News It only took two years for my Pixel 6 to become a complete dumpster fire

[Hudson Miles]

In the realm of smartphones, apart from the Pixel, can you identify a device that remains in top-notch condition for over two years?

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

In the realm of smartphones, apart from the Pixel, can you identify a device that remains in top-notch condition for over two years?

I've got an S21 Ultra that is almost indistinguishable from my S23 Ultra in daily use. I have a friend that recently upgraded a 5 year old Honor phone to a Pixel 7a and is annoyed that the Honor had better battery life and signal strength. The Honor does have a bigger rated battery than the 7a, but you'd think 5 years of wear would at least give the Pixel a chance.

 

[mustang7757]

In the realm of smartphones, apart from the Pixel, can you identify a device that remains in top-notch condition for over two years?

Welcome to AC!
Yes I have had my Samsung devices and I have my One Plus 7 T pro McLaren edition going strong still

 

[madmann]

This has not been my experience at all. After 2 1/2 years my Pixel 6 Pro is still going strong. If fact, it's the first smart phone I've had that has a strong battery at 2.5 years. I use the adaptive charging and charge wirelessly on the Google charge stand each night. The battery lasts the day or close to it.

Occasionally, maybe once every 2 weeks or so, I do experience slow performance. A reboot always gets things back to running smoothly.

Like the author, I used to have a OnePlus (3 followed by 6) and switched to the Pixel for the pure Android experience. When I get my next phone, there's a pretty good chance it will be another Pixel.

 

[agathis]

It was a terrible phone to begin with. Camera crashes, overheating, very poor modem module.
Camera is great though, as long as it doesn't crash

 

[You Ben]

I don't understand when people say things like I could barely go 12hrs without charging my phone & also are self described heavy users.

I barely go a few hours without dropping my phone on a wireless charger & even if I didn't I could beat my phone up for 12hrs I would be fine with that.

As a P7 user I am happy as a clam, except wanting a P8P or PF

As a heavy user the P7 has just been full of problems and I can't wait to switch. I never been this happy to switch phones, and this is my second P7 after they replaced my first and still I have problems. It's strange how they blast about their software and it's the reason why I want to leave with some many bugs.

 

[Pulse]

It sounds like the writer of the article assumes that what she has experienced with her Pixel 6 is what everyone with a Pixel 6 has experienced. However, I've had a much better experience with my Pixel 6 Pro. I would rate it 9 out of 10. I'm not sure why she seems to think everyone has experienced the same thing she has.

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

It sounds like the writer of the article assumes that what she has experienced with her Pixel 6 is what everyone with a Pixel 6 has experienced. However, I've had a much better experience with my Pixel 6 Pro. I would rate it 9 out of 10. I'm not sure why she seems to think everyone has experienced the same thing she has.

It sounds like the writer of this comment assumes that what they have experienced with their Pixel 6 is what everyone with a Pixel 6 has experienced. However, I've had a much worse experience with my Pixel 6. I would rate it 4 out of 10. I'm not sure why they seem to think everyone has experienced the same thing they have.

 

[mustang7757]

When I had the pixel 6pro I didn't experience the issue what others had but didn't have it long enough as soon as the 7 pro came out I jumped on it and that gave me a little issues so I jumped from that to the 8 pro which has been great so far .

 

[Charles Bosse]

NFC, wireless charging and updates are important to me. And I've been let down by motorola in the past.

I strongly disagree about Samsung and Google.

I'm glad there are solid phones with NFC and wireless charging. Those two features and some glitter aren't worth $400-$1200 to me, ESPECIALLY when it means giving up a significant amount of battery life. I actually only came to Motorola because they had the only phone I could trust to make it through a workday with me using maps, playing games on my (public transit or walking) commute, and looking things up at work. It pained me to give up a smaller phone and a better camera at the time, until I actually started using the phone and realized how incredibly nice it was to have a phone that didn't have the hardware flaws of my Samsung and Pixel phones (issues with GPS, Bluetooth, and even sometimes wireless, as well as shovelware being forced on the OS, as well as some truly terrible "tech support" run arounds with Google) that didn't ever run out of battery unless I forgot to charge it for multiple days. Wireless charging is only nice if you are worried about charging your phone. My one actual use case for NFC is solved by my phone case having room for a credit card. I know that people have different needs, but mine are very well met, and for much less money, by my cheapo Motorola phone. If Google stopped clowning around and had either consistently reliable hardware or reliably good tech support, and got a re-org that made me believe they would make good on promises (just this year they lied about AI, and Stadia isn't even cold in the grave yet) then I would jump on a Pixel, and even despite all that I wouldn't say they are bad phones (just a bad value/risk). Samsung has, to their credit, done some soul searching since they lost me as a customer, but they burned me more than once (metaphorically, I got out before the whole battery fiasco) and I'm still not ready to go back, especially when I have come to appreciate what I get from my "Honda Civic of phones" so much. That said, I appreciate that people who got burned by Moto in the past aren't ready to give that another chance either, and if you get one of the Pixels with solid hardware, it promises to be a good phone for at least as long as any other flagship. I just also realize how much I felt "stuck" with a phone that ultimately wasn't what I needed and I am glad I found something that worked well for me in the opposite direction of a lot of the current pressure (ie iPhone).

 

[E Miller]

I don't know what you did to your Pixel 6, but mine has NONE of those problems, and after 2 years is working great.

 

[BEaRebel]

My mom was rockin' her P3a & P6a at the same time for a while.
84 years old. So Proud I am.
Won't let me spend >$ on upgrade.
6a drives me NUTS. Slowwwww, dislike it's layout. Bad Battery life. Slow charge. But, she loves it + when she finally uses Camera ~ results are NOT 1/2 BAD !
As someone else said, should probably move their fam to
A series Samsung.
Could completely freak her out tho.

(SG23U)

 

[deco1974]

A proud Pixel 6 owner here for more than 2 years. Coming from OnePlus, the P6 is the best phone I ever had. Making great photos (getting a lot of amazing reactions like what phone is that?!), doing all the stuff I want. Fingerprint is working just as well as I expect (in the beginning struggled sometimes at stores when I wanted to pay, now never have issues), no software issues at all and the body is just keeping strong, undue the fact it dropped hard on the floor several times.
Only(!) complaint I have is the screen performance during warm sunny days. To prevent overheat the screen will get dark and unreadable.
Hope to keep this P6 phone for years. I can't relate with the author of this article.

 

[RaVeN]

Please list the 10 apps you use that are on all the time in the background that use data, GPS and Bluetooth?

Use a pixel 6 all day for a lot of things, with smart watch etc attached and no issues.

 

[innovandrew]

First, it sounds like it has a hardware failure. Second, us heavy users expect to need to replace devices at two years. Third, your battery is shot and you can have it replaced. Fourth, Google offers an insurance at purchase that covers all of these problems and is very inexpensive. Fifth, everyone who uses the Pixel lineup knows - they barely last two years. In any event, the 4 and the 6 were not Pixels. They were mistakes Google made, that's why the trade in offer to the 7, which is the fixed 6, was so high. A two year old Pixel ran hard? Yeah it's dead, trade it in ;⁠)

Or... A Galaxy lasts 3 years, if you care for the wreck Samsung makes of Android OS... eek!

 

[deco1974]

For sure my next phone will be a Pixel again.

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

I'm glad there are solid phones with NFC and wireless charging. Those two features and some glitter aren't worth $400-$1200 to me, ESPECIALLY when it means giving up a significant amount of battery life. I actually only came to Motorola because they had the only phone I could trust to make it through a workday with me using maps, playing games on my (public transit or walking) commute, and looking things up at work. It pained me to give up a smaller phone and a better camera at the time, until I actually started using the phone and realized how incredibly nice it was to have a phone that didn't have the hardware flaws of my Samsung and Pixel phones (issues with GPS, Bluetooth, and even sometimes wireless, as well as shovelware being forced on the OS, as well as some truly terrible "tech support" run arounds with Google) that didn't ever run out of battery unless I forgot to charge it for multiple days. Wireless charging is only nice if you are worried about charging your phone. My one actual use case for NFC is solved by my phone case having room for a credit card. I know that people have different needs, but mine are very well met, and for much less money, by my cheapo Motorola phone. If Google stopped clowning around and had either consistently reliable hardware or reliably good tech support, and got a re-org that made me believe they would make good on promises (just this year they lied about AI, and Stadia isn't even cold in the grave yet) then I would jump on a Pixel, and even despite all that I wouldn't say they are bad phones (just a bad value/risk). Samsung has, to their credit, done some soul searching since they lost me as a customer, but they burned me more than once (metaphorically, I got out before the whole battery fiasco) and I'm still not ready to go back, especially when I have come to appreciate what I get from my "Honda Civic of phones" so much. That said, I appreciate that people who got burned by Moto in the past aren't ready to give that another chance either, and if you get one of the Pixels with solid hardware, it promises to be a good phone for at least as long as any other flagship. I just also realize how much I felt "stuck" with a phone that ultimately wasn't what I needed and I am glad I found something that worked well for me in the opposite direction of a lot of the current pressure (ie iPhone).

The idea of NFC and wireless charging meaning bad battery life is total false equivalency. My S23 Ultra has it's battery limited to 85% and makes it through a day of heavy use without issue. My use case is actually the opposite of your assumption... If I had battery anxiety I would be cable charging because it's faster. I charge overnight with a MagSafe wireless charger with fast charging disabled and take it off in the morning and go about my day.

There's nothing wrong with preferring cheap and cheerful phones that get the job done, but I'm an enthusiast. And honestly, in 2023 NFC isn't bells and whistles, it's table stakes.

 

[kenorian]

I got my Pixel 6 the day it was released. I had a couple of hundred apps on it and never experienced an issue. I'm OCD regarding my charging habits, so kept to the 40% to 80% rule (got chargers in my car, at my desk and have a portable charger). I got the 8Pro when it was released, my lady is now happily using my Pixel 6 with no issues.

 

[TomR]

Always interesting reading the different experiences people have.

I finally traded in my Pixel 3 ( got $150 from Google for it!) which has had zero problems for 5 years. I only traded it because of the excellent deal Google had going on Pixel 8

So far I'm liking my new Pixel 8 though I'm on a bit of a learning curve with it and Android 14

 

[ktpixelpro]

It only took mines 1 year (I have 6a). Although mine is not having quite bad issues battery life is real short now, it overheats easy, and occasionally has connectivity issues. I used it very heavy but expected it to last longer like at least 2 yrs. I wonder if author of article got phone wet or has bugs / viruses from bad apps...usually the freezing and stuff is more related to that type of thing than overheating.