[jascha_eng]

Sad I have a 6 year old oneplus and was looking for a new phone somewhat soon, would've considered them again for sure. Any alternatives? They always had a reputation for me for being a great no fuss, little bloat and simply fast android phone.

[pta2002]

Google’s phones are pretty good nowadays, I feel like they carry that ethos more than modern OnePlus phones anyway. Plus they can be unlocked trivially, which is officially supported, and you can install GrapheneOS on them.

[microtonal]

I buy Pixel for GrapheneOS, but the hardware is terrible for the price. They charge flagship prices for what are mid-range SoCs. They are very heavy for the size (e.g. the 10/10 Pro are around 205g) and the weight distribution makes them feel like a brick. Battery life is very mediocre, even with almost no apps or other crap installed. They have also had a lot of hardware/software issues in recent years - spicy pillows, display issues, camera bars that fall off, software updates that resulted in boot loops for many people, etc. In (most of?) Europe, they farmed out repairs to another company and often reject warranty claims if there is as much as a scratch on the case.

I would only recommend Pixel if you want to run GrapheneOS. GrapheneOS is stellar and until next year, getting a Pixel is the only way to run it. Also, wait until midway the cycle of a model to get a large discount.

If you do not want to run GrapheneOS, do yourself a favor and either:

1.) Get a Samsung S series (or maybe A5x). It's the only phone besides Pixel that does reliable monthly updates, QPR2 and rolls out major updates fairly quickly. They have a separate secure enclave (Knox Vault). Also, after a few months the pricing is really good (e.g. an S26 with 256GB storage costs 620 Euro here now). You can pretty much remove all of the bloat, including Gemini, Google hot words, Bixby, etc. with UAD. The SoC, battery life, etc. will blow Pixels out of the water.

2.) Get an iPhone. The most secure phone after GrapheneOS and the hardware is well worth the price. Their support is stellar, easy to reach a human by phone, generally easy to get repairs.

[seanw444]

> GrapheneOS is stellar and until next year, getting a Pixel is the only way to run it.

I'm hoping the Moto GrapheneOS phones will be solid. They will be my new primary option if so.

[driverdan]

I just got a new phone a month ago. I wanted a Pixel so I could run GrapheneOS. After researching the hardware I ended up with a OnePlus 13. Google's hardware is far behind, buggy, and overpriced.

[colordrops]

I have a OnePlus 13. Best hardware ever. Running lineage with microg + magisk and use nix on top of termux to install stuff using sudo, including AI harnesses - it's my portable AI workstation now.

[driverdan]

That sounds like a fun setup. I need to try out something like that.

[colordrops]

I've ordered a physical keyboard that attaches to the back of the phone using magsafe to make it easier to use. I wouldn't be surprised if we see new types of hardware or at least new mobile UI paradigms that make AI coding on the go easier.

[jascha_eng]

But a pixel is quite a bit more expensive no? At that point you can consider an iPhone?

[lavela]

If you'd prefer an Iphone if it weren't for price, you should probably have a look at refurbished Iphones.

[ulrikrasmussen]

If you are the kind of person who unlocks the bootloader and installs GrapheneOS, then definitely not.

[drnick1]

The Pixel can run Graphene, which means you can permanently take control of the phone and give Google the boot. The iPhone is entirely controlled by Apple, and you are one OTA away from a hostile "upgrade." By default, everything on your phone is sent to Apple for "backup" too.

[falsemyrmidon]

I got a pixel 10 for 350 a few weeks ago.

[dminik]

I have had a mixed experience. Bought my Mom a Pixel 9a. It seems to be running fine with no issues.

Bought a Pixel 10 Pro XL for myself and had to return it. Connectivity issues (WiFi connected, but no internet), screen losing colors (white would turn gray), ghosting issues (scrolled/hidden content would stay on screen for a period of time).

[inigyou]

Try GrapheneOS?

[dminik]

Bit hard to do with a phone I no longer have in my hand. Additionally, I wasn't sure if that would void my warranty.

It did cross my mind, and I did buy it for the possibility to do that in the future if necessary, but I just wasn't in the position to actually do so.

[inigyou]

People need to stop caring about warranties so much. Don't overpay, and have emergency funds. If you break something, fix it or replace it. When someone dropped my phone and cracked the screen, I spent 300€ on a new phone. Not 3000€ because I'm not an idiot.

[dminik]

Thanks for calling me an idiot I guess ...

I mean, I don't particularly understand how "caring about warranty" goes against what you've written after that. Replacing something for free is surely better than doing so for $300 dollars, no?

Are you saying I should have installed GrapheneOS on the phone, possibly discovered that the phone has hardware issues and then go out to buy another phone because I have an emergency fund? Or stick with a new phone that had issues?

Or maybe I have made a mistake by buying a phone more expensive than $300? I can see this one actually, but I was going for something that didn't have ads in every menu as the cheap Chinese phones I was using up until this point.

Outside of the used market, which I tend to ignore due to battery/performance degradation, there's no way for me to buy a Pixel for less than $300 anyways.

[mkesper]

Be sure not to buy any 'branded' variant, though (e.g. from Verizon etc.)!

[Twirrim]

I got badly burned by the Pixel 5a, but especially with Google's support. My wife and I both had 5a, and both died spectacularly right around the end of warranty period. Mine ultimately got replaced under warranty and that replacement died the same way when I was on vacation less than a year later... which they refused to repair under warranty.

They put up such a shit show and had us run through so many hoops with my wife's phone that it ended up being out of warranty by the time they agreed it was broken and needed repaired. The support experience was so painful I reluctantly let them get away with their bullshit, bought a new phone (oneplus) for my wife, and swore not to buy another Pixel phone despite having a strong preference for them and the pure Android experience.

[jacooper]

Nah the hardware is still crap. CPU performance that's genuinely like two generations behind being sold as a flagship somehow.

[ThunderSizzle]

Is two generations ago before 2020? Everything is 100% more expensive than pre-2020 prices.

Eating out is there. Power Tools are there. Land is beyond that and Housing has been there for 6 years now.

I'm not surprised. The March of inflation has been a wreckening this decade.

[jacooper]

Two generations compared to another flagship like an s26 ultra or an oppo.

[parineum]

I always wonder what people who say things like this are doing with their phones.

Two generations of phones ago, these performance parameters were fine. What software has come out on Android phones since then that's made that performance level unacceptable?

[alternatex]

Pixel phones have always been behind in hardware power. They're not performing at budget level, but compared to most OnePlus devices they are way behind in performance. In the Android world performance means longevity. Any Pixel tensor chip or non-high-end Snapdragon or MediaTek chip has a "smoothness" lifespan of 2-3 years.

[parineum]

> In the Android world performance means longevity.

This is the assumption I'm challenging. What are people doing on their phones that makes a two year old phone feel two years old?

Maybe it's 3d gaming, I don't do any of that on my phone but for any productivity apps, I don't think I've noticed an effective difference in my phone for years.

[jacooper]

The moment the phone is no longer the latest one, you start to notice it.

Dropped animations, slow downs in the summer due to heat, poor battery life because it has to use boost, and so on. You don't have to game to notice it.

[microtonal]

I think the issue is more the prices that Google charge for what is largely a mid-range phone (except maybe cameras). I don't think people would object as much if Google priced them as Pixels in the old days.

Prices usually get ok halfway the cycle, though this year not as much due to the RAM/SSD squeeze.

[alecsm]

I wanted an Android phone without bloatware and ads so my 2 options were OnePlus and Nothing. I ended up buying the OnePlus because I disliked the huge back camera on the Nothing 3a Pro.

Today I'd go for the Bothing 4a/4a Pro.

[robotnikman]

I wish Nothing was supported by Verizon, would love to try one of their phones.

[inigyou]

Why do you need your carrier to like your phone? Do they not mandate interoperability in your country? Are carriers using phone blacklists?

[kay_o]

They usse carrier whitelists , Which is even worse.

I cannot activded a EU acquired Pixel for instance. Verizon no longer needs to carrier unlock phones after 60 days too :}

Theres multiple carrier that will auto disable you sim if you move it and charge you a fee for it too !

https://www.howardforums.com/threads/is-metro-charging-to-sw...

https://www.reddit.com/r/MetroPCS/comments/1maa4rt/how_much_...

All of this was such a mind fuck.

[inigyou]

Land of the free

[usr1106]

Land of the free oligarchs.

[aianus]

Nothing didn’t bother to support Verizon’s most important 4G band, it’s not blacklisted it just won’t work well outside of major cities.

https://www.theverge.com/23803460/nothing-phone-2-verizon-wo...

[inigyou]

So use a different carrier?

[gambiting]

Oppo is great, same company as OnePlus. I have the base Find X9 and I'm super happy with it. It's fast, it stays cool, and the battery lasts forever(had it for 8 months now and I still haven't finished a single day with less than 50% battery left, it's nuts)