yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] pcriz:
The first part of your statement lends itself towards my over all point of they are doing what they have always done. Nothing more nothing less.

I can't say I agree with the statement of appealing to the tech savvy though, if that was the case and comment sections on XDA/Reddit/etc are any indication then the pixel would've sold more than million phones since release and Samsung/Apple wouldn't be top dogs across multiple markets. Availability, marketing, and subsidiaries drive who buys what.

The majority of people go to sales reps to buy phones, at least this how the math plays out in my head.

Also just from my group of co workers in a fairly tech intensive field. If I go around telling then don't get a phone because they can't root it. Most would be like why would I want to.

Look at the total number of registered users on xda and compare that the reported Android activations in the last two years, we are a drop in the pond
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] zelendel:
Not really if you think about it. The pixel really didn't appeal to tech people persay. They killed off a developer friendly device for one they had more control over.

As for the number of xda users. The number displayed is not even close to being accurate of how many people use the site.

Samsung got where they are off the backs of tech savvy people. Think about it. Early on Samsung went out of their way to give the community what it wanted. Be it device options or unlock leaks. Which got great word of mouth. Which will sell or break just about any company. Apple, well they did the one thing that made smartphones an options for the normal person. They dumbed it down. Smartphones were around for years before hand but they were more then the normal person wanted to deal with.

Root is not for everyone. Nor to be honest should just everyone have it. It holds very real risks that most people can't even really comprehend.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] ithehappy:
Pixel was a fail because it was officially released in SIX countries LoL. In how many countries do them Samsungs release officially? Think about that.

I also don't see the point of a huge amount of development when a device is excellent to start with. I am more than happy with two great kernels and whatever ROMs are available for it.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] pcriz:
I guess I need you to quantify how sites like XDA, or rather tech savvy people boosted the appeal of samsung. I mean come on, you have new users that hate touchwiz based on hearsay alone and havent touched a samsung device. How many users lived by the fact that OG Droid for the longest was the only phone with buying, nexus or nothing.

The market saturation of samsung made it popular on XDA because of visibility and a large community to support it. People weren't buying samsung because of CM support, they were already buying samsung, hating touchwiz and rushing to other options.

Even the argument of getting rid of root scaring away tech savvy users and hurting the bottom line is nuanced. Verizon has done everything in their power to kill off rooting devices and the only thing that hurt their growth is more competition in relation to plan pricing and data offerings. Not people being upset about root. Root is one small part in a complicated picture.

I'll tell you why apple is successful, and it isn't the dumbing down of smart phones, but that helped. Here was the competition, Palm, Black Berry, and Windows. Of them the only one that stood a chance was Blackberry but they were lazy. They didnt have a device market of items to lock users in but the options for a truly smart device were limited. Then comes this shiny full touchscreen device, it had apple music so I can pull an album in on the fly or import my library fairly easy through itunes. Add to that it being a status symbol and not insanely expensively with (chinese labor and) advances in mobile technology. The uniformity of the UX alone was something that kept users coming back, you always knew how a back button performed, no one app looked foreign because of the standards apple held app devs to. Something android doesn't do (well) to this day. These simple things kept people coming back.

Heck even the first android had a keyboard until they saw the direction apple took the market, and all the tech savvy people in the world couldnt save palm and windows.

---------- Post added at 08:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:20 AM ----------

You're assuming the Pixel was a fail but we dont know googles numbers, we say its a fail all while they are sending out the hype train for number 2.

If I make fifty of something and sell 45 and make a profit then I made a profit. If I make 250 and sell 45 then I am taking a loss. Thing is why go big on a venture such as this, get a feel for the market then the next go around up production. Ever hear of LRIP, limited rate initial production. Not exactly what google did but apply that logic to a "new product" You keep costs down while developing market data on demand, reliability, repair costs. So the next go around you can better maximize profit.

Basically what I am saying is not selling a lot and being a failure aren't one in the same. I mean look how long people waited to even get devices, that alone should be an indicator that they went above their internal estimates.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] buzzboy:
PureNexus is working fine for Google photos unlimited storage.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] ithehappy:
[MENTION=1164081]pcriz[/MENTION]:

I'm not saying it's a fail! Simply echoed what other people are saying. I know how much I love the phone, first phone ever which I love this much. Gonna keep it for as long as possible, not interested in Pixel 2 as it'll be manufactured by LG.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] hokiealumnus:
To be clear, it is not just working within the photos app (which applies to LOS ROMs), but rather it also does not take away from the storage space you have available on google drive?
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] buzzboy:
Yes, sorry I should have been clear. PureNexus supports unlimited storage at original quality. Any photo or video taken by your pixel is fine. I even transfer my DSLR pics onto my Pixel and upload them. Google storage quota is not affected, as long as you use your Pixel to upload them.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] hokiealumnus:
Thanks, appreciate that.

.....goes to PM beans and see if he'll share his secret sauce. ;)
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Reechings:
PLEASE DO! This is a pretty big issue when you start pushing up against the quota. I record all videos in 4K and need this to work. That being said, PureNexus is too "pure" for me. CRDroid for the win haha!
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Jammol:
The issue of Google Drive storage being counted against is because of the Gapps package that's being used in the roms, and also because of build.prop lines that are incorrect. An example that I discovered was on Screw'd Rom. Photos sees that and says I'm using a Pixel XL because of the Marlin tag in build.prop, but in build.prop, it also says my phone is a Pissel. Checked Drive storage and sure enough, storage got counted against. Changed build.prop to match PN as much as possible and Drive storage no longer gets counted against.:highfive:
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Reechings:
I'm using Resurrection Remix and my build.prop looks pretty good as far as I can see. Can you attach yours so I can compare? Thanks
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Jammol:
I'm on PN again, sorry. I couldn't stay on that ROM or PA because of constant SprintDM configuration running to setup Project Fi.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Reechings:
Can you upload the PN build.prop then so I can compare mine?
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] buzzboy:
This is from PureNexus
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] buzzboy:
Going to have to try that at some point. Thanks mate.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Jammol:
Yeah he you go.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Jammol:
No problem. Thanks for uploading that. Had to go root just now to get mine up, lol. :silly:
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] pcriz:
Yeah I'm not seeing pissel at all in my build prop. Do you remember what line it was on
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Reechings:
Looks pretty much the same for any device type references but maybe I'm missing something. Thanks for the upload
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] fizbanrapper:
I phone comments aside, I pretty much agree.

I bought my pixel as a replacement for my M8 in the hopes I'd be getting a device that, once the kinks were worked out, would be developer friendly. Doing anything on this phone is still an odd process and one misstep will kill twrp and, if you're ROM isn't booting, you've got a problem until you can get to a pc with Fastboot. I just can't take that risk every day since I actually need my phone for work.

I personally compiled over 12 different ROMs for the M8 as part of a team that cranked out around 40 ROMs in total. I had my own custom kernel with 5,000 commits added above and beyond stock, and was part of another team who were maintaining multirom for the M8. I say this not to brag, but only to establish that I'm not a newb moron.

I've basically given up on development for now. Maybe I'll pick it up again if I get a new device that's easier to deal with.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Jammol:
Hmm, that's weird. It was in in the first few lines.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] buzzboy:
I definitely noticed the word during setup. "Welcome to your pissel", or something like that. I gather they use some Tipsy OS resources.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] jhs39:
Some people will obviously disagree but to me, it's pretty obvious that Google doesn't want people to flash on the Pixels, but if I'm right why didn't Google just lock the bootloader in the first place? I've thought about that and come to the conclusion that Google actually did something pretty smart. If they had outright locked the bootloader there would have been an outcry and it would have been seen as heavy-handed so Google is trying to get people to voluntarily decide that they are better off running stock on their Pixel. Google is taking a sort of carrot and stick approach. The carrot is that stock Android runs extraordinarily well on the Pixel. The sticks are subtle but I think they are unmistakable. First, Google made the Pixel difficult to develop for so there are far fewer custom Roms, kernels and customizations available for the Pixel than for Google's previous Nexus devices. Then Google made the Pixel much more of a headache to flash on than the Nexus devices and most other phones, so many people will just come to the conclusion that it's too difficult to try or if they do flash successfully they might still eventually decide that it ultimately isn't worth the hassle. Then there's Android Pay, which is a pretty great feature. If you simply unblock your bootloader Android Pay won't work. You need to use a custom kernel or root with Magisk to get Android Pay to work with an unlocked bootloader or custom Rom but Android has been pretty aggressive in patching exploits that allow people to use Android Pay this way. SuperSu makes no attempt to allow users to still use Android Pay but Magisk does and Google seems determined to make an example out of them. Magisk Manager was banned from the Google Store. Google keeps updating Android and various background services so they can detect Magisk and stop it from working. Magisk creates an update to get past whatever Google did but Google will inevitably patch any exploit that Magisk uses and stop it from working again. Eventually, many people who really like to use Android Pay are going to come to the conclusion that using Magisk to get past Safety Net is too troublesome and unpredictable and they will just go back to stock so they don't have to worry about whether Android Pay will still be working on any given day or not. Google is creating an accumulation of circumstances that make it unnecessary for them to actually lock the Pixel bootloader to get owners to run stock. I don't know what the numbers are but I have no doubt that significantly more people are running stock Android on the Pixels than ever did on the Nexus devices because if you own a Pixel running stock is ultimately your best option.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] dmb219:
I think you are right, the stock setup and update on the 1st Monday is the ticket for this phone. Anything else hampers the phone in some way. I like flashing and hacking but the stock Pixel is the best. I'll probably need to get the new one. I'm going to try to resist but I don't know if I have the will power.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Reechings:
I see your point but don't find the Pixel is THAT hard to flash on and I don't use Android Pay and am addicted to the extra customization that you can get with custom ROMs. Thankfully we do still have the choice.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] buzzboy:
Just a quick update on Screw'd ROM.

I've flashed the latest official build,(2307), and Google photo storage (Unlimited, original quality) seems to be working as it should after two days of use.

The previous official build (0907), also seemed to work fine for me also. So it seems as if BETA builds may break Google photos.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] pcriz:
How are you checking this?
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] buzzboy:
There's a 'Upgrade storage' option within the Google Drive app, that shows you what storage is being used across Photos and Drive.

I've uploaded a ton of 4k videos, and my storage is untouched.

I'm aware that sometimes it can take a few hours to refresh, that's why I've tested it thoroughly over a few days.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] pcriz:
Okay, thank you
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] jws86:
Thanks for the info!

I'm liking this BETA too much at the moment to switch, so I think I'm sticking with it for now.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] pcriz:
Whats the difference between the beta and the offcial build
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] jws86:
Honestly I don't really know, I have only ever had the BETA on my pissel.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] buzzboy:
To be honest, I can't see much difference in terms of features. I can't see a Beta changelog anywhere.

Maybe there's a few 'Under the hood' tweaks.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] mlin:
I must say it seems HIGHLY UNLIKELY that Google has made advancements in security and streamlining the update process with the aim of making the phone more difficult to develop for.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] zelendel:
You have to understand Google flat out hates what we do here. To the point they even refuse to speak to anyone from xda.

No Google doesn't want people flashing custom roms. It takes away from their closed Sourced bs and bypasses the so call security that sell people on.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Jammol:
Lol, say what?! :eek:
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] mlin:
There is no evidence to suggest this is even remotely true
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] zelendel:
Actually there is. Xda has repeatedly reached out to Google about different things. Even tried talking to them at Google IO one year. All end up nowhere. Heck even HTC spoken out against xda. Saying people should give sense a try and not use what's found here.

There are many things that happen behind the scenes that normal users are not aware of.

Think about it this way. This site has single handed broken and bypassed every security mechanism that Google has come up with. In their mind, making android less secure with each exploit.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Punkid:
Security exploits will be found whether xda exists or not.

And idk why manufacturers get pissed off that people install ROMs etc on their phones. I bought the phone, I'll use it the way i want. Installing a ROM voids warranty, but again, it's my phone, ican do with it whatever i want. No warranty? No problem, i made the decision, I won't go crying to the manufacturer if i break my device.

Also, xda is a very small subset of users, should be insignificant to most OEMs
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] pcriz:
I dont think they get "pissed". You already brought the phone, you pay for the plan, you're still a part of their system. They just wont support this community or make it any easier for the community to do what it does. I'm sure a huge part of that is simply protecting their investment and we can't act like these companies havent paid for people finding exploits and even hired devs in the past. Its a business for them not a hobby.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] zelendel:
Yes we are a small subset but we are also the ones at google IO and other tech conventions. NOt normal users.

You are right it is your device and you can do what ever you want but you still use their software. If you were to remove all OEM software you would need a Jtag to flash anything and you would also need the one thing we dont have. An open source bootloader.

I mean think about it. No OEM likes to know they spend billions in R&D into the OS just for people not to use it.

You are also a subset of the subset. It wasnt an issue back before people started flashing their devices and then claiming warranty replacement. This is when they started really locking the bootloader down.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] CZ Eddie:
I just installed "Candy" ROM by KevinP.

Wow this looks really great.

It's even got the automatic day/night theme option built-into the ROM. :good:

The red accents are pretty cool.

Looks like only settings gets auto-themed though.

Not the apps like phone/contacts/calculator/play/etc.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] pcriz:
Does it have any nav options for pie/immersive mode
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] CZ Eddie:
I'm sorry PCriz, I already jumped to another ROM to look at.

I'm not sure if it had PIE or not? I never use that.

It did have SlimRecents though, which indicates the dev likes options.

And there was a tab for custom navigation options (that I didn't look too closely at).
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] hokiealumnus:
We just added ASOPA Pie to crDroid. Just sayin'. :p
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] pcriz:
Bruhhhh you just made my day

---------- Post added at 12:36 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:28 AM ----------

Wait in the current build or the coming build?
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] hokiealumnus:
Sorry, busy afternoon. Current build.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] CZ Eddie:
I flashed again and it did have a PIE option but I didn't play around with it.

Uninstalled OmniRecents while debloating and that screwed up the settings which decided to force close anytime I got near the navigation options.

Between that and being unable to find the hidden menu option to go wild n whacky with Notification settings, I decided to go back to RR.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] pcriz:
Can you pm me a link? My Google-Fu isn't working for me tonight
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Golf c:
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?w=files&flid=206466&sort_by=date&sort_dir=ASC
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] pcriz:
Thanks, CZ got me as well. Appreciate it guys.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Golf c:
I would have pm'd it but I spaced it out. Speed reading. Lol!
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] pcriz:
PA has been updated.

Hotword detection with screen off still doesn't work.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] kinetx:
whats the state of rom dev for O? i understand we only have a bootable twrp img, can that not be used to flash roms?

sorry if this has been addressed elsewhere - i'm out of the loop
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Pain-N-Panic:
Negative, we now have a flashable twrp. However, you have to use the bootable twrp image in order to flash the TWRP zip to install it on the phone.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] DaveHTC200:
Is it being worked on for the XL or just pixel? as couldn't see anything regarding the XL
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] CZ Eddie:
Spaceman (the lead maintainer for Pixel) recently said he owns a Pixel XL if I remember correct.

My assumption is they'll be supporting both devices.

---------- Post added at 01:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:49 PM ----------

It's also listed on their supported devices page:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n9sRO346xqB2edzlyK4_tbXBnZRW0_oPm1Hde7uMQDU/edit
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Juzman:
I'm running stock 7.1.1 + Swift Black, is awesome. I have no care for CM and am patiently waiting for PureNexus ROM for the Pixel XL. I really miss that ROM, loved it on my 6P.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Cbass15:
How are you guys able to get substratum working? I tried swift dark which is updated for 7.1.1 chose the Pixel option and it still won't stick!
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Juzman:
No idea, installed Substratum > Installed Swift Black, chose v7_1_Google_Pixel and selected all of them. Reboot.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Reechings:
Try Swift black and see what happens
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Cbass15:
Yeah no go either. Weird.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Ker~Man:
Could this be a Stock vs WETA aka custom ROM discrepancy, maybe? What ROMs are you all on?.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Reechings:
SuperSU up and running OK?
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Juzman:
As stated before. Stock 7.1.1 NMF26Q.

TWRP RC1 and SuperSU SR5.

Substratum 490

Swift Black v2.8
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Ker~Man:
As stated before, huh? Could've done without that. Am only trying to figure out the same thing ALL OF YOU are trying to figure out. Good luck.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] CZ Eddie:
Uhh, wtf. lol
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Juzman:
I'm not trying to figure anything out. I mentioned previously it is working fine. Obviously not as perfect as what OMS + theme ready gapps would. However works very well.
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Ker~Man:
Shyt's just hilarious!
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Cbass15:
Stock.

Yeah everything is running smooth but it just won't stick. Oh well thank you for trying!
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Kris Nelson:
Soon ;)
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Juzman:
Yeah, I know Nate is working on it. Cannot wait!
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] micmars:
He is counting sheep 18 hours per day, with the rest spent choking down nachos.

We'll have it within the next year or two.

Sent from my Pixel XL, #WhiteUIsMustDue, #EndDarkAppOppression
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] CZ Eddie:
Heck yeah, the Dirty Unicorn team is moving quick on this Pixel development.

They already got network working it looks like!

It's Pixel, not XL. But still great news because XL should be right behind it!

photo uploading
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] CZ Eddie:
Holy crap, the Dirty Unicorn "Pixel" ROM just dropped and is available for download!!!!

And the Pixel XL maintainer, Spaceman... just posted this.

So the XL DU ROM might be here tonight?!?

Spaceman screenshot of DU & Pixel XL:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/v...7uezRWvtO0MC-a0xhLNM1wpfiPeZ3A=w183-h325-p-rw

Time for me to back up my ish and do a Titanium Backup and back up my SMS and... get ready. I hope!
[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] Reuben_skelz92:
Whoop whoop can't wait to be running this bad boy on my XL