Tag Archives: Pixel 7 Pro

The New ‘Pixel Fold’ Is Not For I — & It Is NOT Sour Grapes.

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by Anura Guruge
on May 12, 2023

Click to ENLARGE. From ‘Google Store‘.

No, it is NOT the price, though I will readily confess that $1,800 does give one pause. But, given the trade-in I would get for my ‘Pixel 7 Pro‘ I could get it for around $1,000 which is not that different to what the ‘Pixel 7 Pro’ cost when I bought it (though I also had a trade-in for that).

It has ALL to do with how I use MY phone.

As some of you know I MAINLY (like 97% of the time) use my phone to take photos. That is it. My phone, these days, is MY camera.

I am NOT big into phone calls or TXTs. So, I can go for days, maybe even weeks, without EVER having use my phone as a phone! That is I.

I also don’t do e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, banking, etc. on my phone. Do those on my BIG, dual-monitor desktop PC. I also happen to have THREE 10.2″ Android tablets.

So, the Pixel Fold is neither here nor there for I.

IF it was 6.7″ when folded (i.e., same size as my 7 Pro) I would consider it.

Plus, they are saying battery life will not be as good as on the 7 Pro. That is not good. With the 7 Pro I get a day’s worth even when I am using it, extensively, to take pictures. A shorter battery life will make life more difficult.

So, for NOW, I am taking a pass on the Pixel Fold.

Is ‘Google’ Expecting You To Have The $9/Month ‘Preferred Care’ To Take Care Of the ‘Pixel 7’ Camera Lens Shattering Problem?

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by Anura Guruge
on January 20, 2023

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Click to ENLARGE. From ‘Google News’.
Click to ENLARGE.
Click to ENLARGE. From ‘Google Store’.

As a ‘Pixel 7 Pro (512GB)‘ owner, as of last month, these widespread reports of the camera lens self-shattering worries me much — especially because many think it is related to using the phone in the COLD. Well, I have no choice. It is cold up here in the New Hampshire arctic circle.

That Google is refusing the fix the problem under warranty surprises me little. Over the last couple of years Google, inexplicably, has become customer-hostile. They used to be so good. Not anymore. Their ongoing trade-in scam is but a good example.

I wonder IF Google is expecting you to have ‘Preferred Care‘.

I am NOT 100% sure that ‘Preferred Care’ covers this, BUT I sure hope they do. It claims to cover accidental damage. So, IF it isn’t covered by warranty this should cover it — one hopes.

Well, for the first time, I got Preferred Care for this Pixel 7. $9/month. I am going to maintain coverage for 12 months. So, $108.

Last year I did drop my ‘Pixel 6 Pro’ & broke the screen. Getting it fixed was not cheap or straightforward. Hence this precaution.

‘Pixel 7 Pro’ Face Unlock Is Awesomely Good — What A Relief Because Fingerprint Sensor Is Still ‘Iffy’.

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by Anura Guruge
on January 5, 2023

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Click to ENLARGE.

Wow. I had a ‘Pixel 4’ & that had face unlock. But, it was not nearly as slick as what I am seeing with my new ‘Pixel 7 Pro (512GB)‘

Yes, I played around with it and did it THREE times before I was happy. To be fair, my first two attempts were NOT in good lighting. So made a point of doing the third attempt with adequate, natural light. That was the ticket.

It is fast. I am happy.

The fingerprint sensor is still far from good. Yes, I use a glass screen protector BUT I have the ‘protector’ setting on. Thanks to face unlock I don’t have to use fingerprint unlock that often. For that I am so thankful.

My ‘Pixel 7’ Trade-In Was Also ‘Lost’ In USPS, BUT I Got A Full $575 Credit From Google — After Much Prodding.

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by Anura Guruge
on January 4, 2023

Click to ENLARGE.
Click to ENLARGE.
Click to ENLARGE. From ‘Google News’.
Click to ENLARGE.

It took 26 days from the day I handed in my trade-in to USPS.

As you can see from the tracking (above) USPS ‘LOST’ it 6-days later.

I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT!

I think it is a SCAM with USPS in cahoots with Google. Tell the suckers, e.g., me, that it is ‘lost’ & buy time. Maybe they will forget.

Well, I wasn’t going to let them get away with it.

I contacted the ‘Google Store’ on Dec. 23, 2022. I was told that I had to wait one additional day, i.e., 2 weeks + 1, before they could escalate it.

I waited till after Christmas. Called them again on Dec. 26, 2022. In the end I called them in total about 6 times, contacted them via CHAT & also sent e-mails! My perseverance paid off!

So, I suggest that IF you are also waiting for your trade-in credit, CALL THEM. Call them again, & again until they finally relent.

‘Google’, With Cahoots With ‘USPS’, Is Playing Silly Buggers With My ‘Pixel 7’ Trade-In.

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by Anura Guruge
on December 21, 2022

Click to ENLARGE. My USPS tracking.
Click to ENLARGE. From ‘Google News’.

Amazing — but despicable — the lengths that Google is going to avoid having to honor ‘Pixel 7‘ trade-ins. Wow.

In my case I am trading in a ‘Pixel 6 Pro‘ with 256GB of memory. Google said I would get in excess of $540.

Now it is LOST.

12-days with USPS & not delivered. This is crazy. This is unacceptable.

Bloody Google. I don’t know why I bother. This might be the last straw.

I Am Fairly Certain That The December 2022 ‘Google Pixel’ Update For The ‘Pixel 6’ Again Messed Up The Fingerprint Sensor.

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by Anura Guruge
on December 17, 2022

Click for the original post.

The fingerprint sensor on my LATEST Google ‘Pixel 6 Pro‘ (that I got in June 2022) was working GREAT until I got the December 2022 update for the phone a few days ago.

The fingerprint sensor has now basically stopped working!

OK, I am not as aggravated as I should be BECAUSE I already have a new Google ‘Pixel 7 Pro!’ The last few years I have been treating MYSELF to the latest Pixel phone at Christmas. Since it is my Christmas present I haven’t unboxed it yet. I like to start using the new phone on January 1 of each year. So, I was waiting. When fingerprint doesn’t work I keep on telling myself that this is but for another couple of weeks!

But, this is NOT funny. I feel bad for those who can’t upgrade or get another phone. Come on Google. This is NOT cricket.

I Had Waited, Patiently, For Years For A ‘Pixel Watch’ — But Now The Newly Released Watch Leaves Me COLD!

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by Anura Guruge
on October 13, 2022

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Click to ENLARGE. From ‘Google’.

Yes, indubitably, IF I had not ‘recently’ (like 2-months ago) upgraded to a ‘Garmin’ ‘Epix Gen 2‘ watch, & was still wearing my ‘old’ Garmin ‘Venu 2‘, I might have felt more compelled to try out the Pixel watch. But, I retired the Venu 2 because I really needed more navigational tools on my wrist given my incessant ambling in the wilds of the ‘Bold Coast‘. And that is where the Pixel 2 falls short of my expectations.

Yes, with the Pixel I will have Google Maps on my wrist. That would be neat. But, what about all the other navigational widgets & APPs I have on the Garmin?

Plus, the Pixel does NOT have Multi Band Dual Frequency GPS for better-than-average GPS accuracy. Plus I have already read some reviews that CLAIM that GPS on the Pixel watch is below par on accuracy! Yikes. But, this needs confirmation.

Yes, it is TRUE that the Titanium, Sapphire Expix 2 I have costs 2.8 times that of the Pixel. So, it is not really fair to compare the two. It is not even an apples to oranges comparison; more like apples to pineapples.

As I said at the start, IF I was still wearing a Venu 2 I would have been more receptive to the Pixel. But, that is NOT the case. I can’t go backwards. Yes, I did go from an Garmin Fenix 6 to the Venu BUT that was because I am a sucker for AMOLED displays. The Epix 2 does have a lovely AMOLED. That was THE deciding factor.

So, that is where I am. I would have liked to have got a Pixel watch. I am a BIG Google fan — &, moreover, a Google shareholder. I will get a ‘Pixel 7 Pro’ for Christmas though my latest Pixel 6 Pro would only be 6 months old at that point. But, over the last few years treating myself to a new Pixel phone every Christmas has become a tradition. It would have been neat to have the matching watch. Well, that is unlikely to happen.

But, I will keep you posted on what I find about the Pixel watch as it gets more widely used.

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