Question Pixel 4 for $499 or Pixel 3a for $399?

[GodisanAtheist]

Looking to pick up a new phone for the Wife on her birthday.

She is currently using an old Samsung GS7, likes the smaller form factor phones, wants a stock android experience with as much Google app integration as is possible without any weird sideloading, etc.

So that leads me to the Pixel phones obviously.

Both look like they would be fairly substantial upgrades from the GS7 but I'm wondering if the $100 price difference between the two is justified in the hive mind's opinion.

 

[MrSquished]

I'd get the 3a. It has a fingerprint sensor. In the age of wearing masks, face unlock is a drag.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[GodisanAtheist]

I'd get the 3a. It has a fingerprint sensor. In the age of wearing masks, face unlock is a drag.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

- I did a substantial amount of reading and ended up getting her the 3a XL. Basically all the perks of the 3a with a substantially larger battery (her biggest annoyances with her old S7 is its inability to keep a charge for more than a couple hours of screen on time at this point).

Comes with the headphone jack and fingerprint sensor, which are definitely a + in my book.

Lastly, and the best part, is the 3a XL was on sale for $379 at Best Buy, so ultimately an even better deal than I expected.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Update: So I went ahead, bought the 3a XL, my wife was super happy... but the damn brand new right out of the box phone won't turn on. Ok, I thought, maybe it sat in the box for too long and the battery was drained, let me plug it in! Plug the phone in for a few hours, no power indicator on the screen, push the power button and the phone gives me a weak vibe like its trying to turn on but can't quite make it.Change power adaptors to one I know works, same thing. Do all the "hard reset" tricks and tips online, none of them work either.

Ok, the phone is clearly a dud.

Not a problem, I'll just take it back to Best Buy since its been less than 30 days. Oops, nope, BB will only take returns for 2 weeks.

I was actually proactive and bought it way ahead of time... its now out of Best Buy's return period. Won't make that mistake ever again (being proactive).

Time to go file a claim with Google to get the phone replaced. Looks like I have to "initiate a chat" with google to start a Warranty Claim. Ok, start typing in the problem, only to have google tell me that Chat is currently unavailable for some reason. Ugh. Why? Why not let me fill out a form or just send an e-mail? Why does it have to be a literal chat with a live human on the other end?! (Ok, looks like it was temporarily down, able to chat now).

Anyhow, just a total bummer of an experience. Lets see how the warranty process works out.

 

[RearAdmiral]

Update: So I went ahead, bought the 3a XL, my wife was super happy... but the damn brand new right out of the box phone won't turn on. Ok, I thought, maybe it sat in the box for too long and the battery was drained, let me plug it in! Plug the phone in for a few hours, no power indicator on the screen, push the power button and the phone gives me a weak vibe like its trying to turn on but can't quite make it.Change power adaptors to one I know works, same thing. Do all the "hard reset" tricks and tips online, none of them work either.

Ok, the phone is clearly a dud.

Not a problem, I'll just take it back to Best Buy since its been less than 30 days. Oops, nope, BB will only take returns for 2 weeks.

I was actually proactive and bought it way ahead of time... its now out of Best Buy's return period. Won't make that mistake ever again (being proactive).

Time to go file a claim with Google to get the phone replaced. Looks like I have to "initiate a chat" with google to start a Warranty Claim. Ok, start typing in the problem, only to have google tell me that Chat is currently unavailable for some reason. Ugh. Why? Why not let me fill out a form or just send an e-mail? Why does it have to be a literal chat with a live human on the other end?! (Ok, looks like it was temporarily down, able to chat now).

Anyhow, just a total bummer of an experience. Lets see how the warranty process works out.

That stinks 🙁 hopefully google can get it replaced for you quick.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Update:

So Google partners with a mobile phone repair joint in the area. I took the phone in, they did a quick diagnostic and determined that something really was wrong. Kept the phone for a couple days and after exhausting every other option they determined that the screen was defective. Replaced the screen, billed Google for the labor, and I walked out with a functional phone after about three days at no additional expense.

All in all the warranty/repair process was quick, easy, and I did not have to argue or haggle over the warranty.

I would file this one squarely under "Wished it never happened, but the fix was about as quick and easy as one could hope for".

Wife is super happy with her phone, feels like a huge upgrade over her old S7.

 

[zinfamous]

Update:

So Google partners with a mobile phone repair joint in the area. I took the phone in, they did a quick diagnostic and determined that something really was wrong. Kept the phone for a couple days and after exhausting every other option they determined that the screen was defective. Replaced the screen, billed Google for the labor, and I walked out with a functional phone after about three days at no additional expense.

All in all the warranty/repair process was quick, easy, and I did not have to argue or haggle over the warranty.

I would file this one squarely under "Wished it never happened, but the fix was about as quick and easy as one could hope for".

Wife is super happy with her phone, feels like a huge upgrade over her old S7.

glad it worked out, but I'd be wary of accepting a warranty-replacement on a brand new device that never worked properly out of the box. I would have worked on demanding a swap for a new one.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

glad it worked out, but I'd be wary of accepting a warranty-replacement on a brand new device that never worked properly out of the box. I would have worked on demanding a swap for a new one.

- That's fair, but I really don't want to get into a pissing match with Google support/Best Buy/whoever over a phone my wife wants to actually start using. At some point I'd be the a-hole that would be getting in the way of her actually using the thing.

My experience with electronics has also been that most things either fail right away, or they go on to live past their useful lifespan (which is why I love refurb products,cheap and the defective part has already been replaced). That's where I figure we are with this phone, the thing that was going to break did us the service of breaking right away.