were over twenty cases it was too late. By the end of that month there were over forty more. And this is a facility which is in the U.S..
Now look at a country like China which had worse situations
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Doesn't work with iPhone? (Score:2)
Yet it runs Wear OS which DOES work with iPhone?
Pixel 6a vs a 2018 Galaxy S9? (Score:2)
The Galaxy S9 wins hands down.
You can pick them up in near mint condition for around $180.
I'm sure the same applies for many of the mid to high tier phones released 4 years ago.
So, yeah, I continue to hold onto my S9 ... because, there's really nothing been released in 4 years that can compete.
Surprised it took so long to make a watch (Score:2)
The same has happened with Wear OS devices. Most watches are bastardized non-vanilla experiences and that is detrimental to the experience. Maybe Google has finally figured this out and decided to sell a vanilla watch unencumbered by all the crap that someone like S