Is pixel pass worth it

In October 2021, Google launched a new Pixel Pass subscription program alongside the Pixel 6 series of phones that promised three things for one monthly payment ($45 for a Pixel 6 or $55 for a 6 Pro): “Google’s best mobile services, device protection, and regular device upgrades.”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.Snagging a Pixel 6 subscription package in 2021 was supposed to set up a no-brainer upgrade process two years later, and now that option is considerably murkier for loyal Pixel customers, just as Google starts touting the new Pixel 8 lineup launch on October 4th.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.The Pixel Pass offer stuck around through the launch of last year’s Pixel 7 series, but by May of this year, its Twitter account told a potential Pixel Fold owner that the package would not be available for that device, using language echoed in the explanation given to current subscribers this week.@madebygoogle, on May 17th, 2023:Hi Chris, we are not offering Pixel Pass for Pixel Fold. There is no impact on current subscribers. We are focused on offering the best value of our hardware product while giving users the flexibility to purchase their favorite services. Hope this info helps. ^MarkHere’s what Google’s new FAQ says as of August 29th, 2023: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.In the FAQ, Google argues that, actually, “you can still upgrade your Pixel device after 24 months,” with 0 percent APR financing available through either Google Fi or the Google Store and the same partner used for Pixel Pass, Synchrony Bank. You just can’t do it and maintain the Pixel Pass package once that expires.That’s also why, according to the FAQ, Google isn’t offering a refund:Refunds aren’t issued because we’re committed to fulfilling our promise for the full 2 year term on the Pixel Pass subscription. However, a $100 loyalty reward credit is issued to all active subscribers. Subscribers, who subscribed through Google Store receive $100 Google Store credit to their account which can be used towards any Google Store purchase. Subscribers, who subscribed through Google Fi Wireless receive a $100 coupon code which can be used towards a Pixel device purchase on Google Fi WirelessA $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.

Frequency sample = pixel[x] + pixel[x+1]two inputs, is the '2' part of 2-6 Wavelet.For high frequency it can be as simple as the difference of the same two pixels:high frequency sample = pixel[x] - pixel[x+1]this would be a 2-2 Wavelet, also called a HAAR wavelet.For a 2-6 wavelet this math is for the high frequency:high frequency sample = pixel[x] - pixel[x+1] + (-pixel[x-2] - pixel[x-1] + pixel[x+2] + pixel[x+3])/8i.e 6 inputs for the high frequency, the '6' part of 2-6 Wavelet.The math doesn't get much more complex than that.To wavelet compress a monochrome frame (color can be compressed as separate monochrome channels), we start with a 2D array of pixels (a.k.a image.)If you store data with low frequencies (low pass) on the left and the high frequencies (high pass) on the right you get the image below. A low pass image is basically the average, and high pass image is like an edge enhance.You repeat the same operation vertically using the previous output as the input image.Resulting in a 1 level 2D wavelet:For a two level wavelet, you repeat the same horizontal and vertical wavelet operations of the top left quadrant to provide:Repeating again for the third level.QuantizationAll that grey is easy to compress. The reason there is very little information seen in these high frequency regions of the image (generated from WaveletDemo) is the high frequency data has been quantized. The human eye is not very good at seeing subtle changes in high frequency regions, so this is exploited by scaling the high-frequency samples before they are stored:high frequency sample = (wavelet output) / quantizerEntropy CodingAfter the wavelet and quantization stages, you have the same number of samples as the original source. The compression is achieved as the samples are no longer evenly distributed (after wavelet and quantization.) There are many many zeros and ones, than higher values, so we can store all these values more efficiently, often up to 10 times more so.Run lengthThe output of the quantization stage has a lot of zeros, and many in a row. Additional compression is achieved by counting runs of zeros, and storing them like: a "z15" for 15 zeros, rather than "0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0"Variable length codingAfter all previous steps the high frequency samples are stored with a variable length coding scheme. In CineForm classic Huffman coding is used. Again a lot of theory is turned into a table which maps sample values to codewords with differing bit lengths -- not a lot of complexity.The lack of complexity is what makes CineForm fast.To DecodeReverse all the steps.CineForm implementationWhile I showed that the steps involved are fairly simple, and much can be modeled in only 800 lines of source code (WavetletDemo), the CineForm SDK is currently over 160k lines of code. There are many paths through the CineForm codec that where hand-optimized, each path for different source pixel format -- back in 2003 realtime encoding of 1920x1080 was bleeding edge. There are also older bitstream formats supported by the SDK, even a 3D wavelet

Letdown this time around: Real Tone. This is Google's image processing algorithm that's supposed to capture more accurate skin tones for people of color. I lauded it when it first landed on the Pixel 6, but I've noticed on the Pixel 8A—where it's supposed to now work in videos—my brown skin tone is a little lighter.I captured footage of my brother with the Pixel 8A and the Galaxy A35, and both my brother and mom say the A35's video clips rendered a more accurate skin tone, even if it was still a bit aggressive in saturation. This was not the case when I snapped some pics of my wife though, who is Chinese—her skin tones on the Pixel 8A were much more accurate than those from the A35.Despite this, it's hard to not be happy with the camera results of the Pixel 8A. Heck, the whole package remains the best value in a smartphone. That said, it's worth keeping an eye on sales. The flagship Pixel 8 has dipped as low as $499 before, and if that's the case again, it's worth snagging it instead.However, Google's phones frequently go on sale, and if the Pixel 7A is any indicator, expect the Pixel 8A to periodically drop to around $450, then around $375 in a few months. It's a killer deal at those prices—if you can wait.