The headline and a lot of the article are trying to give the impression Google is screwing customers out of what they paid for even though the article itself admits they're still going to honor the deal for existing customers. They just won't be extending contracts or writing new ones. Seems like the author is trying really hard to make a mountain out of a molehill.
this post was submitted on 31 Aug 2023
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The advertised “regular device upgrades” will never happen for anyone as part of Pixel Pass, even customers who battled Google’s servers to order a Pixel 6 the moment they became available (it’s me; I’m one of those people) because there’s still more than a month to go before the very first customers in would cross the two-year mark and be eligible to upgrade.
So a core part of the premise of Pixel Pass (device upgrades) is being lost, even to existing Pixel Pass users.
Original marketing from 2021:
Pixel Pass brings together the latest Pixel phone with Google’s best mobile services, device protection and regular device upgrades — all in one easy subscription. (emphasis added)
I think it's because of the original marketing for Pixel Pass. Google marketed it as being better value than other post-paid mobile phone plan arrangements in some way. It's just the same boilerplate terms under which a large proportion of mobile phones have been sold for decades in my country - so it was confusing when Google tried to sell me "a new way to buy a phone" where literally the only new thing about it was that you can get discounted Google services bundled. I wouldn't be surprised if people are getting pissed off about it now for not receiving value that was never actually offered.
"By the end of the 2 year term, you can’t upgrade to a new phone with Pixel Pass."
They're not honoring that part of the deal.
Upgrading would have involved signing a new 2 year deal. It's just a fancy-sounding financing program; the 2 years were to pay for the device they've had for 2 years. I'll never understand the appeal of buying a high-end/expensive phone on such a program because you'll be stuck paying for something outdated by the end of it, but shrug, that's not unique to Google.
Well using inflation, if I have the phone for the two years at the end of the two years I'm paying back with money that's worth less.
I personally don't do it but it is literally good value because you pay back with money that is worth less - future money
I suppose that's true for some types of financing, but looking more into this particular plan, it all comes down to how much you value the bundled services... and they don't seem stellar to me. The math I'm seeing from the time of announcement suggests you'd pay $1080 for a $599 smartphone or $1320 for a $899 smartphone. Even if you were planning on paying for YouTube Premium at full price, inflation still has a tough time beating that.
It's one of those things where people put value in the opportunity. Some people would not have bought a new phone at the time if not for the chance to get the new phone in the future. So while this was a fancy word for financing the phone and bundling of services at a discount, and people aren't losing a phone they "paid for," people did pay for it because of the perk.
People aren't really losing money because of this being cancelled, but some of them only paid for the program in the first place because of something they aren't now getting.
A clickbaity article? No way!
More fuel for the fury engine.
Wow hot take! Except that it's completely incorrect
Did you even read the article? I did.
Sure did which makes me wonder how hard you had to try to intentionally miss the point. Shilling super hard to try and make it seem like Google didn't set up yet another service with promises that they decided to just cancel without warning after getting enough people hooked into their hardware. Obviously they're not kicking people off their contracts because they'd get sued and that's not the point and you know it. How does Google boot leather taste btw?
"Everyone who disagrees with me is a shill!"
Thanks for admitting you have nothing useful, logical or truthful to say :)
Why is Pixel Pass being discontinued?
We offer the best value of our hardware products and give users the flexibility to purchase their favorite services. We continue to evaluate offers based on customer feedback and provide different ways for them to access the best of Google.
Is this answer anything?
Yes, it’s bullshit
I have altered the deal, pray I do not alter it further.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
However, on Tuesday, Google emailed Pixel Pass customers to say: “We are writing to you to inform you that starting today, we are no longer offering new Pixel Pass subscriptions or renewals.”
They’re not losing out on special paid-for privileges (the fee covered the cost of the phone and a discounted rate for the bundled services over its two-year timeframe).
Still, disappointed customers in the Google Pixel subreddit mention things like losing a grandfathered-in lower rate from Google Play Music to join the Play Pass and losing access to bundled services they’d enjoyed as a part of the package.
The advertised “regular device upgrades” will never happen for anyone as part of Pixel Pass, even customers who battled Google’s servers to order a Pixel 6 the moment they became available (it’s me; I’m one of those people) because there’s still more than a month to go before the very first customers in would cross the two-year mark and be eligible to upgrade.
It’s not surprising that Google added Pixel Pass to its ever-growing graveyard of canceled products and services, but the timing of the news is incredible.
A $100 credit isn’t exactly nothing, but it still stings since it’s only accessible by signing up for another go-round with the company that ran 22 months off the two-year clock before suddenly altering the deal.
The original article contains 450 words, the summary contains 223 words. Saved 50%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
Good, upgrading every 2 years is completely unnecessary now and generates a huge amount of ewaste.