How do we not have an Android phone thread yet?

[21Kid]

I recently upgraded(?) to a Pixel 6a from a 4 XL. I'm not sure how much of an upgrade it was. The camera is much better. The magic eraser is pretty good and easy to use. But, the phone has stopped responding a few times and isn't as fast as I thought it'd be. It has 5 Gs instead of 4. But, honestly 95 percent of the time I'm at home on wifi. I never use it for videos or anything where that would come in handy.

I'm not usually an early adopter... I wanted to wait until the Pixel 7 came out since this is the first year of their new processor. But, the battery on my 4XL started to swell, and I didn't want to risk it.
(Note to self, don't leave the phone "out" while driving with the convertible top down. Sitting in the CA sun will cause things to get really hot!)
Maybe I'll still upgrade to the 7 when it comes out if I have a job by then. I worried that I would regret going down in size from the XL to the A. But, it hasn't bothered me at all. I actually like that I'm able to hold the phone more comfortably. I do miss not being able to charge the phone wirelessly. But there are many more features that make up for it.

[CudaMan]

OnePlus did a major sale yesterday, $350 for a OnePlus 9 and $450 for a T-Mobile locked 9 Pro. I ordered the 9 Pro (I wanted the 3x optical zoom and OIS) and will 3rd party unlock it. Then sell my Galaxy Note9. I still don't like how big modern phones are but I'll have to deal a while longer. (Samsung never has any deals on the right-sized S22 that I've seen).

So, doubling down on the green bubble racer chats. And losing a headphone jack. Going to have to resort to a clumsy adapter - shame. But otherwise looking forward to a more modern phone and the return of the alert slider! I had a OnePlus 5 years ago and it was great.

[TheBenior]

Did it come with a headphone jack adapter? The one that came with my OP6T was comically bad. I got a random cheap adapter from either eBay or Amazon that worked a lot better.

[dodint]

I was whitewater kayaking recently and had my Pixel 5a in my PFD. I hit a tree and rolled. Killed my phone. I think it would have been fine except the screen was cracked from a drop right after I got it and the water seeped in there. It took three days but it eventually 'spread' and enveloped the whole screen. Lame.

Switched to an older Samsung A71 for the time being. It's nicer in a lot of ways. I want to like the Pixel line but I swear they just have a certain cheaper feel to them relative to comparable Samsung phones. I'm not sure what I'm going to get next but I don't have to decide for a while. I'm a Google Fi user and the selection is good but not great.

[CudaMan]

I have been impressed with my Note9's generally polished experience especially for its age (I only got it a year ago, it's a 2018 phone). I would not hesitate to buy another Samsung, and like I say if I wanted to spend more on a phone I probably would have an S22 now. Plus I'm finding there's not a lot of selection for quality cases for the OP9 Pro. I drop phones a couple times per year but hate bulky cases, so I'm always looking for that happy medium of protection and slimness. Lots more good cases for Samsung and Apple. I'll probably end up with a Spigen Liquid Air, a little short on protection but decent grip and good enough quality. It's what's on my Note9, which has a curved screen just like the OP9 Pro.

My sister likes *really* small phones and when AT&T stopped supporting her old XPeria Compact she went to a dumb flip phone for a while and then recently got a Samsung Z Flip3. That thing is really slick. Another winner from Samsung IMO.

T positively hates her Pixel 4a, other than its compact size and the color rendering of its photos which is really very good. The camera system as a whole is flawed but in the right circumstance it takes amazing photos (great for all her hiking).

-

I won't get my OP9 for a couple more days but I don't think it comes with a 3.5mm adapter. OnePlus sells one separately on their site. What I didn't realize when I jumped on this phone is that using an adapter means there's no DAC chip inside the phone so you rely on the quality (or lack thereof) of the DAC in the dongle/adapter. So now I need to find a solid one to satisfy my picky ears and I'll probably spend way too much money now on a stupid adapter I shouldn't need in the first place.

[TheBenior]

The Google store Black Friday sale combined with aggressive trade in pricing on Pixel 6s got my wife and I to trade in our Pixel 6s on Pixel 7s. The Pixel 7 128 GB is down to $499, and Google is giving $479 trade-in credit for our 128 GB Pixel 6s. We'll be upgrading our phones for $51.19 each including tax on the pre-trade-in price.

I had debated trading up even before the sale price, but wasn't sure since the 7 seems more like an evolutionary update than anything particularly notable. I also debated going up to the Pro, but if I'm honest with myself, I'd like it if my Pixel 6 was slightly smaller (the 7 Pro is 0.2" taller, the 7 is 0.1" shorter and very slightly narrower and thinner).

[Tom Servo]

Dang...I might even consider that. Same boat here, the 7 didn't seem worth upgrading to, but for $51.19....

[TheBenior]

$56.18 for you

Another way I sold myself on it was that it's a new phone with a fresh new battery. I haven't found the Pixel 6's battery life to be terrible like the Pixel 4, but it wasn't especially impressive when new either.

[TheBenior]

Pixel 7 arrived Friday night via UPS, so living close to a large intermodal hub (O'Hare Airport) worked out well this time. Last year, our Pixel 6s were handled by some smaller shipper who didn't have reliable delivery estimates in spite of being a few miles away from me.

So far... it's pretty much like the Pixel 6, but the processing for low light photos seems to be done more quickly. Transferring data via USB-C was pretty speedy after having to unplug and plug in my Pixel 6 for some reason, and most apps have worked fine without having to be reinstalled.

[Tom Servo]

Well, I just dropped my Pixel 6 while searching for my earbud and broke the glass in the back. That should help with my trade-in value, right?