[thefz]

> My experience with my own pixel 7 pro and a pixel 5 has been that these devices are an order of magnitude lower in build quality than Samsung or iPhones.

Subjective, I am at my third Pixel phone in six years and I never had an issue.

[vetinari]

> I am at my third Pixel phone in six years and I never had an issue.

Don't you think that three phones in six years is the issue?

I'm still on 2019 Galaxy S10, i.e. fourth year, single phone. The hardware is still in great condition, no malfunction of anything.

[thefz]

> Don't you think that three phones in six years is the issue?

One (P3) ended with me having it in the back pocket of my jeans and literally jumping in the backseat... yeah, not smart.

Another (P4a), I tried to open to swap a new battery in and it did not end well. I'd still happily be with the 4a if it was not for my dumb self. It's perfectly working and I use it to listen to some music while biking or at the gym. I just did not reattach the speaker cable.

[kelnos]

Would you still be with it, though? Someone upthread claims the phones just don't last. Maybe if you hadn't broken your phones, they still wouldn't've lasted much longer anyway.

Having said that, I'm still using my 4-year-old Pixel 4, and it's in great shape. I'll probably get a new phone this year since it's no longer receiving security updates. Which is stupid, because I'm otherwise perfectly happy with the phone. And hate that they get physically larger every year.

[rtkwe]

I find people have wildly differing opinions on what normal wear and tear on phone is so it's hard to judge from anecdotes if it's a build quality issue or if they're rough on their phones or on the other side if I'm personally very delicate with my phones.

For my contribution to this anecdata the only Pixel phone I've had die is my Pixel 3 XL that started having weird charging issues and refuses to turn on and charge unless I let it completely passively drain then recharge it after that it only works for a bit, that happened after about 2 years maybe. Tried having it looked at by uBreakIFix and they had nothing. Other than that my Pixel 6 is doing great but I keep it in a case 99% of the time and don't abuse it.

[thefz]

Idea was to stretch the P4a until the end of security updates.

The reason is that it is much, much more compact and it's perfect to carry around when on the bike as it does not wedge into my quad when pedaling. And it's easier to hold with my gloves on. Well, it's living a second life full of music and OsmAnd maps.

[rezonant]

For fun today I booted up my Pixel 3 XL and it works just fine. It was slow at first, probably as it synced a bunch of stuff, but after that it was about as snappy and useful as I remember it. Everything still works. I used that for 3 years before the Pixel 6 Pro. Before that I had a Pixel XL for 3 years. I still have that phone too in my device collection.

But the lack of security updates makes the XL and the 3XL, though still functioning as expected, not acceptable. This thing has far too much access to my life to actively use it on the Internet every day.

I'm getting the Pixel 8 not because the 6 Pro has any problems (personally I've had none), but rather because I have a bit more disposable income to spend on my tech enthusiasm and I'm excited about a phone with a 7 year software support window (with incidental coverage to support 5 years of accidental damage). If all goes well, I hope to take advantage of more than 3 years of that, assuming some insane new development doesn't happen in the interim.

[linsomniac]

I can't say about the 7 (the upthread you are referring to), but my Pixel 3 XL is my daughter's daily driver now, replacing the hand-me-down Pixel first gen that just didn't have enough memory to live up to today's requirements 6 years later. My current 6 Pro has been a champ, I'm seriously conflicted about upgrading. The 6 is perfectly fine, but I'd enjoy an upgrade, and look to be able to sell the 6 pro for $350 if I wanted to go that route.

[walteweiss]

Have you considered flashing something like LineageOS? The Pixel line is well supported.

[eptcyka]

My Galaxy S10's bluetooth modem just said no 3 months in. My pixels have only failed me by losing support from Google prematurely. This is all anecdata.

[SketchySeaBeast]

But now you're stuck with no more security updates, but Samsung has gotten much better at that as well recently.

[vetinari]

I don't really mind; it concerns only updates of core system, not apps. Apps are still updated, so I get updated browser, mail and other apps, that could be attacked; they are not locked to the system. It makes the attack surface vastly smaller.

[what_ever]

They may be confusing Android updates with iOS updates where browser update comes with the OS update and not separately as an app update.

[lolinder]

There are risks to leaving an Android OS out of date, too. That can be mitigated somewhat by keeping Bluetooth and Wi-Fi off when away from home, but it's not foolproof.

[SketchySeaBeast]

I'm not, it's two different types of problems. Just because Chrome is updated it's not safe to keep using Windows XP.

[jmilloy]

I'd guess you aren't seeing the build quality issues as frequently because you replace your phone more often. Three phones on six years sounds like a lot to me

[thefz]

See above comment as to why.

[lolinder]

Why doesn't really matter for OP's observation, the point is that your phones don't last long enough to manifest the possible problems. It'd be like if you were in the habit of totaling each car you own at about 50k miles. You might have really enjoyed it for those 50k miles, but you're not qualified to comment on how durable the car is in the long run.

[deprecative]

At the same time if you're keeping a car going for several hundred thousand miles and experience issues you're also not to be counted.

Get a new phone every handful of years. Stop being surprised when old hardware starts to fail.

[zolbrek]

I didn't have any problems with my 4a or 5, but my 6 is only about a year old and I no longer can use the USB-C port. I have to charge it wirelessly. The battery life is crap as well.

[buerkle]

I'm still on my same iPhone for almost 4 years. Getting a new phone every two years doesn't scream quality to me.

[buttersbrian]

I am biased, as I've had every pro/xl but the Pixel6 and the google nexus phone's prior to that.

With that being said i've only had questionable build quality on 2 occasions. The Huawei 6p which was covered under a recall, and the Panda Pixel 2XL where there was some lamination issues.

That being said, the build quality and materials (mostly) really stepped up initially in the Pixel 4, and then noticeably again in the P7. They are quite nice. I don't really find them lacking in quality, fit, or finish these days.

[thefz]

Neither does your case, honestly.

My GF is still using a Pixel 3 pro every day.

[hn_throwaway_99]

I'm a Pixel owner, and the phone quality has been stellar IMO, but I would never use any phone that couldn't get security updates - zero days, and sometimes zero days that require no or very little user action, are too common with cell phones. Which is why I think the 7 year support announcement is great news.

[disgruntledphd2]

This is why I upgraded from 3->6. I guess I'll need to go to 9 or 10 once the updates run out.