Value sweet spot for Android phones?

Is the pixel 6a battery really good?

I’ve had a 6a since the release date, it’s ok and holding up well with time but it’s nothing special. No wireless charging of that matters to you.

With the 8a likely to be coming out in May I wouldn’t be buying a 6a unless it was a very good price.

I’m an iPhone user so no idea on android/Samsungs update frequency!

Pixel (google) phones tend to get updates sooner and for a longer period of time over 3rd party androids.

Pixel (google) phones tend to get updates sooner and for a longer period of time over 3rd party androids.

Dunno, Samsung have really upped their game recently at least on security updates – I don’t doubt full Android updates are going to take longer than Google/Pixel phones.

Also to note: if you get a phone through a deal with your carrier, updates might take a little longer. My phone has some Orange crap on it, and updates are definitely a bit slower. My previous phone I bought off Amazon, and my next phone will be a straight purchase too.

I’ve had a 6a since the release date, it’s ok and holding up well with time but it’s nothing special. No wireless charging of that matters to you.

Yeah, thats a point… My very new 7 has wireless charging but also no headphones socket, SO I ended up spending a bit more than the ticket price..

£30 on a wireless pad…of course you can just plug it in to a USBc cable if you want…and this is ‘only a 20w’ charger… the official google one charges faster, but it’s like a hundred quid…yeah right! lol!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08DKZQW51/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And some wireless headphone for £50

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09FKGJ1CB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I was referring to performance of the linked phones at 150/105 price point for 5G/4G.

Not The pixel 7 as that’s a lot more expensive

I use a wireless pad for my S21, it’s more than fine overnight. For faster charging any (decent brand) charger works well – I’d be very surprised if a Pixel phone was somehow limited to using a Google charger.

5G/4G performance is very much network/geo-location dependent.

A good solid 4g connection will often out perform a ropey 5g connection, even though 5g is technically ‘better’.

A good solid 4g connection will often out perform a ropey 5g connection, even though 5g is technically ‘better’.

God yeah, the number of times I’ve seen the “5G” sign and things just grind to a halt…

I use a wireless pad for my S21, it’s more than fine overnight. For faster charging any (decent brand) charger works well – I’d be very surprised if a Pixel phone was somehow limited to using a Google charger.

It’s not, that’s why I bought a £30 15w belkin wireless charger, rather than circa £70 for the 23w official google one.

I can’t edit my post above..the belkin is ‘only 15w’, not 20w. But I find it plenty fast enough, and I always have the option to just hard wire it if I really want to.

It’s not, that’s why I bought a £30 15w belkin wireless charger, rather than circa £70 for the 23w official google one.

I think mine’s an Anker, but as long as you stick to reliable brands I’m guessing you shouldn’t have a problem. FWIW my wireless charger is a Samsung model, but it wasn’t anywhere near as much of a rip-off as that Google charger!

I think mine’s an Anker, but as long as you stick to reliable brands I’m guessing you shouldn’t have a problem. FWIW my wireless charger is a Samsung model,

Yeah, Belkin/Anker/samsung or whatever…perfectly fine, only thing I would say is avoid no-name chargers, or fake branded ones..

…the charging capability is often exaggerated in terms of wattage, and sometimes dangerous.

anywhere near as much of a rip-off as that Google charger!

It is “Up to 23 W for compatible Pixel phones.” which is pretty damn good, to be fair, but absolutley not worth the price premium over a good quality 15w wireless charger!

I phrased that badly. I hadn’t meant network speed although that is a good point it is a consideration. I had meant is the processor / RAM (rather than storage) meaty enough for running android and typical apps (he won’t be gaming) without significant lag.

as long as you stick to reliable brands I’m guessing you shouldn’t have a problem.

I’ve used some cheap £16 wireless charging stand for my Pixel since the day I got it and it’s been 100% fine.  Put it on the charger by the bed a night and it works as a clock as well as charging.

Mrs C’s phone will need replacing soon.

Her use is very straightforward – Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin mostly.

But she’s a prolific (and good) user of the camera and could justify the best possible. She’s currently on a Huawei something or other which used to be the photographers android of choice. Where does that accolade go now? Ideally without paying for unneeded bells and whistles.

I got myself a refurbed Samsung S21 for just over £200.

It came with the Samsung fast charger and cable.

It was immaculate and looked brand new to me.

I’ll be interested to hear how Mrs @stevious is getting on with her new phone.I may need to buy the same one shortly.

@convert I went from a Huawei Mate 10 Pro (pretty highly rated for photos six years ago) to a Pixel 7 and I’ve not been disappointed. Somehow managed to pick it up around black Friday for £300 with 35 quid cashback, which was a bit of a bargain.

@convert
Where does that accolade go now?
https://www.dxomark.com/smartphones/#sort-camera/device-Xiaomi%2012T%20Pro

Thanks. Still plenty of Huawei on that list but as they are running on harmony not proper android and there is talk about dropping android compatibility that seems a faff too far.

But lots of others on the list.

@stevious how is her budget phone panning out?

New phone shaped dents in the wall or all good?