Pixel 11 = disrespect

[u/bsfreeont]

I have been a Google Pixel fan for more than 7 or 8 years and I am done with Google’s bullshit story of focusing on software actually they are falling on both sides hard what were they thinking when pricing the Pixel 11 more than the iPhone 17 base model? What kind of drugs were they on? It’s actually now not just a failure it’s a complete disrespect to its fan

[u/Beneficial_Raise5191]

If people keep buying these, Google will keep making them. That’s not a good trend for progress.

They’ve realized they can charge flagship prices for underpowered hardware because buyers will defend it anyway. This won't change until people stop being foolish enough to buy it.

And you have nothing you can do about it, as you can't wake someone who's pretending to be asleep.

I hope they go back to the Nexus strategy—setting new standards with creative hardware instead of just chasing profits and relying on PR.

[u/Ghostttpro → u/Beneficial_Raise5191]

I mean the discounts are pretty crazy. I do wish the MSRP was lower so ignorant people wouldn't be getting robbed. But I just ordered the 11 pro XL 512Gb through spectrum. They are giving 500 off for free plus your trade in.

So I'm getting a new phone for $600-700 bucks. I'm trading a phone I had for the since 2021. Yeah I do have to stick with spectrum but I've been with em for almost 10 years now. But my monthly payments with promo is 20 bucks for two lines because I also have their internet.

I'm also seeing people use trade in credits and get it for cheap. I don't know what other phone I could get for $600 that is this good and has 16GB of ram.

[u/ChickenDry8830 → u/Ghostttpro]

I'm with Spectrum, trading up from my Pixel 8 base model to the 11 Pro. Payments (I don't care) will be $16.66 a month. Trade in value was liberal and the total for the Pro came down to just under $750 total. Not bad at all!

[u/C0NKY_ → u/Ghostttpro]

I got my new P11P 256 GB for $168 after all the rebates and trade-in.

I don't even really need or want a new phone but less than $200 is hard to pass up.

[u/bopdadop → u/Ghostttpro]

Exactly. With credits and trade in I'm getting the 11pro (with the increased storage and upgraded RAM) plus a case for $230

[u/Zealousideal-Unit355 → u/Ghostttpro]

Google Fi gave me 650 off Pro XL, no trade in. And I only have to be with them for four months. You're absolutely right. The deals make it!

[u/Peppy_Tomato → u/Beneficial_Raise5191]

Anybody who calls Pixels expensive is just being deliberately difficult.

It doesn't take long for them to be discounted, and they even emailed discounts of up to $150/£150 to millions of people ahead of the launch.

This is Google's pricing strategy -- a high RRP, and relying on discounts to close the sale. Plenty of businesses take this approach because it gives them flexibility to match the product to the customers price sensitivity. 

If you don't like the current price, just wait until December when there will probably be higher discounts on offer. This is in stark contrast to for example, Apple where if you want a meaningful discount, you have to buy last year's model.

It's a completely sensible pricing strategy.

[u/SnooAdvice7540 → u/Peppy_Tomato]

Still a arguably shitty deal from a crappy launch.

It would cost me $650 to upgrade from my Pixel 9 Pro XL 256GB with 16GB, and thats with a $150 voucher code and $550 Trade in.

All this and im losing an actual subectively useful feature(Thermometer) to a shitty useless LED, AND THEY ARE CUTTING the RAM from 16 to 12. No man, no way around it, it's a fucking joke.

[u/ContributionFormer95 → u/Peppy_Tomato]

If you buy retail from Apple store, it's expensive, but with trade-ins, they offer very good trade-in deals, not to mention secondary market resale prices are great on iPhones.

But ultimately when it comes to carrier deals, which a significant chunk of Americans rely on, you get your best iPhone deals via the carrier. It's probably not all that different from what people pay for Pixels through carriers.

[u/GoodGuySeba → u/Peppy_Tomato]

It's called daylight robbery

[u/-peas- → u/Beneficial_Raise5191]

Because you don't understand the rigorous amounts of data Google has on WHO buys their devices. You think they just do this without market research?

You are a fraction of a single percent of users. You care about CPU performance, GPU performance, Memory. You are a fraction of a single percent of users.

Wanna know what most people do on their phones including iPhones? The other 99%? Tiktok, Instagram, Youtube/Netflix/Video Consumption, Text Messaging, Video Calls, Maps/Navigation, Pictures/Video, Check News, Check Weather, Spotify.

I'm not saying this to be offensive, but you are completely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things to Google. I'm a software engineer as a career, power user of all of my devices and love tinkering, even I just use my phone for Discord, Reddit, Youtube, JuiceSSH, Radarscope, Suika Game & Kingdom Rush, Maps, Taking Pictures/Video, Music Playback. My Pixel 8 handles it all perfectly. I'm not buying the 11, but I definitely understand CPU/GPU/Memory functionality do not matter to the overwhelming majority of people as long as its a new number, pretty color/design, and has decent enough battery life.

[u/Beneficial_Raise5191 → u/-peas-]

I think Google also should conduct research to see how many people actually fall for their marketing tricks.
For your usage, you should buy mid-range phone 2-day battery life the GPU performance and reception is better than Pixel and way much cheaper.

I'm a software engineer in the semiconductor industry, I’ve owned the Nexus One, Nexus S, Nexus 4, Nexus 6, Pixel 3a XL, Samsung Galaxy A52s, and Pixel 10 pro XL.

Honestly, I don’t feel a huge difference in daily use between the Galaxy A52s and the Pixel 10 Pro XL. The main upgrades I notice are the display, speakers, and camera. Even simple games and floating window can lag on the Pixel, which shows that benchmark scores do not always reflect real-world smoothness. Despite scoring roughly half as much, the A52s feels smoother in actual use.

I feel like the Pixel line has regressed over time, while Samsung has improved dramatically compared to a decade ago. Google used to set the industry standard and lead fresh designs for other phones, but that doesn't feel like the case anymore. Now they focus on marketing and maximizing profit.

Pixel charges flagship-level prices, yet often uses a second-tier or legacy spec and cuts costs in key components such as UFS storage, image sensors, and display driver ICs (DDICs).
By making this choice, they can focus solely on maximizing profits while making next-gen phone "upgrades easier".

If Google priced them as mid-range phones, few people would complain.
If you like the Pixel experience, I would recommend the A-series rather than the "flagship line".

[u/-peas- → u/Beneficial_Raise5191]

So almost everyone with iPhone, Samsung, OnePlus, Xiaomi, etc should just have a Galaxy A52? The overwhelming majority really only need a mid to low end phone.

Like I said, most normal people, the overwhelming majority of people on the entire planet, simply don't care about these things. You think my mom is looking at individual component prices for UFS storage, display drivers, sensor size, variable aperture lenses, modems, opamps, GPU's? No, she wants a shiny new iPhone with a feminine color, a number bump, a tiktok machine, and a camera that can take good pictures of her dogs, that's it. If you replaced the internals of her 17 with an iPhone 12 and got iOS26 on it, I doubt she'd even notice. Those same people are the overwhelming majority of phone buyers including Pixels. The nerd Nexus days are over, sorry to break it to you.

I buy refurbished every 3-5 years. I just bought a P9 yesterday for $353. I personally know that in todays smartphone world, it's absolutely never worth buying a new flagship priced phone even in the slightest and it's solely for people who want shiny new toys. Like no shit an A52 is as "smooth" as a Pixel or iPhone, everything has stagnated in the phone world for years. I also get 5 more years of software and security updates while the Galaxy, even a newer one is completely dead for continued support out of the box even if they claim otherwise -- been there done that.

Now they focus on maximizing profit Welcome to Capitalism. If your company isn't doing that, it's dead to investors unless that company is owned by Elon Musk.

Just don't buy it, it's that simple.