Physical changes are also welcome, so things like skins, cases, screen protections etc... are fine to discuss.

For me, in this order:

• Wi-Fi calling: it was very surprising that this was not on by default, and enabling it helped a bit with the battery life on my Pixel 7a;
• Try custom launchers: I was happy with the phone but the very first annoying thing is the damn Google search bar and how there was no way to just hide it like any other widget. So I ended up installing KISS Launcher (it's FOSS and still maintained);
• Bite the bullet and install GrapheneOS: you get more security, sandboxed Play Services, a more fine-grained permissions system and you can still install the default Pixel apps from the Play Store while cutting off their internet access, and most importantly you get rid of the Google bar (also enabled Wi-Fi calling as previously done).

The Pixel phone cameras and their AI photo enhancements using Google's Tensor chip are among the things where Pixel phones shine and which make their owners fall in love with them. In case you didn't see it already, please take a look at all of the beautiful shots by the members in our Pixel photography megathread and feel free to contribute your own! 😁

Whether you're a photography geek or just starting out, this thread aims to be a place to share tips and tricks to make the most out of your Pixel phone's camera and its AI magic to capture stunning shots.

Please feel free to share your favorite tricks regarding but not limited to:

• Accessories: what are your must-have accessories that level up your photography experience?

• Composition techniques: rule of thirds, golden ratio... do you use any of these techniques?

• Digital zoom: do you ever use it?

• Google Camera settings: what are your go-to settings in the Google Camera app for different scenarios? Or do you prefer using another app?

• Gripping: how do you like to hold your device when shooting photos and videos?

• Lenses: which lenses do you use the most? Do you find yourself using macro and wide angle more, or telephoto (maybe even for close ups)?

• Lighting: how do you deal with different lighting conditions to get the perfect shot?

• Portrait shots: how do you get that perfect bokeh effect in your portrait shots?

• Post-processing: which Google Camera filters do you use the most? Do you use any other Android apps for additional post-processing or do you post-process on PC?

Model-specific tips are of course also welcome. Don't forget to state what phone model you have when posting!

Can't wait to see what photography hacks you've got up your sleeves! 📸✨

-- with love by AlmightySnoo & hackitfast

(photo featuring the Google Camera app by Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian)

We'll keep it in a single sticky thread for now and see how it goes. Please don't forget to indicate which model you used to take the photo! 😁

EDIT: Won't be pushing Pixelfed anymore. As someone in the comments already said, it reduces the quality of your photos. And Lemmy.world isn't a small instance anymore and should handle the photos so we'll ignore the recommendation below, unless of course you don't mind the lossy compression that's being applied :-)

If you want a tiny bit of lossless compression before posting your photos, if you're on Linux you could feed them to jpegoptim.

The following is of course not necessary, but if it's not too complicated for you it might be preferable to host your photos on a Pixelfed instance if they are too large to help lessen the burden on the lemmy.world instance!

Basically, once you upload your image on a Pixelfed instance, you can embed your image here by right-clicking (or long tap if on your phone) on the Pixelfed pic, choosing "copy image link" (or opening it in a new tab and copying the URL if your mobile browser doesn't show this), and then you paste the URL here inside an image tag like this:

![](PASTE_URL_HERE)

Discussions and suggestions about how the community is run, the moderation, the rules etc... go here!

TLDR; Are y'all excited about the Pixel line? I'm kind of bored and I breakdown what I like but mostly what I don't like about some of their devices.

Just wondering what other people think about the Pixel line? Are y'all excited about the upcoming 11 series and other devices or don't give a rat's ass? 

I've had my P9PXL for nearly two years. Recently I've been craving a new phone because I've never gone longer than two years without swapping out for a new handset. However, the P9PXL was my first flagship phone and I paid full retail for it. So I had told myself I'd use the phone for three to five years to justify the high price I paid. (Plus I paid an extra hundred bucks to get the 256Gb model.) 

Prior to my Pixel I had always used budget to mid-tier phones. But I was jealous of my spouse's Apple ecosystem experience. (I'm in a mixed marriage - I'm Android, they're Apple.) So I went all-in during 2024 and not only bought the P9PXL but I swapped my Galaxy 5 watch for a 45mm Pixel Watch 3 and bought my first pair of non-budget earbuds in the form of the Pixel Buds Pro 2.

After nearly two years with these devices I'm satisfied but bored. The phone is fine but could be improved. When I bought it the only color they had in-stock was Obsidian and I didn't want to wait a week for another color phone to be mailed to me. However, the color choices for the P9PXL were pretty dull across the board. I would have chosen Porcelain if I had the chance but, alas, I got stuck with yet another boring black phone.

The battery life on the 9 XL is not great. It's never been fantastic but it seems to have gotten really worse this second year. (Battery health is at 91%.) Prior to this Pixel I'd had Motos more than any other brand and they typically have phenomenal battery life, so I was spoiled. 

And, lastly, my other complaint about my P9PXL is that the monthly updates that were touted as a big selling point have become painful, as they unleash new bugs every month! I've gotten to where I dread them. It's nice being first in line for new Android (and Wear) OS updates but the monthly phone updates always seem to unleash at least one annoying issue that doesn't get fixed again for one to two more months, only to then be replaced by some other issue. 

On the plus side I find my Pixel to be very reliable. It syncs well with all my accessories. The camera is the crown jewel. It takes beautiful photos, which I use to promote myself online for my line of work. And I use a lot of the AI editing features that are built into Photos, some of which are exclusive to Pixel, is my understanding. I like that my Pixel didn't have any bloatware - not counting the overabundance of Google apps that come preloaded.

I think one of my issues with my P9PXL is that I'm bored with standard slab phones. I'm glad I got the XL but it always seemed a bit too big and definitely too bulky and heavy. I bought my adult daughter a refurbished Samsung Z Flip 5 for Christmas and played with it for three weeks before giving it to her. I was shocked at how well I liked the flip design with the flex window on the outside! It's like two devices in one and so compact when closed. 

And one of my best friends got an iPhone Air, despite my advising against it because of the compromises with some of the specs. However, he's retired and has an old work-related hand injury and wanted the Air because it's so much lighter. He doesn't know a thing about technology so I'm the one that has to set everything up and 'fix' the phone when he's accidentally deleted an app icon. (Uh. No. You don't need to make an appointment to visit the Apple store for that.)

Anyway, I was double shocked by how much I liked handling the iPhone Air! I've always been an Android user but I've actually toyed with the idea of switching to Apple just for the Air, especially if the Air 2 closes the gap with the spec limitations of the first generation model. Plus, after actually playing with the phone, I didn't think the reduced specs were that big of a deal for the Air and that it's ultra thin lightweight design offset any spec downgrades. 

Btw, I love the Pixel Buds Pro 2. They're amazing. I actually sleep with them every single night and they are phenomenally comfortable. I think the sound quality, ANC, and battery life are all great and I adore the design of both the buds and their case. I will likely stick with the Pixel Buds Pro series from now on. 

I like my Pixel Watch 3 (45mm) and think that the Pixel watch line is the most elegant smartwatch design. I find them extremely visually and tactilely appealing and to be perfectly good watches. However, unless I stay all-in on the entire Pixel line I'll probably go back to Samsung watches if I switch my phone to a manufacturer other than Google. (I definitely will if I wind up with a Samsung phone in the future.)

Even though I like the look of the Pixel Watch I do not like the placement of the crown. I do a daily exercise routine that includes 25 push-ups and the crown pushes against the back of my hand and triggers the power menu every single time. I actually developed a minor red callous on the back of my my hand that I had to scrub off in the shower and then treat with hand lotion.

Also, I find the Pixel Watches to feel more delicate to me than Samsungs because of the crown and its placement, and that the entirety of the watchface, top and sides, is exposed Gorilla Glass 5, which is significantly weaker than contemporary Samsung watches which utilize Sapphire Crystal. 

I find the traditional Samsung Galaxy Watch design to be more practical, especially if fitness is your primary goal for a smartwatch. Oh! And Samsung watches come with a whole array of fitness features fully available, whereas Pixel wants you to subscribe to Fitbit to unlock all its features. No thanks.

I am getting a little bit excited about the upcoming Pixel 11 series though. I like the colors that have leaked. A friend of mine who has been with Pixel since it was Nexus has been waiting for a fuchsia phone and it looks like the base Pixel 11 is going to finally deliver that for him. I was personally really into the Canyon/Dune color, which looks to be an orange-y pink that'll be available for the Pro models. It reminds me of sunset. 

What do y'all think? Are you bored by Pixel or excited about future releases? I personally just wish Pixel would offer more options besides slab and full-sized fold phones. I'd nab either a flip or an ultra thin model! But I'm not inspired by the Pixel slabs or traditional folds, which are way too big for my interests. I want to see more design innovations instead of gimmick-y additional features, like the glow light they're touting with the 11 series, which is replacing the gimmick-y temperature sensor. 

And I'd like to see some variation with the watches too. I would love to see the glass quality improved, two flush side buttons, the crown ditched and replaced by a digital bezel for navigation! That would look even sleeker than the watch already looks! (And don't get me started on how Google has dropped the ball on tablets!)

My current Samsung phone (S23) is struggling real bad. I need to change it. I've been focused on privacy lately and learnt about GrapheneOS. This is not really the point of my question. Rather the context.

What is the overall feedback of the Google Pixel 10a? I'm seriously considering it, refurbished. It looks compact enough, has space for a physical sim card...

I hope I'm making the right choice!!

My Pro 7 is making the sad-trombone "almost dead" sound quite a lot in the past few weeks, and the first time I heard it, I didn't know what it was. Because, although I've had the phone for 18 months, I'd never heard that sound before.

This article doesn't have much authoritative information, it's mostly recapping Reddit posts, I guess. But: Is anyone else here having the same issue?

...numerous reports point to an undiagnosed issue causing batteries in Pixel phones, including the new Pixel 10 series, to drain much faster than they did previously.

...one user claims it may be because of a GPS-related bug preventing the CPU from entering into a “suspended” state — also known as Doze specifically in Android’s context — when not being used. The user points out, “the Exynos baseband/GNSS module is caught in a persistent polling loop, causing a hardware interrupt storm even when the device is completely isolated in Airplane Mode with all radios manually toggled off.” This, in turn, keeps the CPU up and running, resulting in the drain.

When you go to select a picture to save it now only offers a copy option. So now you have to take a screenshot and crop it manually.

The select screen is fundamentally broken.

The flashlight button was a simple on/off from the swipe down. Now it's got a sub screen. Done doesn't mean "done using flashlight" it means "done using this sub screen". It's a whole extra thing that never needed to exist.

Let's just roll back to the way it was. Because this is horrible. Decreased functionality or unnecessary extra steps.

My phone started malfunctioning the other day, where the screen suddenly displays "snow"/white noise instead of a proper image. Sometimes it seems to fix itself for a while, but then does it again, which makes me think it might be software rather than hardware.

While researching the problem, I ran across this article showing the same issue on Pixel 10s, and concurring with my guess that it might be a software thing.

(My phone screen looks just like that, except tinted blue instead of pink.)

But mine is a different model, running non-stock firmware. Is this also a known issue on Pixel 7s and/or phones running GrapheneOS, or is it specific to the Pixel 10 and stock firmware? Has progress been made on diagnosing or fixing it since last September when the article was written?

My trusty Pixel 6a finally gave up the ghost this morning (RIP sweet prince, dropped it face down on concrete 😭). I need a replacement ASAP.

Saw the 10a just got announced, so I watched a review... is it just me or is this literally the exact same phone as the 9a?

Same Tensor G4 chip, same cameras, same battery, and STILL 128GB base storage in 2026 (bruh). Looks like the only real changes are a flat camera back, slightly faster charging, and satellite SOS that I’ll literally never use. No magnetic charging either, which feels like a massive L.

Google is hyping up all the software features, but honestly, it feels like they’re just phoning it in this year to get a new box on the shelf.

Do I just grab a 9a on clearance and save my money, what do you guys think?

Hello all,

My 4 year old Pixel 7 pro died suddenly yesterday while it was charging. It had about 50% battery and it died. I cannot turn it on anymore, i kept it charging with another slower charger but nothing happened. The only thing that appears on screen while connected to a charger is a small very faint grey rectangle with a lightning bolt on it. But once i try to keep the power button pressed that disappears and nothing happens.

I accept that the phone is dead but i was wondering if there is any way to recover some data from it. some of the files I had on it (not really the photos which are backed up in the cloud).

Is there a way to power it up externally and access the storage?

Howdy folks,

Pixel 6 Pro was working fine when i went to bed on Monday with no update notifications or anything interesting. Tuesday morning, it was off and wouldn't turn on. I've tried a few things and I'm all out of ideas.

Held down power for 30s to get it to hard reset. It showed a black background and the grayscale G and progress bar for over an hour.

Held down power and volume down to get to the fastboot menu. I can get to Rescue Mode and Recovery Mode. Stupidly, they both show a broken android character and "no command", and you need to hold power and click volume up to get to the actual menus. Why in the world did they add this step, when you've already done the work to get to the fastboot menu? Anyway. Neither menu has options for clearing cache, mounting as a USB MTP device, or enabling ADB debug mode.

After who knows how many times booting into fastboot and playing around, following various XDG, Stackoverflow, and listicle suggestions, now it boots up to black background with the colorful word "Google" and stays there forever. Is that progress? I can't tell.

lsusb doesn't list the phone while it's off, while in fastboot, in recovery, or in rescue. I used the "mount /system" option but that didn't do anything useful. I installed Android Studio, but it doesn't detect the device either. The Google Pixel Repair page doesn't see the dang thing.

The "recovery logs" option doesn't indicate anything that I can see as a reason to fail booting - it looks like only logs of the recovery mode itself.

I finally resorted to the "wipe to factory default" option with a heavy heart.

It booted to a white background and colorful "Google", but never went anywhere beyond.

I let the battery die, and plugged her back in. Now I need to hold the power button for 30s, and see the white screen with colorful Google, and then the broken android character with "no command"! I appear to be in rescue mode.

lsusb on my computer detected it as "18d1:d001 Google Inc. Nexus 4 (fastboot)" , which is fascinating. A "Pixel" device showed up in my file browser for about a minute, but trying to mount it gave an "Unable to open MTP device" error. I installed mtpfs to see if I could mount the device, and the Rescue Mode menu announced that an "ADB update timeout" had occurred. I hadn't triggered one from either end. Hmm. lsusb no longer shows the device. Then the device disappeared from the file manager and from lsusb. sigh

I triggered a reboot from the Rescue Mode menu, and I'm back on the white background with the colorful Google, and no movement. Interestingly, I can see the ghosts of the top status bar. It almost looks like burn-in, but I keep everything on dark mode and the ghost is darker than the background, so I dunno.

So.

Any ideas? I'm thinking I gave it a fair effort, and it's time for a new phone.

TIA,

Clay

How unlucky can someone be to have their 3rd (!!!) @googlepixel 6 corrupted by an upgrade ⤵️
1st - Dec. 2023 - died at update - lost data
2nd - May 2025 - battery expanded - needed to be changed
3rd - Dec. 2023 - died at update - might lose all data

Also, while traveling for Christmas to families in Romania and Greece, where Google doesn't have support / official service! 🫠

I was the strongest advocate for a pixel/android phone, refusing to switch to iPhone, but this was probably the last straw I could handle.

WHY⁉️ I'm looosing it! 😭

I've noticed than when my brightness is all the way down it's barely visible, and not legible, in a completely dark room. All the way UP, and I can see the screen well on cloudy days. On sunny days I need to remember where the icons and buttons are or to shade my phone.

Is it normal for the screen to be so dim? I've had it for three or four years, but I don't remember complaining about the screen initially. Do backlights lose power over time? Is it a power saving feature for old batteries?

I used an app called Twilight for a while that dims the screen and tints everything red for bedtime, but I haven't used it since the equivalent features were released by Google. Is it possible that some old dimming setting is still active even if the app is gone?

Other people's phones seem to get much brighter than mine. Help!

I like pixel phones, I have had them since they were Nexuses. When the 9 came out and I needed to upgrade I chose the pro fold

The bad first: I'm typing this on my pixel 3 because the 9 pro fold is in bubble wrap in a box waiting for a courier to take it back to Google. Worse, this is the second 9 pro fold I have put in a box with an RMA note to go back. Both died the same way, about 6 months old the inner screen broke along the fold line.

The good: they agreed to replace it pretty quickly when I selected to communicate by message, they took over a month though when I requested a call

I've been using OnePlus for years now and I'm considering getting a Pixel phone next since I love their UI and design. I was wondering if someone else here has also made the jump from the OnePlus to the Pixel family and if you can tell me what you like and what you may or may not miss.

Any reply is appreciated!