2020 Phone Purchase

[Android Central Question]

Hello all-

My Pixel 1 just crapped out after 3 stellar years. Looks like a motherboard issue- phone randomly restarted and is stuck in the bootloader. Unable to reboot into recovery mode. Bummer.

So atm, I have resurrected my old Samsung Galaxy S5 (and its 16GB of storage glory- 5GB of it occupied by the OS). And man... I miss my Pixel.

Looking for phone purchase tips:

1) I had intended to buy a Pixel 4, but I was turned off my the seemingly unanimous reviews that the battery life was poor.

2) The Pixel 3a has caught my eye. No bells/whistles but it has reportedly good battery life and a great camera. Probably the 2 most important features to me. It's also more affordable. ~$400.

3) I am reading that Samsung Galaxy S11 is coming out "soon" (early March). I have heard that Samsung has gotten better with pushing updates, their Android Skin (name?) is better/minimalized. Can anyone comment further on their recent experience with Galaxy/Note phones?

I recall being very frustrated with my Galaxy S5. It seemed like anytime Google/Verizon (finally) pushed out an update, my phones performance took a big hit. Multiple factory resets/cache clearing and waiting for a SW update to get the phone tolerable. Have things gotten better? What about bloatware? Any other feedback? Battery performance seemed to suffer with each update as well (not necessarily fied by replacing the battery)

My gut says the smart move is to just get the Pixel 3a. Its cheaper, it has a great camera, great battery life, pure android, no bloatware.

Drawbacks are- doesn't have some of the bells and whistles that the Galaxy S11 phone looks to have (rumored or confirmed).

Any other phones out there I should consider?

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[dew066]

pixel 3a XL until August, then sell it and get S11 as the S11 will be reduced in price when Note 11 comes out.

 

[mustang7757]

I have the pixel 4xl which a excellent phone , had the 3a which very good for it's price .the Samsung new skin is One UI . Pixel 4a supposed be coming soon and One Plus makes great phones.'ll leave a Link to register so you can communicate here as a guest account you can only post questions but can't reply.https://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?t=409154

 

[eric002]

I still love my three XL. Does everything extremely well! Excellent battery, screen, camera, speakers!

 

[CO_Drew]

Thanks for the link. Appreciate the feedback.

Have you heard much about Galaxy phones and improvements in updates etc? It's been awhile but I as I said before, back in the day it was a painful experience.

P3a is my front runner for that reason... even though the Galaxy hardware looks aesthetically superior

 

[mustang7757]

Thanks for the link. Appreciate the feedback.

Have you heard much about Galaxy phones and improvements in updates etc? It's been awhile but I as I said before, back in the day it was a painful experience.

P3a is my front runner for that reason... even though the Galaxy hardware looks aesthetically superior

Hi Welcome!
They have improved in both security and software department but still can improve little more lol.
Which Samsung phones interest you?

 

[CO_Drew]

Hi Welcome!
They have improved in both security and software department but still can improve little more lol.
Which Samsung phones interest you?

The Galaxy S11 caught my eye just b/c I came across its rumor mill in the immediate aftermath of my Pixel death...

I guess the hardware impresses me... camera, battery, screen, etc... but I am wary of dealing with their software issues again.
Never really been a fan of the Note line for some reason.

How are you liking the P4? Battery meets your expectations?

 

[mustang7757]

The Galaxy S11 caught my eye just b/c I came across its rumor mill in the immediate aftermath of my Pixel death...

I guess the hardware impresses me... camera, battery, screen, etc... but I am wary of dealing with their software issues again.
Never really been a fan of the Note line for some reason.

How are you liking the P4? Battery meets your expectations?

Battery been pretty good , overall like the pixel 4 xl a lot . The s11 looks like it's going to be a really good phone , I have the s9+ ,s10+,Note10+ ..they great phones in their own way and it be up to you what you like , Samsung has step their game with security updates and software gotten faster also not pixel wise but better then before.

 

[B. Diddy]

If you can wait a while, I'd see what the Pixel 4a is like. Considering that the 3a was considered by many tech sites to be the best phone of 2019, the 4a will definitely be one to look out for in 2020.

 

[CO_Drew]

If you can wait a while, I'd see what the Pixel 4a is like. Considering that the 3a was considered by many tech sites to be the best phone of 2019, the 4a will definitely be one to look out for in 2020.

I don't think I can survive on my Galaxy S5 for 5 months... I already want to throw it through a wall.

I know its a 6 year old phone but man its making be sour on samsung lol

I am hoping that Verizon has a pixel 3a promo soon. I think they usually have good deals in early January, that's when my wife and I got our Pixels.

 

[CO_Drew]

On a side note- as mentioned above, my Pixel 1 looks to have a bad motherboard- anyone know the best way to make sure that my personal data gets wiped?

Also- if I just hang on to the Pixel- will Google allow me to keep my unlimited original quality photos on Google Photos? Or does that disappear as soon as I change phones? Does it even matter?

 

[tlc264]

On a side note- as mentioned above, my Pixel 1 looks to have a bad motherboard- anyone know the best way to make sure that my personal data gets wiped?

Also- if I just hang on to the Pixel- will Google allow me to keep my unlimited original quality photos on Google Photos? Or does that disappear as soon as I change phones? Does it even matter?

Take a hammer to it to get rid of the info. You can take my Pixel 1 XL off my hands to keep your picture quality.

 

[Mike Dee]

I don't think I can survive on my Galaxy S5 for 5 months... I already want to throw it through a wall.

I know its a 6 year old phone but man its making be sour on samsung lol

I am hoping that Verizon has a pixel 3a promo soon. I think they usually have good deals in early January, that's when my wife and I got our Pixels.

6 years is way past the life cycle of a smart device so it did it's job

 

[CO_Drew]

6 years is way past the life cycle of a smart device so it did it's job

sorta... it limped to the 2 year mark before I go the P1.

been sitting around collecting dust for 3 years...

The P1 on the otherhand was working great 3 years in... I'm just sayin, makes me wary about returning to samsung

 

[Ry]

Look into sale prices on the Pixel 3A or Galaxy S10e.

 

[Mike Dee]

sorta... it limped to the 2 year mark before I go the P1.

been sitting around collecting dust for 3 years...

The P1 on the otherhand was working great 3 years in... I'm just sayin, makes me wary about returning to samsung

All of today's devices are different so it's hard to judge today's devices based on historical performance

 

[SactoKingsFan]

The Pixel 3a is probably the best value for a really good phone at $399. Pretty sure I've seen it on sale from Amazon for 350. There's also the OnePlus 7 Pro which includes a lot of flagship features at $499.

 

[CO_Drew]

The Pixel 3a is probably the best value for a really good phone at $399. Pretty sure I've seen it on sale from Amazon for 350. There's also the OnePlus 7 Pro which includes a lot of flagship features at $499.

Thanks everyone- I found a P3a promo at best buy... 250$. Pulled the trigger.

Figured I am getting a pretty good smart phone for the cost of an early 2000s flip phone.
So far so good. Other than feeling really lightweight (plastic) I don't really notice any differences from the P1.

 

[CO_Drew]

Thanks all-

Found a P3a at best buy for $250. Pulled the trigger.

Appreciate everyone's input.

 

[eric002]

Thanks all-

Found a P3a at best buy for $250. Pulled the trigger.

Appreciate everyone's input.

The Pixel 3a is probably the best value for a really good phone at $399. Pretty sure I've seen it on sale from Amazon for 350. There's also the OnePlus 7 Pro which includes a lot of flagship features at $499.

That's a great idea! The Pixel 3A phones are great value for the money as everyone knows. Great specs great camera great all around phone for just a few hundred bucks.