My Phone Timeline - 2019
The last time I updated my Phone Timeline it was 2012 followed with a minor update when I bought the Galaxy Nexus. I figured it would be fun to update the list from that point onwards to today, especially with a new Pixel 4 around the corner.
I mention in first post that I wanted the Nexus to I could play with the newest Android updates straight from Google rather than waiting on the OEM or Carrier to push down the update ( which usually meant long delays or never ). The Samsung Captivate ( The first Galaxy) was a great phone but had a nasty GPS bug that made using maps or anything needing a location a horrible experience because it could would take a very long time to get a lock on you. You can take a look at the issues here where a few updates from Samsung, people trying different methods, ROMs etc did very little to fix the situation. If I remember correctly someone did a teardown and determined it was a design issue with the way the GPS radio was placed. That experience along with the lack of timely updates was the biggest driver to jump over to the Nexus line.
So here we go :
Nexus 5 (Oct. 2013) - One of the best Nexus devices built. The screen was a big upgrade from the Galaxy Nexus and it only cost $350 for the cheapest model. At that the messaging seemed to be that you could make a high quality handset without the high cost. With HDR processing with Android 4.4 Google started to focus on the camera. Also the last time I did a yearly upgrade of a phone.
Nexus 6p (Sept. 2015) - The last Nexus with a metal body made in partnership with Huawei and coming in at $499. Google really started to flex its camera muscle with this phone and even to this day its no slouch with some night time photos on Google AI blog. I bought graphite black and it fell out of my pockets the first day, scratching some of the paint off from the bottom lip.
Pixel XL (Sept. 2017) - Here we are at the first Pixel and the prices start to head north. I received this from Google Support when there was a battery issue with the Nexus 6p. I used it for a couple of months before giving it to my mom and getting the next version. This is where the Pixel series started establishing itself as the camera king.
Pixel 2XL (Oct. 2017) - The phone I am currently using and which just received Android 10. Camera capibilities improved and the phone has been solid. There were initial reports about the screen having a blueish hue which I never really noticed.
