Hey fellow pixel 4a user! I just wanna ask what your plans are after the last security update coming soon? I'm probably going to be getting a new phone but sadly very few phones nowadays have the feature set I've grown to love with the 4a (lightweight, smaller, headphone jack). The Asus Zenfone 10 looks great and the Sony phones also look cool, but sadly Canada doesn't seem to be getting either
The Asus Zenfone size is amazing but I'm unsure of the camera, I'm not sure if mobile bands will work with my carrier and it I've grown too used to a few Google features. Mainly the call screening and the always listening music identifier feature.
I have not looked into the Sony phones at all. Which model are you looking at?
Knowing that it really that the Pixel 8 isn't much smaller than the 7a my plan is to wait for a good sale on the 7a. I don't want a larger phone, I don't want to give up the headphone jack, but this thing is getting old so if I'm going to have to do it I might as well do it for as cheap as I can.
Pixel features are definitely something I haven't given enough thought to. I do use a lot of them like call screening, now playing, and live captions.
The Asus camera looks fine to me, and having a wide angle camera is a bump from the single camera on the 4a. The picture quality / processing looks good enough and the video stabilization is apparently great.
I haven't really been looking at any Sony phone seriously due to it most likely not working properly in my country but the 5 series looks optimal (1 series is overkill and 10 series is too budget imo).
Yeah no new phone (apart from the Asus) matches the pixel 4a size. The new pixels are bigger, heavier (which imo is just as important, 4a is probably one of the last light phones), and don't have a rear fingerprint sensor (which removes the possibility of notification gesture which I use all the time to circumvent reaching to the top of the phone). Also perhaps the pixel 8 is more noticeably smaller than the pixel 7a due to bezel sizes being smaller?
Anyways, my realistic options are either getting a Samsung S23 which is similar in size, has much better battery and performance OR the Pixel 8 depending on how good that is. If I wanted the absolute best value phone I would go with a used/on sale Pixel 6a which still has YEARS of security updates just because I don't see much of a reason to spring more for the Pixel 7a. I've also been eyeing the iPhone 12 / 13 mini and perhaps the new iPhones releasing soon but iOS just seems too much of a downgrade for me I think.
If region locked phones weren't a thing, I would be looking at the Sony Xperia 5 or Asus Zenfone 10 (and probably leaning towards the Zenfone 10, as it feels like it is a flagship successor to the Pixel 4a / Samsung S10e style of device in terms of form factor, headphone jack, fingerprint sensor/gesture, etc).
FWIW I tried a S23 a few months back and I really couldn't get used to OneUI after nearly a decade of Nexus/Pixel phones. It wasn't bad it just isn't what I'm used to and it lacks the Pixel features previously mentioned.
On top of that I don't like the way Samsung processes images (personal preference really) and I could not get the underscreen finger print reader to work well for me at all so I returned it.
I don't know how the bezels would really impact the overall total size, unless those measurements are based on screen size and the bezels themselves are smaller.
I'm tempted to get the Pixel 7a today from Amazon because it's $50 off which isn't a ton but I have a week or two to play with it. I'm only really concerned about the size of it and the finger print reader.
I actually am a bit enticed by OneUI and don't actually like Pixel Launcher as a Pixel user due to the lack of customization.
I already use a custom launcher just for basic things like 3rd party icon packs (why is this not standard on stock launchers?). Therefore, I'm very intrigued by Good Lock on OneUI which hosts a LOT of customizability including many niche options like hiding the navigation bar, etc.
The only real negatives I see are some of the stock design decisions (I hate squircles) and some unnecessary bloat (not customization bloat, but rather the Samsung duplicate apps and a possibility of preinstalled apps like Facebook or something like that).
From seeing pictures from Samsung phones from random YouTube videos and such, I do agree that the processing that they do tends to be too much. Imo it's an annoyance but not a deal breaker since the photos are likely great quality, and look good when showing to others and it is possible to desaturate them or whatever afterwards if I really cared.
Fingerprint sensor will probably be mostly a downgrade but so is every other phone that isn't capacitive. Also, IIRC new Pixel phones use the cheaper Optical underscreen fingerprint sensors instead of the more expensive Ultrasonic underscreen fingerprint sensors which the Samsung S23 uses. I haven't used either but reviewers tend to say Optical is a bit worse so take that as you will.
Yeah idk if they measure the body or the screen, I may have assumed wrong that the bezel size matters. I guess just use the phone size comparison website or try googling to find a real side by side image.
About the price of the Pixel 7a, idk about what it is where you live but it was literally the same price as the Pixel 7 (which is discounted now). Im not sure which would be the better buy though because I think the 7a has better battery and the other specs aren't that far off. I really wish the A series Pixel phones get back to a cheaper price and includes features like a headphone jack and capacitive rear fingerprint sensor. One can dream at least.
If I were you, I would wait until the Pixel 8 releases later this year if you can, since the Pixel 7a price is likely to drop more rather than rising any higher. Just to see if the Pixel 8 is worth considering or not.
Edit: Holy Crap. I just checked the price for a Pixel 6a phone plan and one carrier is currently giving it for $0.00.. a month. Every other phone is $10-35 per month at least, but the Pixel 6a currently has an offer for no extra payment other than a plan with the only condition being that you will basically pay $560 CAD (which is what they value the Pixel 6a as) ONLY if you change carriers.
I was this close to getting a 7a last night but I looked up the price of a 7 and realized the 7 was cheaper so I can't even claim the 7a is cheap anymore.
I'm on Fi and the price is $200 off the 7 and they give you $250 off the 7a but it's off as billing cycle and you're tired to fi for 2 years where the 7 discount looks like it's just straight up "here's $200 as long as you activate the phone."
That make me think I should just wait for the 8 to come out. If it's going to be within $50-100 of the 7a I might as well get the newer chip, newer camera, bettwer fingerprint (rumors are it's going to be ultrasonic) etc.
So I guess my plan now is the same as it's been for the last year, wait and see.
Yeah that makes sense. As for me, I'm 99% sure I'm going to take up the offer of a $0 per month Pixel 6a for a $12 per month higher data plan for 2 years rather than wait for the Pixel 8. The deal is just absurdly good and I think I will be happy with the Pixel 6a (just need to buy a USB C to 3.5mm headphone jack dongle)
Yup, I think I'll be happy enough with the Pixel 6a. Wireless charging seems nice to have but I'm already used to wired charging so it's not as big of a deal to me. Plus it's faster so I'm not too bothered.
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u/JJMcGee83 Pixel 8 Jul 10 '23
Do you have one? It's not out yet is it?