Hi,

A friend wants to degoogle his phone, so I suggested the OS I’m currently using. The one we can’t talk about… He wants a small/compact phone, so I suggested pixel 4a (not buying second hand though), but I’m afraid that planned obsolescence may kill the phone rather soon. What’s your opinion?

Cheers and thank you for your help,

  • tmpodMA
    5·
    6 months ago

    After my 6 year old Redmi 4X’s screen touch decided to die, I got an opened-not-used Pixel 4a (in perfect condition) at the end of 2022, because it was one of the few small-ish phones that had good modding support (Pixel phones are ofc known to be very good to degoogle). I love it. Feels good, works well, has a great camera (got a GCam mod too), etc. Only downside is the smaller battery (3100 vs 4100 mAh), but honestly it isn’t that big of a deal, I can just carry a powerbank on my backpack or, you know, use my phone less.

    Back then, it was the perfect choice for me. Now, I don’t know, haven’t been keeping up with current models.

    • delirious_owl@discuss.online
      3·
      6 months ago

      I love the battery. I got a well used phone and I rarely have less than 70% at the end of the day.

      But I leave my phone in airplane mode 24/7 (just use WiFi, no SIM)

      Its comments like this that lead Google to make newer phones have stupid big batteries. I hate those big, heavy phones :(

      • tmpodMA
        4·
        6 months ago

        Ah right, airplane mode makes a ton of difference. I also tend to have it enabled as much as I can, usually when I’m home (and thus reachable through VoIP services) or at work. And I (almsot) never turn it off, I just leave it in airplane mode. I limit the charge to 75/80%, with ACCA, so I get even less juice.

        And I’m sorry, I also dislike big phones with huge screens and batteries, there’s no real need for that. But I know that you can fit better batteries in smaller phones as well. My previous device was smaller than the Pixel 4a, but had a bigger battery, while having almost identical weight.
        I wish manufacturers would make smaller phones, really. I’m very unsure what other device I will get after this one dies or gets broken…

          • tmpodMA
            2·
            6 months ago

            No problem, glad to have more people know about it, it’s very useful!

          • tmpodMA
            2·
            6 months ago

            Unfortunately, no. I believe you can’t really get this level of control without root access.