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?
I remember watching the first season of that, shame to hear it didn’t get a proper finish.
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).
My wife’s computer had a hardware failure so I set her up on GeForce Now for a month until I could diagnose and fix the issue (i was super busy with returning to college at the time) and it was absolutely jarring how well it worked!
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.
Yeah I moved to Apple last year.
The garden walls may be higher but at least I don’t have to worry about the plants being chopped down.
Also I’m excited because there might actually be some resale value for my devices for once in my life.
Yep. I switched too. It’s nice to have resale value and a decent camera. I feel like every android phone I had has a major decline in camera quality over time. I haven’t experienced that with my iPhone. I also like how easy it is to add new devices to the eco system. I used to be an apple hater but no longer. I just need shit that works, I don’t give a flying fuck about “oPeN dEvElOpMeNt.” I text, browse, take pics and listen to music on my phone. That’s it. I don’t need to ability to hack the pentagon with my fucking phone.
I think the pixel 7 has the best camera around, that narrative changed a generation ago
That narrative still exists. Pixel 7 is one phone. The rest of them (Samsung, lg, etc) have degrading, shitty ass cameras and don’t hold much resale value.
I used to be a huge google supporter, and I’ll still take android every single day over an iPhone… but other than that google could go burn for all I care.
I’d like to exit Google, but Gmail makes this oh so hard. I’ve been using Gmail since over 20 years, basically my life is on that service. How did you migrate off Gmail?
Just… export the emails and most systems will have a way to import old emails.
Hell for work I’m in the middle of migrating emails sent on a platform, logged on a secondary platform but stored on a third, to a fourth platform via CSV only.
There are ways to forwards all your emails into a new email address i think. Google it.
It’s just a running joke at this point. If it doesn’t sell as many ads as Search, YouTube and GMail, they’ll kill it. Even if you’re paying them for it.
They can’t just have a little service that makes them a little bit of money. They have to have the top service that makes the most money.
I don’t mind the pixels and I trust they’ll stick around. So much user data to
selllearn fromWhat do you mean “ecosystem”? Are you unable to understand the idea of making products you can opt into and out of? Just because apple tries with every move to keep you dependent on them for all your devices, doesn’t mean everyone else aims to do the same.
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
The Pixel Pass is basically just a bundle of optional services that can be added to your Fi account for a very slight discount.
$300 over 2 years is not slight.
I understand completely. This is profiteering and another example of google killing a product I like. Fuck google. They finally got me to switch to an iphone after buying Nexus/Pixel for a decade. I’m switching out of spite.
Damn. Shoulda kept your Pixel and put GrapheneOS on it.
That’s 12.50 cents a month. You could have literally cancelled at any time.
Except that you’re lying
That sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen. Telling people they get a new phone if they sign up for 2 years then cancelling it at the 22 month mark.
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Ah I just realised. I was assuming users would get a free upgrade at the end of the 2 years, but it might be they get it upfront at the start
Yeah, its confusing the way its worded, but it’s still kind of shitty. I am sure there were some who would have bought another phone, but we’re lured into the Pixel deal. I know some people really look forward to replacing their phone every couple years, for whatever reason (they all seem pretty much the same to me).
Yeah, it’s basically a deal at the time of phone purchase: do this 24-month interest free payment plan for a new device, and we’ll throw in phone insurance, Youtube premium, and Google One for a significantly discounted price. At the end of 24 months, you can either get a new phone and sign up for another 24 months, or cancel at that time.
This is just an interest free financing plan that comes bundled with services.
No one was going to get a free phone.
Google cancelled a project?!?
/Shocked Pikachu face
I really hope they cancel Web Environment Integrity too
I want to switch to Google Fiber but I can’t shake the thought that as soon as I do they’ll shut down operations and pawn my soul off to Satan ISP
I wouldn’t be surprised.
Look at stadia, I knew it would be a rocky road for them to market it, but by also buying game studios with the intentions to make and release games, I was under the impression that they would keep going with it. They pumped so much money in to it.
Oh boy, how wrong I was.
I never considered it because the game streaming is still pretty new and I’ve never forgiven Google for killing the news reader.
I knew it was doomed when they announced the business model. Subscription + buying the games was never going to fly. If they had gone with a Game Pass style subscription, it would have had a chance.
It wasn’t that though, it was just miscommunicated, the subscription was a ps+ type thing, while you could buy games and play them for no additional costs at 1080p. Having Phil Harrison lead the whole thing didn’t help either (he rejected Hideo Kojima’s offer to make an exclusive game for stadia ffs)
I will never move to GCP because of this. The reputation damage with Reader, Stadia, Hangouts, etc has made me not want to invest moving my companies services to their cloud. I doubt they are factoring this in when they shutter a service, but it is costing them millions. Google has shown it can’t commit to supporting their products and services, so why bother spending time integrating with them and get locked in, just for it to be depreciated or discontinued immediately.
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Both are also in heavily regulated industries with oversight from state utility commissions and the FCC, where simply trying to exit a market requires a whole proceeding before the agency/commission. They could announce that they’d be exiting the industry and selling its assets to a competitor, but that would have to clear antitrust hurdles and would take a while.
I think that means that effectively, they can’t just “kill” these services but would have to sell to someone else, and the approval process itself could result in some concessions for the consumer, so that even Satan ISP would have limited power to really screw over the consumer.
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Yep, just like they did in Louisville.
Dude, they ARE Satan ISP.
One more headstone in the Google graveyard
I have been a lifelong googler. Owned every Nexus phone and Pixel until the Pixel 6, when I got Pixel pass. They finally made me mad enough to switch to an iphone. I dislike Apple very much, but I can rely on their services still being around 2 years after they launch.
But why iPhone?
I went to search for what the best phones are. Now I’m on OnePlus 8T for the past three years and the device still kicks most phones asses for what was a good price. I’ll use this for another two years I guess and then I’ll look at what is the best phone again. It won’t be iPhone, that’s for sure
Apple products are overpriced like hell, and simply not yours to do with what you want.
Probably because it’s not 2010 and both platforms are matured to the point of being able to do almost the exact same things for the majority of users, so it’s just down to small personal preferences.
This is so true now. I used to go back and forth between iPhone and Pixel phones, and then a few years ago decided it’s just nicer with an iPhone. I know I’ll get regular updates and I’ll get OS updates way longer than any Android phone will. The OSes are pretty much the same now, little tweaks here and there between the two and they are nearly identical to how they work. And iPhone just has more QOL features over Android.
Yeah pretty much the same except iOS is absolute trash with the shittiest ux imaginable. Yeah, I have to use them for work. Safari is a fucking trainwreck as one example
I think this is mostly right. There used to be big differences and now its very much just a preference. Except when price is taken into account.
Apple no longer have an excuse for the high price of their phones because they are, as you said, basically the same as androids and in some cases just not as powerful.
Androids have the advantage of competing with itself. There are many different makes and models of android all fighting for space so new features or improvements happen faster than they do for iphones. Apple have lost what made iphones unique and therefore “worth it” in many consumers opinions.
If they are now basically an android they should cost the same as an equivalently specced android.
iPhone is still WAY more expensive, more prone to failure, harder and more expensive to repair, and you can’t do the same with the device as on an android. So as long as you are a rich non-power user with little technical knowledge and don’t care about the money, then I guess iPhones (and apple in general) are okay, I guess.
That also directly describes most Apple users
Because they’re lying
Just buy a different android phone you buffoon
lifelong googler
lol, oh now it’s too much?
I mean, there are android phones from 2013 that still work…no need to advertise for apple.
I don’t believe you.
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
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
What the fuck?
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.
I replaced google with Kagi. It’s much much much better. So much better that I’m literally willing to pay for a search engine. It just doesn’t compare.
They already have, it’s pay to play now
why would they kill their only successful product
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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.
I was all in for years and each product I’ve been burned, this is the last straw for me. As each thing I own fails or needs replacing, it won’t be Google.
I am done, I looked past a lot of faults because of the overall capabilities of the ecosystem they created and they’ve slowly dismantled it and changed and tweaked everything to be annoying to use.
It’s like they intentionally pick the best features, remove them and try to gaslight me into thinking it’s better now.
I’m just done with them.
Wtf are you even talking about.
this is sooooooooooo shitty, I’d be so fucking upset
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.
This is Google’s standard operating procedure.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
When the service launched in October 2021, Google said that every two years on the Pixel Pass would make you eligible for a brand new phone.
but Google doesn’t answer its own question, saying only, "We offer the best value of our hardware products and give users the flexibility to purchase their favorite services.
We continue to evaluate offers based on customer feedback and provide different ways for them to access the best of Google."
That won’t happen here, though—while new signups are no longer allowed, existing users will be able to finish out their two-year term.
You’ll receive a monthly bill for Google One, Google Play Pass, and YouTube Premium at the current discounted rate, which is visible in the email sent to you on August 29, 2023 with the subject line, ‘An important update on Pixel Pass.’
To take some sting out of the move, Google is offering a “$100 loyalty reward credit” for active Pixel Pass subscribers.
The original article contains 498 words, the summary contains 160 words. Saved 68%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
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.
You’re reading it wrong. You can upgrade to a new phone, just not a new phone that comes with PixelPass.
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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It has been a pretty short trip from “Don’t be evil” to “The cutting edge of late stage capitalism”
