Google kills two-year “Pixel Pass” subscription after just 22 months::Two years on a Pixel Pass was supposed to get you a new phone.
This is why users don’t invest in the google ecosystem. No consistency or follow through.
The Netflix of technology
Does Netflix have a reputation for being inconsistent? I know people are pissed with the recent password sharing policy, but as a dev, I’ve only ever heard interesting/downright awesome stuff coming from Netflix’s tech side.
Netflix has a reputation for killing TV shows after 2 or 3 seasons, before they can be wrapped up. So there’s a ton of content on Netflix which is ‘unfinished’ and so completely unattractive to anyone that might want to start watching it. Why would I ever bother starting to watch, for example, Santa Clarita Diet if I already know the show just ends with no pay off?
This is exactly why Stadia failed. I honestly think if it was a service like Gamepass Ultimate where the games come with the sub, it would’ve been a success. Spending $60 on a game I can only play via Google’s service though? Fuck no. Never. Not in a million years.
I honestly think if it was a service like Gamepass Ultimate where the games come with the sub, it would’ve been a success.
I mean, they should’ve communicated better, because that’s essentially what the paid subscription was: subscribing would get access to a library of free games to play. I think the library could’ve been better.
Even today, I’m using Geforce Now + XBox Game Pass, I find that the streaming quality isn’t the same as Stadia (but the game selection is much, much better).
I got my money back and have a billion Bluetooth controllers for my steam deck.
I lucked out with the whole situation. I got in when they were offering a free stadia bundle with cyberpunk, then not long after they killed the service. I got my money back for cyberpunk and a free Chromecast and stadia controller out of it. Now that Google has enabled Bluetooth support, it’s my go to PC controller.
I used to be all in with Google. After being burned over and over again, I’ve nearly entirely exited their ecosystem with some exceptions. I just don’t trust them anymore to maintain their products for the long haul.
I don’t mind the pixels and I trust they’ll stick around. So much user data to
selllearn from
Lots of misunderstanding in these comments. Google Fi service is not going anywhere, Google is not cancelling any services. The Pixel Pass is basically just a bundle of optional services that can be added to your Fi account for a very slight discount. You do not get a free phone, you get interest free financing on your phone. Because they are cancelling the Pixel Pass Google has given me $100 credit towards my next phone, which is a better deal than the Pixel Pass itself.
Like many people I’m not happy with a lot of things Google has been doing lately, but the Pixel Pass being cancelled is not important.
To take some sting out of the move, Google is offering a “$100 loyalty reward credit” for active Pixel Pass subscribers. You can use it for $100 off a new Pixel phone from the Google Store or Google Fi, and it expires in two years.
Thanks for pointing out that typo, I fixed the credit amount
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Damn. Shoulda kept your Pixel and put GrapheneOS on it.
I’m so glad I keep seeing the “just GOS it”, I greatly prefer my GOS pix6 to the stock one. As I said in an earlier comment in this post, I just can’t switch the stock one over fast enough!
I hate Google as much as the next guy but I don’t think switching to the product of an even more capitalistic company, one that is completely locked down and doesn’t allow you to install your own OS, is actually a good solution…
That’s 12.50 cents a month. You could have literally cancelled at any time.
Google cancelled a project?!?
/Shocked Pikachu face
I really hope they cancel Web Environment Integrity too
One more headstone in the Google graveyard
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lifelong googler
lol, oh now it’s too much?
They need to get rid of that clown Sundar. Under his “leadership” Google has been on an endless downward trend.
He’s helped with the only metric that shareholders actually care about: profitability. No matter that a lot of those on-paper $ have come through gimmickry and at the expense of the long-term success of the company.
You are right. The year before he became CEO, Google “only” had revenue of $66B. Last year, their revenue was $280B.
But if you look at the revenue chart, they were headed in that direction seemingly regardless of who was at the helm. But I think he is really hurting their long-term profits. I know that might sound crazy when they are making over 1/4 of a trillion per year, but there are more and more people who will simply not even consider a Google product these days because they feel in 6 months, Google will just kill it off. Who wants an orphaned phone or watch or VR headset, let alone all the software and services they kill off.
Yeah, they aren’t just eating their seed corn. They’re sowing the seed corn and then burning it down before it bears fruit, over and over
It has been a pretty short trip from “Don’t be evil” to “The cutting edge of late stage capitalism”
Didn’t feel like a trip to me, more like teleportation.
i am waiting for day when google kill its search engine
That day might come unless they can get the quality of search back under control.
I wouldn’t be surprised (or sad) if a disruptor comes along with a new idea and gives 'em a hard time.
Personally I’ve already replaced a high percentage of my Google searches with the OpenAI gpt-4 playground.
Already has.
Tried searching for anything on it recently?
They already have, it’s pay to play now
This probably isn’t a big deal, but this is (and the fact that Google is an ad company) is the reason why I wouldn’t rely on any Google service or product that I couldn’t easily replace in a matter of minutes.
It’s this kind of knee jerk on Google’s part that might save them a few bucks in the short term (presumably incentiviced with bonuses for the managers) but causes long time reputational damage over time.
I don’t understand how seemingly no one up the chain considers this before pulling the plug so quickly.
Don’t fuck with user trust. When you lose it it’s pretty hard to get back.
this is sooooooooooo shitty, I’d be so fucking upset
The title made it sound bad, then I read the article. It basically said they are canceling a subscription service offering. No one is getting cheated out of a phone. You could pay 45 or 55 dollars a month for 2 years and once it was over you could pay that again to get a new phone. So $1080 for their phone + google services or $1320 for the more expensive phone with their services.
It was started with the Pixel 6. The Pixel seven I see listed as $599 through the playstore. So thats $481 or $240.50/year on google services you can avoid paying for and just get the phone. Oh, and you are “eligible” for that new phone whenever you want.
Whoa, you read the article before getting out your pitchfork? I wish more people would. Part of the reason I left Reddit was due to people (or bots) who would post articles with titles that were unfair, combined with users who wouldn’t read, yet had strong angry opinions about everything.
I bought my pitchfork with a saftey in it. Figure by the time I take the safty off I may have cooled down some haha
I cannot believe that in the year 2023 people were still paying for a Google service that was supposed to last beyond 30 days. Especially one that was supposed to have a long-term reward. You would have to have so much blind trust in Google at that point.
EDIT: I now understand that this was a a two-year installment plan for the existing phone. That being said, I still don’t think anyone should buy into Google products or services expecting them to have long-term support. Google has shown time and time again that they are willing to kill any and all projects at any time with almost no warning.
The headline is sensationalist since it implies they were going to get a free phone and Google bailed at the last minute.
Really? Because that’s how I’m reading it.
while new signups are no longer allowed, existing users will be able to finish out their two-year term. The end of the term was supposed to mean re-upping with a shiny new device, but Google now says, “By the end of the 2 year term, you can’t upgrade to a new phone with Pixel Pass.”.
I think Ars Technica has it wrong with that wording, the FAQ from Google support linked in that article says:
Can I still upgrade my Pixel device after 24 months?
Yes, you can still upgrade your Pixel device after 24 months, you just won’t be able to renew your subscription to Pixel Pass. You can purchase or finance your next Pixel device directly from Google Store or Google Fi Wireless, and you have the option to trade-in your current Pixel device towards your next device. Current Pixel Pass subscribers received $100 towards their next Pixel purchase good for 2 years, which can also be used alongside available promotions.
So you can upgrade your phone for the current term, but you can’t renew your subscription and upgrade again.
They would have had to pay. It’s not like they already paid and now they’re not getting what they were promised.
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I have a pixel phone and never heard of pixel pass
Say what you want about apple, but this is why they are winning. They don’t jump the gun, they don’t go home early, they stick with it consistently.
They are no more expensive than Samsung. So, other than the walled garden app ecosystem keeping all the malware out, whattcha got?
I haven’t seen an ad on any of my devices in like 4+ years, nor have I paid for any monthly subscriptions.
Say what you’d like about Google and Android, I’m not exactly singing their praises or anything, but I don’t think that’s possible with Apple.
You can. The subscription services are optional and mostly geared towards lazy bastards like myself. I could manually back my phone up to any Mac or windows machine but I pay for the convenience of iCloud storage instead. The other subscription services are purely entertainment driven (Music, TV+, Arcade, etc.) and not required to have a fully functioning device.
It is. NextDNS and Brave Browser. I usually am not a fan of Brave but it’s the best browser on iOS
They don’t jump the gun, they don’t go home early, they stick with it consistently.
Apple has messed around a lot with its phone payment plans in recent years, though. It’s not clear whether they really want to become a bank or not.
Fuck Google and fuck pixel too lol
Only 2 downsides to pixel:
- Stock Rom
- No display out from USBC
All other issues are solved with GOS.
- No 3.5mm jack
I haven’t used a 3.5mm jack in close to a decade, so it’s a non-issue for me, but I get your point.
Yeah, it’s about having the choice
To be fair, community’s beloved repairable and sustainable Fairphone doesn’t have one either…
And it’s a phone that I would’ve considered if it had one.
What’s the point of having a 3.5 mm Jack when you have LDAC codec for hi res audio over bluetooth?
I could list dozens of reasons but at the end of the day it comes down to having the option and making the choice, instead of having it made by some company. And as someone who repairs their own phones, 3.5mm jacks really don’t take a lot of space. It’s definitely not enough to make a substantial improvement to battery size. You question the point of having them, I question the point of removing them when they were (and still are) a universal standard with not many downsides.
some of us prefer legacy cans.
Also the low end of wired is cheaper and sounds better than the low end of wireless.
Yay ChiFi
ChiFi is amazing for the cost most of the time. For me though, having to carry extra things for the wireless options just makes it more inconvenient as well as remembering to recharge. And dongles just end up constantly unplugging with regular movement. I miss headphone jacks. Such a crap move.
I always prefer wired in most circumstamces; wired earphones, Xbox controllers, printers, etc. I just want something to be the exact same every time I use it so my life is similar. I don’t want to worry about swapping out batteries, or recharging and then then the battery eventually dying. It’s just one extra thing that you have to worry about.
Not to say the newer specs of Bluetooth aren’t great because it has come a long way. And I do have an 1st MX Masters mouse that I love. Idk I just generally prefer consistency and reliability over the ergonomic and mobility advantages. Everyone is different I guess
Nah, I like my Pixel.
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They were eligible for a brand new phone after 24 months if they recontracted for another 24 months. If they decided to unsubscribe during months 25-48, they’d be on the hook for the remaining cost of the phone. I mention this because at least for where I am, this is the default position - this decision would just mean the user needs to get their brand new phone on a contractual repayment from a provider other than Google.
