Jurang Tayo

Rabu, 01 Mei 2019

The Nokia 4.2 gets a US release date and $189 price tag - The Verge

HMD Global’s Nokia 4.2, which the company announced back in February, is available to pre-order now in the US for $189, and will start shipping in mid-May. Beyond its mid-range specs and Android One software, the Nokia 4.2 features an interesting take on a dedicated voice assistant button. Pressing it once will wake Google Assistant like you’d expect it to, but you also have the option of pressing it twice to bring up Google’s visual snapshot, or holding it to have the voice assistant listen to your voice command indefinitely.

Considering the budget price tag, the Nokia 4.2’s specs are modest. It’s powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage, and it’s got a 3,000 mAh battery. On the back is a dual-lens 13-megapixel camera, while on the front you get a 5.71-inch 720 x 1520 notched display. The notch is reasonably small but its bezels are still a little chunky — something we can forgive at this price.

The Nokia 4.2 is available in both black and pink. HMD says it expects the phone to start shipping on May 15th.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2019/5/1/18525087/nokia-4-2-release-date-price-features-specs-google-assistant-android-one-pie-pre-orders

2019-05-01 10:02:17Z
52780281176078

Daily Deals: Oculus Quest Wireless VR Headset and Oculus Rift S Up For Preorder - IGN

Play Expert Plus Mode on Beat Saber Wirelessly with the Oculus Quest, Xbox One X Down to $349.99, Xbox Controllers for $39.99, 33% off The Division 2 for Xbox.

By Eric Song and IGN Staff

Welcome to IGN's Daily Deals, your source for the best deals on the stuff you actually want to buy. If you buy something through this post, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, read our Terms of Use.

We bring you the best deals we've found today on video games, hardware, electronics, and a bunch of random stuff too.Check them out here or like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to get the latest deals.

It's finally here! When Dan Stapleton brought in the Oculus Quest for review, I was able to personally test it out. I am a huge Beat Saber fan and I had my doubts about a completely wireless Oculus headset being able to handle the game, both performance and tracking wise. Well, let me tell you that not only is Expert + mode enabled on the Oculus Quest, the internal tracking and coverage on it is very, very similar to the Oculus Rift that I currently own and much better than the PSVR. The wireless freedom is how it was meant to be played. Of course, there are other games that are available at launch, but for me, I'm probably going to get this headset for Beat Saber alone. Some other great features on the Quest include a built-in camera so that you can see your surroundings without taking off your headset, an intuitive guardian boundary system that's much easier to use than the Rift, and Chromecast support so that you can mirror your screen to a TV so everyone else can watch.

This is the second of the two Oculus headsets that went up for preorder yesterday. We haven't been able to review this one yet but it's a tempting headset at a price that's only $50 more than the previous generation Rift. The biggest upgrade, like the Quest, is the internal "Insight" tracking system; there are no external sensors required here. Additional improvements include upgraded optics with higher resolution displays and reduced screen door effect, a redesigned halo headband that should be more comfortable and form fitting than the previous version, new Touch controllers, and less cables to hook up (only one USB and one Displayport). It's also compatible with all games from the Oculus store. For those of you who don't yet have a Rift and have a powerful PC and want all the games that the Rift has to offer, the Rift S might be the best choice.

Take $70 off the regular price. The PSVR is still the most economical way to immerse yourself in the world of high-definition VR gaming, especially when you consider the fact that the PS4 ecosystem is far, far less expensive than a gaming computer that can handle the Rift or Vive. If you do jump onto the PSVR bandwagon, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Beat Saber. It's easily the best game for the PSVR.

NEW PRICE DROP. Today you can get $150 off the Xbox One X console plus PUBG. Add $20 for NBA 2K19, or add $30 for either game and a second wireless controller. These bundles are sold through Walmart Marketplace, and the vendor (antonline) is 100% reputable.

Xbox One X:

Xbox One X with Bonus 2nd Controller:

Xbox One X with Bonus Call of Duty: Black Ops 4:

Take 33% off a brand new official Microsoft Xbox One controller. Besides being the obvious controller of choice for the Xbox console, the official controller is still inarguably my favorite PC game pad.

Use code "39AliSub6cw13"

Dell Outlet is currently offering an extra 16% off Alienware m15 and 17R5 laptops on top of the instant discounts you already save. All Dell Outlet laptops include a full 1 year Dell warranty, same as buying new.

Some examples:

This Alienware 17 laptop boasts a GeForce GTX 1070 video card that can run any game with buttery smoothness on its 17" 1080p display. The GTX 1070 is as powerful as its desktop variant, so it capable of handling a VR headset like the Rift or Vive and higher resolution external monitor.

You can get this game directly from the Microsoft Store for $20 off (originally $59.99). We thought that the Division 2 was a great game, and definitely a step up from its predecessor. If you enjoy co-op based shooters, I highly recommend you try this one out.

We rated this game an "Amazing" 9.5/10. Brandin Tyrell writes "A stylish, focused stealth-action take on the FromSoftware formula that's something amazing all its own." If you like Souls or Bloodborne at all, this game is an absolute must buy.

This is yet another action adventure hack-and-slash that we rated an "Amazing" 9.5/10. This is one of the best (if not the best) Devil May Cry game in the entire series. DMC5 definitely has a more frenetically fast-paced gameplay compared to Sekiro (more akin to Ninja Gaiden or Bayonetta).

Final Fantasy XII was one of the best FF games ever produced and now it has finally made its way to the Switch platform. The Zodiac Age edition includes remastered HD graphics and audio, an improved character levelling system, new trial mode, auto-saves, reduced load times, and more.

Read the original manga that started the whole Dragon Ball craze. This box set includes all 16 paperback volumes of the original Dragon Ball series as well as an exclusive double-sided poster and collector's booklet.

Dragon Ball Z continues after the events of Dragon Ball. Dragon Ball Z introduces some of the series' most iconic antagonists, including Frieza, Cell, and Majin Buu. This box set includes all 26 paperback volumes as well as an exclusive double-sided poster and collector's booklet.

This laptop sells for $1699.99 elsewhere. The Razer Blade Q is easily one of the nicest gaming laptops you can buy. It has the sleek build quality of a MacBook Pro, but with powerful gaming guts inside. Despite it's standard 15" size, it weighs only 4.4lbs and measures 0.76" thin.

According to early benchmark tests, the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti performs on par with the RTX 2060, which means it could be about 1.5X faster than the GTX 1050 Ti and 10%-25% faster than the GTX 1060. But look at the other specs, will you! This beast comes equipped with the latest Intel Core i7-9750 processor, 32GB of memory, and 512GB of SSD storage.

The 2018 Apple iPad is down to its lowest price ever (25% off compared to list price). This model boasts a 9.7" Retina display, A10 Fusion 64-bit processor, dual cameras, 10-hour battery life, and Apple Pen support.

The Apple Watch Series 3 is back at the lowest price it has ever been. If you don't need the ECG or other medical capabilities of the Series 4, you'll be saving $200 by going just one generation back. The Series 3 features an aluminum case that's waterproof up to 50 meters, built-in heart rate monitor, GPS, and its small, sleek, and looks almost identical to the Series 4.

Dell has kicked off this week with a selection of 10 Vizio and LG TVs. They've discounted several well-rated current model TVs the way they always do - with a 90-day gift card that can be used on almost anything at Dell.com, including consoles, monitors, VR headsets, games, video cards, and PCs.

4K Smart HDTVs:

Premium 4K Smart HDTVs with True HDR:

Score the latest generation 40" Samsung 4K TV with Smart functionality for under $250. You even get free shipping to boot.

This is the lowest price ever for this very hiqh quality TV panel. The TCL R617 series is one of their top-end TVs and is considered to be one of the best sub-$1000 TVs on the market. If you don't care about brand names, you can save hundreds compared to a comparable premium TV from LG, Samsung, or Sony TV that matches the quality of this set. It also has Roku TV built-in.

Use code "SAVE15"

Score an RTX 2080 equipped Alienware desktop for under $1400 following the instructions below. Stock specs include an Intel Core i5-9400 6-core processor, 8GB of memory, and 1TB HDD. The only recommendation I'd make is to add in your own SSD. SSDs are much cheaper than they used to be and it doesn't void your warranty.

If you've got deep pockets, you can upgrade to the RTX 2080 Ti instead. This is the only way you'll be able to get a brand new, fully warrantied pre-built RTX 2080 Ti configuration for under $2K.

Buying the Switch, Starlink Starter Pack, and Accessory Kit separately would normally run you about $350. The Switch version of Starlink includes the Starfox character as well as the iconic Arwing starfighter, the closest thing you'll get to playing a Starfox game on the Switch.

The Sega Genesis Mini is now up for preorder with a slated release date of September 19. 40 games will be pre-loaded onto the console. All reports indicate that Sega is going to do this release right. According to our own Seth Macy, "if you have emulation worries, Sega has M2 working on the emulation for its mini console. If you're unfamiliar with M2, it handled the excellent Sega Ages Collections and also the delightful Sega 3D Classic collections for Nintendo 3DS. It would be hard to find a developer with a better pedigree to handle the software for the first-party Sega Genesis Mini."

Eric Song is IGN's deal curator and spends 25% of his pay on stuff he posts.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/05/01/daily-deals-oculus-quest-wireless-vr-headset-and-oculus-rift-s-up-for-preorder

2019-05-01 09:04:29Z
52780281626190

Huawei ahead of Apple in Q1 2019 smartphone shipments - CNBC

Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei's consumer business, speaks as he presents the P30 series smartphone during a launch event in Paris.

Marlene Awaad | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Apple and Samsung reported slowing smartphone sales in the first quarter of this year, but Chinese tech giant Huawei is bucking the trend in a big way.

Huawei's smartphone shipments surged 50% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, while Apple iPhone shipments tumbled 30%, according to new data published Tuesday by research firm IDC. Samsung shipments dropped 8% year-on-year.

The new figures show Huawei capturing a 19% share of the global smartphone market, its highest percentage ever. IDC said the Chinese firm is "now within striking distance" of Samsung at the top of the global market, surging past Apple as the world's second-largest smartphone seller.

"This new ranking of Samsung, Huawei, and Apple is very likely what we'll see when 2019 is all said and done," IDC Program Vice President Ryan Reith said in the report.

Huawei first surpassed Apple in market share in 2018, but the first quarter's figures show a much wider spread between the two tech giants than previously reported. IDC attributed Huawei's growth to a "well-rounded portfolio targeting all segments from low to high."

Apple's iPhone sales have been hit by weak demand in China and longer replacement cycles. Apple CEO Tim Cook was upbeat in his assessment of the Chinese market on Tuesday, but the company still reported a 22% drop in revenues in the region for its March quarter.

Separate data published Tuesday by research firm Canalys showed Huawei capturing 34% of the Chinese smartphone market, an increase in shipments of 41% from the year before. The firm said Huawei has gained ground among Chinese consumers by increasing its investments in brick-and-mortar stores and penetrating further into China's rural areas.

Huawei's consumer business has shown impressive growth, especially in its premium smartphone division, despite heightened global scrutiny of the firm. U.S. officials have advised Americans not to use products or services from Huawei and have pressured allies to ban the company's 5G telecommunications equipment, saying there is a security risk that the technology could enable Chinese spying.

Huawei has repeatedly denied that it would engage in any form of espionage or provide data to the Chinese government. Some experts are skeptical of these assurances, pointing to Chinese laws that allegedly require companies to assist the country in intelligence gathering if Beijing requests it.

In a note published Tuesday, Shobhit Srivastava, research analyst at Counterpoint, said Huawei's growth in the smartphone market is especially notable since it does not have a significant presence in the U.S. Srivastava said Huawei has been able to surpass Apple because of the "pace of its innovations," adding it was the first company to introduce features like reverse wireless charging.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/01/huawei-ahead-of-apple-in-q1-2019-smartphone-shipments.html

2019-05-01 07:59:03Z
52780282369995

Huawei ahead of Apple in Q1 2019 smartphone shipments - CNBC

Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei's consumer business, speaks as he presents the P30 series smartphone during a launch event in Paris.

Marlene Awaad | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Apple and Samsung reported slowing smartphone sales in the first quarter of this year, but Chinese tech giant Huawei is bucking the trend in a big way.

"This new ranking of Samsung, Huawei, and Apple is very likely what we'll see when 2019 is all said and done," IDC Program Vice President Ryan Reith said in the report.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/01/huawei-ahead-of-apple-in-q1-2019-smartphone-shipments.html

2019-05-01 07:21:57Z
52780282369995

Selasa, 30 April 2019

Instagram is testing hiding your likes - CNN

On Tuesday, the Facebook-owned photo sharing app announced it is running a test in Canada starting later this week that hides the total number of likes on photos and videos. Likes, which are shown as hearts on the app, will be removed from the main feed, permalink pages and profiles.

While followers won't be able to see the total number of likes a post has received, the owner of the account still can.

You'll still be able to see how many likes your own photo received.

"We are testing this because we want your followers to focus on the photos and videos you share, not how many likes they get," an Instagram spokesperson said.

The news was announced at Facebook's (FB) annual developer conference, F8, in San Jose.

Influencers react to Instagram's big outage: 'It was a pain'

The test is likely to elicit a range of reactions, from anger to relief. Likes are often used as a metric of popularity. Some Instagram users feel pressure to rack up the likes or post photos curated for the social media age, such as at Instagrammable pop-ups or social-media friendly restaurants. Not getting enough likes can even affect some users' self-esteem. According to some studies, Instagram is the most detrimental social networking app for young people's mental health.

"Likes are powerful because they are immediate feedback," said Renee Engeln, a psychology professor at Northwestern University. "In a way, likes give you the same kind of hit like a gambler gets at a slot machine."

Engeln said she's had young women tell her their day can be ruined when a post doesn't get enough likes. Sometimes they'll even delete the photo.

Although removing public-facing likes could result in users posting more authentic content and feeling less pressure on the platform, experts said it's not a cure-all solution.

"For teenagers, this is great because it would no longer highlight levels of popularity of themselves against other kids," said Randi Priluck, a professor and associate dean at Pace University focused on social media and mobile marketing. "But they're still going to see their own likes. People are very driven by rewards so they're still going to be competing for those likes. It's not going to fully solve the problem."

It also doesn't address or fix some of the other factors that can impact the self-esteem of people on the platform, such as bullying, feeling left out or thinking other people's lives are better or more glamorous than their own.

"None of that goes away when you take away likes," said Karen North, an expert in social media and psychology at the University of Southern California. "Regardless if Instagram takes away likes, you can't escape the inevitable that people will still compare their lives and feel inferior."

The move, if rolled out more broadly, could also cause some confusion for the influencer marketing industry. Social media stars working with brands on partnerships are often paid based on engagement on their posts, and part of that involves likes.

As a result, comments, follower counts or other metrics could become more important to people making money on Instagram.

This 24-year-old finds unreleased features in your favorite apps

"It will certainly create some near-term inefficiencies in how some of these deals get done," said Kamiu Lee, CEO of influencer marketing platform Activate. "In the long term, the industry will figure it out. It will just shift attention to some of these other things."

Other social networks, such as Twitter (TWTR), have also discussed the idea of making likes and follower counts less prevalent. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey even texted about it with rapper Kanye West, who shared screenshots from their conversation on his Twitter account.

Instagram's test was first spotted earlier this month by Jane Manchun Wong, a Hong Kong-based woman who searches for unreleased features in popular apps like Facebook and Instagram as a hobby.

At the time, an Instagram spokesperson denied the rumors and said: "We're not testing this at the moment, but exploring ways to reduce pressure on Instagram is something we're always thinking about."

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/30/tech/instagram-hiding-likes/index.html

2019-04-30 17:33:00Z
52780282000797

Valve Index reveal: The best of VR’s first generation—but is it worth $999? - Ars Technica

Enlarge / Say hello to the Valve Index, developed and manufactured by game studio Valve.
Sam Machkovech

BELLEVUE, Washington—The Valve Index, a new virtual reality system from the creators of beloved video game series like Half-Life and Portal and the mega-popular Steam game store, is an aspirational product. Its sales pitch, as explained by various Valve staffers, revolves around the VR experience of tomorrow.

Headset specs
	Valve Index	HTC Vive Pro
Display	2880×1600 (1440×1600 per eye) "fast-switching" LCD panels	2880×1600 (1440×1600 per eye) AMOLED panel
Refresh rate	90Hz, 120Hz, or 144Hz	90Hz
Field of view	130 degrees with integrated FOV "eye relief" knob	110 degrees
Audio	Near-field off-ear speakers with 3D directional audio support; built-in microphone	Integrated adjustable earcups with 3D directional audio support; built-in microphone
PC connection	Custom single-piece cable	Custom single-piece cable with PC junction box
Optional Bundled Accessories	Two wireless motion-tracked controllers with rechargeable batteries, two SteamVR 2.0 room-scale tracking stations	Two wireless motion-tracked controllers with rechargeable 960mAh batteries, two SteamVR 1.0 room-scale tracking stations
Modularity	Front trunk ("frunk") expansion port with USB 3.0 connector; front-facing stereo cameras	Front-facing stereo cameras
Price	$499 ($999 with two tracking stations, two controllers)	$799 ($1,099 with two tracking stations, two controllers)

That's a nice way of saying that Valve is going for features and dreams rather than affordability with its $999 Valve Index kit, which ships "by the end of June" after "limited" pre-orders go live "in May" for users in the contiguous US and most of Western Europe (the UK is left out for now).

But through the course of Valve's reveal event, its aspirations for VR's future became abundantly clear—and abundantly conservative. If you saw last month's news about Valve's VR headset and began dreaming big, today is the day to scale those dreams back.

The Valve Index does not read your brain waves, does not track your heart rate, and does not track your eyeballs' motion. The Valve Index does not innovate with an "inside-out" tracking system. It does not include an array of secret cameras or sensors and does not bounce sound waves via hidden or embedded speakers. The Valve Index does not employ a shrunken, "infinite pixel" panel or come with a revolutionary new take on foveated rendering. The Valve Index does not include a built-in processing unit. It must be connected to a gaming-caliber PC with a long cord trailing from the back of your head.

Also, the Index was not introduced alongside a new Valve video game. We learned in February 2017 that three Valve VR games are on their way, but this week's Index event wasn't used to premiere any of them. In fact, that bad news was met with more bad news: only one Valve VR game is slated to launch by the end of 2019, and we didn't get to see or test it. (For better or worse, this game will not be an Index exclusive.) Valve's Doug Lombardi says there's "no announcement" on the two other games "at this time."

Valve provided a few of its own handsome Valve Index photos, which are mixed up with our own.
The Valve Index's speakers hover above your ears, so you never feel them touch you.
View from above the Index.
View from below the Index.
This backside clamp cinches the Index to your head, much like the PlayStation VR.
This "eye relief" knob mechanically moves the Index's pair of lenses closer to your face in ways that supposedly work better for glasses-wearers and large-headed users than traditional eye-spacer dials.
Another view from below, this time with a glass head.

Sam Machkovech
Valve provided this image as a preview of what the "five degree" lens angling looks like internally.
One Valve staffer told me where they bought this glass head, and I subsequently forgot. Pier One?

Sam Machkovech
More Index.
Side angle of the fit without a head.

So what is Valve's big aspiration for the future of VR as far as the Index is concerned? The answer is long-term comfort. In Valve's eyes, that goal doesn't (yet) include features that we have been dreaming of, such as reducing the clutter of an average PC-VR experience, dropping the price, optimizing performance with eye-tracking systems, or liberating users with true, cordless freedom. Valve wants to convince us that Index is as good as VR users are going to get at a $999 price point in 2019—and that it delivers $999 worth of VR quality in 2019.

"Oftentimes with virtual reality, people want to say what's 'good enough,'" one Valve representative said during an informal Q&A. "And their sample size for 'good enough' is five minutes [of VR use]. One of the driving factors for our game teams, and externally for our partners, is that we want long-form VR experiences."

Another Valve staffer interrupted, saying, "I don't use VR for 30 minutes a day. I use VR hours a day. This is where we ended up. What's good enough for 20 minutes, 30 minutes, is dramatically different than one hour, two hours. We think tracking, optics, displays, ergonomics, input fidelity, the comfort of your hands—all of those matter a lot."

"They're all coefficients, too!" an engineer added. "They're all related."

But Valve didn't hand us a box complete with an Index, a "long-form VR experience" (like, you know, an in-development Valve game), and hours of time to put that hypothesis to the test. Until that day comes, we're left with spec sheets and an odd series of hands-on, eyes-on impressions.

Field of view of dreams

Index's interesting elements are as follows: a pair of fast-switching, custom-made LCD panels, with a combined pixel resolution of 2880x1600; an increased field-of-view (FOV) compared to most VR headsets, up to 130 degrees; new handheld controllers, finally launching after years of public teases; a pair of floating, above-the-ear speakers; an empty front-of-headset compartment, which includes a USB 3.0 Type-A adapter and no promises of attachments to come; and a reliance on "lighthouse" tracking boxes already used in systems like the HTC Vive. (We're also in familiar Vive VR territory with the dangling cable plugged into a gaming PC.)

Let's start with the Index's pair of pixel-filled panels, which Valve's staffers described at length. Instead of a single OLED panel, Index comes with a pair of fast-switching LCDs that have been custom-fabricated with an emphasis on subpixel density. They have been positioned to spread the visible VR FOV further than in any consumer-priced VR headset we've ever seen. And they are rated to run at incredibly high frame rates. In addition to the Vive-like rate of 90Hz, the screens can clock up to either 120Hz or 144Hz.

Most consumer-grade VR headsets use a single display panel, which is then translated by a pair of large, curved lenses. The Valve Index twists this convention by using a pair of LCD panels, each sporting a 1440x1600 resolution. That doesn't make them a combined 2880x1600 panel. Instead, the panels are physically separated, then individually angled at a roughly 5 degree angle.

The result is a wider peripheral distribution by default, but the system also allows Valve to implement a new type of slider. Valve insists that no matter what face shape or pair of glasses you bring into the Index, you can turn an "eye relief" knob to bring the Index's lenses as close to your face as comfortably possible, and the device does so in a way that guarantees a greater effective FOV. After describing most FOV sales pitches as "dishonest" due to many users' faces or glasses obstructing that full FOV potential, Valve insists that its eye relief knob will guarantee a "20 degree" increase in FOV for all users compared to traditional "110-degree" systems.

slider and comfort

The FOV knob's mechanism can get uncomfortably close to the face, and it isn't padded. As I struggled to find a proper fit in my first minutes of testing, I felt a rigid, plastic piece brush against the bridge of my nose. Once I found the proper fit for the Valve Index, I positioned this piece appropriately and no longer felt it randomly brush against my nose during testing.

Related: I didn't have enough time to get a sense of headset breathability and comfort. Index is not noticeably lighter than other wired PC headsets, and like PlayStation VR, its rotary dial locks onto the back of the head. Its microfiber mask lining trapped a noticeable bit of heat during testing, but the device was neither extremely uncomfortable nor extremely breezy and cozy.

Additionally, Valve insists that its SteamVR platform will adjust VR games' and apps' rendered imagery to translate across a pair of non-parallel lenses so that developers don't have to individually account for this Index-specific difference.

What sold me on the FOV boost wasn't any particular game demo, however. The demos I experienced were focused on front-and-center content—likely because the games in question need to be compatible with other 110-degree headsets. No, it was a VR movie theater moment, where I virtually sat down and watched 1080p movie trailers streamed directly from YouTube. That's not a great resolution to beam into a high-res VR headset, made worse by YouTube's compression. Yet I was taken aback by this video's full widescreen ratio, as opposed to being letterboxed into a tighter 16:9 square.

I could see most of the virtual cinema screen, as if I was seated in a comfortable real-life theater. I needed to glance a bit left or right for the most peripheral content, but otherwise, I could comfortably take in a giant image at all times. That is not how most VR headsets work. This moment stayed with me and helped me realize how awesome Index's FOV boost was when I went home and tried the same demo on my Vive Pro, which forced me to constantly sweep my glances in either direction to take in a full cinema-ratio image.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/04/valve-index-reveal-the-best-of-vrs-first-generation-but-is-it-worth-999/

2019-04-30 16:57:00Z
52780281937687

Google Pixel 3 is a sales disappointment, sells less than the Pixel 2 - Ars Technica

The Pixel 3 XL.

Ron Amadeo
Miles of notch.
The back. The top is glossy and hard, the bottom is matte and soft-touch.

Ron Amadeo
The soft-touch back stops before it hits the sides.

Ron Amadeo
There's still a fingerprint reader and a two-tone color on the back.

Ron Amadeo
The camera sticks out just a bit.

Ron Amadeo
The volume and power are on this side.

Ron Amadeo
A USB-C port and no headphone jack on the bottom.

Ron Amadeo

Alphabet, Google's parent company, had its earnings call yesterday, and, while these calls are primarily about advertising click-through rates and traffic-acquisition costs, yesterday's call actually contained some information about Google's smartphone sales. It turns out sales of the Google Pixel flagship are down year over year, meaning the Pixel 3 is selling worse than the Pixel 2.

Here's the full quote from Alphabet and Google CFO Ruth Porat:

Hardware results reflect lower year-on-year sales of Pixel, reflecting in part heavy promotional activity industry-wide given some of the recent pressures in the premium smartphone market.

"Recent pressures in the premium smartphone market" can mean a lot of things, but basically Google is admitting that there is some tough competition out there for the Pixel 3 and that the phone isn't selling as well as its predecessor. Google doesn't break out "hardware results" in its earnings report, so we can only guess at what the year-over-year difference is. It was bad enough to mention in an earnings call, though.

We weren't huge fans of the changes in the Pixel 3. The smaller version was $799—$150 more than the Pixel 2 from the year earlier—and the larger Pixel 3 XL was $50 more than the Pixel 2 XL, or $899. For this extra money, Google downgraded from a metal back to glass, it stuck with a meager 4GB of RAM—the lowest of any Android flagship—and it even made some software blunders like locking users into its half-baked gesture navigation system (which it is still trying to fix in this year's Android Q release). To top it all off, the designs were pretty ugly, ranging from the dated Pixel 3 bezels to the outrageously large display notch on the Pixel 3 XL.

As for the Pixel 3's competition, Google has to deal with mainstream juggernauts like Apple's iPhone XS and Samsung's Galaxy S10—phones from two companies with a stronger focus on hardware, more carrier deals, and bigger advertising budgets. In the enthusiast market, Samsung offers higher specs, and OnePlus offers better value with a device like the OnePlus 6T.

Google's Pixel distribution network is also downright terrible compared to the competition. Google sells the Pixel in only a tiny handful of countries, while its competitors have a worldwide presence. The Pixel 3 is for sale in a whopping 12 countries and has zero retail stores. In the US, Google's only real carrier partner is Verizon. Apple, on the other hand, has a retail empire, with iPhone sales in 70 countries, more than 500 Apple retail stores, and iPhones in pretty much every single carrier store. Samsung casts an even wider net with the Galaxy S10, which is for sale in about 130 countries, and again, just about every carrier store on Earth.

Investors weren't happy to hear about the lower Pixel sales. During the Q&A portion of the call, Justin Post from Bank of America even compared the company's hardware efforts to (gasp) Microsoft!

On the hardware business, I think there's some concerns that it's just not getting off to a really strong trajectory. [There are] some comparisons to Microsoft 10 years ago. Really, just help us understand how that hardware business is important to Google and how you're thinking about it long term.

After highlighting the company's success with Google Home, Sundar said the smartphone industry was facing a "headwind." He went on to talk about the general smartphone industry trends like foldable phones and 5G, but neither of those features will be exclusive to the Pixel.

What might help Pixel sales is a cheaper phone, which Google is planning to announce on May 7. At Google I/O 2019, the company will announce the Pixel 3a, a mid-range version of the Pixel with a cheaper SoC and a plastic body. We don't actually know the price yet, so it's hard to say if the phone will be a sales success, but at least it's something. Google has also aggressively been slashing the price of the Pixel 3 lately, with a half-price sale happening earlier this month.

Listing image by Ron Amadeo

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/04/google-admits-pixel-3-sales-have-fallen-year-over-year/

2019-04-30 15:47:00Z
52780279074637