zlacker

What I don't get are these price tags.

My last flagship phone was a Google Nexus 6P where the base model was $499. Amazing phone, too bad after 3 years it had a battery issue but the manufacturer gave me a new one.

But the thing is: it was $499.

That was the greatest thing about the Nexus lines - good hardware (maybe not the latest SOC) with regular updates and a good OS experience. I miss those phones.

Google with the Pixels went full goofy mode. I'm not paying 1.140€ for a phone. I have a Huawei P10 that's still running smoothly, just the battery is getting tired... so maybe ill get one of those Pixel 6 Pro :)

But Google pushed away a lot of the Nexus user base, who were hyped every year for the new Nexus.

>>libert+(OP)
Isn't that the segment the Pixel _a line targets? The 7a is $499...

>>libert+(OP)
I payed $550 for my Pixel 6, ~1 year after the release. Has good hardware, regular updates and a good OS experience.

Comparable to ~$450 a year after the release of the 6P.

I guess the 6P might be relatively higher end?

>>libert+(OP)
"That was the greatest thing about the Nexus lines - good hardware"

Yet every nexus phone had major hardware issues. that's not good hardware. It wasn't premium, it wasn't supported long, and it wasn't high quality. I LOVED the nexus line, as a broke college student that prioritized bang for the buck and customization, and speed, and android was getting great new features every year, but things have gotten so bad at google.

>>fluidc+k3
Yes, but the 6P was the flagship.

This was back in the day where a flagship phones base prices were like 600/700€.

Now it's double.

In 2018 the Samsung Galaxy 9 was 700€. Now a Samsung Galaxy S23 is 1.200€.

>>pie420+X5
> Yet every nexus phone had major hardware issues.

I won't argue with that. But I'm right there with you, Nexus phones and android releases were exciting - and you knew with Nexus you'd be the first to get the new stuff.

>>libert+9b
Back then, phone providers were competing to be the Nexus brand, so it was generally a loss-leader. The brand that released the Nexus phone would release their actual flagship about 3 months later.

Also, inflation.

>>libert+(OP)
Some of that is inflation (and it's claimed the iPhone 15 Pro at $999 is the best deal since the original adjusting for inflation). I also think that in order to continue shipping something new each year back in 2010 all you needed were some same-price-new-generation silicon/battery/screen improvements. These days the tech has plateaued a bit and we've seen a number of years where the improvements come from adding another camera, then another camera. More and more sensors. Some stupid and more expensive features like under-screen fingerprint readers. A phone could cost way less, but the table stakes are now much higher so manufacturers can get away with phones costing nearly a grand (and sometimes much more).

>>libert+9b
7a is almost a flagship, so most people don't have to care their flagship series. Just buy a series. Nowadays "flagship" means that the best camera they can achieve.

>>libert+(OP)
Google pushed away frugal customers. That was a very smart business decision for them.

When Google sells a Pixel 8 Pro for $999, they’re sending a signal that says “our phone is just as good as the iPhone.”

I think your story points to how the Nexus line was basically an unfinished product where Google wasn’t even willing to attempt to sell it at a profitable price point until they could buy a hardware designer (HTC) and integrate that company into Google to produce a comprehensive product. Your Nexus phone had to be entirely replaced and yet you only gave the company $500. So they just sold two flagship phones for $250 each. That’s not a business, that’s a charity.

My Nexus 5X bootlooped right in front of my eyes with no user intervention.

The Nexus lineup wasn’t as good as an iPhone (nor a Samsung or Huawei phone for that matter) and that’s why nobody paid iPhone money for it.

>>libert+(OP)
I think marketing is a big part of it. If they price it cheaper than the iPhone then people will view it as inferior.

>>libert+9b
“Now it’s double” is what they will write on the tombstone for this era.

>>kevinc+Wv
But that's the thing with the consumers of the Nexus line - they were fun phones and people knew they weren't "inferior".

>>maxeri+P5
The 6P was a very nice device.

>>libert+(OP)
Nexus hardware (LG made) was crap. Both mine and my wife's phones bootlooped at 12-14 months of purchase. Never had such issues with any of the other smartphones we have owned.

>>libert+9b
They pack a lot more stuff into phones now too. Better screens, multiple cameras, etc. Today's flagships are also just physically larger than the older phones for the differences that makes.

>>libert+(OP)
As the lifecycle most consumers have for their cellphones stretches out adding additional years, the manufacturers are pushing their high-end phones more heavily, and creating even higher-end phones.