Is the Pixel 6 really better than the Nothing (1) ?

[PDifolco]

I was  shopping for a new phone by Black Friday to replace my old OnePlus5, singled out the Pixel 6 and Nothing (1) as better phones in my budget range (500ish EUR)

Then there was an Amazon discount on the Nothing, got it for 400EUR, bought it, and quite happy with it

The Pixel 6 was a tad above 500, so a worst deal, but since today it's 430EUR, and I'm still in my Amazon Prime return window, which will allow me to swap them for 30EUR

 

The Pixel6 seems overall better, but I quite like the originalness of the Nothing, and can live with a slightly worse chip and camera ..

So I'm pretty undecided, can some kind souls here share advices   ?

 

 

 

[jaslion]

Honestly pixel 6 all the way. Guaranteed support and noticeably better hardware over a fancy led backing.

[Shimejii]

Pixel 6 had a TON of issues. Its one of the few phones that MKBHD said to avoid, and he loves pixels. He had so many problems as well as a lot of people

[PDifolco]

11 minutes ago, Shimejii said:

Pixel 6 had a TON of issues. Its one of the few phones that MKBHD said to avoid, and he loves pixels. He had so many problems as well as a lot of people

Mmm, interesting, care to share links to listed problems ?

[Shimejii]

3 minutes ago, PDifolco said:

Mmm, interesting, care to share links to listed problems ?

https://www.techradar.com/news/google-pixel-6-problems

 

https://www.androidauthority.com/google-pixel-6-pro-problems-fixes-3097490/

 

or watch some of MBKHDs video on it, he also talked about it on his podcast about why he tried it and stopped

[PDifolco]

1 hour ago, Shimejii said:

https://www.techradar.com/news/google-pixel-6-problems

 

https://www.androidauthority.com/google-pixel-6-pro-problems-fixes-3097490/

 

or watch some of MBKHDs video on it, he also talked about it on his podcast about why he tried it and stopped

Uhhh that's a lot of issues indeed, scary !

Well think I'm keeping the Nothing then, I've had nothing as issue with it

 

[Lurking]

I love the "some users have reported". No s$$t, that applies to all phones. Any phone had some % people reporting problems. And the "charge rate drops when battery fills up" applies to all batteries. Looks like everybody is a tech "journalist" now.

 

Sure the P6 had issues, but they all are managed now. Even fingerprint sensor works perfectly since Android 13. And that was the only real downside of that phone. I got my P6pro in April. So after most issues were resolved. It is the best and most stable phone I ever had after 4 Samsung flagship phones. I took a leap of faith, and glad I did. Oh, and no more spam calls. The spam feature is a real killer app no one else has. I used to get 2 spam calls a day. Now maybe one a month. To me, that is reason alone to get a Pixel. 

 

8 months ago one legitimately should have considered software issues. Now it is extremely mature. 

 

But really, at this time try to get a Pixel 7 for maybe $100 more. Obviously YOU have to decide what is worth what. But a phone with 5 years of legitimate updates is worth more than one with 2 years. 

 

 

 

[Commodus]

The Pixel 6 is considerably better than it was on launch; the fingerprint reader is still a bit fussy for me, but it's otherwise nice. And yes, Google's software update policy will be better.

 

With that said, I'd still be tempted to keep the Nothing Phone 1 simply because it's such a rare beast — a well-designed mid-range phone that can get people talking. Phones these days tend to be relatively drab, so just having an art piece like that could be worth owning for a few years. In the same way that it's a relief to have a vehicle that isn't just a generic grey SUV.

[Lurking]

2 hours ago, Commodus said:

The Pixel 6 is considerably better than it was on launch; the fingerprint reader is still a bit fussy for me, but it's otherwise nice. And yes, Google's software update policy will be better.

 

With that said, I'd still be tempted to keep the Nothing Phone 1 simply because it's such a rare beast — a well-designed mid-range phone that can get people talking. Phones these days tend to be relatively drab, so just having an art piece like that could be worth owning for a few years. In the same way that it's a relief to have a vehicle that isn't just a generic grey SUV.

If the looks of the phone matter, you basically commit to not using a case. With today's fragile and slippery phones, this is a sure way to need a new phone in short time. Obviously if looks matter that much, this is a question only OP can answer. 

 

My P6Pro in a case looks exactly like my old S9+ looked like, or how my wife's S22Ultra looks like (except some minor size difference). 

 

One more thing on updates, if that matters, the Pixel is much faster to be updated than other Android phones. And you can get rid of carrier apps. 

[Commodus]

8 minutes ago, Lurking said:

If the looks of the phone matter, you basically commit to not using a case. With today's fragile and slippery phones, this is a sure way to need a new phone in short time. Obviously if looks matter that much, this is a question only OP can answer. 

 

My P6Pro in a case looks exactly like my old S9+ looked like, or how my wife's S22Ultra looks like (except some minor size difference). 

 

One more thing on updates, if that matters, the Pixel is much faster to be updated than other Android phones. And you can get rid of carrier apps. 

You can use a clear case with the Nothing phone, but I'll agree that you can't just slap any old shell on it.

 

I don't know if we've established Nothing's Android update policy yet. There's currently a closed beta for Android 13, but this is also the company's very first major OS update. It won't necessarily take that long for subsequent releases. Don't get me wrong, Google is still miles faster; it's just a question of whether or not you're willing to wait a few months.

[Lurking]

34 minutes ago, Commodus said:

You can use a clear case with the Nothing phone, but I'll agree that you can't just slap any old shell on it.

 

I don't know if we've established Nothing's Android update policy yet. There's currently a closed beta for Android 13, but this is also the company's very first major OS update. It won't necessarily take that long for subsequent releases. Don't get me wrong, Google is still miles faster; it's just a question of whether or not you're willing to wait a few months.

Google tells me the Nothing has 4 years of security patches (not sure about actual software updates) and patches are every 2 months. Note that the timeline starts when a phone is released, not when you buy it. That is also why I would say get the Pixel 7 vs. the 6 since you gain one year of updates. Obviously this depends on OP's idea of how long to keep a phone. If they buy a new phone every year, it won't matter. But I suspect resale value will suffer for phones with short support timeline. IMHO, the time you get security updates is the real-World useful life time of a phone. 

 

Pixel gives monthly updates and Android 13 came in September. Google says the Nothing phone is supposed to get Android 13 by end of 2022. So 4 months behind. Draw your own conclusions how useful an update is if it comes very late. Pixel has daily updates for many of the apps, including Google system apps. So I'm pretty sure an error doesn't linger around for months. 

 

I never looked into clear cases, But I suspect they don't have the same protection like my thick-rubber case. But then again, if looks are important, you need to know it is a compromise with price and longevity. For me personally a conservative boring look ages better and polarizes less. My P6Pro in a black rubber case will look equally as good or boring in 5 years as on the first day. A polarizing fad phone look may not age well. YMMV. 

[PDifolco]

5 minutes ago, Lurking said:

Google tells me the Nothing has 4 years of security patches (not sure about actual software updates) and patches are every 2 months. Note that the timeline starts when a phone is released, not when you buy it. That is also why I would say get the Pixel 7 vs. the 6 since you gain one year of updates. Obviously this depends on OP's idea of how long to keep a phone. If they buy a new phone every year, it won't matter. But I suspect resale value will suffer for phones with short support timeline. IMHO, the time you get security updates is the real-World useful life time of a phone. 

 

Pixel gives monthly updates and Android 13 came in September. Google says the Nothing phone is supposed to get a13 by end of 2022. So 4 months behind. So draw your own conclusions how useful an update is if it comes very late. There are daily updates for many of the apps, including Google system apps. So I'm pretty sure an error doesn't linger around for months. 

 

I never looked into clear cases, But I suspect they don't have the same protection like my thick-rubber case. But then again, if looks are important, you need to know it is a compromise with price and longevity. For me personally a conservative boring look ages better and polarizes less. My P6Pro in a black rubber case will look equally as good or boring in 5 years as on the first day. A polarizing fad phone look may not age well. YMMV. 

I'm not a superuser for phones so only need one every 5 years, getting mid high range every time 

Don't care much to wait a month to upgrade to Android 13, idk what's better with it!

Got indeed a clear case for the Nothing, feels pretty sturdy...

And yeah I really like the Nothing design and looks, think I'd keep it eventually