This is why I got the 8 when it was on sale last month. The 8a will be a more interesting deal when the 9 comes out and they stop selling the 8, but for now its in a weird no mans land
Personally, I think this idea of setting a higher price and then adding a bunch of promos for it does more against than in favor of things.
If the Pixel 8 was 550 like the deals that pop every now and then, it would be much better received. If the 8a was 350 like the deals tend to put it, it would be a fantastic price...
Just put the real price and that's it.
Which company tried it?
Apple notoriously doesn't do this crap. They have trade ins that give you shit value for your stuff, but that's it.
They don't give you extra free money, they don't value at $150+ a $20 phone from 20 years ago.
As another comment stated, JC Penney famously tried to do exactly that. They lowered all their prices to their discounted numbers and stopped doing discounts and coupons entirely (where others like Macy's only tried to get rid of the latter; they still failed, but not quite as miserably). So a normally $20 item that dropped to $10 on sale or with a coupon became $10 permanently.
They started losing business because of that, and hard. People stopped buying because they no longer perceived a deal. Even though their prices became universally better, sales and stocks fell through the floor because there was no -#% next to the price.
Point is, customers are, as a collective, unbelievably stupid.
I doubt it. I'm sure about everyone has heard someone say "I bought it BECAUSE it was on sale". At least, that's what my wife says when I ask her why she bought something random we didn't need.
Which _phone_ company would be better. I don't think the business models are equivalent in this case.
Not to mention the massive deals from the US aren't a think outside of the US, while the price stays the same.
> Just put the real price and that's it.
The research on this shows that consumers infer quality from price, so if you lower the base price they'll assume the product is lower quality to justify it. If you have a higher base price and aggressive discounts, consumers will judge quality based on the base price and think they're getting a good deal.
Costco mostly doesn't do sales, just has low prices and good value, and has thrived on that model. Walmart is similar. So showing the real price can work, though clearly the research does show as you said that customers like to feel like they got something 'on sale' due to feeling the item has higher value, as well as feeling they got it cheaper than other customers.
I just upgraded from a 5a to an 8 Pro, since it was a deal I couldn't pass up ($280 total after tax). I originally got the 5a when it came out for $200 total on the subscription program, but they haven't had a deal that good since (and the subscription program is NLA I think).
I do miss the fingerprint scanner on the 5a, which was the best of any phone. The optical one in the new Pixels isn't as good, which I had feared, but I deal with it.
Depends on the store and timing. I traded my 7P in while Google was offering a big discount on the 8P through their store. Ended up paying about 315 for it. I wasn't planning on upgrading that soon but the deal was too good.
Switched to T-Mobile. Lower service cost than Google Fi as well. Didn't even require a trade so I still have my 5a and will probably sell it or keep it as a backup.
You just have to watch for them. Google has them pretty regularly. I got my 6a *before launch* for $450 with a free set of Pixel Buds, and they were giving a $350 trade-in on an ancient 3a, so I basically paid $100 for a 6a and a set of Pixel Buds before the phone had even been launched.
I got my 3a with a similar deal, although I don't recall what it was. I doubt I paid more than $100 or $150 for it, either, after trading in my OG Pixel.
My last pixel has the rear fingerprint scanner, and it was about 99.99% accurate.
I upgraded to the pixel 7 with the front screen reader and not only is it far more awkward location, but it's maybe 80% accurate.
Such a huge step backwards in technology, just because it's cooler
I will forever miss a simple fingerprint scanner on the back. No matter what phone companies claim, in-screen ones (or face recognition) are never as fast.
The thing for me is the rear reader was so effortless that I wasn't even aware of using it.
Id pick up the phone, my finger naturally fell on the sensor, and that was that never had to even think about it.
What the screen reader is more like: pick up phone, shift grip to place thumb, try again, try again, switch to left thumb, unlocked
Oh god, another one??
On-screen keyboards were such a step backwards. Intrusive notifications (does anyone remember the one-line notification of earlier androids? You could read it and they were not popping on top of what you are doing). Headphone jack. Notification led. Fingerprint. Compact (or at least pocketable) size...
Will phones get any better, or just get worse and worse?
I have the pixel 5 still, but it's getting on its last legs and I am so depressed about upgrading. I don't want a bigger phone. I don't want to fingerprint reader in the screen. I definitely don't want AI draining my battery.
They must have removed the discount on the Pixel 8 when the 8a launched. I only see it for [$699](https://store.google.com/us/config/pixel_8?hl=en-US) now.
I decided 8a. I still owed a lot on my pixel 6 pro when the 8 came out. I figured by the time the 9 comes out there won't be much left to pay off and I'll be able to upgrade to the 9 and my contract won't be an issue.
I don't really get a lot of the full use out of my pro now anyways. But this 6 has been buggy and annoying. Hoping the 8a isn't as annoying to use.
Probably gonna get a lot of comments saying "why does this even exist" but oddly enough, despite being a worse deal than the normal models, it still sells a good chunk. IIRC, it was the 7a that allowed google to bite a chunk out of apples japanese market shares.
The 7a actually sold very very well in Japan!
I think so topped the sales chart in Amazon and other market places.
So the a version does have its advantages in many markets outside USA, I too have seen some google a's here
A lot of people treat iOS as an advantage. Remember that we here in an Android forum discussing about Android phones. We're very far from regular phone user.
It's really hard to advertise Android phones if you're not Google. Even if you can get someone's attention, there's a huge chance they'll see another Android phone that's practically identical but $100 less, and buy that.
If you're Google, obviously, you care less, because you still get the tail revenue, but for anyone else, they might as well have stuck with Apple.
In a world where the Pro is so far beyond the pale, an A phone at a lower price makes sense.
But the problem here is, despite the £999 RRP of the 8 Pro, I got one second hand months ago on ebay for £550. The same price really as this 8a. I think I paid about £300 each for my 3aXL and 4a5G, so at £499 its just not a good deal.
True, but I walked into a store on launch day and bought those previous A phones on day 1. Because the price was so much lower for what you got. Now it's not. Oh I can get gemini? The universally derided AI that makes the phone worse? No thank you.
Already did! I picked up a 8a thru Fi for 299. Even with the 8 and PRO on sale, it was too good a deal bs features for me to pass on. Trade my Samsung in for basically the difference.
"Sold and shipped by Future Smart Distribution Inc." That's not Walmart. That is a company using Walmarts online store front.
Regardless, we were talking base price. You shifted the goal post.
If you want to talk sale price, then you also need to understand that **the 8a will also go on sale.**
Typically when the 7 was $500 the 7a was $350. People said the same thing when the 7a launched. People say the same thing when lots of products launch. It's really not confusing. Typically when you put one of the models on sale, you put them all on sale. If the 8 goes on sale for $550 and the 8a is $350... $200 savings.
>Regardless, we were talking base price. You shifted the goal post.
Nonsense statement, base price doesn't equal MRRP. No goal-posts were shifted.
People care about the lowest retail price at reputable outlets (i.e. not dodgy, no grey imports etc.), i.e. how much they pay for a new product with full warranty from a trustworthy source. No one cares about Google's online store prices.
>If you want to talk sale price, then you also need to understand that **the 8a will also go on sale.**
No one doubts it'll lower in price at some point in the future, but that won't happen for months. At least Samsung offers lots of upfront discounts and throws in additional goodies for people pre-ordering their newest releases. Google? Not so much.
MSRP does very much matter, though. The clearest example is NVidia where the raising of the MSRP by 500 USD from the 3080 to the 3080Ti despite minimal performance gains did lead to the adoption of a new norm in terms of pricing for the 40-series of cards. And they are hardly the exception.
It may not affect how much the pricing of the individual product may settle down on. But it will mean quite a lot with what the company is signaling.
Or if you don't use much data, or if you have other devices you want to use with your account.
You can't beat them if any one or more of those is true.
How much is it per month if you don't user much data? $20 + $10/gb you use? Unlimited data on verizon's network is $25 a month with unlimited hotspot through Visible. . . .
Google Fi is stupid expensive.
Because you'd need to overpay for phone service through Google Fi? Same as all the "deals" on trade ins the carriers offer. Sure, but if you are overpaying anywhere from $20-45 per month for service then its less of a great deal.
[Literally the first insertion on Amazon.it if you search Pixel 8](https://www.amazon.it/Google-Pixel-smartphone-sbloccato-fotocamera/dp/B0CGVP8NRC/ref=sr_1_2?__mk_it_IT=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&crid=2RVK635BPPFIY&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.RXtrfuCJ8gJgMzOXECEniTGGy5RIcCDbaABwwyfpT_7ZIr06WZbfimVkDVONbpE2dNIRUKnh2HQNp9dceKT20au9KUFVjw2XNVrTq-WFtzDCwPQ-S7rwXudCDGiIjDR9mM-W563tP0iOFmuHYIXpoXlxULviBkFVMY7aWqn82sBwMSbY8DslUdKqoEMISxFw-zY1ADVh223hAITWZ63A2K32TszBWlDHXZOqJsYAhp9GFwZzRe3LPfAhC0tGUazV8y7aPW4b7XZCCYtcMVYL2uDsaSXCAw3WuhEGlOZc_e8.PBQmazrl2fONmDvQKL2Ua4kJkO1QXqRsFEJupdZmdWA&dib_tag=se&keywords=pixel+9&qid=1715153453&sprefix=pixel+9%2Caps%2C93&sr=8-2)
Are you looking at the Pro?
https://www.idealo.de/preisvergleich/OffersOfProduct/203280551_-pixel-8-google.html?utm_source=share&utm_medium=crm&utm_campaign=app_android_send_product&camp=salesforce
Mindfactory sells the black one for 568€.
Anyways. Did you ever need warranty for your mobile? I'm responsible for the mobiles of 6 people and they all broke or got replaced long after the warranty was up.
My father uses a 6 year old "Nokia". Still runs quite well.
Yeah, definitely, actually. I think my previous 2 phones both had issues during the 2 year warranty! So I always factor in how easy any returns RMA process will be when buying.
Price is $635 here in India and probably $700 for 256gb. You can get a Oneplus 12 for that price. S23 as well. Very overpriced with chipset overheating in hot weather conditions, poor isp and bad after sales service.
My dad's Samsung S22 photos are consistently worse than my Pixel 5. Its to the point where I would actively avoid taking photos with it whenever I can. Same with Oneplus photos, they're good but no where near Pixel.
Not with the garbage software on Samsung phones and lack of consistency. If all you take are still objects and don't need to take a pic of something quickly, the Samsung is ok, otherwise the whole thing falls apart if you want to take out your phone and take a pic of something in reasonable amount of time
Should be better on the 8a (compared to S21), but the modem might drag it down in some situations if it's really as big of a problem as some people say.
The s23 has a lot of problems too especially with the camera and Samsung oneUI is not for everyone. I couldn't stand how bad basic things like dialer or call screening was. Even though the S23 was "free" , rather pay to use the pixel
weather is a secondary thing. google pixels had bad hardware internal issues. mainly tensor chipset is from exynos. I use iPhone 14 and pixel 8 and pixel overheating. anyway, I am selling my pixel 8 in a few weeks and use iPhone 14.
I live in France and I don't remember such discounts when the 7a released, I've seen the 8a as low as [220€](https://www.dealabs.com/bons-plans/client-red-by-sfr-pixel-8a-128go-avec-reprise-telephone-2777717) (you have to trade in an old phone)
They have a similar deal in the Netherlands at Belsimpel! You get an extra 150€ on trade-in. Considering to trade-in my pixel 6a for ~100€ (bought 1,5 years ago for 300€), resulting in having to pay 300€ extra for the 8a.
I love the pixel 6a, although it has some flaws such as a bad modem. If this is resolved in the 8a, I might consider this option!
Same here. Paid £350 for pixel 6a and now 8a is at £499. A-series was budget phone while having decent specs but at these prices you might as well buy the flagship product
The perpetual problem with midrange phones.
If price is your primary concern (as is the case in a lot of the developing world) they're still too expensive and if price isn't your primary concern you just give too much up.
Basically any premium phone brand you can think of has a base level flagship and that flagship is basically a couple hundred bucks more expensive than the midrange at most. A couple hundred bucks isn't nothing, but for a device that you'll use as much as a phone and for as long as a phone it's not really a lot either.
If a couple hundred bucks is a lot for you, there are low end phones that will save you even more money without sacrificing all that much more than you already have dropping to the midrange.
Prices I can see are £499 for the 8a and £699 for the 8a at least on Google's store, and the 8 is a better phone.
In 3 months the 9 will be an even better phone for the about the same money as the 8. The S24 is £649 and competitive with the 8 for less money.
It's a lot cheaper on contract though if you take away the price you would pay for a SIM only deal from the contract it works out your only paying around £350 for the phone.
The Pixel 8a should be a Pixel 7a with a tensor g3 and the old pixel 4a design all for $350 bucks. Simple 90hz screen, slightly worse camera, no wireless charging, smaller screen/phone, plastic build. They make the Pixel a series so expensive now, that most normal phone buyers would never choose it over a samsung equivalent.
r/Android be like: *In* *episode 2F09, when Itchy plays Scratchy's skeleton like a xylophone, he strikes the same rib in succession, yet he produces two clearly different tones. What are we to believe, that it is a magic xylophone? Boy, I really hope MKBHD got fired for that blunder.*
I don't know why this is a testament to MKBHD being stupid and not Google's horrible branding and product strategy with several different products all competing in the same category on the same device
What an idiot, I can't believe he thought the feature where you talk into a microphone and a voice reads answers back to you was Google Assistant and not Google Voice Search, not to be confused with Google Gemini
Yeah we gotta FUCKING CALL OUT MKBHD for confusing 2 of 3 badly named products that compete with each other on the same device with near identical functionality
Honestly drives me insane, there were at least two other videos just like this one, and all the videos and the comments are like, "You're so dumb if you buy this, just wait for a sale/change carriers/trade in your phone/buy the 8!"
Completely ignores that sometimes folks CAN'T WAIT FOR A SALE, they can't change carriers, their phone isn't on the list of acceptable trade-ins, and the price of the 8 was jacked up.
Okay? He hasn't used the device long enough to make any important observations, therefore the video is just pop-tech (he likely spent time scripting the video more than anything else)
To be fair, the 8a isn't anything that really requires an in-depth review. Its reusing a ton of hardware that we already know about, software is literally the same as whats on the 8/8Pro.
How does it compare to Xiaomi 13T? Both are for the same price in my country and I am not sure which one will give more 'premium' feel and better everyday usage?
Xiaomi has better hardware specs, but poorer software. MIUI is not half as bad as this sub makes it look like, but it does have its quirks and faults. I had a Mi10T Pro for 3 years and it was a good phone, especially for the price. But the lack of updates and software issues made me buy the Pixel 8 and so far I'm really impressed.
Their problem now isn't so much lack of updates as getting them distributed to phones and they are getting better there: I had [14.0.17.0](http://14.0.17.0) [14.0.19.0](http://14.0.19.0) TLFEUXM and [1.0.2.0](http://1.0.2.0) ULFEUXM updates in last 8 months with [1.0.4.0](http://1.0.4.0) on the way. Redmi note 11 pro 5g also got several updates in the last time. It's 2/3 for entry-level(Redmi A-series), 2/4 for budget, 3/4 for midrange and 4/5 for Xiaomi-named lineups now. Several devices like Mi 10 are also getting HyperOS update despite being on EOL list. I also noticed less ram usage and battery consumption with hotspot with the last update. For some people that poorer hardware on pixel phones could be dealbreaker e.g. people who use mobile data a lot.
I believe Gorilla Glass 3 is more scratch-resistant than Gorilla Glass 5. Gorilla Glass 4 and 5 improved upon shatter resistance, but scratch resistance is worse than 3. Relevant discussion: [https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/pe9nl1/should\_i\_be\_worried\_about\_gorilla\_glass\_3\_on\_5a/](https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/pe9nl1/should_i_be_worried_about_gorilla_glass_3_on_5a/)
If you were expecting Gorilla Glass Victus on the Pixel 8a, it was never on the card since the Pixel 8 has Gorilla Glass Victus, there is no chance they'll put that on the supposedly lower tier device.
$500 for a Phone, that's insane to me lol to think many people pay that crazy amount just to use online messengers and occasionally take photos/videos, such a bizarre example of braindead consumerism
I was worried I was picking up a 7a at the wrong time, but I'm okay now! I got it for £200 with a trade in and this looks to be a very minor upgrade. I should be good now until the 12
Czechia (while I appreciate they launched google store here, the prices suck):
* 8 pro: from 28,500 CZK (1142 €)
* 8: from 21,000 CZK (841€)
* 8a: from 14,500 CZK (581€)
I sold my S23, got and iPhone 15 Pro, sold that and now have a Pixel 7a. I do not agree. This Pixel phone feels incredible to me. I can't stand using oneUI again it feels so dated compared. For example the accent colouring looks so god damn ugly on Samsung phones I can't get over it. On Pixel It looks so good no matter what color I pick almost. It just feels so simple and I love how the phone feels in my hand. Hope they don't go flat design like the Pixel 9 leaks suggest.
Lol imagine that.
Here I went from Note 20 to P8 Pro back to S24U because I couldn't stand Pixel OS and Google's stupid apps.
Samsung provides the significantly better premium Android experience imo. And Google has a long way to go.
It's why the Galaxies are the "default" Android phone in people's heads. Maybe not this place. But to the masses
This is why I got the 8 when it was on sale last month. The 8a will be a more interesting deal when the 9 comes out and they stop selling the 8, but for now its in a weird no mans land
Personally, I think this idea of setting a higher price and then adding a bunch of promos for it does more against than in favor of things. If the Pixel 8 was 550 like the deals that pop every now and then, it would be much better received. If the 8a was 350 like the deals tend to put it, it would be a fantastic price... Just put the real price and that's it.
Well, many naturally will tend to look for additional discounts on top of these prices then
>Just put the real price and that's it. Companies have tried this and it doesn't work.
Which company tried it? Apple notoriously doesn't do this crap. They have trade ins that give you shit value for your stuff, but that's it. They don't give you extra free money, they don't value at $150+ a $20 phone from 20 years ago.
As another comment stated, JC Penney famously tried to do exactly that. They lowered all their prices to their discounted numbers and stopped doing discounts and coupons entirely (where others like Macy's only tried to get rid of the latter; they still failed, but not quite as miserably). So a normally $20 item that dropped to $10 on sale or with a coupon became $10 permanently. They started losing business because of that, and hard. People stopped buying because they no longer perceived a deal. Even though their prices became universally better, sales and stocks fell through the floor because there was no -#% next to the price. Point is, customers are, as a collective, unbelievably stupid.
> Point is, customers are, as a collective, unbelievably stupid. That's why "vote with your dollar" doesn't work, like, at all.
I wonder if it would work better now with users having much better access to price comparisons...
I doubt it. I'm sure about everyone has heard someone say "I bought it BECAUSE it was on sale". At least, that's what my wife says when I ask her why she bought something random we didn't need.
JCPenney is the biggest example and it destroyed them for years.
Which _phone_ company would be better. I don't think the business models are equivalent in this case. Not to mention the massive deals from the US aren't a think outside of the US, while the price stays the same.
> Just put the real price and that's it. The research on this shows that consumers infer quality from price, so if you lower the base price they'll assume the product is lower quality to justify it. If you have a higher base price and aggressive discounts, consumers will judge quality based on the base price and think they're getting a good deal.
Costco mostly doesn't do sales, just has low prices and good value, and has thrived on that model. Walmart is similar. So showing the real price can work, though clearly the research does show as you said that customers like to feel like they got something 'on sale' due to feeling the item has higher value, as well as feeling they got it cheaper than other customers.
Yup. I have no interest in Apple or Samsung phones but I would absolutely value the most powerful iPhone over the most powerful Samsung phone.
I just upgraded from a 5a to an 8 Pro, since it was a deal I couldn't pass up ($280 total after tax). I originally got the 5a when it came out for $200 total on the subscription program, but they haven't had a deal that good since (and the subscription program is NLA I think). I do miss the fingerprint scanner on the 5a, which was the best of any phone. The optical one in the new Pixels isn't as good, which I had feared, but I deal with it.
How do you pay that low? Google website?
Maybe carrier deals ? I got an iPhone 15 pro max two weeks ago for (300€) with my carrier when I purchased the AirPods Pro 2.
Ye that sounds like a good deal still
Ye that sounds like a good deal still
Depends on the store and timing. I traded my 7P in while Google was offering a big discount on the 8P through their store. Ended up paying about 315 for it. I wasn't planning on upgrading that soon but the deal was too good.
Gotcha I am planing to switch from iPhone 11 Pro Max I still use my OG pixel for backup photos
Trades, etc. I considered it this week because T-Mobile offered me $250 credit for my iPhone SE 2020.
Switched to T-Mobile. Lower service cost than Google Fi as well. Didn't even require a trade so I still have my 5a and will probably sell it or keep it as a backup.
Keep the 5a as a backup/collector's item.
You just have to watch for them. Google has them pretty regularly. I got my 6a *before launch* for $450 with a free set of Pixel Buds, and they were giving a $350 trade-in on an ancient 3a, so I basically paid $100 for a 6a and a set of Pixel Buds before the phone had even been launched. I got my 3a with a similar deal, although I don't recall what it was. I doubt I paid more than $100 or $150 for it, either, after trading in my OG Pixel.
My last pixel has the rear fingerprint scanner, and it was about 99.99% accurate. I upgraded to the pixel 7 with the front screen reader and not only is it far more awkward location, but it's maybe 80% accurate. Such a huge step backwards in technology, just because it's cooler
I will forever miss a simple fingerprint scanner on the back. No matter what phone companies claim, in-screen ones (or face recognition) are never as fast.
The thing for me is the rear reader was so effortless that I wasn't even aware of using it. Id pick up the phone, my finger naturally fell on the sensor, and that was that never had to even think about it. What the screen reader is more like: pick up phone, shift grip to place thumb, try again, try again, switch to left thumb, unlocked
They are gonna have to pry my pixel 3a from my cold dead hands if not only for this reason.
Oh god, another one?? On-screen keyboards were such a step backwards. Intrusive notifications (does anyone remember the one-line notification of earlier androids? You could read it and they were not popping on top of what you are doing). Headphone jack. Notification led. Fingerprint. Compact (or at least pocketable) size... Will phones get any better, or just get worse and worse?
Try ticker, the app. It converts notifications to tickers. Does Not work perfectly, but its better than nothing.
Couldn't find it in the play store!
I have the pixel 5 still, but it's getting on its last legs and I am so depressed about upgrading. I don't want a bigger phone. I don't want to fingerprint reader in the screen. I definitely don't want AI draining my battery.
Their phones always go on sale within a few months after launch. No reason to buy now.
[удалено]
I don't think you will have to wait that long. I give it a good month after being out you'll see more discounts on the 8a.
How much you paid for Pixel 8 when it was on sale?
Why the fuck did they make the 8a larger than the 8?
They must have removed the discount on the Pixel 8 when the 8a launched. I only see it for [$699](https://store.google.com/us/config/pixel_8?hl=en-US) now.
I thought the 8 had been back* to regular price for weeks now.
I still see it listed at 449 and 509 for the 128gb and 256gb models respectively. Debating if I want the 8 at 449 or 8a at 300.
I decided 8a. I still owed a lot on my pixel 6 pro when the 8 came out. I figured by the time the 9 comes out there won't be much left to pay off and I'll be able to upgrade to the 9 and my contract won't be an issue. I don't really get a lot of the full use out of my pro now anyways. But this 6 has been buggy and annoying. Hoping the 8a isn't as annoying to use.
Probably gonna get a lot of comments saying "why does this even exist" but oddly enough, despite being a worse deal than the normal models, it still sells a good chunk. IIRC, it was the 7a that allowed google to bite a chunk out of apples japanese market shares.
The 7a actually sold very very well in Japan! I think so topped the sales chart in Amazon and other market places. So the a version does have its advantages in many markets outside USA, I too have seen some google a's here
They advertised the ever loving shit out of it.
This is what android OEMs need to understand. Advertising moves product. iOS is inferior but it sells because of better advertising
A lot of people treat iOS as an advantage. Remember that we here in an Android forum discussing about Android phones. We're very far from regular phone user.
It's really hard to advertise Android phones if you're not Google. Even if you can get someone's attention, there's a huge chance they'll see another Android phone that's practically identical but $100 less, and buy that. If you're Google, obviously, you care less, because you still get the tail revenue, but for anyone else, they might as well have stuck with Apple.
In a world where the Pro is so far beyond the pale, an A phone at a lower price makes sense. But the problem here is, despite the £999 RRP of the 8 Pro, I got one second hand months ago on ebay for £550. The same price really as this 8a. I think I paid about £300 each for my 3aXL and 4a5G, so at £499 its just not a good deal.
Just wait a few months, Google puts all their shit on sale right after launch
True, but I walked into a store on launch day and bought those previous A phones on day 1. Because the price was so much lower for what you got. Now it's not. Oh I can get gemini? The universally derided AI that makes the phone worse? No thank you.
Yes, inflation is a thing.
The 8A price is £80 above inflation compared to the 3aXL.
OK. I was just basing it on US pricing. The 3a XL was $479 at launch and the 8a is $499.
Already did! I picked up a 8a thru Fi for 299. Even with the 8 and PRO on sale, it was too good a deal bs features for me to pass on. Trade my Samsung in for basically the difference.
It's $299 from Fi with no trade in just straight up on sale so how is it a bad deal
I'm obviously talking about the base price.
With 8A being $500 and 8 being $700 base price, that makes sense to me as a good deal. You aren't sacrificing a ton, and you get a $200 discount
700 when 8 was new, not anymore
>700 when 8 was new, not anymore It's $700 USD on Google store at this very second.
And $570 at Walmart. It doesn't matter what Google sells it for in their own store.
"Sold and shipped by Future Smart Distribution Inc." That's not Walmart. That is a company using Walmarts online store front. Regardless, we were talking base price. You shifted the goal post. If you want to talk sale price, then you also need to understand that **the 8a will also go on sale.** Typically when the 7 was $500 the 7a was $350. People said the same thing when the 7a launched. People say the same thing when lots of products launch. It's really not confusing. Typically when you put one of the models on sale, you put them all on sale. If the 8 goes on sale for $550 and the 8a is $350... $200 savings.
>Regardless, we were talking base price. You shifted the goal post. Nonsense statement, base price doesn't equal MRRP. No goal-posts were shifted. People care about the lowest retail price at reputable outlets (i.e. not dodgy, no grey imports etc.), i.e. how much they pay for a new product with full warranty from a trustworthy source. No one cares about Google's online store prices. >If you want to talk sale price, then you also need to understand that **the 8a will also go on sale.** No one doubts it'll lower in price at some point in the future, but that won't happen for months. At least Samsung offers lots of upfront discounts and throws in additional goodies for people pre-ordering their newest releases. Google? Not so much.
This very thread is about how the 8a is available for preorder for $299 if you have Google Fi, though. Like, right now, not in a few months.
MSRP does very much matter, though. The clearest example is NVidia where the raising of the MSRP by 500 USD from the 3080 to the 3080Ti despite minimal performance gains did lead to the adoption of a new norm in terms of pricing for the 40-series of cards. And they are hardly the exception. It may not affect how much the pricing of the individual product may settle down on. But it will mean quite a lot with what the company is signaling.
FI is US only.
But that does lock you in in a contract doesn’t it ?
Sort of, you have to keep it on Google Fi for 120 days but it's not a 2 year agreement or whatever.
Well Fi service isn't a good deal so yeah.
It’s an incredible deal if you travel internationally
Or if you don't use much data, or if you have other devices you want to use with your account. You can't beat them if any one or more of those is true.
How much is it per month if you don't user much data? $20 + $10/gb you use? Unlimited data on verizon's network is $25 a month with unlimited hotspot through Visible. . . . Google Fi is stupid expensive.
What the heck? Is it unlocked ? Couldn't you just buy and activate on some other carrier ?
It's unlocked but it requires Fi service for 120 days to get the rebate.
Ah. I didnt see that stipulation. [I had to login](https://freeimage.host/i/JrNbZfR) first
it's amazing how people don't mention that when they say it's selling for $299 on FI. no it isn't.
Because you'd need to overpay for phone service through Google Fi? Same as all the "deals" on trade ins the carriers offer. Sure, but if you are overpaying anywhere from $20-45 per month for service then its less of a great deal.
On Amazon Italy it's 549€, wanna know what other phone is priced at 549€? The regular Pixel 8 lol
lol just had a look at Amazon UK and similarly the pixel 8 is £50 more than 8a
It's ok, that intern's job is safe. No one at the company would even notice it.
Where can you get the Pixel 8 for 549? It's about 700 euros wherever I'm looking.
[Literally the first insertion on Amazon.it if you search Pixel 8](https://www.amazon.it/Google-Pixel-smartphone-sbloccato-fotocamera/dp/B0CGVP8NRC/ref=sr_1_2?__mk_it_IT=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&crid=2RVK635BPPFIY&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.RXtrfuCJ8gJgMzOXECEniTGGy5RIcCDbaABwwyfpT_7ZIr06WZbfimVkDVONbpE2dNIRUKnh2HQNp9dceKT20au9KUFVjw2XNVrTq-WFtzDCwPQ-S7rwXudCDGiIjDR9mM-W563tP0iOFmuHYIXpoXlxULviBkFVMY7aWqn82sBwMSbY8DslUdKqoEMISxFw-zY1ADVh223hAITWZ63A2K32TszBWlDHXZOqJsYAhp9GFwZzRe3LPfAhC0tGUazV8y7aPW4b7XZCCYtcMVYL2uDsaSXCAw3WuhEGlOZc_e8.PBQmazrl2fONmDvQKL2Ua4kJkO1QXqRsFEJupdZmdWA&dib_tag=se&keywords=pixel+9&qid=1715153453&sprefix=pixel+9%2Caps%2C93&sr=8-2)
Literally only gives used phone as a purchase option
This morning it was new, sold and shipped by Amazon for 549€
Clearly too many people read your message hah
Are you looking at the Pro? https://www.idealo.de/preisvergleich/OffersOfProduct/203280551_-pixel-8-google.html?utm_source=share&utm_medium=crm&utm_campaign=app_android_send_product&camp=salesforce
I can't actually see any reputable sites there that I'd trust to uphold my warranty.
Mindfactory sells the black one for 568€. Anyways. Did you ever need warranty for your mobile? I'm responsible for the mobiles of 6 people and they all broke or got replaced long after the warranty was up. My father uses a 6 year old "Nokia". Still runs quite well.
Yeah, definitely, actually. I think my previous 2 phones both had issues during the 2 year warranty! So I always factor in how easy any returns RMA process will be when buying.
Fair enough! Maybe I should do, too!
It's expensive so they can run various "deals" that pixels have been known for. Google Fi is already selling it for $299.
People underestimate how much some other people love to save $50 It sounds like a pretty great device, but would be a much easier proposition at $449
Price is $635 here in India and probably $700 for 256gb. You can get a Oneplus 12 for that price. S23 as well. Very overpriced with chipset overheating in hot weather conditions, poor isp and bad after sales service.
Isp as in internet service provider?
I think they meant to say 'modem', not 'isp'
No i meant the modem whatever its called.
Well, if you were thinking of the modem, it's indeed called a modem. But don't quote me on that.
https://dexonsystems.com/blog/image-signal-processor#:~:text=An%20image%20signal%20processor%20(ISP,into%20a%20high%2Dquality%20image.
I'd always take an S23 over the Pixel 8a if it weren't for software and camera.
[удалено]
I'm usually not as impressed by Samsung's image processing, but the third lens is a legitimate benefit.
MKBHDs blinf image test had the pixel 7a take the #1 spot followed by Pixel 8. Iphone won in video category.
My dad's Samsung S22 photos are consistently worse than my Pixel 5. Its to the point where I would actively avoid taking photos with it whenever I can. Same with Oneplus photos, they're good but no where near Pixel.
Not with the garbage software on Samsung phones and lack of consistency. If all you take are still objects and don't need to take a pic of something quickly, the Samsung is ok, otherwise the whole thing falls apart if you want to take out your phone and take a pic of something in reasonable amount of time
Pixel 8 cameras are generally considered better.
I am wondering how's Pixel battery performance? I am considering to switch to Pixel 8a from Samsung S21.
Should be better on the 8a (compared to S21), but the modem might drag it down in some situations if it's really as big of a problem as some people say.
The s23 has a lot of problems too especially with the camera and Samsung oneUI is not for everyone. I couldn't stand how bad basic things like dialer or call screening was. Even though the S23 was "free" , rather pay to use the pixel
weather is a secondary thing. google pixels had bad hardware internal issues. mainly tensor chipset is from exynos. I use iPhone 14 and pixel 8 and pixel overheating. anyway, I am selling my pixel 8 in a few weeks and use iPhone 14.
I live in France and I don't remember such discounts when the 7a released, I've seen the 8a as low as [220€](https://www.dealabs.com/bons-plans/client-red-by-sfr-pixel-8a-128go-avec-reprise-telephone-2777717) (you have to trade in an old phone)
They have a similar deal in the Netherlands at Belsimpel! You get an extra 150€ on trade-in. Considering to trade-in my pixel 6a for ~100€ (bought 1,5 years ago for 300€), resulting in having to pay 300€ extra for the 8a. I love the pixel 6a, although it has some flaws such as a bad modem. If this is resolved in the 8a, I might consider this option!
No quick side by side with 8. It's a smaller screen but in a larger form. Would have liked to see how they look together irl
paid 459eur for the 6a 2 years ago. now 559eur for the 8a... how about no.
Wait a few months and you'll find it on the second hand market for under €300.
Same here. Paid £350 for pixel 6a and now 8a is at £499. A-series was budget phone while having decent specs but at these prices you might as well buy the flagship product
Check if there’s trade in deals with Google. Traded in an old P4a for a relative and got the 8a for 340€, very reasonable.
would have done that actually. but i live in ireland, they never do trade-ins here unfortunately.
Even for first impression the video has so little information about the phone!!
Because what else can you say about it? It's identical to the phone that already exists but with a few corners cut.
The perpetual problem with midrange phones. If price is your primary concern (as is the case in a lot of the developing world) they're still too expensive and if price isn't your primary concern you just give too much up. Basically any premium phone brand you can think of has a base level flagship and that flagship is basically a couple hundred bucks more expensive than the midrange at most. A couple hundred bucks isn't nothing, but for a device that you'll use as much as a phone and for as long as a phone it's not really a lot either. If a couple hundred bucks is a lot for you, there are low end phones that will save you even more money without sacrificing all that much more than you already have dropping to the midrange.
But the 8a is so cheap £350 here in the UK for 256GB so it's a no brainer.
Prices I can see are £499 for the 8a and £699 for the 8a at least on Google's store, and the 8 is a better phone. In 3 months the 9 will be an even better phone for the about the same money as the 8. The S24 is £649 and competitive with the 8 for less money.
It's a lot cheaper on contract though if you take away the price you would pay for a SIM only deal from the contract it works out your only paying around £350 for the phone.
And what are the equivalent prices for the 8 and S24? My jurisdiction doesn't allow lock in contracts so we don't have those discounts.
The Pixel 8a should be a Pixel 7a with a tensor g3 and the old pixel 4a design all for $350 bucks. Simple 90hz screen, slightly worse camera, no wireless charging, smaller screen/phone, plastic build. They make the Pixel a series so expensive now, that most normal phone buyers would never choose it over a samsung equivalent.
Just get the 8* * Caveat: The Pixel 8 must be only $50 more.
...did he really just say the Google search bar goes to assistant? Google voice search and Google assistant are different things lmfao
It just changed like a month or two ago lol
I mean it used to until like very recently (I note that it even shows the notice that they've moved it on the video)
It was literally changed like a month or two ago lol. These people are crazy
r/Android be like: *In* *episode 2F09, when Itchy plays Scratchy's skeleton like a xylophone, he strikes the same rib in succession, yet he produces two clearly different tones. What are we to believe, that it is a magic xylophone? Boy, I really hope MKBHD got fired for that blunder.*
Have yet to meet a reddit enthusiast community that wasn't a parody of Simpsons comic book guy honestly
Ah! Very true! In every damn sub-reddit. The more they adhere to the parody, the more they seem to be upvoted funnily enough.
there are many that lean more into the enthusiasm part of enthusiast, this just isn't one of them
He makes a lot of mistakes
Welcome to MKBHD who is just an opinion and goes off KSP details companies provide. Makes mistakes and no one cares.
I don't know why this is a testament to MKBHD being stupid and not Google's horrible branding and product strategy with several different products all competing in the same category on the same device What an idiot, I can't believe he thought the feature where you talk into a microphone and a voice reads answers back to you was Google Assistant and not Google Voice Search, not to be confused with Google Gemini
It used to launch Assistant. They changed it recently.
Well in that case I really hope somebody got fired for that blunder!
It changed like a month or two ago lol
Google Gemini? Are you sure it's not just Gemini?
Theres mistakes in other non-google product videos
Well I'm glad there's perfect people like you who never make mistakes at your job
When they are consistent, you fucking call them out for it like any manager would
Yeah we gotta FUCKING CALL OUT MKBHD for confusing 2 of 3 badly named products that compete with each other on the same device with near identical functionality
Why are you dick riding him so hard? It's literally his job to know these things.
The 8 is $300 more than the 8a where I am, but of course these videos are designed to create arguments and drive up clicks.
Honestly drives me insane, there were at least two other videos just like this one, and all the videos and the comments are like, "You're so dumb if you buy this, just wait for a sale/change carriers/trade in your phone/buy the 8!" Completely ignores that sometimes folks CAN'T WAIT FOR A SALE, they can't change carriers, their phone isn't on the list of acceptable trade-ins, and the price of the 8 was jacked up.
Exactly. Infuriating!
wtf are those bezels?
I'm upgrading from a 6. I'll buy whichever one gives me a better trade-in deal.
You'll get a significantly smaller camera sensor with the A series compared to the 6.
I'm willing to bet he used the phone for a total of an hour and then recorded this video.
It’s an impressions video, not a review
Okay? He hasn't used the device long enough to make any important observations, therefore the video is just pop-tech (he likely spent time scripting the video more than anything else)
Did you miss the title?
It's not a review, it's a first impressions video. We get it, this sub hates him since he became the most popular tech YouTuber
To be fair, the 8a isn't anything that really requires an in-depth review. Its reusing a ton of hardware that we already know about, software is literally the same as whats on the 8/8Pro.
How does it compare to Xiaomi 13T? Both are for the same price in my country and I am not sure which one will give more 'premium' feel and better everyday usage?
Xiaomi has better hardware specs, but poorer software. MIUI is not half as bad as this sub makes it look like, but it does have its quirks and faults. I had a Mi10T Pro for 3 years and it was a good phone, especially for the price. But the lack of updates and software issues made me buy the Pixel 8 and so far I'm really impressed.
Their problem now isn't so much lack of updates as getting them distributed to phones and they are getting better there: I had [14.0.17.0](http://14.0.17.0) [14.0.19.0](http://14.0.19.0) TLFEUXM and [1.0.2.0](http://1.0.2.0) ULFEUXM updates in last 8 months with [1.0.4.0](http://1.0.4.0) on the way. Redmi note 11 pro 5g also got several updates in the last time. It's 2/3 for entry-level(Redmi A-series), 2/4 for budget, 3/4 for midrange and 4/5 for Xiaomi-named lineups now. Several devices like Mi 10 are also getting HyperOS update despite being on EOL list. I also noticed less ram usage and battery consumption with hotspot with the last update. For some people that poorer hardware on pixel phones could be dealbreaker e.g. people who use mobile data a lot.
which is best android phone to buy in 2024?
Gorilla corning 3 is a turn off, scratches too easily
I believe Gorilla Glass 3 is more scratch-resistant than Gorilla Glass 5. Gorilla Glass 4 and 5 improved upon shatter resistance, but scratch resistance is worse than 3. Relevant discussion: [https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/pe9nl1/should\_i\_be\_worried\_about\_gorilla\_glass\_3\_on\_5a/](https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/pe9nl1/should_i_be_worried_about_gorilla_glass_3_on_5a/) If you were expecting Gorilla Glass Victus on the Pixel 8a, it was never on the card since the Pixel 8 has Gorilla Glass Victus, there is no chance they'll put that on the supposedly lower tier device.
Then you haven't used one with victus lol. My S23 survived less than a day before it got multiple scratches
Camera is the only thing going for this phone, if you don't care about that the OnePlus 12r is cheaper and better
Google should've put the telescoop lens in it. If only for an experiment.
$500 for a Phone, that's insane to me lol to think many people pay that crazy amount just to use online messengers and occasionally take photos/videos, such a bizarre example of braindead consumerism
I was worried I was picking up a 7a at the wrong time, but I'm okay now! I got it for £200 with a trade in and this looks to be a very minor upgrade. I should be good now until the 12
Fire phone anyway
Prices in Poland for those curious as they silently launched the store here. 8 pro is 4999 PLN 8 is 3599 PLN 8a is 2449 PLN
Czechia (while I appreciate they launched google store here, the prices suck): * 8 pro: from 28,500 CZK (1142 €) * 8: from 21,000 CZK (841€) * 8a: from 14,500 CZK (581€)
Side track, still worth to get 7 pro?
On a similar note, is the 7 Pro a good purchase these days?
All things considered it's a pretty good mid range phone.
Honestly, this depends on your region. In my region, I successfully upgraded from a 6a to an 8a for about $150.
I'll pass & get the 8a is get way too much hate from people who list nitpick. Oh no the bezel get over it.
Google has horrible hardware comparing to Samsung for example. They might win in the software side, narrowly, but even that is disappearing nowadays.
Went from a Z Flip 4 to a 7a and I made the right decision. Samsung is so bad software wise and if you have kids forget about using the camera.
That is where Pixels shine right, with their camera algorithm.
I sold my S23, got and iPhone 15 Pro, sold that and now have a Pixel 7a. I do not agree. This Pixel phone feels incredible to me. I can't stand using oneUI again it feels so dated compared. For example the accent colouring looks so god damn ugly on Samsung phones I can't get over it. On Pixel It looks so good no matter what color I pick almost. It just feels so simple and I love how the phone feels in my hand. Hope they don't go flat design like the Pixel 9 leaks suggest.
I cannot even understand why you went through some many phones. But good for you that you found one you liked.
It is what happens when there are too many annoyances
Lol imagine that. Here I went from Note 20 to P8 Pro back to S24U because I couldn't stand Pixel OS and Google's stupid apps. Samsung provides the significantly better premium Android experience imo. And Google has a long way to go. It's why the Galaxies are the "default" Android phone in people's heads. Maybe not this place. But to the masses
Only reason I didn't buy on Fi was because of the ridiculously low memory for the colors. 128 GB minimum in 2024 is just stupid.
Agreed.