Or was it Nvidia? Most of the bugs seem driver-related. Stay away from any Android device featuring a Nvidia SoC. Nvidia chips almost killed LG. You 've been warned. Fortunately there aren't many Nvidia-powered devices them around, but Google still wants to throw them a bone once in a while to shake the Qualdroid stigma inthe hi-end segment, so you occasionally see an Nvidia chip shoved in a Nexus/Pixel tablet. Always the last Nexus to get updates or doesn't get them correctly
Google needs to learn that sometimes you just need to can a product, even if it's 90% complete and otherwise quite nice. Android is just a shitty tablet OS.
Either that or you just put the release back another couple of months to get it 99% right rather than 75%. People will wait for a finished/fully working product.
That goes double or triple for a tablet that puts that much of its weight budget into and focuses so hard on its keyboard. The only OS that would make sense with that hardware is W10 (after a nub mouse was added). Even iOS is coming at it from a different direction that would make a hypothetical iPixel C a conflicted mess. An OS that's limited to tablets as oversized phones and a keyboard that's more than a sixth or so the overall weight of the device can not work together and should not be tried. For reference it's more biased towards the keyboard than the Surface line, and those run a full desktop OS.
Honestly this and the OS in general is making me sad again that Android has done well.
Well the good thing about Android is it's open source and free software. So some people went out of their way of creating a more proper desktop based OS that fits this formfactor: http://www.jide.com/en/remixos
Problem for Android as a OS is open source, everybody works inside (skin etc) time for developers to work with a standard. Some 10-30 main developers together can change everything. Now there is no guidance, they are like chicken waiting for a roaster.
Android has excellent tablet APIs, and have had these for awhile. They've even had multi window mode (tiling wm but let's you perform more sophisticated arrangements than just side by side)for a few years hidden behind a debug flag in the buildprop. What you're really, probably, complaining about are the developers not putting the time in to make their apps work well on a variety of form factors.
"Android is just a shitty tablet OS." iOS is a shitty tablet OS, with giant icons spread across the page and limited ability to properly organise your desktop or use widgets. Android works far better as a tablet OS.
However, Android has shitty tablet apps while iOS has great tablet apps.
Not everyone focuses on the program launcher as much as you do, but yes Android's "desktop" is more capable. But that's a pretty minor advantage. Also, I'm not sure why you don't think you can "use widgets" when they're available by a system wide pull down (even from the lock screen). The fact that iOS has official (i.e. not from a hardware vendor alone) split screen app support makes it a much better tablet OS right now than Android.
I would hazard a guess that part of the reason you think the home screen is a minor part of the experience of a phone is because you don't use an OS that makes good use of the home screen. Being able to arrange the home screen as I please (scrollable widgets for email, text and whatsapp along, mini icons for app drawer and all other frequently used apps, and shortcuts like double tap for Google play, swipe up for alarm clock) is extremely important to me. I love that I can see everything important on my home screen without opening any apps. I can also answer reply to emails and texts from the home screen. I love that even though I have all those widgets I still have more than enough room for icons for important apps because I'm allowed to shrink the icons, move them closer together and even replace them if I desire.
I have one home screen and that's it. I don't need to swipe through pages of icons spaced with way too much wasted screen. I was thinking about trying an iPhone again after four years of android but I was dissuaded because of ios rigid home screen and the lack of an app drawer. ...yes I really chose not to get an iPhone because of what I'm describing in this post. You don't realize how great it is until you try it....although I will concede different people care for different things. But no doubt I'm not the only one who thinks android's treatment of the home screen and launcher is a massive advantage vis a vis ios.
iPad pro is a total joke too. Giant icons on 13" screen. Absolutely terrible file management over multiple apps. Pen support is half baked, side by side multitasking was worse than Galaxy Tab 2.
But at least it has quite capable pen (at least for artists)
It is and has been available to the public for almost 17 days. That is the February Security patch, I have it and that build number on my pixel c right now and have since February 1st.
The security patch is a completely different thing. The point of mentioning the build number in the intro was to reflect that it probably will be different on release because ours only changed from the original based on the security update that came integrated.
A google rep in the product forum confirmed the February security update OTA/Build contained fixes to the touchscreen. Additionally, I have it and responsiveness is better. Here is the link:https://productforums.google.com/forum/m/#!topic/n...
No problem. Though for me the wifi issue is terrible, I get no range and the speeds are consistently worse by a large number then my other devices. Makes using this to consume content almost impossible unless I'm near my router. That rep said the have yet to fix the wifi issue yet. I think they just updated some binary blobs in the February OTA because nothing much is in commit history besides the security fixes.
I've felt from the start that Pixel C was something rushed out the door to have a "2-in-1" answer to the iPad Pro and the Surface Pro. It's an unfortunate inevitability. To avoid all the unhelpful confusion it's caused, I just wished they'd called it something like "Nexus Pro" instead of Pixel C. While Android has earned its place by attracting developers in droves, its best place is on smartphones. Like iOS and W10, it's too bloated tied to the world of native apps. In an ideal world, Chrome OS would have an equal complement of Web app developers. Then Google would have a PC product that no one else could even come close to competing with.
I would buy this device in two seconds if it came with Chrome OS. Give me chrome, native SSH client, a really good screen and a great battery, then shut up and take my money!
Brandon, can you do a YouTube video comparing the input latency and lag on the iPad vs the Pixel C. Cos, I just couldn't see much of any lag or latency in the videos you posted especially when you pinched and zoomed on the Pixel C. Or I'm I missing something?
You really can't see that the objects under his fingers before he starts moving them are different than the objects under his fingers when his fingers are actually moving? All OSs have some input latency, but Android has the most of any of the major OSs....and its not something that has really ever gotten better. Unfortunately I'm not sure it's something that they'll fix because the OS is "good enough" for their purposes. BTW, and this really shouldn't matter, but I have only ever bought Android, specifically Nexus/pixel devices, and the input latency is just a travesty and has always been my biggest source of annoyance. IMHO, I think some of the problems are due to Android's absurd HAL, and, in general, their reluctance to use the much more mature GPL Linux userspace libraries. Audioflinger is just dreadful at latency, even today. A developer at collobora ported PulseAudio to Android a few years ago and demonstrated how much less latency it introduced to the stack relative to audioflinger (a bit less than 20ms total, which is high, but much, much less than audioflinger on the device, and could easily have been improved).
I've been using the new firmware for a 2 weeks as well and think the touch input has been only partially fixed. Things are still somewhat broken if the device is plugged in to charge. One finger is usually ok, but using two fingers (e.g. to pinch-to-zoom) and one of the fingers won't be tracked correctly. While not charging everything is ok and as the tablet luckily has really great battery life, this isn't too much of an issue.
The keyboard also got much better. The new system version comes with an updated keyboard firmware which improves bluetooth connectivity a lot. The keyboard is no longer randomly disconnecting (and repeating keystrokes). I don't use the keyboard a lot to type, but it is pretty nice as a stand and cover. The magnetic mechanism is still fun to use.
I also think the Pixel C is currently the best Android tablet. It does get some things wrong that other Android tablets have no issue with, but those are minor: - Wifi often disconnects while sleeping (this might of course explain the amazing battery life) - No GPS or NFC
One more grip I have with it is long-term value. Ancient devices like the iPad 2 (2011, around of the time of the Motorola Xoom) and Surface Pro (2013) are still receiving system updates, so they remain current until today. Google promises updates for only 2 years. Of course, an Android system update is somewhat less important as a lot of apps get updated through the Play Store (e.g. Chrome), but you are missing out on some new features (like the new permissions of Android 6.0 that the Nexus 10 didn't get). In my view, that makes it difficult to recommend high priced Android devices, even when the hardware is totally worth it like in this case.
I installed the factory image MXB48T. The touch accuracy is night and day compared to before. A touch firmware can easily be fixed in 14 MB :-)
A good way to try this is using the Markers app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.... Try drawing with a bunch of fingers at the same time. With the old version, fingers would frequently get dropped (the line has gaps). The reason is that Android thinks a finger got temporarily lifted of the device. With MXB48T, things are fine, as long as you are not charging the tablet. I'm happy to record a video.
I haven't. It does sound pretty nice on paper but my main issue with it would be that it's not a Nexus, so it's late with software updates. Sony is better than others of course, but they are still behind.
The issue is with chrome not the tablet. Try firefox. I can verify that it doesn't have any of the issues mentioned in the article that chrome had. I do have one issue with the on-screen keyboard that pops up, afaict, randomly where I'll be gesture typing and I start a new word and it registers as a series of taps (this picking up letters along the way rather than waiting till I finish the gesture to determine the word) rather than a single touch trail.
Yes, I feel this article puts too much emphasis on shortcomings in the Chrome browser, which after all is merely just the default shipping browser. Nobody worried too much about Internet Explorer from Windows 3.1 onwards.
OLED and expandable storage keep me buying Samsung tablets. The best thing for me about the Pixel C is that, hopefully, it will set a new standard to follow in regards to the aspect ratio.
The position of my fingers relative to whatever content I originally placed them on is completely different after zooming. If you put your fingers on two UI elements and pinch your fingers end up being far away from those same objects, which means it's not tracking properly. On top of that, the animation is pretty janky in several cases.
OOOH BOOOM! HEADSHOT! TEABAG IN PROGRESS! Qbancelli, I stand at attention and offer you a traditional military salute, for you have brought the pain, and perhaps a little bit of the funk, to the shores of Anandtech and sent the anti-American Apple Death Squads scurrying back to Nazi Germany. USA! USA! USA!
You must be new here:p. (Although in fairness I think the reporting in this article is not biased...but if you want to see annoying apple bias keep surfing this site)
For any Pixel C users reading this: There's a custom kernel on XDA which includes Nvidia's reference WiFi driver. As far as I can tell, it has basically fixed the WiFi issue. You can't miss it, it's the only custom kernel for the Pixel C available on XDA.
Been using Firefox for Android for ages because of how good it is and how bad Chrome is. I also tested the pinch to zoom when reading the article oin my Nexus 9 on Firefox and it works flawlessly.
After reading the comments on Firefox here I've set it up on my Samsung 8" S2 Tab, and it's pretty flawless. I must admit I have no idea where the reviewer is coming from about Android tablets; mine is ultra responsive, my son's previous gen ipad Air is an annoying POS in comparison. So many things don't work properly on that. Pinch zooming in Firefox though, bloody awesome. So fast also. Thanks guys.
Brandon, could you quickly check if it now supports bluetooth hands-free profile, so you can make calls over bluetooth with a headset? It does not currently have that ability. See this link for more https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/nex...
I just tried to do a Skype call with my MBR10RBT and Plantronics BBP and neither even fed the audio to the headset even when I explicitly selected Bluetooth in Skype. The person on the other end did say that the quality of my voice got better when I switched the Bluetooth setting OFF and used the built in setting, so I don't know exactly what was going on there.
In any case it seems like hands free is still not working, and there's no phone audio profile in the settings app like there is on the Nexus 5X. That's a pretty major omission that I never thought to check for because I tend to not use Bluetooth headphones on Google devices due to erratic behavior and generally poor audio quality.
Thanks for checking. I'm surprised that Skype even showed the BT option. I don't have that many problems with Bluetooth on other Android devices though. I've used every Nexus phone since the N4 (except the N5X), and AFAIK Google finally raised the bitpool for A2DP I think in KitKat or Lollipop. My only gripe had been inconsistent support for HFP 1.6 with wideband audio, which Nexus phones only got in the N6, and no Google tablet has ever had it. The Shield tablet also doesn't have it. That might be one of your sources of poor audio quality, btw, at least for calls.
Brandon, thank you so much for re-opening the Android touch latency issues. I feel like it's a point many people miss. The fluidity of the OS just isn't there. It's such a heavy thing to laden a smartphone with. Once noticed, it is almost impossible to ignore. The original iPad has better a better touch experience.
As good as Google is with software, I do think a lot of their hardware is rather spotty and subpar. My Nexus 10, for example, would often just simply not charge, even left plugged in for 10+ hours straight. What gives? FWIW the tablet is useless now because I can never tell whether it will charge or not charge. My Nexus 4 would physically heat up to beyond comfortable temperatures to hold.
Surprised no one else has commented on the the contrast ratio dropping from 1900:1 to 863:1. In absolute terms the black level of the new unit isn't too bad (would be nice to see contrast ratio at 200nits and max brightness for comparison), but it's still a major difference and I would be very disappointed to receive and measure the 2nd unit if I had bought it mainly for display quality....
The contrast ratio shown there is from the i1Pro 2 and can't be trusted due to the i1Pro 2's inaccuracy with very dark measurements on the order of < 0.5 nits or so. The actual contrast ratio is equivalent to the original. I'm actually going to remove that part of the chart going forward because it is confusing.
"Unfortunately, Android itself still exhibits a great deal of input lag, which becomes more pronounced on these larger devices as your finger moves over a greater physical distance."
- I don't have a Pixel C but I can say in all truthfulness that Android on my Nexus 6P does not have a great deal of input lag.
Why are we, as consumers, accepting this from device manufacturers? I just finished reading that the MS Surface Book & Pro are full of bugs. The Pixel C is an expensive device and the MS devices are even more expensive.
There is a solution. If you buy an expensive device and it behaves like the Pixel C, return it. Don't wait for an update.Don't root your device and install some sort of software from XDA to solve the problem. If you spend this amount of money on a device, it had better work out of the box.
The manufacturers have gotten used to being able to release devces with half-baked software and having people just buy it anyway because they want to be the first to get that new device. Why are we waiting until half-way through a device's short lifespan for it to work properly?
Hit them where it hurts. If everyone who had bought this piece of junk had returned it immediately, I am sure that the problems would have been fixed by now. They might think twice about pulling this off the next time.
I never really get the criticism directed at the android tablets, that they supposedly failed etc. They certainly do not fail at being a tablet. First, you need to realize that a tablet is a lousy productivity tool. The screen is too small. The keyboard is too flimsy and small. It will always be a very lousy laptop. The only way to make a tablet into a notebook replacement, is to start with a big screen, like Surface Pro 4 does, but then with such a big screen the Surface Pro 4 is really a lousy tablet, because try holding a 12 inch tablet with one hand, and it is also IMHO a lousy notebook, because you always have to fold and unfold the rear leg and the keyboard bends more than than of a $200 Chinese laptop from Best Buy.
The real application for tablets is to goof around with the web and social networks, while you're on your living room sofa, in your bed, or in the kitchen. Larger tablets are also good at being your portable entertainment and TV screen on the go, when you're in a hotel or on an airplane. But trying to do productivity things on it? Please. Give me a normal laptop. A Lenova Yoga is a 1000 times better than Surface Pro or whatever tablets can be.
UtilityMax wrote: The real application for tablets is to goof around with the web and social networks, while you're on your living room sofa, in your bed, or in the kitchen.
That's what I have bought my Pixel C for. Unfortunately, streaming high resolution videos while sitting on my sofa does not work particularly well because of the poor wireless performance of the Pixel C. From the same spot, a 3-years old iPad mini achieves 2 to 3 times higher download transfer rates. The Pixel C screen is very bright but unpleasantly reflective. Thus, watching videos or reading newspapaper in slightly less than ideal conditions is no fun. The software keyboard customization is very poor in 6.0.1 and the waste of space, especially in landscape mode, is enormous. All in all, a very disappointing device. Returned after one week.
I purchased my first Pixel C as soon as it was available, and was so excited that I opted for overnight shipping. I want to love the device and keyboard, but it suffered from a myriad of problems. The first one I received had an unresponsive touch screen (extremely). After contacting support, they performed an RMA for the tablet only. The 2nd device received constantly disconnected from the keyboard. Therefore another RMA. The third device had a loud "clicking" noise when touching the left hand side of the screen (more on this later). The fourth device not only constantly disconnected from the keyboard, but would power off randomly and frequently. At this point, since it had been over a month of problems, I could no longer return the keyboard; so I reluctantly accepted a 5th RMA. This one worked fine for a while, but then suffered from the same issues. The device that "clicked;" support had me upload videos to youtube so that they could see it; and then send it directly to Pixel C developers instead of standard RMA. They later replied that "clicking" is to be expected if moderate pressure is applied. I found this odd, considering that none of the other tablets did this. The click was also in conjunction with a noticeable feeling, similar to clicking a mouse or using a button on a keyboard. In dealing with Google support, I was informed by a specialist that devices that were "RMAed" were often replaced by refurbished devices, which may be why I received flawed items. I was outraged at this, because I purchased my product brand new. I didn't pay $800 for a "refurbished" device. A thread for individuals experiencing problems can be found here: https://productforums.google.com/forum/?utm_medium...
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polygon_21 - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
Very very disappointing from GoogleImSpartacus - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
Yeah, I feel like there's a story behind this that we might never get to truly learn. Very odd.parzival - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
Try checking this out.http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/12/the-pixel-c...
CurbedLarry - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
Google is behaving like the US auto industry in the 70sWe're number 1, we can put out any old trash and people will still buy it
kurkosdr - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
Or was it Nvidia? Most of the bugs seem driver-related. Stay away from any Android device featuring a Nvidia SoC. Nvidia chips almost killed LG. You 've been warned. Fortunately there aren't many Nvidia-powered devices them around, but Google still wants to throw them a bone once in a while to shake the Qualdroid stigma inthe hi-end segment, so you occasionally see an Nvidia chip shoved in a Nexus/Pixel tablet. Always the last Nexus to get updates or doesn't get them correctlypsychobriggsy - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
Google needs to learn that sometimes you just need to can a product, even if it's 90% complete and otherwise quite nice. Android is just a shitty tablet OS.jabber - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
Either that or you just put the release back another couple of months to get it 99% right rather than 75%. People will wait for a finished/fully working product.xthetenth - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
That goes double or triple for a tablet that puts that much of its weight budget into and focuses so hard on its keyboard. The only OS that would make sense with that hardware is W10 (after a nub mouse was added). Even iOS is coming at it from a different direction that would make a hypothetical iPixel C a conflicted mess. An OS that's limited to tablets as oversized phones and a keyboard that's more than a sixth or so the overall weight of the device can not work together and should not be tried. For reference it's more biased towards the keyboard than the Surface line, and those run a full desktop OS.Honestly this and the OS in general is making me sad again that Android has done well.
xenol - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
Well the good thing about Android is it's open source and free software. So some people went out of their way of creating a more proper desktop based OS that fits this formfactor: http://www.jide.com/en/remixosxthetenth - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
That would be a good bit closer to right, and I'd consider the device with that, although I'd likely want W10.lmcd - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
I mean to be fair, RemixOS looks like Windows 10 for ARM got Android apps.edeke - Saturday, February 20, 2016 - link
Problem for Android as a OS is open source, everybody works inside (skin etc) time for developers to work with a standard. Some 10-30 main developers together can change everything. Now there is no guidance, they are like chicken waiting for a roaster.tuxRoller - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
Android has excellent tablet APIs, and have had these for awhile. They've even had multi window mode (tiling wm but let's you perform more sophisticated arrangements than just side by side)for a few years hidden behind a debug flag in the buildprop.What you're really, probably, complaining about are the developers not putting the time in to make their apps work well on a variety of form factors.
Speedfriend - Thursday, February 18, 2016 - link
"Android is just a shitty tablet OS."iOS is a shitty tablet OS, with giant icons spread across the page and limited ability to properly organise your desktop or use widgets. Android works far better as a tablet OS.
However, Android has shitty tablet apps while iOS has great tablet apps.
blackcrayon - Thursday, February 18, 2016 - link
Not everyone focuses on the program launcher as much as you do, but yes Android's "desktop" is more capable. But that's a pretty minor advantage. Also, I'm not sure why you don't think you can "use widgets" when they're available by a system wide pull down (even from the lock screen). The fact that iOS has official (i.e. not from a hardware vendor alone) split screen app support makes it a much better tablet OS right now than Android.ESC2000 - Thursday, February 18, 2016 - link
I would hazard a guess that part of the reason you think the home screen is a minor part of the experience of a phone is because you don't use an OS that makes good use of the home screen. Being able to arrange the home screen as I please (scrollable widgets for email, text and whatsapp along, mini icons for app drawer and all other frequently used apps, and shortcuts like double tap for Google play, swipe up for alarm clock) is extremely important to me. I love that I can see everything important on my home screen without opening any apps. I can also answer reply to emails and texts from the home screen. I love that even though I have all those widgets I still have more than enough room for icons for important apps because I'm allowed to shrink the icons, move them closer together and even replace them if I desire.I have one home screen and that's it. I don't need to swipe through pages of icons spaced with way too much wasted screen. I was thinking about trying an iPhone again after four years of android but I was dissuaded because of ios rigid home screen and the lack of an app drawer. ...yes I really chose not to get an iPhone because of what I'm describing in this post. You don't realize how great it is until you try it....although I will concede different people care for different things. But no doubt I'm not the only one who thinks android's treatment of the home screen and launcher is a massive advantage vis a vis ios.
nerd1 - Friday, February 19, 2016 - link
iPad pro is a total joke too. Giant icons on 13" screen. Absolutely terrible file management over multiple apps. Pen support is half baked, side by side multitasking was worse than Galaxy Tab 2.But at least it has quite capable pen (at least for artists)
andreoidb - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
It is and has been available to the public for almost 17 days. That is the February Security patch, I have it and that build number on my pixel c right now and have since February 1st.Brandon Chester - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
The security patch is a completely different thing. The point of mentioning the build number in the intro was to reflect that it probably will be different on release because ours only changed from the original based on the security update that came integrated.andreoidb - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
A google rep in the product forum confirmed the February security update OTA/Build contained fixes to the touchscreen. Additionally, I have it and responsiveness is better. Here is the link:https://productforums.google.com/forum/m/#!topic/n...Brandon Chester - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
That's good to know. I received contradictory information from Google, but that source looks legitimate. Thank you for that.andreoidb - Thursday, February 18, 2016 - link
No problem. Though for me the wifi issue is terrible, I get no range and the speeds are consistently worse by a large number then my other devices. Makes using this to consume content almost impossible unless I'm near my router. That rep said the have yet to fix the wifi issue yet. I think they just updated some binary blobs in the February OTA because nothing much is in commit history besides the security fixes.R.M.P. - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
I've felt from the start that Pixel C was something rushed out the door to have a "2-in-1" answer to the iPad Pro and the Surface Pro. It's an unfortunate inevitability. To avoid all the unhelpful confusion it's caused, I just wished they'd called it something like "Nexus Pro" instead of Pixel C. While Android has earned its place by attracting developers in droves, its best place is on smartphones. Like iOS and W10, it's too bloated tied to the world of native apps. In an ideal world, Chrome OS would have an equal complement of Web app developers. Then Google would have a PC product that no one else could even come close to competing with.andychow - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
I would buy this device in two seconds if it came with Chrome OS. Give me chrome, native SSH client, a really good screen and a great battery, then shut up and take my money!jabber - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
Give me a phone with ChromeOS on it too!mystilleef - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
Brandon, can you do a YouTube video comparing the input latency and lag on the iPad vs the Pixel C. Cos, I just couldn't see much of any lag or latency in the videos you posted especially when you pinched and zoomed on the Pixel C. Or I'm I missing something?tuxRoller - Thursday, February 18, 2016 - link
You really can't see that the objects under his fingers before he starts moving them are different than the objects under his fingers when his fingers are actually moving? All OSs have some input latency, but Android has the most of any of the major OSs....and its not something that has really ever gotten better.Unfortunately I'm not sure it's something that they'll fix because the OS is "good enough" for their purposes.
BTW, and this really shouldn't matter, but I have only ever bought Android, specifically Nexus/pixel devices, and the input latency is just a travesty and has always been my biggest source of annoyance. IMHO, I think some of the problems are due to Android's absurd HAL, and, in general, their reluctance to use the much more mature GPL Linux userspace libraries. Audioflinger is just dreadful at latency, even today. A developer at collobora ported PulseAudio to Android a few years ago and demonstrated how much less latency it introduced to the stack relative to audioflinger (a bit less than 20ms total, which is high, but much, much less than audioflinger on the device, and could easily have been improved).
dan82 - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
I've been using the new firmware for a 2 weeks as well and think the touch input has been only partially fixed. Things are still somewhat broken if the device is plugged in to charge. One finger is usually ok, but using two fingers (e.g. to pinch-to-zoom) and one of the fingers won't be tracked correctly. While not charging everything is ok and as the tablet luckily has really great battery life, this isn't too much of an issue.The keyboard also got much better. The new system version comes with an updated keyboard firmware which improves bluetooth connectivity a lot. The keyboard is no longer randomly disconnecting (and repeating keystrokes). I don't use the keyboard a lot to type, but it is pretty nice as a stand and cover. The magnetic mechanism is still fun to use.
I also think the Pixel C is currently the best Android tablet. It does get some things wrong that other Android tablets have no issue with, but those are minor:
- Wifi often disconnects while sleeping (this might of course explain the amazing battery life)
- No GPS or NFC
One more grip I have with it is long-term value. Ancient devices like the iPad 2 (2011, around of the time of the Motorola Xoom) and Surface Pro (2013) are still receiving system updates, so they remain current until today. Google promises updates for only 2 years. Of course, an Android system update is somewhat less important as a lot of apps get updated through the Play Store (e.g. Chrome), but you are missing out on some new features (like the new permissions of Android 6.0 that the Nexus 10 didn't get). In my view, that makes it difficult to recommend high priced Android devices, even when the hardware is totally worth it like in this case.
Brandon Chester - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
This fix has not gone out to the public yet. The February security patch didn't include any fixes for touch input or performance. It was only 14MB.dan82 - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
I installed the factory image MXB48T. The touch accuracy is night and day compared to before. A touch firmware can easily be fixed in 14 MB :-)A good way to try this is using the Markers app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.... Try drawing with a bunch of fingers at the same time. With the old version, fingers would frequently get dropped (the line has gaps). The reason is that Android thinks a finger got temporarily lifted of the device. With MXB48T, things are fine, as long as you are not charging the tablet. I'm happy to record a video.
neothe0ne - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
Have you tried the Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet? I was under the impression that was the best large-ish Android tablet that money could buy.dan82 - Thursday, February 18, 2016 - link
I haven't. It does sound pretty nice on paper but my main issue with it would be that it's not a Nexus, so it's late with software updates. Sony is better than others of course, but they are still behind.tuxRoller - Thursday, February 18, 2016 - link
The issue is with chrome not the tablet. Try firefox. I can verify that it doesn't have any of the issues mentioned in the article that chrome had.I do have one issue with the on-screen keyboard that pops up, afaict, randomly where I'll be gesture typing and I start a new word and it registers as a series of taps (this picking up letters along the way rather than waiting till I finish the gesture to determine the word) rather than a single touch trail.
Klug4Pres - Thursday, February 18, 2016 - link
Yes, I feel this article puts too much emphasis on shortcomings in the Chrome browser, which after all is merely just the default shipping browser. Nobody worried too much about Internet Explorer from Windows 3.1 onwards.R. Hunt - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
OLED and expandable storage keep me buying Samsung tablets. The best thing for me about the Pixel C is that, hopefully, it will set a new standard to follow in regards to the aspect ratio.djayjp - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
I don't see the problem with the Chrome pinch to zoom.Brandon Chester - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
The position of my fingers relative to whatever content I originally placed them on is completely different after zooming. If you put your fingers on two UI elements and pinch your fingers end up being far away from those same objects, which means it's not tracking properly. On top of that, the animation is pretty janky in several cases.Pissedoffyouth - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
The link to original review is wrongQbancelli - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
This reviewer is obviously a Apple fan.The Garden Variety - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
OOOH BOOOM! HEADSHOT! TEABAG IN PROGRESS! Qbancelli, I stand at attention and offer you a traditional military salute, for you have brought the pain, and perhaps a little bit of the funk, to the shores of Anandtech and sent the anti-American Apple Death Squads scurrying back to Nazi Germany. USA! USA! USA!ESC2000 - Thursday, February 18, 2016 - link
You must be new here:p. (Although in fairness I think the reporting in this article is not biased...but if you want to see annoying apple bias keep surfing this site)Nintendo Maniac 64 - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
Just yesterday there was an article lamenting the lack of 16:10 displays.Yet here we are with a 10:7 device...
(yes I realize said article was talking about monitor-sized displays!)
a2x - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
For any Pixel C users reading this: There's a custom kernel on XDA which includes Nvidia's reference WiFi driver. As far as I can tell, it has basically fixed the WiFi issue. You can't miss it, it's the only custom kernel for the Pixel C available on XDA.tuxRoller - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
Regarding multitouch zoom, try Firefox. I just verified that it tracks very closely to ideal. Far better than chrome.johnny_boy - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
Been using Firefox for Android for ages because of how good it is and how bad Chrome is. I also tested the pinch to zoom when reading the article oin my Nexus 9 on Firefox and it works flawlessly.tuxRoller - Thursday, February 18, 2016 - link
Same here.I'm really not sure why more people don't use it on Android.
funkdancer - Thursday, February 18, 2016 - link
After reading the comments on Firefox here I've set it up on my Samsung 8" S2 Tab, and it's pretty flawless. I must admit I have no idea where the reviewer is coming from about Android tablets; mine is ultra responsive, my son's previous gen ipad Air is an annoying POS in comparison. So many things don't work properly on that. Pinch zooming in Firefox though, bloody awesome. So fast also. Thanks guys.tuxRoller - Thursday, February 18, 2016 - link
Good to hear:)andy o - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
Brandon, could you quickly check if it now supports bluetooth hands-free profile, so you can make calls over bluetooth with a headset? It does not currently have that ability. See this link for more https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/nex...Brandon Chester - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
I just tried to do a Skype call with my MBR10RBT and Plantronics BBP and neither even fed the audio to the headset even when I explicitly selected Bluetooth in Skype. The person on the other end did say that the quality of my voice got better when I switched the Bluetooth setting OFF and used the built in setting, so I don't know exactly what was going on there.In any case it seems like hands free is still not working, and there's no phone audio profile in the settings app like there is on the Nexus 5X. That's a pretty major omission that I never thought to check for because I tend to not use Bluetooth headphones on Google devices due to erratic behavior and generally poor audio quality.
andy o - Thursday, February 18, 2016 - link
Thanks for checking. I'm surprised that Skype even showed the BT option. I don't have that many problems with Bluetooth on other Android devices though. I've used every Nexus phone since the N4 (except the N5X), and AFAIK Google finally raised the bitpool for A2DP I think in KitKat or Lollipop. My only gripe had been inconsistent support for HFP 1.6 with wideband audio, which Nexus phones only got in the N6, and no Google tablet has ever had it. The Shield tablet also doesn't have it. That might be one of your sources of poor audio quality, btw, at least for calls.Tomnokoe - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
Brandon, thank you so much for re-opening the Android touch latency issues. I feel like it's a point many people miss. The fluidity of the OS just isn't there. It's such a heavy thing to laden a smartphone with. Once noticed, it is almost impossible to ignore. The original iPad has better a better touch experience.yuanzhoulv - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
As good as Google is with software, I do think a lot of their hardware is rather spotty and subpar. My Nexus 10, for example, would often just simply not charge, even left plugged in for 10+ hours straight. What gives? FWIW the tablet is useless now because I can never tell whether it will charge or not charge. My Nexus 4 would physically heat up to beyond comfortable temperatures to hold.My Nexus 6 though, has been working great.
lmcd - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
Ironic that Chrome of all things is notably bad, considering that this almost ran Chrome OS.mc6123 - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
The problem is not Chrome - it's fat web pages with craptons of ads. Disable JavaScript in Chrome and see how fast pages load.Brandon Chester - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
The problem has nothing to do with page load times.asfletch - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
Surprised no one else has commented on the the contrast ratio dropping from 1900:1 to 863:1. In absolute terms the black level of the new unit isn't too bad (would be nice to see contrast ratio at 200nits and max brightness for comparison), but it's still a major difference and I would be very disappointed to receive and measure the 2nd unit if I had bought it mainly for display quality....Brandon Chester - Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - link
The contrast ratio shown there is from the i1Pro 2 and can't be trusted due to the i1Pro 2's inaccuracy with very dark measurements on the order of < 0.5 nits or so. The actual contrast ratio is equivalent to the original. I'm actually going to remove that part of the chart going forward because it is confusing.asfletch - Thursday, February 18, 2016 - link
Ah OK thanks.gfieldew - Thursday, February 18, 2016 - link
"Unfortunately, Android itself still exhibits a great deal of input lag, which becomes more pronounced on these larger devices as your finger moves over a greater physical distance."- I don't have a Pixel C but I can say in all truthfulness that Android on my Nexus 6P does not have a great deal of input lag.
tuxRoller - Thursday, February 18, 2016 - link
It's still a lot more than either windows or iOS.You can test this if you have a high frame rate camera.
Jumangi - Thursday, February 18, 2016 - link
Until Google puts real effort into making Android usable on large screen tablets and major apps get updated its going to stay a flawed experience.Kattz - Thursday, February 18, 2016 - link
Why are we, as consumers, accepting this from device manufacturers? I just finished reading that the MS Surface Book & Pro are full of bugs. The Pixel C is an expensive device and the MS devices are even more expensive.There is a solution. If you buy an expensive device and it behaves like the Pixel C, return it. Don't wait for an update.Don't root your device and install some sort of software from XDA to solve the problem. If you spend this amount of money on a device, it had better work out of the box.
The manufacturers have gotten used to being able to release devces with half-baked software and having people just buy it anyway because they want to be the first to get that new device. Why are we waiting until half-way through a device's short lifespan for it to work properly?
Hit them where it hurts. If everyone who had bought this piece of junk had returned it immediately, I am sure that the problems would have been fixed by now. They might think twice about pulling this off the next time.
nerd1 - Friday, February 19, 2016 - link
So far every 'direct' google products are total flops. I don't remember any exceptions.I expect micro sd slot, side by side multitasking, easy file transfer, and good value for android products... and this has none.
UtilityMax - Friday, February 19, 2016 - link
I never really get the criticism directed at the android tablets, that they supposedly failed etc. They certainly do not fail at being a tablet. First, you need to realize that a tablet is a lousy productivity tool. The screen is too small. The keyboard is too flimsy and small. It will always be a very lousy laptop. The only way to make a tablet into a notebook replacement, is to start with a big screen, like Surface Pro 4 does, but then with such a big screen the Surface Pro 4 is really a lousy tablet, because try holding a 12 inch tablet with one hand, and it is also IMHO a lousy notebook, because you always have to fold and unfold the rear leg and the keyboard bends more than than of a $200 Chinese laptop from Best Buy.The real application for tablets is to goof around with the web and social networks, while you're on your living room sofa, in your bed, or in the kitchen. Larger tablets are also good at being your portable entertainment and TV screen on the go, when you're in a hotel or on an airplane. But trying to do productivity things on it? Please. Give me a normal laptop. A Lenova Yoga is a 1000 times better than Surface Pro or whatever tablets can be.
nbpf - Sunday, February 28, 2016 - link
UtilityMax wrote: The real application for tablets is to goof around with the web and social networks, while you're on your living room sofa, in your bed, or in the kitchen.That's what I have bought my Pixel C for. Unfortunately, streaming high resolution videos while sitting on my sofa does not work particularly well because of the poor wireless performance of the Pixel C. From the same spot, a 3-years old iPad mini achieves 2 to 3 times higher download transfer rates. The Pixel C screen is very bright but unpleasantly reflective. Thus, watching videos or reading newspapaper in slightly less than ideal conditions is no fun. The software keyboard customization is very poor in 6.0.1 and the waste of space, especially in landscape mode, is enormous. All in all, a very disappointing device. Returned after one week.
shifuteejeh - Wednesday, March 2, 2016 - link
I purchased my first Pixel C as soon as it was available, and was so excited that I opted for overnight shipping. I want to love the device and keyboard, but it suffered from a myriad of problems. The first one I received had an unresponsive touch screen (extremely). After contacting support, they performed an RMA for the tablet only. The 2nd device received constantly disconnected from the keyboard. Therefore another RMA. The third device had a loud "clicking" noise when touching the left hand side of the screen (more on this later). The fourth device not only constantly disconnected from the keyboard, but would power off randomly and frequently. At this point, since it had been over a month of problems, I could no longer return the keyboard; so I reluctantly accepted a 5th RMA. This one worked fine for a while, but then suffered from the same issues. The device that "clicked;" support had me upload videos to youtube so that they could see it; and then send it directly to Pixel C developers instead of standard RMA. They later replied that "clicking" is to be expected if moderate pressure is applied. I found this odd, considering that none of the other tablets did this. The click was also in conjunction with a noticeable feeling, similar to clicking a mouse or using a button on a keyboard. In dealing with Google support, I was informed by a specialist that devices that were "RMAed" were often replaced by refurbished devices, which may be why I received flawed items. I was outraged at this, because I purchased my product brand new. I didn't pay $800 for a "refurbished" device. A thread for individuals experiencing problems can be found here:https://productforums.google.com/forum/?utm_medium...