The Pixel 5a is effectively an XL. And there's no non-XL version.
Now the Pixel 5 is discontinued, the only non-XL option is the 4a. I like the 4a a lot, but it's over 12 months old, with a mid-range SoC, so I wouldn't buy a new one now.
The model lifetime is too short. You can't get any idea of medium term reliability (as a proxy for long term reliability) until when the phones are discontinued.
The Pixel 6/6 Pro are rumored to have a 5-year support lifetime (in exchange for costing a grand). If true, I'm getting one. The Pixel 2 XL has been a great phone, despite spending all of Android 10 with most of the sensors not working due to some widespread corruption issue that would have necessitated a hard reset.
Supported means many different things. Ideally, I want to know if the device is going to last, or if it's going to end up bootlooping and being a big PITA like the Nexus 5X, before I buy it. That requires that it be on the market for a considerable amount of time. In this case, the 4a 5G is discontinued after less than a year in the market; it may continue to be sold, but likely not for very long.
Free repair if that happens is nice, but also not that helpful unless being out a phone for a week is fine, and losing your on device data is fine.
Assuming you bought one on launch day, that's just-under 4 years of support. That only looks good by the awful standards of Android -- you can expect 50%+ more for Apple's phones, which you'd think Google could at least equal.
Looks like external dimensions are different, so they’re mechanically incompatible. With iPhones, mechanical dimensions are so close together that cases are 1-2 generations backwards compatible.
The issue is that every new Google phone is available in less and less countries. 5a looks like a good option to replace my current 3a, but it is impossible to officially buy it here in Europe.
I'm considering the Fairphone as well, but could someone give me a reasonable idea of what to expect with running de-googled vs googled? Unfortunately I still need access to Gmail and Drive from my phone on occasion. Is that still available when de-Googled?
I'd love to have a full Android VM running on a de-Googled phone where I could sandbox all of the Google stuff.
I've run Android Degoogled for many years. Gmail can be accessed via K-9 Mail or another mail client via IMAP. Google Drive can be accessed via a browser such as Kiwi or Firefox.
Specs like a 2013 smartphone, and an OS without any commercial app support to speak of. Can't read my work e-mail, can't access my bank...a computer without useful software is only a toy, and the same goes for a phone.
Pixel X = Flagship, most expensive with best hardware and most features
Pixel Xa = Cheaper version of Pixel X, often with one tier down processor, less RAM, and lacking some features like wireless charging
Pixel 4a 5G (marketed as a 4a with 5G support) is somewhat of a weird case where it's actually closer to what we'd expect from a Pixel 5a (which is likely why it was discontinued while the Pixel 4a was not)
The 4a 5G and 5a are separate phones, but target roughly the same price point and feature set (basically the mid tier "phone with 5G" market). When the 4a 5G launched years ago the 5a didn't exist. Now that it does the 4a 5G is being discontinued.
Yeah, the naming scheme sucks, google should have just called them the 5a and 5b or something.
Usually, the Pixel Xa is a newer, more budget-oriented version of the Pixel X. "5G" variants of phones seem to be totally different phones, not just a radio upgrade.
Wow, that lasted less than a year. Well done. At some point maybe all their stuff will be vaporware you have to preorder and then 9 months later they can return 40% of your money and cancel the order.
I was just thinking, since Apple is supposedly going to make a car, wouldn’t it be interesting if Tesla decided to make a smartphone since Google gave up.
Because Tesla is becoming a luxury tech brand, like Apple.
Almost no one buys Apple products for the tech anymore. It's all about aesthetics and brand identity. They might have had the best products at one point, but that's become secondary to their continued success.
Who wants to be the scrub with yet another iPhone when all the cool kids have the new Tesla phone that matches their S3XY electric car?