After my Galaxy S9+ developed a problem (after an accidental drop)ā¦
Score!
Is this the Pixel 7? I hope so. Pixel 6 had some bugs needed to be worked out (though they should be overcome with some firmware updates).
Iām running a Pixel 5 that still feels ānewā to me. Itās such a marvelous leap forward from previous phones Iāve had. I reminds me of my HTC 8 but slimmer. And more powerful, of course. WAY more powerful. I think Iāll be keeping it until thereās a Pixel 8.
But thenā¦ have you seen that Samsung Galaxy Z flip phone with folding screen? Holy molyā¦ itās what I dreamed the LG Lotus Elite would be (but never happened). I really have to wonder how resilient that screen will be, holding up to all of that folding for years. Anyway, thereās the āZ flipā and then the āZ foldā that has double the screen real estate. VERY cool stuff.
7 Pro
now charging
Nicely done! Whoās your cellular provider? Did you get a good discount? The camera on that phone looks so amazing. I laugh at Apple and their myriad of so many lenses with prominent raised bezels. Itās done for consumer enticement not for practicality. Pixel is doing it right.
Verizon
$699 unlocked
Nice phone MtnDon! Iām still running on my Pixel 5 I bought when they were first released. Still runs and looks like new.
I now have it fully operational. The camera is very nice! But for me a really big and welcome improvement is the bluetooth audio linking with my hearing aids. My old Samsung S9 could only link audio to one earpiece, the left. The Pixel does both ears in stereo. A wonderful amazing difference. That itself is sorta worth the price of admission. 
The Google Pixel 5 sold used in excellent condition is going around $320~$350. It was $699 brand new. I think I paid $600 for mine. Considering the rate of depreciation, probably worth waiting to see how the 7 Pro holds up. Iām still thinking the Galaxy Z flip could be a contender, a year from now. Iām really curious to see how the screen holds up in aggressive real-world use.
Iāve used Bluetooth earbuds with my Google Pixel 5āno issues. Iāve also discovered that those USB-C to 3.5ā jack devices can make old corded headphones work with it.
How do you like the 7 Pro compared to the S9+ ?
Beside what you mentioned.
I truly like the camera. I already mentioned that, but have explored how well it does for very close up photos; macros. The Pixel 7 pro does much better than the S9+. The 5X optical is quite good too. I would post a macro image example but am off in the boonies where sometimes I can get a signal for a few minutes and it often dies. Itās too cold sitting on a ridge waiting for photos to go.
I must say that if I had not needed a replacement I likely would still be using the S9+. Although, as I also already mentioned the bluetooth connecting to my hearing aids is a marked improvement. I canāt describe how much better this is to people with normal hearing. If I could have heard the difference before this purchase of the Pixel 7, that would have given me extra impetous to switch.
Comparing the two nothing else is earth shattering. Android 13 operates a bit differently than Android 10 in the S9+. I did not buy a new faster charger so cannot speak to that. Faster charging, to me, means the battery life may be shorter, so no rush for me to go there.
Macro shot. I need to replace the band-aid, itās a little ratty after cutting firewood.
^ Your Pixel 7 Pro should charge faster than your S9+. Plus, Android (since 11) now has adaptive charging functionality. So for example, if you plug in to charge at night, your P7 wonāt fast chargeāitāll attenuate the charge up until around your wake time.
One frustration I have with my Pixel 5 is that I canāt force it to slow charge in the middle of the day. Android presumes you want the phone charged as quickly as possible, so itāll quick charge if the charger power supply can deliver the amperage. So, I have a slower charger (1A max) that I use, so the phone slow charges. Allegedly this helps preserve battery life. Iāve had my Pixel 5 for 2 years now non-stop and quite frankly Iāve not really noticed a change in battery capacity. Still works great!
Wow - thatās an amazing photo! So much detail. I need to replace my iPhone 8+ at some point. :person_facepalming:
Nice macro!
Is that a black band-aid or is it just dirty?
Ash. We are cutting up burnt trees and burning them. We have more than enough firewood and nobody, including me, likes using wildfire blackened wood. It is still good wood as only the outside bark layer is blackened, but the trees were killed by the heat. Ash gets everywhere even wearing gloves.
Would you pick up another Galaxy if it had the Bluetooth capability to the hearing aid?
I have the S21 I to see how it compares to other phones. For the next phone.
That is a good question.
I was attracted to the Pixel 7 Pro because of the camera.
A lot of new phones meet the specs for hearing aid compatibility. There is a standard. The S9+ did not. It was designed at the time the standard was being developed. So it sorta worked.
I have liked the Samsungs I have owned but I am not blindly loyal to any particular brand of anything.
I donāt know anything about cameras and what the specs mean. Is the Pixel camera that good over the Samsung? Never seen a picture taken with the Pixel in person to make a good judgement.
The reason I went with the Samsung is it has better reception for calls over the iPhone. I didnāt know what was good at the time. Still donāt.
I have no real complaints about the S9+ camera. The image quality is very good.But the 5X optical telephoto of the Pixel 7 Pro beats the 2X optical of the S9+. I coveted that. The extra wide and macro is also something I value. The Google low light image processing is a bonus but I will admit I donāt know how good the current Galaxy are.
I want to give these folding screen things a few years of real world use before I even seriously look at one.
I did some more full moon photos last night. Iāll post a couple later today.