• General

  • Are you planning to buy Pixel 9?

secrec We don't know anything about the 10 and how the future SoCs will turn out.

TSMC is not some magic thing that is sufficient to make a great SoC. Their process nodes are the most efficient right now, but that does not explain alone why custom Qualcomm/Apple cores perform better than ARM Cortex cores. The key information here is rather that Google will make their own custom cores based on the ARM ISA. We don't know if MTE will get the same kind of support that the current Tensor provides.

Samsung's 4LPP+ process isn't regarded as mediocre, and that's what G4 will use along with a new core configuration and updated Cortex cores. I think most people will be pleased by a more efficient SoC. It'd be great if Tensor could offer the same level of raw performance as the latest Apple Silicon SoCs, so here's hoping Google eventually catches up with their custom design, but they may also not.

      Wonderfall I've never met any example of samsuck silicon that didn't make a better toaster than a processor. And FWIW: There's a lot more samsuck in these current phones than just the cpu, and its ALL pretty piss poor.

          secrec Ever since G1, Tensor has been increasingly adopting new components from Google's own IP. It's not a new thing, and Tensor chips, while sharing similarities, are more than just rebranded Exynos chips. GPU, TPU, and hardware decoders among others are already different than what you can find in current-gen Exynos chips.

          Current Exynos and Tensor chips borrow their cores design directly from ARM Cortex. ARM Cortex cores can also be found in various other SoCs. If anything, Apple and Qualcomm have been the exception.

          At the moment, ARM Cortex cores have the advantage that they have a pretty good MTE support. Qualcomm's own design based on the armv9 ISA seems to have skipped that unfortunately.

            Not as long as it uses that cheap ass aluminum. If the next version made the switch to titanium, sure, in heartbeat.

              Im running a pixel 7 right now, and am very tempted to upgrade to the p9p if I can find a good deal. It seems to be an upgrade from the pixel 7 is more or less every way possible at least for my usage. Dont really care about the AI features. I normally would wait 3-4 years before upgrading, but it may be awhile before they iron out the TSMC chip in the 10, so if I get the p9p I would wait until the 14 came out to upgrade again most likely

                E24 There is no MTE support on Pixel 7 which is an important security feature, so I would upgrade just for that.

                  I really miss the era of the smaller (less than 6 inch) phones, my Pixel 4a was ideal in that.
                  Had to buy P8 to keep up with GOS and MTE with a few years ahead but if there will be a
                  GOS device compact like the 4a, I'm getting it right away.
                  Google had to keep up with the industry (Apple, Samsung) so they can't make a niche device,
                  without all the AI garbage, slower SoC, but functional and compact.
                  I somehow understand that, but it's dissapointing.

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                  • Post #45

                  AlanZ Steel is ok too. Titanium is just a marketing move from apple to sell more of their dogshit spyware products, and samsung is copying them as usual.

                      [deleted]

                      Titanium is just a marketing move from apple to sell more of their dogshit spyware products

                      Easy now, easy : )
                      Titanium is a fantastic frame choice, not a marketing move, I don’t know if I would qualify Apple products as “dogshit” (but then again, I am biased), as far as the spyware part goes - yes there is some of that, it can be mitigated up to point, it will never be as good as GOS, but the rest of the experience has been top notch to me.

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                        By the way, if I am not mistaken Apple was the first one to use steel for the iPhone frame and Samsung uses an inferior grade of titanium on their Galaxy series.

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                            • Post #48
                            • Edited

                            AlanZ Yes steel is a good material because its strenght but also because it doesn't give them an excuse to bump up the price even further. Apple devices are far better than anything Samsung, i can agree with that.
                            Titanium on these devices do not have a measurable impact on durability. If you didn't know its made of that, you wouldn't notice. Its only a more "premium" material because it costs more and its technically stronger and lighter. In practice it doesn't make a difference imo.

                              If you have a Pixel 8 as I do I see absolutely zero reason to get a Pixel 9. A theoretical imperceptibly faster processor is all that it offers. Every other feature is AI hype train stuff that won't even work on a GrapheneOS install much like I had to pay for a temperature sensor on the back of this phone that doesn't work in GOS.

                              Rumors are that Pixel 10 is switching to TSMC's manufacturing and perhaps that will be something to warrant a switch like the perpetually poor reception Pixels have always gotten for me compared to Samsung phones.

                                How long does it generally take for Graphene to support a new Pixel? I'm in the market but would like to go straight to Graphene, so weighing ordering an 8 or a 9

                                • de0u replied to this.

                                  grafena How long does it generally take for Graphene to support a new Pixel?

                                  I think it has been as little as a day or two for some releases. But there is absolutely no way to be sure in advance! When the 8a shipped, Google did something weird (source), so GrapheneOS 8a users had to use a beta release for around a month. Also, I think this drop has more devices than most, so it might take longer.

                                  And who knows? In theory Google might have decided they won't release certain key components for the 9 series into AOSP. It's up to them!

                                  Overall, it seems pretty plausible that there will be GrapheneOS for the 9-series devices within a week after the developers get devices. But it also might happen that it takes noticeably longer, or maybe even never happens.

                                  "It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future."

                                    Oh, that's awesome! I sort of expected "months not days". Thanks!

                                    • de0u replied to this.

                                      morapelor Every other feature is AI hype train stuff that won't even work on a GrapheneOS

                                      Many AI features will work since they're just part of apps. Like, for example, magic eraser works now. I can't think of a reason other photo editing features won't work.

                                      Stuff like "Hey Google" doesn't work because features like that require privileged access to the phone, which isn't possible on GrapheneOS unless they add support for it like what they did for Android Auto.

                                      The official project account said on Twitter:

                                      The features are already largely released already and most of them can be used on GrapheneOS if you install the required apps and set them up. There are certain things that are unavailable. If lots of people want some of the features which are unavailable we can implement it.

                                      morapelor I had to pay for a temperature sensor on the back of this phone that doesn't work in GOS.

                                      It's my understanding that the temperature sensor doesn't work because the app needs special access. According to what a developer said in the issue tracker, adding support wasn't a high priority before because it was only available on one device. Maybe that'll change with the new Pixel 9s. We will have to see what happens.

                                          grafena Both "months" and "days" are possible! My bet is toward the "days" timeframe, but that's just my personal hunch.

                                            I looked at G**gle's page for the P9 and was underwhelmed. I can't justify getting it at all because the only thing that seems remarkably different than previous models is the invasive AI stuff.

                                            It would be foolish for me to buy a new phone already anyway, since I got a P7 pro only a year ago.