Past the Alphabet
Past the Alphabet is a weekly column that focuses on the tech world each in and out of the confines of Mountain View.
Trying previous the ever-growing listing of initiatives, merchandise, and companies being added to the Google Graveyard, it appears as if Google has lastly hit its stride. A minimum of in relation to the smartphone, the Pixel 8 and eight Professional virtually really feel as if they’re utterly completely different in comparison with their predecessors.
For years, we have seen, skilled, and heard the entire varied issues which have plagued completely different Pixel gadgets. Making issues worse, the problems that some individuals had are wildly completely different than others, regardless of everybody utilizing the identical cellphone. Arguably the largest instance of this, or at the very least the one which induced essentially the most headlines, was the Pixel 6 and 6 Professional.
There wasn’t something essentially mistaken with the design, because it ushered in a brand new technology of Pixel telephones. As a substitute, the entire issues had been discovered with the “meat” of the Pixel’s glass and aluminum chassis. As my colleague Namerah factors out in a latest Pixel 6 retrospective, of kinds, you may nonetheless discover points with the fingerprint sensor, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and a lot extra.
The Pixel 7 solved a few of these issues however arrived with a number of extra of its personal, and it is frankly too quickly to inform with the Pixel 8 collection. There’s one widespread dominator, and that is the Google Tensor chip. Even nonetheless, one thing hasn’t precisely felt proper contemplating what number of issues proceed to plague house owners of a tool that is not even three years previous.
So when Google got here out and promised seven years of software program help for the Pixel 8, I had blended feelings. On one hand, that is one thing that Google ought to have achieved from the start, as an alternative of letting Samsung steer the ship for years. And, I could not be happier to see Google make this type of dedication, even when that signifies that the $1,800 Pixel Fold will not be formally supported for so long as the $699 Pixel 8.
On the opposite, Namerah’s latest piece concerning the Pixel 6 serves as an infinite warning signal of what might come. Whereas there have not been fairly as many stories surrounding points with the Pixel 8, that does not imply they don’t seem to be simply mendacity in wait. The Tensor G3 is manufactured on a more moderen 4nm course of in comparison with the earlier two iterations. This guarantees higher efficiency, together with improved effectivity, however remains to be basically a customized model of a Samsung Exynos chip.
All the issues suffered by the Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 had been additionally the identical points discovered when a few of the greatest Samsung telephones had been powered by Exynos chips. Often, these issues “solely” appeared in several areas of the globe, as Samsung would depend on Qualcomm chips for North American fashions. However, understanding a little bit of the background would possibly offer you a greater concept of the place to level the blame.
I am not right here to say that the Pixel 8 and eight Professional will endure the identical destiny. Nor am I saying that you need to simply snicker and roll your eyes when Google says it would help its newest telephones for seven years. What I am saying is that you need to mood your expectations, and possibly give you a backup plan if one thing does occur with the newest crop of Pixel telephones.
I am nonetheless hoping that Google can, someday, tackle the newest Snapdragon chips, and extra importantly, tackle the iPhone. With out compromise. We’re in all probability nonetheless at the very least one other yr away from that taking place, as Google is rumored to be making the transfer to TSMC with the Pixel 10. That call would possibly find yourself opening a very separate can of worms, however I am not going to place the cart earlier than the horse.
The query we’ve got to ask ourselves is whether or not we will truly belief Google to make good on its promise. You may already purchase genuine substitute components from iFixit, for those who’re feeling daring sufficient to restore your cellphone. However, that will not enable you if the internals of the cellphone cannot even final two or three years, not to mention seven.
