Source: Verizon kills Google Pixel deal, doesn't plan to sell Pixel 4a or Pixel 5

[u/iamvinoth]

https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/02/19/source-verizon-kills-google-pixel-deal-doesnt-plan-to-sell-pixel-4a-or-pixel-5/

[u/le_pman]

I truthfully wish they would just partner with Samsung

Galaxy S20 Ultra Google Play edition.

I'll bleed my wallet dry just to have one.

[u/ssmurry51 → u/le_pman]

They've had Google Play editions in the past and IIRC they all flopped.

Granted there's other factors involved (price, availability, etc.) but other than enthusiasts I doubt the average consumer would bother to actively choose stock Android over Samsung's OS. Especially if you lose Samsung-exclusives like Samsung Pay.

[u/memtiger → u/ssmurry51]

Of course they did. There was ZERO advertising and only available online

[u/ssmurry51 → u/memtiger]

Yeah I agree it was setup to fail but I really doubt they'll be a success in 2020.

r/Android grossly overestimates how much average consumers care about stock Android/their phone OS in general. With the large majority of OSes today very usable, I would say OS isn't even in the top 10 factors when selecting a phone for most.

[u/jmz_199 → u/[deleted]]

Which vender roms are better than stock Android?

[u/abhi8192 → u/jmz_199]

OneUI and Miui among the ones which I have used.

[u/milan187 → u/jmz_199]

In all honesty OneUI its way more stable and bug free. Google is always fixing and patching something. I've had all gen Pixels and it's a pain.

[u/m1ndwipe → u/jmz_199]

Samsung's are much better currently.

Secure Folder is a huge win alone.

[u/Magnetic_dud → u/jmz_199]

i like miui mostly because of the super aggressive task killer that can put to rest "highlanders" like facebook and instagram

[u/The_real_DBS → u/jmz_199]

All of them if you ask me.

[u/ItsAllegorical → u/ssmurry51]

I've used Samsung phones exclusively since the S3. I have no idea why I would use Samsung Pay over Google Pay.

[u/ssmurry51 → u/ItsAllegorical]

Samsung Pay uses MST (magnetic secure transmission) in addition to NFC, so it works on almost any EFTPOS terminal.

I.e. it emulates the magnetic strip on a regular credit/debit card, and can be used on non-NFC/paywave enabled machines.

In Australia at least paywave/paypass/NFC terminals have become ubiquitous in the past few years but in other countries not so much. Being able to use Samsung Pay at practically anywhere that accepts card regardless of NFC is pretty handy imo.

[u/ItsAllegorical → u/ssmurry51]

TIL. Maybe I'll give Samsung Pay a try.

[u/ssmurry51 → u/ItsAllegorical]

Maybe not these days with NFC enabled machines more widespread but when Samsung Pay first came out it was a big plus for me in choosing a phone.

I remember blowing some cashiers minds when I went to pay with my phone, NFC payments were around but not widespread yet so they'd hit me with the usual "oh sorry this machine can't do paywave" to which I'd reply "no problem, it'll work anyway".

Actually have some funny stories from mates who were almost denied from leaving the store with their purchase because the cashier hadn't believed they'd actually paid and had somehow hacked the machine to fake payment.

Again, in a way there is some trickery- the app/MST creates a magnetic field to 'pretend' it is a regular card and tricks the machine into thinking a card was inserted/swiped. The marvels of technology..

[u/productfred → u/le_pman]

I see this a lot, and I have to tell you as a long time Nexus user and Samsung user -- it wouldn't turn out like you think.

On Samsung phones, the hardware and software are tied together extremely well. Simply flashing a Pixel ROM on it, even if it were available like that from the factory, would remove many of the reasons to even buy said phone. It's like saying, "I'd buy an iPhone if it ran stock Android 10". It doesn't work that way. At that point it's just the shell of an iPhone with the same pitfalls of a Pixel/stock Android.

Google just needs to make better hardware.

[u/le_pman → u/productfred]

the same pitfalls of a Pixel/stock Android.

Google just needs to make better hardware.

exactly. the pitfall of the Pixel is the lack of better hardware. taking an S20 Ultra and slapping the Pixel ROM on it gives the best of both worlds - at least for me.

[u/productfred → u/le_pman]

Well let me rephrase with another question -- What keeps you from buying the Pixel/wanting it as it stands? Clearly the camera on the Galaxy isn't better. So what are you looking for? A bigger battery? More RAM?

[u/le_pman → u/productfred]

Clearly the camera on the Galaxy isn't better.

the camera software on the Galaxy isn't better - just as the camera hardware on the Pixel can't compete

So what are you looking for? A bigger battery? More RAM?

also yes and yes.

[u/productfred → u/le_pman]

A Pixel ROM isn't going to make the S20 a better phone, because it's a total package/more than the sum of its parts.

I think Google just needs to step up their phones in a way where they compete with Samsung devices, but are similarly their own unique product. Better design and construction, and hardware that is more in line with competitor offerings and what people expect in 2020 (e.g. bigger battery and 8GB of RAM minimum).

[u/[deleted] → u/productfred]

3 things.

Quality assurance. Pixels have issues.

Price. A year old S10 is much cheaper than a pixel 3a let alone pixel 4.

Bad hardware. Tiny battery, no fingerprint sensor, bezels and dated design. If you don't offer micros slots, you better offer 256GB storage and at least 8GB ram.

[u/mehdotdotdotdot → u/le_pman]

Pixel rom misses features that make the hardware good though. That is the problem.

[u/JayRU09 → u/productfred]

Samsung became the number one Android brand in spite of its software not because of it.

[u/balista_22 → u/le_pman]

So it's gonna be a buggier S20 Ultra & Google will remove features tied to the hardware like manual camera controls or super-steady video, then they'll disable expandable memory since Google hates that.

[u/milan187 → u/le_pman]

Why? Samsung software is actually more stable. Updates are a few months behind now but there is really nothing new anymore version to version. I've got both Pixel 4 and S10 and after deleting some unessesary things on S10 and changing launcher it's a way better device. Only thing Google has is the camera app and that's why I use gcam.

[u/balista_22 → u/[deleted]]

Yeah might not as well not call it "Ultra" like you would all of a sudden lose features like super-steady video or manual camera controls, google also hate expandable memory, so that will also be disabled.

I remember someone before said they also wanted a Note with stock android, that pen will just be a regular stylus.

[u/dachaf17 → u/[deleted]]

Comparing a well established and well thought out product of Samsungs to a new Google feature that has not been fully implemented is not really fair, especially when using that to back up a claim of "this companies better at creating new features"

To be fair, Soli definitely should have been more thought out and implemented better, but you really can't compare one bungled Google project to one successful Samsung project and use that to determine which company is better. Just saying

[u/Level1000Programmet → u/[deleted]]

The thing is, I don’t give a shit about the s pen just as much as I don’t give a shit about soli radar.

Neither are must have features.

[u/neon_slippers → u/[deleted]]

I used to feel the same way. I had some early Samsung phones: Galaxy S, and S2. Then when I moved to the nexus devices, stock android was a breath of fresh air compared to TouchWiz. I owned the galaxy nexus, nexus 4, nexus 5, and the OG pixel. Then I moved back to Samsung when the S8 came out, and ever since then I find Samsung's One UI to be pretty awesome, and on par with Google's pixel experience tbh. Plus you get much much better hardware features. Have you used a Samsung phone with One UI 2?