R.I.P Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL

[zeusthemoose]

Summary

 After only 9-10 months after its release, the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL smart phones have been discontinued. They are out of stock on Google's US store (but the Pixel 4 is still available on their fi network) and slowly running out of stock in international markets. The phones were considered huge flops so it is not surprising they were pulled with the release of the new phones. What is surprising though is Google did not wait for the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G to be available (rumored for October 8th). However, the recently launched Pixel 4a which costs only $350 ($450 less than the Pixel 4 did) has basically the same specs, so not many Pixel 4s would have been sold anyways. 

 This is the shortest amount of time that Google has kept a phone on the market at almost half of all the other Pixel phones.

 

Quotes

Quote

Google has discontinued the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL, its flagship phones that were released in October of last year. Both devices are out of stock in Google’s store in the US, though some variants are still available in other regions for the time being.

“Google Store has sold through its inventory and completed sales of Pixel 4 [and] 4 XL,” a Google spokesperson confirms to The Verge. “For people who are still interested in buying Pixel 4 [and] 4 XL, the product is available from some partners while supplies last. Just like all Pixel devices, Pixel 4 will continue to get software and security updates for at least three years from when the device first became available on the Google Store in the US.”

It’s unusual for Google to discontinue a Pixel phone so quickly. The Pixels 2 and 3 were on sale for around 18 months each, with Google stopping sales roughly six months after the introduction of their successors. The move means Google technically no longer has a flagship phone for sale.

That is a technicality, though — Google introduced the new Pixel 4A earlier this week for an August 20th release, and also confirmed that the Pixel 5 and a 5G-equipped 4A would be coming later this fall. And while the 4A is a budget device, between its better battery life, less bezel-y design, and equally good main camera you might actually prefer it to the regular Pixel 4. That’s the conclusion Dieter came to in our review, saying “the Pixel 4A makes a much stronger case for itself than other Pixel phones.”

(The Verge)

 

My thoughts

 I honestly think this was a smart move from Google. With the tiny number of sales of the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL that would happen in the few months, it is probably more cost efficient for them to just discontinue the phones. I hope this means that the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G will be released soon than previously expected. Also, I am very done typing the word Pixel.

 

Sources

 The Verge

 Engadget

 arstechnica

 notebookcheck

[GDRRiley]

pixel 4a looks like a good phone. I just wish the plus model still was a thing. the 3axl is great for people who need big screens

[dizmo]

They can be buried out in the back 40, where they belong.

The Pixel 4 was not a good device. I really hope they do better with the 5th generation.

[Samfisher]

Meh, Pixels are sold in such limited markets that they basically don't exist outside of the US and UK.

[Blademaster91]

Kind of weird since the Pixel 4a just got released. I think the 4a is more exciting than a lot of new phones that keep getting more expensive yet cut away features.

[The Sloth]

1 hour ago, dizmo said:

The Pixel 4 was not a good device.

XL was excellent and SOLI  in theory was really technically advance, a fracking radar in a phone that consumes almost no power. I was following the development, it went from a desktop size computer to a tiny chip. Even Face ID was faster due to SOLI, it detected the person using radar( sounds badass). 

 

https://atap.google.com/soli/

 

 

Hope they still work on it 

 

 

 

Look how far they have come

 

Google blog 

 

https://ai.googleblog.com/2020/03/soli-radar-based-perception-and.html

 

 

Papers if your curious 

 

http://www.ivanpoupyrev.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/siggraph_final.pdf

 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320371177_Soli_Mio_Exploring_Millimeter_Wave_Radar_for_Musical_Interaction

Quote

Google’s Project Soli radar is sensitive enough to count sheets of paper and read Lego bricks

https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/4/18168083/google-project-soli-radar-hardware-applications-radarcat-solinteraction-university-of-st-andrews

 

https://ai.googleblog.com/2020/03/soli-radar-based-perception-and.html

 

 

I know the normal pixel 4 sucked but i wanted it to be successful due to radar. 

[dizmo]

4 minutes ago, The Sloth said:

XL was excellent and SOLI  in theory was really technically advance, a fracking radar in a phone that consumes almost no power. I was following the development, it went from a desktop size computer to a tiny chip. Even Face ID was faster due to SOLI, it detected the person using radar( sounds badass). 

-snip-

I don't say it often, but the radar on the phone was more of a gimmick than anything. It was unreliable, and straight up not allowed in some countries. A lot of reviewers had huge problems with it. Even MKBHD tried it for a while, and said it simply wasn't useful. Battery life was abysmal. If you use the 90hz screen the way it should be, it absolutely destroys the battery. Thus making that feature pointless. It was also a fairly dim display, meaning that you're at a higher brightness more of the time, further reducing the battery life. They chose to go with a 2x telephoto instead of an ultrawide camera for the second option. Pixel 3 had handily the best camera, however with the 4 the iPhone 11 is considered to have surpassed it overall. It also launched with 64GB of storage and a frankly overpriced price tag.

 

Overall, it's simply not a good device. In fact, it was so bad, the head of Google's camera team left over it.

I have high hopes they've learned their lessons from that, and the Pixel 5 is better.

 

[dizmo]

47 minutes ago, Blademaster91 said:

Kind of weird since the Pixel 4a just got released. I think the 4a is more exciting than a lot of new phones that keep getting more expensive yet cut away features.

I wish they'd released an XL version along side it, with a high refresh rate screen. Maybe the 5G will bring some more features with it's higher price tag.

[Bananasplit_00]

3 hours ago, zeusthemoose said:

4a which costs only $350 ($450 less than the Pixel 4 did) 

Wait what did the pixel 4 cost $800? Lmao

[captain_to_fire]

I kinda wish Google would push their Pixel phones outside of the US

[Blademaster91]

3 hours ago, dizmo said:

I wish they'd released an XL version along side it, with a high refresh rate screen. Maybe the 5G will bring some more features with it's higher price tag.

The 4a battery is decent but a 4a XL with a larger battery and dual cameras would be nice, but I don't see the point in high refresh rate screens, never tried one but it really hurts the screen on time in phones that have the feature.

 

[zeusthemoose]

2 hours ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

Wait what did the pixel 4 cost $800? Lmao

Yep, and the xl cost $900

[Agatong]

6 hours ago, Samfisher said:

Meh, Pixels are sold in such limited markets that they basically don't exist outside of the US and UK.

I would say before the 4 they were limited but the 4 and 4a being released on pretty much all networks I am sure they have expanded and not so much limited anymore.

 

With the 4a just being released and the Pixel 5 right around the corner this does not shock me at all, I still have the 2 xl hopefully the 5 xl will be my next upgrade.

[zeusthemoose]

4 minutes ago, Agatong said:

hopefully the 5 xl will be my next upgrade.

Do you know if there will be a 5 xl? It’s not listed on their site with the 5 and I haven’t seen anything about it but I would expect them to keep the xl, right?

[Agatong]

1 hour ago, zeusthemoose said:

Do you know if there will be a 5 xl? It’s not listed on their site with the 5 and I haven’t seen anything about it but I would expect them to keep the xl, right?

Google has not said anything, I am just going off what renders of the phone and phones cases that supposedly have been leaked.

 

https://pigtoucoques.fr/blogs/tech/google-pixel-5-xl

https://pigtou.com/blogs/android/google-pixel-5

[dizmo]

4 hours ago, Blademaster91 said:

The 4a battery is decent but a 4a XL with a larger battery and dual cameras would be nice, but I don't see the point in high refresh rate screens, never tried one but it really hurts the screen on time in phones that have the feature.

Yeah, they're supposed to be coming out with a 6.7" phone, which would be nice depending on how they design it.

High refresh doesn't have to hurt battery life. Look at OnePlus. There's very little drop in battery between 60hz and 90hz. Just needs the effort put into the software.

[Gohardgrandpa]

Google can kick rocks. Soon as they switched from the nexus line to the pixel the price went up drastically and that’s when I gave up on android. 
 

Id love to go back to it but they need to drop pricing for me to consider it after all these years. 

[Senzelian]

On 8/7/2020 at 12:14 PM, Bananasplit_00 said:

Wait what did the pixel 4 cost $800? Lmao

 

On 8/7/2020 at 2:48 PM, zeusthemoose said:

Yep, and the xl cost $900

Currently available for less than 500€ in Germany.

At one weekend it was on sale for less than a OnePlus Nord. MSRP = meaningless.

[D13H4RD]

The Pixel 4 lineup was just a bunch of questionable decisions rolled up in a device whose price tag was questionable for what it offered. 

 

We already knew about Soli, whose implementation reeked of Samsung's Galaxy S4 from 2013, but the biggest was just the awfully mediocre battery life. In a time where its competitors have managed to get good to outstanding battery life, the Pixel just stuck out as extremely mediocre by comparison. 

 

When even Rick Osterloh questions why the Pixel 4 shipped out with such a small battery relative to the competition, that's a problem right there. Not to mention that Apple really kicked its computational camera game into high-gear with the iPhone 11 line.