Daring Fireball
★ Google’s Pixel 8 Launch Event
https://daringfireball.net/2023/10/googles_pixel_8_event
Google’s Pixel 8 Launch Event

Pixel phone photography is racing ahead to a world where images reflect moments that never actually were.

Daring Fireball
Oct 5, 2023 at 10:09pmDF Tootbot
Show threadJeff JohnsonOct 5, 2023

@daringfireball
@gruber You linked to an article in July claiming 10% YoY Mac sales growth, based on IDC estimates, but Apple’s own quarterly results a few weeks later showed a 7% YoY drop in Mac sales. These 3rd party estimates have never been trustworthy.

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/pdfs/fy2023-q3/FY23_Q3_Consolidated_Financial_Statements.pdf

Show threadJamesonOct 5, 2023
@daringfireball Your thoughts (and Patel’s commentary) about “Best Take” reminded me of this incident from the front page of the L.A. Times 20 years ago: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-apr-02-war-1walski2-story.html
Editor's Note

On Monday, March 31, the Los Angeles Times published a front-page photograph that had been altered in violation of Times policy.

Los Angeles Times
Show threadSeanOct 5, 2023
@daringfireball I have a 14 Pro and a Pixel 6a. I got the 6a to see what Google’s assistant/AI technology is like, but I’d never consider switching for the hardware and Android is positively backward compared to iOS (in design and experience).
Show threadAbazigalOct 6, 2023
@daringfireball I use an Apple TV box for the (supposedly) better privacy. It’s not like Google can even claim that benefit for their own hardware.
Show threadRyan RampersadOct 6, 2023
@daringfireball
The question you ask here reminds of that court case that doubted a photo from an iPhone, and then a separate incident about a photo from an iPhone that had some strange overlay issues with a background tree (allegedly).
Show threadJérôme Leroy – ComposerOct 6, 2023
@daringfireball the “Best Take” feature reminds of Samsung’s “moon shot” photos (if we can still call them photos) where the OS knows you’re taking a photo of the moon and replacing it with a fake (but better looking) photo of the moon.
Show threadDelricOct 6, 2023
@daringfireball one reason to use Apple TV box - trying to explain to your 78 mother how to use the smart tv’s horrid OS (wading thru the promo crap), find the Apple TV+ app, and that the smart tv, Apple TV+, and Netflix all have entirely different UX all on the same device. It sucks so bad. Nope.
Show threaddmitriidOct 6, 2023

@daringfireball

Mac started at 1-2% market share, and persevered. Google is at 3% market share, and "you don't see it succeeding"? Even though "it surprises you to see how much Google software people use on their phones"?

Google is getting better at what Apple does (hardware, integration) than Apple at what Google does (services, fast iterations).

Apple's own software are now buggy, bland, slow abominations with user-hostile design choices.

1/

Show threaddmitriidOct 6, 2023

@daringfireball

When you've replaced most of it with Google alternatives (because they are faster, or because your work already uses them, or...), and the phones are nice (Pixel phones *are* nice), and the ecosystem is there (Google now offers everything Apple offers), then I, too, can't see how Google can succeed.

2/2

Show threadNathan ShedroffOct 6, 2023

@daringfireball
"But Google seems more willing to brush aside any ethical concerns about what exactly a photograph is."

Too be fair, anyone trying to photograph "Bladerunner Day" in SF on Sept 9, 2020 had to resort to Photoshop anyway because the iPhone automatically "color-corrected" the view outside.

Show threadJonas EliaOct 6, 2023

@daringfireball Two striking parallels: the "Get a Mac" and Google's "#BestPhonesForever" campaigns as well as the time it took and might take for Google to gain meaningful market share.

However, I think one part that's missing from your equation is Samsung. People love their Samsungs for whatever reason.

Plus, isn't it unfair to say the Pixel phones hardware is worse than iPhone? The 8 Pro has a beautiful, recognizable Design that doesn't wobble and the camera system is technically superior.

Show threadVilhelm RotheOct 6, 2023
@daringfireball @gruber On what is a photo, and I know it isn't the same, but do you see any overlap with the 24 MP photos the iPhones 15 take? That's also not a "real" photo, but do you see any convergence?
Show threadJohn GruberOct 6, 2023
@vilhelmr @daringfireball Slightly, but very much inline with HDR: it's still attempting to capture reality, as perceived by human eyes, from a certain perspective at a certain moment in time.
Show threadVilhelm RotheOct 9, 2023
@gruber @daringfireball I get the point, but it's also a loose definition. I've definitely seen HDRs that looked nothing like the real world, and long exposures often create photos that look nothing like what it does in real life (whether it's a waterfall or a night sky).
Show threadMaxOct 6, 2023
@daringfireball I don't think that comparison between HDR and Magic Editor or Best Take is justified. HDR at this point is mostly an automated feature without any input from the user, while all these new AI Editors are really editors where users have to make conscious decisions about what exactly they want to change. Simple photoshop for ordinary people.