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!

 

[Ry]

Thanks all-

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

Appreciate everyone's input.

Congrats!

 

[AndersP]

Keeping my Pixel 2. Getting a new phone in 2021.

 

[Dr Bob Bayuk]

Pixel 4 reviews have not been stellar. The news makes my heart hurt - having been a committed Pixel fan since Google started making phones. The bad news/reviews about Pixel 4 has me leaning toward, wait a sec, Apple - probably the newest, biggest one

 

[bonedatt]

Impulse buy is real. I don't need a phone in 2020. My LG G8 isn't a year old, and I just upgraded my Galaxy Note 4 to a new Note9 few weeks ago (December 2019). I'll try my best to hold on to these devices till atleast 2023. It's going to be tough but I'll try.

 

[Morty2264]

Welcome to Android Central!

I had a Google Pixel 2 and loved it - abs was considering getting the 3/3a until I decided to get the Samsung Galaxy S10. I miss my Pixel and the camera but I do love the Edge screen on my S10 and the camera is really good once your hand is steady.

B. Diddy's advice to wait until the Pixel 4a's release is a good idea, especially since the 3a line was so popular. Google will probably put out an awesome Pixel 4a line - so if you really want, waiting may be the best option.

Going back to the Galaxy series, I am quite impressed with the software and security updates. And I am a big fan of the OS - the older Samsung phones did not interest me, but the S10's layout and hardware were really awesome.

Please keep us posted on what you decide!

 

[EndangeredThinker]

I am hoping the Huawei ban is lifted so I can get the new 120hz, 5nm processor, Huawei mate 40. I believe the Huawei phones to be superior to all other phones.

 

[Rosssinc]

Whatever has the best camera, expandable memory and decent battery life. After being a loyal Motorola user and gone from the G4 plus to the G6 plus (great all rounder and good camera) I made the mistake of going to the G8 plus. Good phone spoilt by the most awful camera, soft edges, lousy dynamic range pictures abound so it won't be another Moto!

 

[Morty2264]

I am hoping the Huawei ban is lifted so I can get the new 120hz, 5nm processor, Huawei mate 40. I believe the Huawei phones to be superior to all other phones.

You know, I too love the Huawei brand. I would have gotten the Huawei P30 had it not been for it. I love my S10, of course, but I had really wanted to give Huawei a go afain after using my Honor 8.

 

[Freddie Green]

Try using Nova Launcher on the S11, Or get another Pixel