ranman2017

About

Banned
Username
ranman2017
Joined
Visits
5
Last Active
Roles
member
Points
29
Badges
0
Posts
9

Reactions

19Like0Dislike2Informative

  • Google's Pixel 2 XL priced higher than Apple's iPhone 8 Plus but is half as fast, lacks ma...

    ranman2017ranman2017
    I have been waiting for this piece to be written.  It follows the same pattern as previous AI posts.  Basically a VERY long screed made up of 
    1.  Some facts that are objectively true
    2.  Some facts that are objectively false
    3.  Some things which  are opinion  presented as fact.
    4.  Some things which cannot be proven presented  as fact
    5. A heavy dose of hypocrisy
    6. All of the above presented with a level of abject hatred towards all things Google.

    I could go through and write a piece refuting this, but honestly it's not worth my time.  So setting aside the fact that I think the author literally wakes up hating Google and dreaming of all the nasty things he can say about their products, he misses the point entirely.  MacWorld didn't, however:

    https://www.macworld.com/article/3230303/internet-of-things/hey-siri-google-assistant-is-winning-the-ai-game-and-its-not-even-close.html

    The long and short is that sure, just looking at the hardware, Apple makes faster, snazzier hardware.  However, when you buy a phone these days you're buying hardware AND software.  Google has basically decided that it wanted to make hardware that was good enough to not hold back its software.  And it's done so.  If you actually WATCH The keynote, it's all about AI and Machine Learning. The devices are there to provide a portal into that.   We can benchmark and we can spec ourselves to death, but at the end of the day it's whether your phone does what you want it do quickly and efficiently.  Sometimes on device (The "Always Listening" music ID works in airplane mode because it doesn't send stuff to google...it's ON DEVICE -- something the author apparently (deliberately?) missed).  And sometimes in the cloud.  If having the absolute fastest piece of hardware with the most expensive components is what you're about, buy an iPhone.  If you want the best AI and integrated ML services, then you're probably gonna buy a Pixel.  It's honestly that simple. Just because Google is doing better in AI and ML than Apple, doesn't mean Apple sucks at it.  And just because Apple excels at making the sportscar of phones doesn't mean Google sucks at it.  They are just focused on different things.  In the end, if your phone is fast and smooth and you aren't waiting around on it, and it does cool stuff....you'll love your phone no matter what the spec sheet says.  I realize the author cannot wrap his brain around this because it's nothing bug a fog of hate.  

    I would also be remiss in not calling out the hypocrisy of the  author slamming Google over the headphone jack.  First of all, as an aside, I'm in the camp that says BOTH  companies were wrong to yank it.  Lots of ink has been spilled on this so I'm not going into it.  Didn't like it when Apple did it.  Don't like it that Google did it.  But to mock Google for making hay about it last year in their ads?  Does anyone remember the Apple "thumb" ad arguing that the old small iPhones were the only suitable size for a phone because of the size of your hand/thumb?  A year later out comes the giant plus size iPhone.  Were you mocking then?  Yeah didn't think so.  EVERY company bashes what they don't got...until they add it.  

    And yeah, mock the camera if you want to, I've seen the shots, and in MOST cases, it is head and shoulders better than the iPhone camera.  There are still issues with Google's bokeh, but since it's all done in software with machine learning, I won't have to wait a year for a new physical camera to see that improve.  I expect as more and more machine learning happens, the camera software will get smarter about its depth mapping and subsequent processing.  

    Anyway, none of this is Apple bashing.  The Apple phones are spectacular design accomplishments and speed demons...but the AI/Assistant features which are central to Google's phone are just way ahead of Siri on my iOS devices.  If you don't care about this, enjoy your iPhone.
    gatorguyavon b7EngDevPIXELFANsingularity

  • Google's Pixel 2 XL priced higher than Apple's iPhone 8 Plus but is half as fast, lacks ma...

    ranman2017ranman2017
    tallest skil said:
    Google has basically decided that it wanted to make hardware that was good enough to not hold back its software.  And it's done so.
    You were just shown the opposite.

    No, actually I wasn't.  The hardware is plenty fast and smooth.  Is it as fast  at a benchmark as an iPhone?  No.  Does the user experience suffer?  No. Because the actual user experiences are smooth and fast in both cases. 

    If you actually WATCH The keynote, it's all about AI and Machine Learning.
    Huh, who said that a while back, I wonder? Oh, right; Steve Jobs at D… 7, I think it was. Talking about buying the thing that would become Siri.

    Yeah, and Siri is consistently losing to Google assistant, and even MacWorld admits it (as do most people who own devices by both companies.  Even Daring Fireball's John Gruber linked to how bad Siri was vs. Google in Android Auto and suggested that the Apple team be FORCED to watch the YouTube video he linked.  You're denying crap that even huge apple fans don't.

    If having the absolute fastest piece of hardware with the most expensive components is what you're about, buy an iPhone.
    Okay, thanks for admitting that Android is held back by its hardware (and coding).

    I never said that it is "held back".  So don't put words in my mouth.  I said the iPhone is faster.  That's all.  No one is being held back.  That's fanboi-ism at its worst.  Good lord, this is like arguing with a child.  The only people that care about the differences in the benchmarks at this point are people like you.  The average person uses the phone.  If it feels fast and smooth, that's not being held back.  I have yet to meet a Pixel user complain that their phone is slow, laggy or that they are being 'held back' and that's the CURRENT generation of hardware.  And you know what, I own an iPad and I can tell you that it DOES go non-responsive to touches.  It DOES lag.  It does freeze up.  It does have crashing apps.  It has all the things I was always told that Apple products don't suffer from, but between picking up my iPad , my Pixel C tablet or my phone, I usually go to my Pixel C because the thing just zips through things faster and with less stuttering than the iPad I have. 

    If you want the best AI and integrated ML services, then you're probably gonna buy a Pixel.
    Google's all about the integration. Can't have their products doing things without their knowledge, now can they?

    What  ARE you talking about?  Oh yeah, tinfoil hat stuff.
    BOTH companies were wrong to yank it.
    Both Apple and Dell were "wrong" to yank ADB and PS/2 ports, too. In two more years no one will cry over 3.5 mm

    Maybe some day.  Look, if the companies had just added a second port so you didn't need a freakin' dongle, I wouldn't really care that much whether it was 3.5mm or a second USB-C or lightning connector.  I *hate* having to buy a SPLITTER To charge my phone while using headphones.  And with Bluetooth, it's still difficult.   Let's  see, do I want APTX, APTX-HD, LDAC , SBC?  Do I want Bluetooth 4.1, 4.2 or 5.0?  And What can I get that's compatible with everything  and won't cost an arm and a leg?  No, Bluetooth is still finding it's way and that just makes it a pain in the ass for everyone.  But yeah in a couple of years, we probably won't care.  How does that help us NOW?
    Were you mocking then?  Yeah didn't think so.
    Yes. Because hands DON'T go that big.  :p

    So you DID mock Apple for making a big phone?  
    since it's all done in software
    Ah yes, software camera features–a photographer's dream

    Hate to break it to you but even DSLR's have SOFTWARE in them.  The high end photographers will photograph RAW and go to lightroom, but for every one of them, there's a ton more who are taking pictures that write JPG's.  And what's writing those JPG's?  What's deciding how to balance the picture, set sharpness, saturation, etc?  SOFTWARE!!!  If you think it goes straight from the lens to a JPG with no software help...I can't help you.  And you know what?  APPLE frickin' uses software for their camera too.  Their software is  just skewing towards relying more heavily on the hardware with a fixed set of rules for processing the camera.  Now, they can update this software to fix issues and try to help things out, but these things are part of the OS updates, not  so much independent updates like Google will do with its camera.  So yeah, you mock software camera feautres, but your iPhone uses them too.  It's not whether they use software, it's WHAT software do they use.  Google uses computational photography and it is getting  great results, plus it's using ML to get better and smarter all the time.  Apple, as far as anyone knows, isn't doing that as much as just manually tuning things.  The proof is in the results.    I got into it last year with a hardcore professional photographer and iPhone user.  Took her several months, but she ultimately concede the Pixel was taking better shots.  Not that I expect anyone at Apple Insider to concede even this point.  Because what I've seen here with the author and commenters is that Apple MUST BE BETTER AT EVERYTHING.  Can't concede anyone did any ONE thing better.  That is the mark of true blindness.  
    PIXELFANtechrules

  • Google's Pixel 2 XL priced higher than Apple's iPhone 8 Plus but is half as fast, lacks ma...

    ranman2017ranman2017
    tallest skil said:
    ranman2017 said:
    Does the user experience suffer? No.
    Glad to see you're not just a one-off account. I know multi quoting is a pain here, too. Also, ehh… 
    You're denying crap that even huge apple fans don't.
    I doubt that, just as I doubt Siri's 'inadequacies'.
    No one is being held back.
    Being, no. It's just something about a lack of care and consideration put into the software. "It's good enough;" that's all that matters, particularly when the phone isn't the product.
    What ARE you talking about?  Oh yeah, tinfoil hat stuff.
    Aww, cute. He thinks "conspiracy theory" is a bad word. They've admitted to it themselves.
    Look, if the companies had just added a second port
    So… NOT done the one thing they explicitly needed to do. Do you understand how irrelevant that statement is? The port's gone. Forever.
    I *hate* having to buy a SPLITTER To charge my phone while using headphones.
    Hence the push toward wireless charging.
    No, Bluetooth is still finding it's way and that just makes it a pain in the ass for everyone.
    Boy, I hear that. AirPlay's a much smoother experience (though won't be on headphones anytime soon).
      But yeah in a couple of years, we probably won't care.  How does that help us NOW?
    "These olive trees won't bear fruit until I'm 80; how does that help me NOW?" The sickness of instant gratification is why society is in its current mess. Maybe learn from that?
    So you DID mock Apple for making a big phone?
    Oh yeah.  :D I still don't like the 5.5. Heck, I don't like the iPad mini. Que sera sera.
    Hate to break it to you but even DSLR's have SOFTWARE in them.
    Yes; you know what I'm saying here. The old "we'll fix it in software" argument as an excuse for lesser hardware.
    Can't concede anyone did any ONE thing better.

    I like the… uh… shit, what do I like… Honestly, I have WAY more complaints about what Apple does than I do good things to say about any of their competitors in any field. I guess I like this mouse. It's as simple as you can get–five bucks–but it's one of the best mice I've ever used. Granted, I only use it in Windows–I use the Magic Trackpad in OS X…


    Wow, I'm sitting here reading someone pretending like no one on the Apple side would agree that Google Assistant is out ahead of Siri.  I'm trying to digest that. I posted a MacWorld article link earlier that says exactly that.  It's been backed up by LOTS Of comparisons and tests online.  And yes you can actually find the DF post by Gruber so pissed off about Siri's complete fail against Android Auto voice control he said that the Apple team should be forced to watch the YouTube clip between an Android and Apple fan where they tried to do the same commands/queries and Apple fell on its face.  But if you live in a bubble, maybe you don't see it.
    techrules