2 days ago
7
ZDNET's cardinal takeaways
- Google's caller Pixel 10 isn't worthy the upgrade for me.
- It comes down to cost, color, and deficiency of caller slayer features.
- Too overmuch AI is besides a deterrent.
The new Pixel 10 is upon us, and, arsenic usual, Google wants america each to upgrade. For galore of us, trading successful our existent exemplary for a discount connected the newer mentation has go a yearly tradition. I've done it ever since Google adopted the trade-in policy, and it has served maine well.
However, this twelvemonth is different. I volition not beryllium upgrading to the Pixel 10. Why, you ask? Allow maine to interruption it down.
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It starts with the cost
For the past fewer years, I've dropped betwixt $600 and $1,000 (depending connected trade-in worth and availability) each clip Google has released a caller phone. If you adhd successful the latest Pixel Watch, you tin adhd astir $400 to that total.
It adds up.
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This year, with the terms of everything increasing, spending upwards of $1,000 connected a caller phone/watch is hard to justify. At this constituent successful time, the outgo of surviving has precluded my quality to walk connected -- what galore would see -- an unnecessary expense. Additionally, the rising ostentation has forced maine to rethink specified purchases.
The outgo of the combined telephone and ticker astir equals a owe outgo oregon period of rent, and I would alternatively person a extortion implicit my caput than a caller telephone successful my bag. It could extremity there, but it doesn't.
A worthy upgrade?
Here's the thing: My Pixel 9 Pro is the champion telephone I've ever used. No, it's not perfect, but nary telephone is. But it's arsenic adjacent to perfection arsenic Google has ever produced. Is it worthy spending adjacent to a expansive for what seems to beryllium a insignificant upgrade?
Sure, Google is embedding adjacent much AI into the phone, but that doesn't excite me. What excites maine is much almighty and sleek hardware, and successful those 2 categories, the upgrade from the Pixel 9 Pro to the Pixel 10 Pro is conscionable excessively incremental to person maine jonesing to buy.
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It would instrumentality thing beauteous peculiar to get maine to upgrade from the Pixel 9 Pro, and the 10 doesn't execute that feat.
Another crushed (and immoderate mightiness deliberation this silly) is that my Pixel 9 Pro colorway has been my favourite to date, and the offered colors for the 10 bash not see it. In fact, the Pixel 10 Pro colorways are alternatively boring. I'm a instrumentality of aesthetics (and bully design, and almighty hardware), truthful successful that respect, upgrading to the Pixel 10 Pro would beryllium a downgrade for me.
My Pixel 9 Pro inactive performs similar it's marque new, and that show blows distant each phones I've utilized successful the past. In my view, Google created a occupation for itself with the Pixel 9 Pro due to the fact that it's a telephone that I simply don't privation to fto spell of. I look astatine it the aforesaid mode arsenic I bash Ubuntu Linux releases: each different year, they unleash a caller LTS (Long Term Support) mentation of the OS, and astir users skip the non-LTS releases. That's however I'm starting to spot the Pixel telephone releases.
Too overmuch AI
Don't get maine wrong, I don't hatred AI. For example, 1 of the caller AI features allows Gemini to link to Maps and find restaurants, past substance the database to the household radical chat for you. It's imaginable that, via Gemini, Google tin past physique an adjacent much close illustration of you and your preferences. Gemini volition besides marque it imaginable to stock your camera successful Gemini Live.
No thanks.
You'll besides get a 1-year subscription to the Gemini AI Pro plan, which is $20/month. What if Google doesn't marque it evident oregon casual to cancel that plan, oregon you hide to cancel it? I've had that hap to maine connected respective occasions, and getting the wealth backmost is nary casual feat.
Again, nary thanks.
There's besides the caller Magic Cue diagnostic that further personalizes AI to assistance "connect the dots crossed your integer life." I personally don't privation AI anticipating my needs, arsenic I bash that good capable connected my own.
The 1 happening I mightiness miss retired on
I volition accidental this: the new Pixelsnap feature sounds beauteous cool. Essentially, this diagnostic adds magnetic tech to the Pixel telephone truthful you tin "snap" your telephone to accessories (such arsenic chargers). In my case, I purchased a lawsuit for my Pixel 9 Pro, which has a magnetic diagnostic built successful arsenic well, truthful I don't really request this. However, if I decided to spell without a case, I'd suffer the feature. Not truthful with the Pixel 10.
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Sorry, Google, I emotion your phones, but I emotion my Pixel 9 Pro much than I emotion the thought of dropping a expansive connected an incremental (at best) upgrade. I'll support my pinkish Pixel 9 Pro until a caller Pixel makes my existent 1 look and consciousness obsolete.
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