I picked up a Google Pixel 9a for $250 a couple weeks ago to replace my "aging" Google Pixel 4a 5G, which will be a hand me down to my daughter and probably her first smart phone (at the ripe old age of 13). The 4a 5G was a fine phone and outside of no longer getting security updates I really didn't have any major issues with it.
I... don't know what I expected exactly, but I'm honestly very very whelmed by the new phone. I figured with a 5 generation jump it should be a fresh experience with a ton of new features and... its mostly just the same fucking phone all over again.
Its somehow thicker than my old phone, battery life doesn't seem any better, the newer android is more bothersome with a bajillion little "did you know you can..." tool tips that KEEP FUCKING POPPING UP in random places even after having the phone for nearly a month.
Not a big fan of the centered selfie camera and huge useless top bar space it creates. The frontal underscreen fingerprint sensor is less convenient to access than the censor on the back of the prior phone.
The main Camera is better, but I somehow expected to be better better, not just better after all this time. My phone is typically my go to camera for vacations and such so I do appreciate it nevertheless. I do also like the face unlock feature, although the fact that it struggles when I'm wearing sunglasses is a little annoying. The absence of the 3.5mm jack was pretty easily remedied by getting a couple of dongle adaptors which are dirt cheap nowadays. The act of activating the phone and transferring data/apps/etc over was a breeze though, which I liked.
Overall, I'm not shocked that the excitement and anticipation of the "phone wars" that was happening pre-covid is basically dead at this point. Its all the same rectangular brick with some planned obsolescence built in.
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