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Why Google's $400 Pixel 3a convinced me to never again buy a $1000 smartphone

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11–20 of 71 posts

Re: Why Google's $400 Pixel 3a convinced me to never again buy a $1000 smartphone

#11
post #8
post #3

What's the encryption story with Pixel 3a? I know when I lock my old iPhone 6 that not even the Federal Government can get into it. Can the same be said for the Pixel?

I thought the federal government was able to from the whole San Bernardino shooting suspect's phone?

They did get into his phone

Re: Why Google's $400 Pixel 3a convinced me to never again buy a $1000 smartphone

#13

after being an iphone user for years i switched to Android when apple released iphone 7. up to iphone 6s the innovation was worth upgrading but since then 'flagship' devices have been adding just gimmicks while charging 4 digit amounts. I got my OnePlus 5T for 499 and two years later it works like it did on its first day. Unlike iphones that would slow down after exactly 1 year when a new iphone was released. right n…

I'm tired of even $400-500 every 2 years, for seemingly the same thing over and over. I'm going to do battery replacements as long as the device survives. (I'm 2 battery replacements into my Nexus 6P).

Re: Why Google's $400 Pixel 3a convinced me to never again buy a $1000 smartphone

#14
Slightly off-topic: I have an iPhone 6 that I believe cost me $299 in 2015. Whenever it dies I'm going to continue with Apple but I guess it will be the first time I don't buy a current model. I just can't justify the cost of a $899+ device for my use-case.

Re: Why Google's $400 Pixel 3a convinced me to never again buy a $1000 smartphone

#15

Slightly off-topic: I have an iPhone 6 that I believe cost me $299 in 2015. Whenever it dies I'm going to continue with Apple but I guess it will be the first time I don't buy a current model. I just can't justify the cost of a $899+ device for my use-case.

The iPhone 6 retailed for a minimum of $649. Your comparing subsidized to unsubsidized prices. Its not a fair comparison, the difference was just paid monthly as part of your cellphone contract.

Re: Why Google's $400 Pixel 3a convinced me to never again buy a $1000 smartphone

#16
post #3

What's the encryption story with Pixel 3a? I know when I lock my old iPhone 6 that not even the Federal Government can get into it. Can the same be said for the Pixel?

That entirely depends on the strength if your password. That iPhone 6 had a 4 digit PIN plus a hardware salt. 4 digits is bad as that's only 1000 guesses to get the correct code (if you get the salt). The iPhone 6 had additional code to stop brute forcing, and that was the crux of the issue. Eventually they paid someome for a software exploit (the FBI director at the time, Comey complained that was "unsustainable").

If your extra paranoid about the government or whoever decrypting your phone, use a strong passphrase and only use it for decrypting your phone. Also turn if off before any interactions with police/TSA/NSA/whoever. This will work for any reasonably new Android. If you don't trust me feel free to dig into the code yourself!

Re: Why Google's $400 Pixel 3a convinced me to never again buy a $1000 smartphone

#17

after being an iphone user for years i switched to Android when apple released iphone 7. up to iphone 6s the innovation was worth upgrading but since then 'flagship' devices have been adding just gimmicks while charging 4 digit amounts. I got my OnePlus 5T for 499 and two years later it works like it did on its first day. Unlike iphones that would slow down after exactly 1 year when a new iphone was released. right n…

I'm tired of even $400-500 every 2 years, for seemingly the same thing over and over. I'm going to do battery replacements as long as the device survives. (I'm 2 battery replacements into my Nexus 6P).

I bought Nexus 5 about 4-5 years ago. It's been fine since. Never felt the need to upgrade until last week when I bought the 3a, hope it has the same long term cost performance as my last phone.

Re: Why Google's $400 Pixel 3a convinced me to never again buy a $1000 smartphone

#19
post #15

Slightly off-topic: I have an iPhone 6 that I believe cost me $299 in 2015. Whenever it dies I'm going to continue with Apple but I guess it will be the first time I don't buy a current model. I just can't justify the cost of a $899+ device for my use-case.

The iPhone 6 retailed for a minimum of $649. Your comparing subsidized to unsubsidized prices. Its not a fair comparison, the difference was just paid monthly as part of your cellphone contract.

You're right. Thanks for the correction.

Re: Why Google's $400 Pixel 3a convinced me to never again buy a $1000 smartphone

#20

after being an iphone user for years i switched to Android when apple released iphone 7. up to iphone 6s the innovation was worth upgrading but since then 'flagship' devices have been adding just gimmicks while charging 4 digit amounts. I got my OnePlus 5T for 499 and two years later it works like it did on its first day. Unlike iphones that would slow down after exactly 1 year when a new iphone was released. right n…

I am a IPhone 6 user and my contacts and other data on the apps has kept me glued to the iOS ecosystem.

How do you port the iOS data to an android system ?

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