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Google announces Pixel 5, Pixel 4A 5G, and Pixel 4A

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Re: Google announces Pixel 5, Pixel 4A 5G, and Pixel 4A

#151

Post by damnyou »

thebruce87m wrote: post #135
duxup wrote: post #5

I held on to an old 5x for what felt like forever until the 3a came around. I've zero interest in the high end phone market, I'm sort of horrified at 6, 7, $800+ the prices, and I feel like I use fewer and fewer apps all the time. Hopefully google with the 'a' models and Apple with the SE will stick with the mid range products.

It’s possible you will get better TCO by spending more upfront if you intend to keep the phone while it is still “current” and receiving OS updates - some quick calculations below based on phones mentioned in another comment (happy to be corrected if the info is wrong). The pixel 4a has “No guaranteed Android version updates after August 2023” according to google. $350 / 3 = $116/year. iPhone 11 is $699 according to…

Yeah but the big thing with iPhones is that they run the iOS operating system. Some people seem to think it's good, but almost all my friends (a mix of tech and non-tech people, mostly working or middle class) prefer Android. As do I.

So given that iPhones are not a serious option, this phone seems like the best that exists.

Re: Google announces Pixel 5, Pixel 4A 5G, and Pixel 4A

#152

Post by jjeaff »

JohnTHaller wrote: post #146
andybak wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing that finally made me jump ship to Macbooks about 10 years ago was the fact that I needed a week and a spreadsheet to choose a PC laptop.

Most PC manufacturers have dozens of different laptops and about 70% of them should be avoided (bad screen, still using a HDD, etc). I dislike a lot about Apple including the pricing per spec and the arrogance (it took you how long to fix your broken keyboard?) but one thing they usually get right is the simplified selection process within a few categories.

If Apple price is in your budget, then most all manufacturers have a premium line that you can narrow it down to.

For Dell, it's the XPS line. For HP, it's Envy. For Microsoft, it's the Surface Laptop or surface book if you want 2-in-1.

Re: Google announces Pixel 5, Pixel 4A 5G, and Pixel 4A

#153

Post by JohnTHaller »

TremendousJudge wrote: post #85
PossiblyKyle wrote: post #26

One of the biggest reasons I'm happy with the increasing competition in the budget segments is that they're starting to make the 'right' sacrifices, slightly negating the distinctive features and advantages of flagship phones. Flagship phones will either have to adapt (introducing more useful features and not extra camera-bloat), or people will just keep buying the cheaper ones.

350 dollars is "budget"?

$349 for a phone that will get full OS updates for 3 years works out to $9.69 per month. That's pretty solid.

The competing Apple variant (lower res HDish screen but much faster CPU) is the iPhone SE 128GB for $449. It will probably get OS updates for 5 years which works out to $7.48 per month.

Re: Google announces Pixel 5, Pixel 4A 5G, and Pixel 4A

#154

Post by partiallypro »

golem14 wrote: post #144
partiallypro wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 3A also has an audio jack. I frankly never use it, and sort of wish it weren't there. I wish they would maybe ship it with a thing you can put in the hole that closes it up to make it seamless, but can be removed.

You mean, like those things ? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0832JRZZK

I'd prefer one made by Google that just matches the phone and the curvature of the end. I don't know why I was downvoted...but some people don't need the headphone jack, but still want a reasonably priced phone. A simple fix is to just sell a plug that matches the phone.

Re: Google announces Pixel 5, Pixel 4A 5G, and Pixel 4A

#155

Post by drewg123 »

csours wrote: post #30

I can only hope they will revisit face unlock in the era of face masks. I greatly prefered fingerprint unlock. I treat either of these as tamper resistance rather than actual security, but I find fingerprint unlock to be a much better experience.

I just moved from pixel to iphone, and the thing I miss the most is the "trusted bluetooth device" mechanism to keep the phone unlocked. I used to have that enabled for my garmin watch, and it kept my phone unlocked for up to 4 hours.

This was way, way better than face id or fingerprints during covid (eg, face id does not work b/c of masks, fingerprints don't work b/c of gloves).

Re: Google announces Pixel 5, Pixel 4A 5G, and Pixel 4A

#157

Post by RunawayGalaxy »

robotmay wrote: post #22

Bit confused as to why mtgx's comment has been voted into oblivion, as it's a legitimate complaint with the Pixel line. My girlfriend has a 3a and it has taken about 3 months for the battery life to start being a minor issue; i.e. she makes sure to charge it during the day if she has somewhere to be in the evening. It's really the only complaint I have about an otherwise good phone, and it doesn't look like the 4a re…

This started with the 3, which I returned for that reason, opting to stick with my Pixel 2 XL. I bought it at launch, and it still lasts me over a day with full charge.

Re: Google announces Pixel 5, Pixel 4A 5G, and Pixel 4A

#158

Post by neuronexmachina »

csours wrote: post #30

I can only hope they will revisit face unlock in the era of face masks. I greatly prefered fingerprint unlock. I treat either of these as tamper resistance rather than actual security, but I find fingerprint unlock to be a much better experience.

According to this review the 4a has a rear-mounted fingerprint reader:

> Google carried over the rear-mounted fingerprint reader of the Pixel 3a. Color me a fan. The 3a had a fairly deep divot with a different finish on the fingerprint reader itself. Google made the Pixel 4a’s fingerprint reader blend in better with the body. Both the reader and the rear shell have the same matte texture and black color, and the back of the phone even curves inward towards the reader to make it feel more cohesive.

https://www.androidauthority.com/google-pixel-4a-review-1140...

Re: Google announces Pixel 5, Pixel 4A 5G, and Pixel 4A

#159

Post by Shelnutt2 »

The 4a is looking nice, especially at the price point and for a "stock" android experience. I've started looking for a replacement to my Essential PH-1 since my USB port is getting very loose, and charging is becoming difficult. I wonder if there will be a demand for people who got the PH-1 on fire sale? This price point to features is what we've been missing since the early nexus days. The 3a was a nice step in this direction, but this looks like a very solid competitor in this field.

Re: Google announces Pixel 5, Pixel 4A 5G, and Pixel 4A

#160

Post by damnyou »

pottertheotter wrote: post #63
trulyrandom wrote: post #50

Can vouch for the Pixel line. I've had a Pixel 3a XL for a little over a year and it's been great. Stock Android, good display, great battery life, great camera, great security, reasonably fast and 3 years of updates. That's all I need from a phone. The Pixel 4a seems like a logical upgrade from the previous generation, sticking to the same principles.

Only 3 years of updates? I've had some version of an iPhone since the 3 and have considered giving Android a go, but that's a big downside if true.

There are some advantages to vertical integration like iOS has.

For most of my friends, the disadvantages vastly outweigh them. As a simple example, you can't use uBlock Origin or another ad blocker with Firefox on iOS.

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