Jim P.

If that is the case then it’s better but I’d still shut it off and err on the side of caution. The Apple demo video does not mention needing Air Drop enabled, only that both users need to be signed into iCloud: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZL5D1k-4aI

Except if there is the possibility of it happening without their knowledge/consent, the other person could use even the name for further social engineering. It’s better to not give out any information automatically. Granted the user has to approve a Name Drop share but the screen does display the user’s contact info that would be shared either way, so if the phone is visible to the person trying to obtain the info, they’d still be able to see it even if the target doesn’t approve the share.

It is a bit overhyped since it’s not like someone shady can go around sniffing everyone’s contacts automatically, but it’s still worth tuning off for anyone who is privacy or security conscious.

Hopefully they do a PC port of this one, too, eventually. The first game (and Miles Morales) worked great on Steam Deck.

Happy to see it return. I would have really missed secure face unlock going from a 4XL to 8 Pro. Though I doubt the 8 Pro will work in complete darkness like the 4XL could.

I don’t understand the recent trends of ditching the upper camera bezel and doing questionable things like cutouts, islands, etc. that disturb the dimensions of the screen in odd ways. Did people really dislike having a dedicated area just for the camera and other sensors? I’d rather have a complete uninterrupted screen and upper bezel.

I hope so! Allegedly they have made it easier to swap out the battery on the 8/8 Pro as well but I’ll believe it when I see it. Google said in the keynote that they are partnering with ifixit for replacement parts and so on. You can already get parts from ifixit for older pixels but the process is rather complex.

I was tempted by the 7 Pro last year but my 4XL still works really well. After being without updates so long, though, it’s hard to justify staying on it any longer.

There is some more Tensor G3 info here: https://blog.google/products/pixel/google-tensor-g3-pixel-8/

Biggest takeaway from that is that the Pixel 8/8 Pro will once again have secure Face Unlock that’s been missing since the 4/4XL.

I ordered an 8 Pro to upgrade from my 4XL, along with some Pixel Buds Pro. I already had a Pixel Watch last year and it still works great, so now I can pass that old one on to someone else.

I can see someone being undewhelmed if they already had a 6 or 7, but for those of us coming from farther back it’s still quite an upgrade, and unlike other OEMs, it’s still the whole Pixel software experience.

With 7 full years of OS updates, too, maybe I can keep this one going even longer. My 4XL is still decent, the battery is starting to show its age but otherwise it runs well, just no more updates.

I have 5 different Orange Pi devices of varying types and they all work well. I don’t have the higher end one that was competing with the Pi 4 and such, but some of the smaller/low end ones. They all run Armbian and do what they need to do for me without any fuss. Given my experience with the smaller ones if I needed something faster now I wouldn’t have any reservations about buying the bigger ones.

The main problem I had was finding reputable sellers, even when I did find one it only shipped from China. Took them a while to get here but otherwise it was fine. I think the more popular/faster models may have some resellers on Amazon that ship from the US now.

Exactly my thoughts. I see people making such a fuss over the colors offered for the phone itself, too. I don’t really care about the color as long as it works well, it’s going in a case anyhow.

From what I’ve seen the preorders should open up on October 4th at some point during or just after the Google event which starts at 10AM Eastern time.

Stray. There were lots of times I’d perch up high and look around at everything going on below.

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