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Why Google's $400 Pixel 3a convinced me to never again buy a $1000 smartphone
- dvhh 7y agoHeaphone jack is a great bonus in my book, but then again I am described as a neckbeard by some of my non-imaginary friends.
- amanzi 7y agoI won't buy a phone without a headphone jack.
- Creationer 7y agoOr at least without USB-C: at least then I can use the same headphones on my laptop, iPad Pro, and phone.
- dvhh 7y agoAudio over USB (or charging port) is nice when you don't want to use your headphones while charging your phone
- huxflux 7y ago2019, when a headphone jack is a bonus.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- axaxs 7y agoI feel like one has Stockholm Syndrome when they are excited to be given a 'headphone jack.' On a serious note, vote with your wallet! There's at least two of us.
- tracker1 7y agoBeen on a Pixel 2 XL, ordered pre-release (my 6p died around that time) and I viscerally hate that it doesn't just have a headphone jack. Keep thinking of moving to a 3a XL, just can't bring myself to, not worth it... hoping the next release keeps up the trend though. Also glad to see a return to mid-range class phones. It's what the Google line (Nexus) had always been. One Plus has been pretty close too. I just don't think it's worth more than $500-600 for a phone. I honestly don't like paying more than $300, but there's nothing close to that of decent quality it seems. Holding onto my current phone for at least another year. At least the battery tech seems to have finally matured.
- j_m_b 7y agoWhat'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?
- power78 7y agoI thought the federal government was able to from the whole San Bernardino shooting suspect's phone?
- slenk 7y agoThey did get into his phone
- RaceWon 7y ago> They did get into his phone I'm not a hacker, But I am a skeptic; wouldn't it behoove the Gov't to just pretend they had to pay a private hacker a boatload of greenbacks to crack an Iphone? I mean, that's the smart play, no?
- Grangar 7y agoWhat would they stand to gain from that? They had to use a 0day on it, they would never use that on the general public.
- RaceWon 7y ago> What would they stand to gain from that? They had to use a 0day on it, they would never use that on the general public. Again that would be the beauty of it. If they did have to use a hack Apple didn't know about. We don't really know how they cracked it--only what "they said". Maybe it was a Day Zero, maybe it wasn't. If the NSA has access to Everthing that Everyone does online, (and Yes I do know that E2EE is unbreakable, but were Apple engineers using that to communicate?); its possible they know as much, if not more more, about the architecture than Apple does. Have you seen the size of their data centers, and the extremes they go to for spying on us. And speaking of Gov't State sponsored crackers: here's a nice litte article about one of our (The USA's) allies [1] who break iOS, allegedly--When Ever They Want To, not a Five Eyes Nation but still a close ally. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pajkkz/its-almost-impossible-to-tell-if-iphone-has-been-hacked https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pajkkz/its-almost-impossi...
- YeahSureWhyNot 7y agoafter 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 now 400-500 dollar phones do everything a phone is supposed to do and lack nothing compared to flagships. you can tell most people agree with this judging by weak sales of new releases. customers are holding on to their phones for 2-3 years and rightfully so. smartphone frenzy is over and looks like 'few hundred dollars' is the new budget people think its worth.
- foobarian 7y agoI'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).
- lovemenot 7y agoI 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.
- Buttons840 7y agoI had a Galaxy 5 and when the time came I couldn't find a quality battery replacement for it. I bought a "new" official battery, but it had been on the shelf so long it didn't hold a charge either. I tried an aftermarket battery, but it started buldging.
- tracker1 7y agoAre the newer batteries doing any better... mine literally caught fire (small explosion) at the service location when they took it apart. Been on a Pixel 2 XL since, man I miss a headphone jack, can't even find the damned adapter and the two I bought on Amazon don't work (compatible my ass). The 6P was a great phone (charging/battery issues aside). Glad to see Google returning to the mid-range.
- acconrad 7y agoMy Nexus 6P died in the fall of 2018 and I had to upgrade so I got the Pixel 3. If i knew they were going to make a $400 Pixel 3a I would have waited. Really pissed about this release cycle and I feel like I wasted money I didn't want to spend.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- fourmii 7y agoI've had various iPhones and Androids over the years, most recently iPhone 6s+, 7+ and XR. I just yesterday bought a Oneplus 6T and am very happy with it. I've had the Xr for a few months now and it's been my least favorite iPhone. For me, it's a little heavy compared to even the older pluses. And the display isn't all that much chop for a premium phone. I'm glad it's a work phone, because I don't think I would ever have forked out over $1200 AUD for it. As much as I appreciate the privacy angle of the Apple ecosystem, it turns out that I've really missed just being able to install what I want on my phone. It's been liberating being able to customize what I want to not what Apple allows you to. Also, with Oneplus phones, you really do get 'flagship' quality phones without having to fork out the money.
- nostalgiac 7y agoTo be fair, if you've only had the phone for a single day it's a little too early to tell how well it's going to pay off :)
- valarauko 7y agoI was a happy owner of the OP2, and currently the OP6. I doubt my next phone will be a OnePlus, though. While the OnePlus are great phones, the prices have risen to flagship levels over the years. The new OP 7 Pro starts at $669, a far cry from the $299 of the original OP One.
- lancesells 7y agoSlightly 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.
- jdsully 7y agoThe 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.
- lancesells 7y agoYou're right. Thanks for the correction.
- lostmsu 7y agoI use Xiaomi Mi Max 3 I got for $230. $400 is still 50%+ overpriced.
- pnloyd 7y agoI have the MI A2 (~$230). It's spec'd very similarly to the Pixel 3a and has stock Android. It's been available for almost a year now.
- rahimnathwani 7y agoCool. I had thought all of Xiaomi's phones came with MIUI. I didn't know they sold this Android One Device as well.
- spookybones 7y agoMy issue remains privacy. I can’t help but feel that every swipe and key I type into an Android will be added to some profile on me.
- rurounijones 7y agoYou may already know about this since it comes up a lot on HN but I am keeping an eye on https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/ https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/ development for this reason.
- jokoon 7y agoWhile this is great, I'd rather have a cheaper phone, less than $150. Not to brag but I'm dying for a low end open smartphone, with the same concept of the raspberry pi.
- Fjolsvith 7y agoUntil last year, I was buying refurbished S5's on Amazon for that price. Unfortunately, the set of apps I run finally bogged that phone down.
- jaabe 7y agoCouldn’t you setup a g-suite profile, and use that? I mean it would cost you money, but I’m not sure where you can find privacy and ownership for free these days.
- klohto 7y agoUm, Apple?
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- pas 7y agoMicroG? Or simply drop Play services and such and use a different ROM?
- technofiend 7y agoHopefully the 4a comes with ip67 or ip68 certification; it’s really the only missing feature from the 3a that gives me pause. I don’t want to have to worry if I walk outside and it is raining, or my phone slips off the bathroom sink edge and ends up under a stream of water.
- ngrilly 7y agoAgreed. This Pixel 3a could be my next phone if not for the lack of IP67 or IP68.
- gcatalfamo 7y agoI’d like a new post a year from now, telling us how the phone overall has aged. And another after 18 months.
- stevenjohns 7y agoAnother big one is resale value. I can be sure that my iPhone depreciates at give or take AUD$200/year and there will be people that would buy it. With something like this the resale value tends to tank pretty quickly and becomes difficult to sell.
- martin_a 7y agoWhy does this even matter? Resale value is just interesting if you don't plan to use a product to its fullest and maybe till its death. Choosing phones by looking at how much you can make of it a year from now is part of the problem this world faces.
- stevenjohns 7y agoInitial investment being offset by resale price is a better reflection of overall cost which would make someone make a more informed decision. But, erm, this is more about recycling. Device reuse (and a market for second hand electronics) is actually something beneficial to the world, not something harmful. It affects repair economics. For what it’s worth I imagine this device’s EOL would be less than an iPhones too, where there is still a market (and software updates) for the five year old iPhone 6.
- Wildgoose 7y agoMy son wanted a Pixel to replace his iPhone but wouldn't buy one because like Apple it didn't have a headphone jack to enable him to use it in his car for music. He bought a Huawei instead. I am not yet ready to replace my iPhoneSE but I'll be going Android as well - and if Google will provide a headphone jack they are in the running, but ONLY if they provide a headphone jack.
- voltagex_ 7y agoI swore off the Pixel lines when Google gave up on the flagship-beating Nexus. Seriously, try explaining to your parents that they'll be getting a worse camera than what was in the Nexus 5X if they want to stay at the $400AUD mark. Hopefully now I can point to the 3a as an option, although it's $650AUD here.
- nippler 7y agoYou still wasted 200 american pesetas lmfao
- JohnClark1337 7y agoI wish I had so much money that you'd have to convince me not to drop $1000 whenever something new comes along.
- faissaloo 7y agoLook, I just want a Moto G4 with a better camera, that's it. I'm not going to pay $400.