Pixel Experience Test (Android 13): Obvious

Just over two months since the Pixel 7 and now it’s time to take stock and give you our full review of what is supposed to be the epitome of Android 13: Google’s Pixel Experience.

Android’s iOS, the purest version of Android, even for some of the most accomplished… There’s no shortage of laudatory qualifications to speak of.Android 13 The Pixel Method, or rather as Google calls it, the Pixel Experience. After spending 2 months using it, they are both on Pixel 7 Of the Pixel 7 ProHere’s a full comment for those who might hesitate to go Google.

Visual and ergonomics

The most interesting aspect of Android 13 on Google phones is since then Android 12the total uniqueness that this interface provides.

Already because unlike the rest of the world on Android, here, Google is responsible for all the essential apps. The result: you don’t have to enter multiple accounts, just a simple Google account and everything works right away. This simple and hassle-free handling is what causes some people to say their Pixel experience is a little offiOS from Android.

This impression of a coherent whole now also comes from a very unified visual, where everything is sifted through material you With light colors and curves, where all the colors flow from the wallpaper, in short, a little aesthetic pleasure.

Liquid, but not always practical

When we talk about the Google Pixel interface, the first word that often comes up is “liquidity Because yes, the Pixel Experience is one of those rare Android interfaces that doesn’t suffer from sudden lags or choppy animations. The only other example that comes to mind is Oppo’s ColorOS that comes close. There’s almost a form of sobriety, an absence of excess , in this animation that does not do much.

Some will find it a little slow at times, because since everything has to bounce back before even the slightest action, we might regret a little backlash. However, it remains very organic and therefore less frustrating than fun on a daily basis.

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We can also pin some convenient stuff, like new internet tiles that require you to double tap to manage your Wi-Fi or even putting a bedtime buried at the bottom of your ‘ Digital WellbeingSetting is necessary however because it allows you to deactivate always availablethe night. I also had great difficulty finding split screen Which directed me to click the app’s icon at the top of its window in the task manager. Does this sound complicated to you? Yes it is.

Bugs always

Obviously, these very fluid animations and the absence of overflow are two great strengths of the Pixel that can make everything seem to work as it should. This does not include the many errors that can distort the experience. Sure, we can say that these bugs can undermine the user experience when another is not affected at all, but considering how often serious concerns happen around us, we have to talk about it.

launch the.. launch the.. take off the Pixel 6 Under Android 12 followed a series of more or less annoying bugs in the months that followed. As for the Pixel 7 and Android 13 we’re talking about here, the version is cleaner. On the other hand, there are at least two of us on the editorial staff who have experienced a blocking bug that requires us to perform the so-called hard to re. For my part, I was watching a series on Netflix very quietly at the screen right freeze . The sound kept spinning, but the phone was not controllable at all.

Here is the story of my college Omar:

I was on Chrome, and I don’t know which site, it just crashed. I manage to get it home, but it keeps crashing, with a frozen screen. I’m trying to lock and unlock to make something happen. The phone gets locked, but then won’t unlock. He no longer answers anything. I charge it, to play something, again, but no animation. Nothing helps, it is unusable. I had tohard to reSo that everything is in order.

Let’s be clear, it’s only a blocking error in two months of use and the rest of the time the errors don’t come across as annoying. It’s certainly not uncommon to have interface rendering issues, such as overlapping elements or a blocked lock screen. But as a rule, there is no error that resists a quick standby mode followed by unlocking.

Features: A real little extra

The real deal with Pixels is probably here. If you’re the type who values ​​receiving new features before everyone else, the Pixel Experience is definitely for you. This is what gives it such a high rating for popularity among nerds, geeks, or other tech enthusiasts with whatever name you think is most appropriate.

Even more recently, in December 2022, Google added a bunch of new features to its interface, without any additional cost or major Android update. The vpn From Google Recently Added, for example, without the need to sign up Google One. However, it remains limited to encrypting your data and will not allow you to access geo-blocked content.

And so we’ve seen some super practical integrations first hit the pixels, like the integration Google Wallet On the lock screen (handy for plane tickets) or automatic subtitles for silent videos.

In the new features of Android 13 there is access to facial recognition (only on Pixel 7) or manage notifications inSubscriptionwhich means that every installed app will ask for your consent before bombarding you with notifications.

Even stronger, some of the new features are currently reserved for the Google Pixel and are downright amazing. listen For example, it allows you to learn about live music It passes around you, like an automatic Shazam. The search bar layout at the bottom of the screen is a real plus, like “try it is make it”. Once you get used to it, it tends to be lacking in other systems.

Let’s also mention the simultaneous interpretation built directly into the keyboard or voice recorder and which can offer direct transcription of the interlocutor. The magic eraser or possibility Shatter an image on the fly. All of this makes using the Pixel richer.

Accessibility

We’ve already mentioned them above, but Google incorporates its share of new features very frequently. Even if we don’t write it ourselves, it’s also interesting to see that the California giant takes great care of its accessibility options, in addition to highlighting them in its interface.

Available in a dedicated menu at the root of Settings, there is a clear and readable menu with many options. Simultaneous translation, instant transcription, or a magnifying glass feature prominently.

Notable novelty this year:Prompt frameWhich is part of all audio aids for the blind will help you frame a selfie by guiding you with small audio cues.

compatible smartphones

Compatible smartphones are the Google Pixel still benefiting from major updates from the manufacturer.

Unfortunately, on its latest phones, Google is limited to Three years of major updates. To compensate, the manufacturer, who we remember takes care of Android support, is giving up five years of security patches.