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Mrs Zip has a Xiaomi phone which she has had for years and it still works perfectly.
Yesterday it had a security alert saying that one of the Xiaomi apps was spying on her.
This is a bit concerning so thought I would look around for a more trustworthy phone supplier.
Pixels seem to have a good rep for photos so that is my immediate start point.
She usies it for banking ,phone calls and social media. Certainly don’t want to spend over £300 but do want an all day battery ,256gb and another 3 years faultless performance .
Is a 6 going to be rubbish these days?
edit ..it was Mi Credit that caused the issue.
Be careful with the 6, a lot of them were recalled due to battery overheating issues. Including my wife's. She got credit for an upgrade and ended up paying £150 for a 9a (with the credit). I should imagine you'll get something newer than a 6 for £300. Especially if you go somewhere like CEX and get a refurbished one. I have a 7a which I've had for well over 2 years and it's as good as new.
it had a security alert saying that one of the Xiaomi apps was spying on her.
How exactly was this "security alert" presented? I'd be searching for the exact wording and some corroboration that it's a genuine alert rather than a targeted ad for some "protection". FWIW when I open my weather app I often get a pop up ad saying "Your weather app is out of date" which is just trying to scare me into downloading a different app.
I've got a Pixel 9A that I got for less than 300 in last year's Google sale with a trade in. It is fine for a relatively cheap phone and will do everything you've talked about above. There was a PSA on the neverending thread saying you could get them for about 250 without a trade in just now.
Happily running a 4a(5g). All banking apps are ok security wise. Paid less than £100 for a grade A refurb 12 months ago. Nice and compact.
The alert was from Google Play Protect.
Why specifically a pixel?
My long line of new motoGwhayevernumberiscurrent have all been excellent and its not some rando chinese upstart.
Don't think i have paid more than 150quid.
My Samsung is always wanting me to install all kinds of useless crap, I’m assuming all other phones are like that apart from Google.
on a 6a here, everything runs fine
as to joshvegas question, pixels are the only ones ive found free of bloatware -im looking at you; xiaomi, Samsung, honor, and Motorola (the the Motorola wasn't too bad and the gestures to open camera, turn on torch etc were brilliant)
You can get a Pixel 9a for around £350. Personally I wouldn't go any older than that.
I currently have a 4a (4g version) that is over 5 years old now & still works fine but I wouldn't be buying it now. Battery is definitely not as good as it once was, although that's the only real downside I can think of.
Back Market has a good selection of Pixels. All the 8 models are available under your budget.
https://www.backmarket.co.uk/en-gb/l/google-smartphone/07eb83b4-649d-4d41-8089-5b484c0c428c
on a 6a here, everything runs fine
Same - had it 4ish years now and zero reason to change it. I had the battery recall message too but haven't got around to getting it fixed yet (might pop into EE on Sunday and see about it) - just limits battery life a bit until you get it fixed (free) but still easily got a day out of it unless you're on it for hours at a time.
Yeah I have a 6a with the battery recall, I'm planning on getting a replacement battery under the recall scheme. Apart from that it's been a good phone and I'm not planning on changing it.
Madame has a 7a she got from John Lewis at a really good price, they seem to heavily reduce when a new model comes out. It seems pretty much the same as the 6aand decent value for the 250 she paid with 2 year warranty
Much as I'd like a 4a for the size, I don't think I'd buy a phone that was no longer supported.
I have a 7a. I can't fault it. It was cheaper than the 'full' 7, the specs are nominally lower in no meaningful way and the camera is better. I see absolutely no reason to buy a 7 ever.
The 8 series a nominal improvement on the 7. I wouldn't pay a great premium for it, the only real benefit is newer == updates for longer. It's a sweet spot IF the 8 and 7 are of comparable price. If I were replacing my 7a tomorrow* then I'd be happy getting another 7a, I'd pay slightly more for slightly better in the 8 or most likely just take the hit and go straight to one of the 9 series models. The 10s are stupid money and the days of needing a flagship phone to get something Not Shit are long gone.
Unlike many Android handsets, they do seem to hold value.
(* - I only know this because the screen on mine is damaged, I was idly comparing them the other day because replacement might have to be sooner than I'd otherwise like.)
Why specifically a pixel?
Exceptionally long manufacturer support is a compelling argument for me. The Pixel 6 and 7 serieseses will get OS and security updates for 5 years, and the 8 and newer for 7 years. Motorola is catching up I think, but only for certain models.
pixels are the only ones ive found free of bloatware
Oh yeah, that as well. I forget how joyous a clean Android experience is until I borrow someone else's phone.
Re: spying, I was in a restaurant the other day and my wife and I were discussing the Pommes Anna on the menu - I'd never heard of them, or totally forgotten ever hearing about them. pulled my phone out (Pixel 6a), typed in "pomm" first auto suggestion: Pommes Anna.
?
Nothing wrong with my Pixel 6a, but I have been looking at compact cameras for better, zoomier pics out on the trail and out and about. And there's a decision to be made about whether to get a decent compact or a flagship photo-enthusiast phone with all the zooms and bells and whistles. 9 or 10 pro, maybe?
I've had my 6 for three years now, no problems at all and the camera is brill.
First smartphone I've ever kept longer than the 2yr statutory rights period. Just does everything I need really well.
Would buy another.
I just got my 9A for £250 after trade in, they've been cheaper since.
I've got a Pixel 9A that I got for less than 300 in last year's Google sale with a trade in. It is fine for a relatively cheap phone
This amazes me - "its fine". Its blimmin' amazing and I can't imagine what else a phone needs to do!
I have an 8a and kept my 3a as a spare/burner/music player/. The 3a is better by far. Just as fast, and the battery still lasts 2 days on it. Its, what? 10 years old?! The fingerprint sensor on the back never fails, unlike the screen-based ones (7a (or was it the 6?) was the worst for that, I wouldn't get one of those). I don't think I'd go older than the 8a if I was buying tbh.
The pixel 9a can be had for 229 a month on EE https://ee.co.uk/products/google-pixel-9a-sim-free?source=aw&sv1=affiliate&sv_campaign_id=47868&awc=112400_1765484313_db70ca5d19bfeff002ed6bfc913c38cc (if you follow the link it says £349, but then if you sign into an existing o2 account it drops to £229)
or o2 were selling it for £249 in store, but you had to also buy a top-up.
At that price it seems unreasonable to go older 🙂
Pixel 9a still £229 on ee website. You need to be a customer to show that price and logged in otherwise its £350. I've just ordered one for brother in law.
Ah iwbmattkyt beat me to it
I dropped my 8a the other day and smashed the screen so I pulled out my old 6 that's been sat in a drawer and put the SIM card in while waiting for a ew screen to arrive.
After charging the 6 it automatically upgraded to android 15 and is working a charm.
I still. Prefer the slightly smaller size/balance of the 8a but the 6 is still a decent phone (pretty sure they sorted all the fingerprint issues out and I've replaced the battery once after it overheated and expanded)
7a here. Everything is great with the exception of the fingerprint. I've turned it off and use a 4 digit pin as it was so temperamental.
Android 16 recently updated itself.
When abroad (and I include Wales in this) I can point to writing and it translates on screen in the same font! Amazing. I now know what Butty Bach means.
And if I'm talking to a call centre I can look at the screen and read what they are saying.
Its almost worth buying a spare at that price.
Pixel 8 and above get 7 years of security updates. Before that it's only 5, so you'll only get another year or so from a pixel 6 or 7.
256gbi is a lot, and will bump the price up, but as others have said you can get a pixel 8 for less than £200.
Take a look at giff gaff for refurbs.
If you can spend £300, then I'd look for a 9 .
Great phones by the way.
Re: spying, I was in a restaurant the other day and my wife and I were discussing the Pommes Anna on the menu - I'd never heard of them, or totally forgotten ever hearing about them. pulled my phone out (Pixel 6a), typed in "pomm" first auto suggestion: Pommes Anna.
?
Thus providing a perfect example of how people see coincidences and jump to conclusions. It's the same on mine, first three auto suggestions for 'pomm' are Pommery, Pommes Anna and pomme puree. I've never heard of pommes anna either, but how often do people search for things they already know? It's not a great leap for it to be a high-ranking suggestion when the only other word which starts with 'pomm' is pommel (horse).
You've just written it here of course. I suppose it's possible that Chrome has just read it and instantaneously synced it via my account from desktop to the search on my phone, but that would be pretty wild. I'm reasonably confident that Google isn't spying on my eyes when looking at posts made by other people on a cycling forum.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor
My wife has a 6 and it is still going strong. I've got a 7a and had it for a couple of years. No sign of struggling with hardware or software.
Argos have the 9a for £350. If you can hang on I would guess they'll come down in the sales on many sites. Giffgaff also worth keeping an eye on.
I have a 7a which I bought NOS last year for about £200. The screen died recently but was covered without quibble under Google's two year warranty. The family have a 7 and two 6as which all seem to work fine.
Happy enough with my 8a. Got it around this time last year for a discount to replace a OnePlus3t, which was no longer getting Android version updates, and found out that some Apps stopped working on that ancient version (eg Lufthansa, so couldn't access my boarding pass).
Could have got the 7a for a bit less, which I would also have gone for, but figured the extra newer version and extra guaranteed support was worth a few coins more.
Also much prefer a phone that fits in my pocket, and not a mini tablet. I rarely, if ever use half the media stuff. Just phone, text, apps for travel tickets, and a camera pic or two once a month.
My missus is using my 6A (non A) after I upgraded to the 8 for the better camera. It's still working fine. No battery issues, photos are still great - just lacking the zoom and a couple of other features. It's now just over 4 years old and I'm not seeing any reason to change it soon. I was hoping it'll last another year until the Pixel 11 is available, then I'll buy a 10 and she'll get my 8.
Another 9a user here getting it relatively cheap after a 7a trade in. Both are great phones, but the 9a really is a step up in function and the AI photo tools are great. Both take really superb pictures though , the lighting is generally always spot on.
(if you follow the link it says £349, but then if you sign into an existing o2 account it drops to £229)
Did you mean to say O2 here, or was that a typo for EE?
Pixel 9a still £229 on ee website. You need to be a customer to show that price and logged in otherwise its £350. I've just ordered one for brother in law.
That says employee offers. I wonder if it's a pricing error?
From a spec point of view, I'd happily still be using my 6 Pro if I hadn't broken the screen and found it uneconomic to repair. The 8 Pro I replaced it with is slightly better all round but no great leaps forward.
However with support for the 6/6 Pro only scheduled until October 2026, if I was buying I'd probably spend more and go for something newer to avoid the risk of headaches with apps you want to use suddenly moaning that you're on an unsupported device.
I have a 7a - and it costs £8 a month with a load of calls, data etc from ID. A Sim only would be similar cost. Why would I buy a phone upfront when they basically give me a free phone? My contract is up in January and I may just keep with it.
Mrs_OAB has a Pixel 10 from ID and it is £18 a month with unlimited everything. Again, seems a silly deal when you work out handset + calls cost.
My Samsung is always wanting me to install all kinds of useless crap, I’m assuming all other phones are like that apart from Google
I don't think so. My OnePlus wasn't like that.
Samsung are super-dodgy on this front, from phones to TVs to fridges. This article is about a specific set of phones - but MrsD has a highend 2024 Samsung phone and sees the same thing. She can disable it for a couple of months but it always comes back. I dug into it a while ago and it, too, was an uninstallable system-level ad/app platform run by an Isreali company.
https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-appcloud-spyware-controversy-3616325/
I wouldn't buy anything from Samsung these days. I doubt Google is particularly ethical either but the phones are decent!
My Pixel7a is bulkier, heavier and has worse battery life than the OnePlus it replaced, but it works well and the call screening thing is an absolute killer app. I've had it 2 years now but would hope to get another year or two out of it.
That says employee offers. I wonder if it's a pricing error?
Oh yeah that's strange.
Would definitely recommend buying if you're in the market for a pixel as it could be an error and may get pulled.
DPD are delivering the one I've ordered so they are definitely shipping them at that price
Thus providing a perfect example of how people see coincidences and jump to conclusions.
You cite Occam's razor, but is it really applicable there?
You're holding a device created and operated by the largest advert company in the world, with a microphone that is always on, and that openly - proudly, even - serves you personalised adverts and suggestions based on your behaviour (the exact details of which are described in the small print hidden in a microdot in the 'i' of the terms and conditions).
At that point, you could make a decent case to say that the simplest explanation IS that it's just another behaviour-based suggestion, rather than it's looking at all the other searches in the world and ranking them by popularity in real time....
You cite Occam's razor, but is it really applicable there?
Is there a simpler explanation than "coincidence" for anything? Or indeed that Google search returns something you actually searched for?
I got out of the car a few weeks back and when I got in the house the same song was playing... except, I was listening to the radio and my partner had Spotify on. Conclusion, Google is spying on which DAB station I'm listening to and sending that data to Spotify so that Amazon can beam subliminal messages into my partner's brain?
How many times has the scenario you describe not happened to you? Literally every other time you pick up your phone but it's not noteworthy because why would it be?
If it were as you describe then the behaviour would be reliably repeatable, you could honeypot it by talking about things and predicting the search results. If that doesn't work then the only conclusion is that Google is only doing this occasionally in order to evade detection, at which point I'm buying shares in Bacofoil.
I don't have any 'bloatware' on 1 month old S25 & don't remember anything on the S20 I bought just after covid, I had to delete some Samsung specific software on my 2015 S8 but wouldn't describe it as bloated by it - took about 3 minutes to Google what to delete, disable Bixby assistant & make Chrome or Edge the default browser.
The fingerprint sensor on the back never fails, unlike the screen-based ones (7a (or was it the 6?) was the worst for that, I wouldn't get one of those)
Definitely! I went from a 3 to a 6, and suddenly felt like I was announcing to the world I'm unlocking my phone with my finger print! It was really discrete with the sensor on the back, didn't need to look at it and definitely recognised my print more consistently, and didn't need the screen to come on whenever I touched it. That's my only gripe though with the 6. Didn't know about the battery recall, probably because of the custom os I put on it. Have noticed it gets hot some times, usually in relation to the camera being on (and the bright screen camera setting) for extended periods in my pocket.
The FP screen based sensor of the 6 does actually work well....
...provided you don't get your hands dirty or wet slightly moist or suddenly do a load of manual work for a few days out of the blue!
Whichever one you get, if the camera is important the Pro models with an actual optical zoom make smartphone photography a hell of a lot better.
I was intrigued to see if my phone was spying on me so me and madame spent 30 minutes talking about pom bears, what we liked about pom bears, the flavour of pom bears, the shape and texture of pom bears, you get the drift.
Then I opened Google and started typing 'p...o...' And the first thing that came up was Pommes Anna.
Be careful with the 6, a lot of them were recalled due to battery overheating issues.
7a has the same battery issue. Mine started giving overheating warnings, and sometimes wouldn't charge, so Google pointed me to a recall website where I typed in my IMEI and got given £300 towards a new phone, so I got a 9a in the sale with a trade in for next to nothing.
9a has been great, so with the battery issues, I'd say no older than the 8.
I was intrigued to see if my phone was spying on me.
The Duckduckgo browser tells me it's blocked 1900+ tracking attempts over the past seven days. Not exactly what you meant I know.
7a has the same battery issue. Mine started giving overheating warnings, and sometimes wouldn't charge, so Google pointed me to a recall website where I typed in my IMEI and got given £300 towards a new phone, so I got a 9a in the sale with a trade in for next to nothing.
9a has been great, so with the battery issues, I'd say no older than the 8.
Thanks, just checked and my 7a is apparently affected and eligible for the £300 voucher, even though it's not showing any issues yet. How much did you pay for your 9a if you don't mind me asking? They're currently £499 in the Google store, so 200 quid with the voucher. Was there a Black Friday deal I've missed?
Of course your phone is spying on you. That's EXACTLY what personalized ads are. Try disabling all cookies on every app and every website if you want to minimize spying. Having a new Pixel will not make it go away...
The O2 9a deal is just the job. Shall purchase on Sunday.
hanks, just checked and my 7a is apparently affected and eligible for the £300 voucher, even though it's not showing any issues yet. How much did you pay for your 9a if you don't mind me asking? They're currently £499 in the Google store, so 200 quid with the voucher. Was there a Black Friday deal I've missed?
It was back in the summer, they were £50 off. So £450 minus the £300 and another £70 for an old Pixel 4 I had. Think they're £450 in Argos at the mo, but doesn't help as you get Google Store credit.
it's not showing any issues yet
They never asked for the 7a back, still got it here, so...
I've got a 5 and a half year old 3aXL. It's still fine. It's not for sale 😉
(if you follow the link it says £349, but then if you sign into an existing o2 account it drops to £229)
Did you mean to say O2 here, or was that a typo for EE?
yup was getting jumbled up as you can get it in your local o2 store for nearly but not quite as good price.
I also noticed the “employee discount” but it works and has been available for a week now, I’m not sure what causes it but it seems only some EE accounts get that pricing
Still on a 6 here (bought outright SIM only from new). Feeling no reason to change until it dies (but it shows no signs of doing that at all).
Runs every app I need it to as fast as I would ever expect it to.
Camera is (and i say this as a photography geek - albeit a slightly esoteric one) still stupidly good, and not too much AI bollox to get in the way).
No issues with battery life. Not too sure about the overheating thing - not noticed anything with mine unless I run it on Android Auto for a while with wireless charging when it gets a bit warm.
Only minor gripe is non-expandable internal memory - I have 128GB which doesn't allow me to have my entire ripped CD collection on there (600+ albums) but I can live with that.
So, I'd say, whatever Pixel hits your budget...
When I said "fine" earlier on, that's driven by 2 things.
1. The navigation buttons that pop up sometimes get in the way of apps and websites and won't either adjust the window size or disappear to allow you to click links in the app/website. I never had that problem with my old Samsung and it is properly annoying when it happens.
2. Sometimes the touchscreen can be a little temperamental, particularly around fingerprint recognition. There are occasions where it appears that I have fingers that don't work with the screen. A quick power button press and then touch of the screen to reawaken it normally fixes the problem but, again, annoying when it happens.
It does get very hot when wirelessly charging but I just avoid doing that and plug a cable in.
I've a 6a and every so often think about upgrading but then there's absolutely nothing this phone does that a newer one will do better enough for it to be a necessity.
Looks like there's refurbished 10s on Giffgaff for not much a month. A new one could be had for abou £20 per month including my current plan
I thought the 9a was £50 off in Argos, but it's the 256 gig one for £450, the 128 gig is £350. Plus a code for another £30 off.
I'm running a 7 Pro, and runs everything I would ever need it to nicely, don't feel any need to change it.
If buying now though I'd consider Googles' commitment to future updates. The pixel 7 updates stop in Oct 2027 but the 8 stops in Oct 2030.
Assuming
Not the biggest
Put a new screen on my 8a yesterday so the 6 had gone back in the drawer.
Even though the 6 does everything I need I prefer the size and balance of the 8a.
Still happy with a Pixel 8 here. Newer models are snappier but considerably more brick-like in your pocket thanks to the thick glass back.
I've a 6a and every so often think about upgrading but then there's absolutely nothing this phone does that a newer one will do better enough for it to be a necessity.
Probably seems trivial to most, but my reason for going 6a to 8 was simply the optical zoom. For certain photos, particularly "people in landscape" shots a nice optical zoom makes all the difference. I'd previously been carrying around an old Lumix TZ for these shots but haven't bothered since getting the Pixel 8. The decision was made easier when my wife needed a newer phone too so she now has my Pixel 6a.