Honestly Google Drive works great as free storage (Though for large storage there's no guarantee they won't accidentally delete it, it's happened before).
And Google Suite is good enough if you can't be bothered to get Microsoft Office. Though they're forcing AI into it and have some weird quirks like being unable to copypaste external text with rightclick.
What exactly does Google have left that people like? Gmail?
Nope, not GMail either, even GMail has ads now.
Yeah I've been migrating away steadily. And what a shame! Now Google don't get to use my emails to train their shit AI.
They are the IMO most supported Single-Sign-On provider. I think Facebook, which I don't even have, was mostly for games, and then apple also isn't an option, and that's just it besides using firefox' built in password manager for another email/password combination. What's your opinion on log in providers?
The era of random apps trying to post on my wall made me never use Facebook for sign on. Well that, and Facebook
Maps. There's still unfortunately nothing better.
On iOS I find Apple Maps to be better in general. I don’t think Google maps is as much of a monopoly as it once was
Yeah. I tried using OpenStreetMap for five minutes until I realised most of my city doesn't have the house numbers mapped out.
In my experience, google maps has the same issues in some areas,e.g. Tanger. OSM was way more reliable there. You could help fix those issues by contributing. I think it's fun and you'll get to know your neighborhood better
And they've been neglecting that. There are a couple of street names that they have wrong, and I've been using the edit feature fruitlessly for over 8 years. I've included links to local business web sites with the new name of one, links to municipal web sites with the new name, geo-tagged photos of the street signs, and even links to the municipal ordinance that changed the names in 2003. It all goes into the same black hole.
The UI for GMail is awful. Can't even follow conversations on my phone app. Just put that shit in order like Outlook does. Fuck.
I dunno that Outlook redesign is fucking awful
You know what I don't want when I search for an email Microsoft? I don't want your fucking suggestions about what I'm looking for.
I mean, a lot of the points are valid, but the Pixel phones are pretty great, Android is pretty great and getting better, and the Chromebook gamble is playing a really long term game where they could end up uprooting Microsoft if they play their cards right. From my understanding, US kids now on average know Chromebook OS better than Windows by far, and will probably prefer to continue using it if they could. If Google makes the OS more viable for professional use and flexible and play their cards right, they'd have a really good chance at uppending Microsoft's dominance, especially since Microsoft is seemingly trying to shoot itself in the foot with Windows.
US kids now on average know Chromebook OS better than Windows
Source? I would like to read about that ropic.
Pixel phones are garbage compared to Nexus line at the time. Android is garbage now too, like the OP said. Chromebook is gonna have to turn itself into a real platform with powerful machines and software to ever be relevant beyond disposal classroom computers. Frankly I think SteamOS has a better chance at making a comeback, and that's a long shot.
My Pixel 6 is not "great".
Mine was, as is my P7, especially compared to a lot of competing devices from Samsung etc
The camera sucks, Google doctors the resulting photos with AI but it looks like crap. The battery sucks, it also overheats easily. But that's not the worst part, the worst part is the ZERO FRICTION BACKING. It fucking slides off everything. Who the hell in their design department approved such a moronic idea? How are billion dollar corporations making such shit products while continuing to fail upwards?
I own a Pixel 7 and although not ideal, it's certainly better than most of the phones out there for me. The only downsides of daily driving a Pixel are battery drain and overheating. Granted, I live in a rather cold climate so I imagine it being not the most useful piece of tech for the folks near the equator...
It's been confirmed that Pixel 10 will finally get a non-exynos chip, so perhaps it can indeed become the pinnacle of Android smartphones, who knows.
This scenario still requires Google to play their cards right, however, but there's hope.
I went from a Galaxy S20 to a Pixel 8 and frankly I miss the S20. Build quality sucks. My screen creaks and I hate the camera ridge especially. Whole thing feels cheap and it's not even very root friendly anymore like Nexus phones, which is the whole reason I got it.
Don't worry. They won't play their cards right.