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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

#241

Post by camillomiller »

droidno9 wrote: post #68

This is an awesome phone at $350. I currently have the Pixel 4, but if this was available when I was making my purchase decision, I'd probably have gone with it. That said, the Pixel line of phones isn't known for having long lasting battery. A feature that I've found to be indispensable is wireless charging. I just rest my Pixel 4 on a vertical charging base throughout the day. Otherwise, I'd have to have to constan…

It’s not. Check out the One Plus Nord at the same price. (EU and India only, though)

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

#242

Post by actuator »

driverdan wrote: post #238
mchusma wrote: post #131

My pixel 3a is by far the best phone I have ever owned (across both iOS and Android). Comparing the 4a to this it looks like a bunch of solid incremental improvements across the board. Huge fan of basically everything here. Price, screen size, phone size. Battery size could be a touch bigger, as my 3a has the best battery life I just wish for about 10% more for edge cases.

I didn't own one but the Pixel 3a is pretty disappointing on paper. It has lower specs than the Pixel 2.

You are not comparing apples to apples. Pixel 2 was a flagship $700 phone while Pixel 3a is a midrange phone half of that price.

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

#243

Post by deepakhj »

MikeKusold wrote: post #92
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.

FaceID is terrible when driving. I often have my passenger read and send texts for me, on my iPhone 6S I just had to grab the phone and put my thumb on it. With my iPhone 11, I need to lift it up in front of my wheel, and look directly at it instead of the road, because if you aren't looking at it then it won't unlock.

Check out Carplay

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

#244

Post by mehrdadn »

ss3000 wrote: post #240
droidno9 wrote: post #68

This is an awesome phone at $350. I currently have the Pixel 4, but if this was available when I was making my purchase decision, I'd probably have gone with it. That said, the Pixel line of phones isn't known for having long lasting battery. A feature that I've found to be indispensable is wireless charging. I just rest my Pixel 4 on a vertical charging base throughout the day. Otherwise, I'd have to have to constan…

I'm not a huge Apple fanboy by any measure, but one thing I do appreciate is that they consider wireless charging to be a table stakes feature, and include it even in their "budget" phones. They clearly understand how dramatically it elevates the user experience. Compare that to every Android manufacturer who either don't offer wireless charging at all or gate it to flagships, it's a really sad state of affairs for s…

Never used wireless charging but also never really understood what is so dramatically elevating about it. Is it just the requirement for 1 hand vs. 2 hands that people find so life-changing? Doesn't it waste a ton of power in the process?

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

#245

Post by dont__panic »

JohnTHaller wrote: post #153
TremendousJudge wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Keep in mind two significant caveats:

- phone batteries basically on last 2 years or less (iPhones are rated to 80% capacity after 500 cycles), which means your phone will last 4/5 as long as it did when new and possibly shut off prematurely in cold/hot temperatures unless you pay for a battery replacement ($50-100+)

- since we bring phones with us pretty much anywhere, a random fall in a pool, an unforseen rain storm, or butterfingers over a hard surface could end up destroying your phone well before those points.

While the SE (2020) certainly has more potential life than the 4a, both phones become fairly useless after 3 years due to the battery concern anyway and might not make it that far depending on who's using them. At that point, the 64GB larger storage, nicer screen, better camera, and $50 lower price of the 4a becomes a competitive advantage.

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

#246

Post by paxys »

murermader wrote: post #207
amanzi wrote: post #193

Why can't Google sort out its global distribution? The Pixel phones have only ever been (officially) available in a handful of countries and this one is no different: "Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India (coming soon), Ireland, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States".

Even in countries were Pixel phones are distributed, they are "hard" to get. Google is doing something wrong. I don't know anybody who owns a Pixel phone, despite Android market share being something like 70% here in Germany. It's all Samsung, OnePlus, Huawei, Oppo

It's crazy to me that despite working on it for more than a decade, devoting entire company divisions, buying multiple companies and more, Google just hasn't been able to crack the smartphone hardware game. Microsoft has been so much more successful with its Surface line in a fraction of the time.

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

#247

Post by triceratops »

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"?

For adults with jobs in developed countries. You're right that it would be considered mid-range or pricey in developing countries.

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

#248

Post by ckrailo »

I broke the shopping cart by adding two pixel 4a devices + care plans, 1 with a trade-in. Now going to store.google.com/cart returns 500 errors (Error code: TIMM) and support is non-existent. Store chat and phone support look like they don't exist. Off to a great start!

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

#249

Post by buttersbrian »

schoolornot wrote: post #222
droidno9 wrote: post #68

This is an awesome phone at $350. I currently have the Pixel 4, but if this was available when I was making my purchase decision, I'd probably have gone with it. That said, the Pixel line of phones isn't known for having long lasting battery. A feature that I've found to be indispensable is wireless charging. I just rest my Pixel 4 on a vertical charging base throughout the day. Otherwise, I'd have to have to constan…

I don't get why Google creates problems for themselves by relying on unproven tech or working backwards. Case in point: adaptive battery. Androids have historically had poor battery efficiency (mah vs. screen on time) against iPhones. Rather than optimize the OS and the apps and provide a larger capacity battery, they size down the battery and introduce software-based battery management with AI. Common responses to c…

Google got wedged between the desire to create a imessage competitor, and not alienating every carrier / OEM.

RCS works. I am glad it's here. It would have been far more helpful 3 years ago though.

The most boggling decision is what has happened with Hangouts.

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

#250

Post by Tarq0n »

jamesponddotco wrote: post #206

I want to replace my current OnePlus 5T, as I want to switch from my custom LineageOS build to GrapheneOS[1], and thought the Pixel 4a would be the one to replace it with, but why only one color option? I really wanted a black, and white version. The regular Pixel 4 does have a black, and white version that looks gorgeous from the back, but then the front design is an abomination, with the top being much bigger than…

OnePlus Nord seems like a nice replacement for a 5t. I'm looking to replace mine as well.
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