This month is the final month of guaranteed major and security updates, and we already know Android 14 won’t land in the Pixel 4a (though it will in the Pixel 4a 5G as it has guaranteed updates until November).
So for those of you who own that phone, what do you plan to do with it? Are you going to keep using it for a couple more years without the updates? Install a custom ROM (which one?)? Or are you maybe planning to get a new phone (a Pixel?)?
If you still own an older Pixel phone, how are you keeping it alive?
I’ll use this phone until the battery won’t hold without being plugged in all the time. Then I’m not sure. I’d like another pixel, but there isn’t a pixel anymore that isn’t massive. It used to be that the main phone with all the features was larger and the sub phone with less features was a bit smaller. I usually opt for the smaller phone because I like a phone that suits my small hands and can also fit in my pocket. Now I’m worried my next phone will be too big to fit in my pants and I won’t be able to reach the other end of the screen with my thumb. Not to mention they don’t have a physical fingerprint reader anymore. My husband has a 6 and he stopped using the fingerprint function because it just didn’t work 80% of the time. And don’t get me started on the headphones jack. I have a Bluetooth headset, but you know those run out of battery sometimes and some cars are a pain to connect to. That’s the least of my worries, but it’ll be a bandaid I have to rip off for sure. Anyway, thanks for coming to my Ted talk. I’ll probably buy the stupid new Google tablet because I’m a hypocrite 🙂
The s23 is fairly compact by today’s standards. Mind you, I returned the s23 and got a Pixel 7 Pro 🤷♂️
I’d give the Pixel 7 pro a huge thumbs up. Not overly keen on huge phones but the trade-off is an amazing camera and really great performance.
Every so often I think about how I really ought to replace my Pixel 2, but then it just keeps on working and the price of new devices keeps on inflating at absurd rates.
🤔 -Sent from my Pixel 3
😎 - agreed from my Pixel 3 XL
I actually think the pixel 3 is underrated it’s basically the same size as a pixel 4 a but it has better chip and the glass build and the squeeze for assistant functionality. No headphone Jack though and stuck on android 12.
But still I often recommend it to people that really don’t have much money and need something in a pinch . Got a pixel 3 for $70 on woot. I absolutely love the texture. Unfortunately I think the version I have cannot use a custom rom so it’s definitely dated. But I think it’s still basically fine to use.
I don’t think I would have loved to pay 8 or $900 for it at MSRP when it came out but at 70 bugs it’s fucking amazing
I got a headphone jack on my 3a
Waiting for my new Pixel 7 to be delivered right now actually. And then I’m installing GraphenOS on it.
I’ll very likely buy a 7a in November.
You don’t need to be at the mercy of Google to keep your phone updated!
The whole point of having a Google phone is that you can easily flash it after its planned obsolescence date.
I still use my pixel 2 regularly. There really isn’t a reason to not use it that I can think of.
Even factoring in not getting the Android 14 update, plenty of people I feel will keep phones for ages (I remember having to build aps catering to people on Android 8/9 so people are generally pretty lazy to update). Even without security updates I’ve got a feeling these phones will linger since they’re still decent
I’m not fussed about no updates going forward. I still like the phone.
The battery isn’t lasting as long as it used to, obviously, but it should last for another year at least.
In that case I’d probably replace the battery, iFixit has a $50 kit for that.
I’ve been thinking about doing that, but this phone won’t last that much longer so might as well just save the $50 for a new phone and live with a more or less shitty one until then.
I don’t trust myself not to make a balls-up of doing that and then needing to buy a new phone anyway. 😂
Install a rom that continues to receive updates
Disclaimer: I’m a 15 year iPhone owner, so I don’t have practical experience with this, but this is the angle I’d be researching, were in your situation. Or considering an iPhone, lol, Apple is still updating 10 year old phones. Of course, I don’t expect this crowd to take that last comment seriously ;)
Apple only has to care about 1 phone, Android has to work on countless phones from flagships down to piece of shit under $100 ones. More people have cheap phones than flagships, if the Pixel were the only one, it could possibly be very different. But constantly forcing newer OS’s into aging hardware also screws everything up, as Apple found out when they attempted to secretly down clock phones because of the beating they were taking from more demanding OS’s after upgrades. Tech expires in any way that matters, people need to accept that. Just because something still turns on doesn’t mean it can keep up anymore.
Apple is still updating 10 year old phones. Of course, I don’t expect this crowd to take that last comment seriously ;)
Least smug Apple user
Nothing but love. I know better than to think I’m going to convince anyone. And honestly, I think everyone has the right to personal preference.
My dude, I’m right there with you.
It’s all down to preferences. I hate iOS, but only for myself. I can’t stand using it, I don’t like the way iPhones are designed, etc, etc. But (other than joking with friends), that’s where it ends. This isn’t a religion, we don’t have to convert people lol.
Hell, I end up bitching about google’s bullshit more than I go around praising android.
This is the way
bro are u on the ipod touch or something
I haven’t used the same iPhone for 15 years… I upgrade every 4 years or so.
what are you doing here outside of your walled garden
Most of the services I use are on the web anyway, so the platform doesn’t block me from doing much.
I’d like a little more root access for advanced automation, but the built in tools are getting better all the time.
That said, I like the effort that app developers put into their products, and I prefer the hardware design. Personal preference type stuff.
Tbh I know tons of people who use older phones that are way past any updates but work fine.
Not ideal but doesn’t make the phone unusable
I’m going to keep using mine for a while. It’s not my only phone. I still use my LGV60 and my LG wing and a newer pixel sometimes. Those are all so big And I like the fact that the pixel 4a can fit in my front pocket.
I’ll keep using them until the batteries aren’t workable anymore. Whatever risk there is with security patches I think is overshadowed by the environmental and financial downsides of tossing away perfectly good hardware.
I’ll probably be fine using it for another year or so . As to what I would replace it with I’m not sure. Probably a used pixel just because they’re the best value proposition.
So 5a has gets android, another year of updates and it can be a 100 Bucks on eBay. The pixel 6 and 6 pro are 200 to 275 on ebay and they are getting like 40 more months of updates.
Samsung phones don’t have quite the same Compelling prices on the resal market .
When I was more in mobile gaming I’d just multi box with them. Nowadays I just use them as Roku remotes.
I originally bought it as a short term use because my Nexus was hurting. I liked it so much that it is still my daily.
My girlfriend is threatening to bail on her iPhone, so if she does maybe we’ll splurge for a pair of new Pixel 8 Pros. My eyesight is not as good as it was, and a bigger screen might be nice for the larger fonts I am needing 🙄
I will be in this position in a couple months when the Pixel 5 gets its last security update, in think my choices are either the Pixel 8 or wait a few more months and get the pixel 8a, I think it will come down to price. Regardless, it will be running GrapheneOS.
Try Lineage. I ran it on my Pixel 3 for about two years when Google stopped updating it. Then when I decided to sell it, just reflashed the Google OS back on it
Has it gotten easier to pass SafetyNet with ROMs? I still want to use my banking apps, but want to use a custom ROM for more safety now.
I’ve stopped using lineage as i changed the pixel3 for a 6a, so stock android. Although at the time I could get PayPal to work my banking app was a no no
Running lineage on pixel 3 still.
