Decent price on Pixel 2 Unlocked? Price drop expected?

[overhear]

I looking at the Pixel 2 to replace my failing LG G4, but can't quite stomach $649 for the unlocked 64GB phone on the Google store. I use cricketwireless for very little $, so going to a contract with Verizon just to get a cheaper phone probably won't offer any savings.

With the P3 coming out, should I expect any price drop? Should I be shopping elsewhere??

 

[Rukbat]

Going to Verizon to get a Pixel 2 also gets you a locked bootloader. Stick with the Google version.

As far as a price drop, we all know as much as you do - we'll just have to wait and see. (I wouldn't expect that much, though - the 3 isn't that much more than the 2, it's time time for a new phone, so they released [or will be soon] the 3. A lot of us who could buy it aren't bothering.)

 

[Morty2264]

I too would recommend going unlocked with the Pixel. That kind of price is a good drop from the $900 retail price! And yup, when the Pixel 3 comes out, I'm sure the Pixel 2 line will drop down in price.

 

[MJ5150]

Buy direct from Google.
Going with Verizon subjects you to Android software releases on the Verizon schedule, not Google's.
If that doesn't matter to you, software release schedules, then Verizon isn't so bad after all if you can handle the 24 month commitment to save $300.
If you look at a used Pixel, verify if it was purchased from Verizon originally.

-Mike

 

[spwexler]

Www.swappa.com is the way to go.

 

[Lilybell2]

Just a point of clarification regarding "unlocked" phones: You may see lots of ads for new and/or used "unlocked" Pixel phones. It's important to know that the "unlocked" phone in the ad may simply be "carrier unlocked," which has zip to do with the bootloader. It simply means the phone can be used on a variety of carriers without having to request that the original carrier "unlock" the phone so it can be used on another carrier. Verizon model Pixels are not locked to Verizon, they are "carrier unlocked."

All Google Pixel phones, whether or not they are Verizon models, will arrive with their bootloaders locked, as they should be. The Verizon model, just like the non-Verizon model, arrives carrier unlocked and bootloader locked. The relevant difference being that the Verizon bootloader is encrypted, e.g., it cannot be unlocked.

If for some reason a Pixel phone is ever in a condition where it needs to be flashed with a factory image to restore it to working order, the fact is that flashing, unlike sideloading, requires a bootloader that can be unlocked.

 

[Law2138]

Buy direct from Google.
Going with Verizon subjects you to Android software releases on the Verizon schedule, not Google's.
If that doesn't matter to you, software release schedules, then Verizon isn't so bad after all if you can handle the 24 month commitment to save $300.
If you look at a used Pixel, verify if it was purchased from Verizon originally.

-Mike

Wait a minute...I thought software updates were on the same schedule with the Verizon and unlocked models.

 

[Rukbat]

They're supposed to be, but if Verizon goofs, you'd have to download the update from the Google site and update manually - and you can't do that with a Verizon P2. (I know you can do it with a non-Verizon P2 - the last time I did it was this morning - probably about the 50th time for this phone. I don't update OTA, because I have TWRP installed [another thing you can't do with a locked bootloader], and the OTA update won't work with TWRP [even if you play the Magisk game so you can update a rooted phone - which all of mine better be] - so I just flash the whole new ROM, but without wiping userdata, and it's about the same as an OTA update, but faster. [Yep - flashing the whole ROM is faster than the 2 step update - but you can still keep using the phone while it's updating - at long last (I've only been begging for the a/b system for about 5 years).])

 

[Lilybell2]

The Verizon models are perfectly capable of sideloading an OTA update. Flashing, no. Sideloading, yes. As for when the Verizon models receive their updates, they seem to do so in a timely manner. In fact, it's not unusual for Verizon phones to be the first to receive an update.

 

[dennis246]

Buy direct from Google.
Going with Verizon subjects you to Android software releases on the Verizon schedule, not Google's.
If that doesn't matter to you, software release schedules, then Verizon isn't so bad after all if you can handle the 24 month commitment to save $300.
If you look at a used Pixel, verify if it was purchased from Verizon originally.

-Mike

I can see that logic if one constantly switches carriers but we have been with Verizon for over 20 years (remember Bell Atlantic). We always look to get more for less money and Verizon, in spite of their bad reputation always comes through. Have NEVER had a dropped call and their service virtually everywhere is way above other carriers.

What I am getting at is 10 months ago I got a Pixel 2 from Verizon for $349.00, a silly good price for a phone that can run with anything out there. 300 off in one year or 10 years, have no intention to switch carriers so it's an outstanding deal.

PS: a few weeks after I bought my Pixel 2, Target store gave an additional 100 off. At $249.00 it had to be one of the best deals ever in Smartphones.

 

[dennis246]

The Verizon models are perfectly capable of sideloading an OTA update. Flashing, no. Sideloading, yes. As for when the Verizon models receive their updates, they seem to do so in a timely manner. In fact, it's not unusual for Verizon phones to be the first to receive an update.

Yes, updates from Verizon have come within 48 hrs (usually 24) after they have been released from Google

 

[ptkelly]

Here's a Google refurbished for $550.
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU6353102

 

[Mike Dee]

Buy direct from Google.
Going with Verizon subjects you to Android software releases on the Verizon schedule, not Google's.
If that doesn't matter to you, software release schedules, then Verizon isn't so bad after all if you can handle the 24 month commitment to save $300.
If you look at a used Pixel, verify if it was purchased from Verizon originally.

-Mike

The Verizon software releases have been same day as Google

 

[Mike Dee]

Wait a minute...I thought software updates were on the same schedule with the Verizon and unlocked models.

They are

 

[MJ5150]

They are

That's never been my experience.
The Google updates eventually come, but I've never seen it same day.
We too have been with Verizon since before they were Verizon.
I used the Droid series for the life of that run, then switched to the Z series.
I always eventually got the updates Verizon promised, but not once the same day Google released it.
As an example, Pie is promised for the Force 2. I'm still waiting. Not complaining, just mentioning my experience.

-Mike

 

[Mike Dee]

That's never been my experience.
The Google updates eventually come, but I've never seen it same day.
We too have been with Verizon since before they were Verizon.
I used the Droid series for the life of that run, then switched to the Z series.
I always eventually got the updates Verizon promised, but not once the same day Google released it.
As an example, Pie is promised for the Force 2. I'm still waiting. Not complaining, just mentioning my experience.

-Mike

I am specifically referring to the Pixel phones. That's what we are discussing in this to thread.

 

[Lilybell2]

OK, as to the Pixel phones, I have a Pixel XL and a Pixel 2 XL. My carrier is Project Fi. Project Fi operates over 3 telecommunications companies, Sprint, T-Mobile, and U.S. Cellular. As a Project Fi customer using Pixel and Nexus phones, I have learned over time that if T-Mobile customers haven't received an OS update yet, for whatever unknown reason, I should not expect to receive it either.

Usually, my phones receive updates in a timely manner. However, this September was the exception that proved the rule. My Pixel 2 XL received the September update on the 10th. However, my Pixel XL did not receive it then, and still hadn't received it a week later. So, based on past experience, I had a look around and noticed that a lot of T-Mobile customers with the OG Pixel XL were complaining about not receiving the update. That told me the issue was not with my phone, and I just stopped being concerned and waited to hear that T-Mobile customers were getting the update on their Pixel XL phones. Sure enough, when they got it, my Pixel XL got it too... on September 27th! (By the way, Verizon customers began receiving the update on September 4th.)

Sure, Google controls the updating process. However, once the updates are available, it seems there must be some sort of "approval" or other process that involves the carriers, and that sometimes causes delays in the OTA process even if/when the update is available for sideloading. I don't claim to know why it happens that way, I just know from experience that it does.

https://forums.androidcentral.com/google-pixel-pixel-xl/907669-september-update.html

https://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?t=911087&p=6346211&viewfull=1#post6346211

 

[MJ5150]

I am specifically referring to the Pixel phones. That's what we are discussing in this to thread.

Very cool.
Curious to me though how the Pixel updates are handled differently from the other phones they sell.

-Mike

 

[Lilybell2]

Very cool.
Curious to me though how the Pixel updates are handled differently from the other phones they sell.

-Mike

What other phones? Google sells only the Pixel phones.

 

[Wiley_11]

What other phones? Google sells only the Pixel phones.

Project Fi has Moto and LG phones too.