Banana-phooooooone…
So, it is time for a new phone.
Update: I went ahead and got the battery replaced after reading some testimonials that several phone trade-ins were invalidated by swelling batteries: “Just because YOU are willing to risk turning on a phone with a battery that looks like a fire hazard, doesn’t mean the random tech at the turn-in depot is… especially after it’s been all shook up by ground freight.” The repair/replacement was $100 and took about 2 hours at a local UBreakIFix. Now I am a bit less worried about this phone dying before I get a new one, and if there is no good trade-in deal (Or I don’t have-to) this can be a good “spare phone” in case my main phone dies, breaks, or becomes incapacitated.
My current phone, a Google Pixel 4 purchased on sale in June of 2020 (remember that the Pixel 4 came out in 2019, so for it to go into deep discount in mid 2020 tells you that Alphabet knew it was not it’s best work), is having some… issues. Namely, the battery has swollen so bad it popped the back off the phone in such a way that it is now a bananaphone.
Thus, I want to get a new phone this cycle and hoping Bulgey McBenderson holds out until Oct 20th or so.
The reason for Oct 20th is because Google will have a Pixel event on October 6th which will show final specs and lift the review embargos on the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. My usual reaction to seeing a Pixel event when it is time for a new phone is for me to go “oooh, I want the Really Expensive One Right Now” and history has taught me that actually capitulating to that urge usually results in massive buyer’s remorse. Oct 20th is two weeks from October 6th and two weeks is the time I have worked out with my husband to be an appropriate “if you still want it, go ahead and get it” amount where the gotta-get-it-now mania has worn off. It also will give me some time to read the reviews, check competing phones, and check to see which companies are offering long-standing deals or trade-in discounts. Ironically, while the Pixel 4 is banana’d, it works just fine and the screen is perfect, so I might be able to get a nice trade-in.
The reason I am waiting for a 7 and haven’t jumped on the 6 or the 6a is because the even-number Pixels seem to be like the non-S model iPhones or new model year GM products: Lots of innovative new features and radical design changes that sometimes just aren’t ready for primetime use. The Pixel 4 (an Even-Numbered Pixel) had a really nice screen and face unlock and project soli motion sensor tech and all sorts of active optimization that would adjust power burn and supposedly allow for smaller batteries… but in reality everyone who got a pixel 4 turned off the motion detection stuff and got used to carrying chargers with them everywhere. The Pixel 4s were also discontinued and stopped being manufactured in under a year because they were constantly being lambasted for new build issues and ever worsening battery life. The Pixel 6/Pro has also had always-in-the-news issues with it’s in-screen fingerprint reader. The 7/Pro looks like it will be the Pixel 6/Pro but with a nicer screen, nicer cameras, and hopefully a fixed in-screen fingerprint reader.
The other thing the Pixel 7 (especially the Pro) will hopefully have is longevity. After having a lot of high-cost HTC android phones not last through the 2 year service contract, I started getting cheap android phones that were good-enough and only had one android update. I was hoping for a pixel 4a but it took so long to come out because of the pandemic I ended up getting the pixel 4 that cost as little as the 4a would’ve. So a 7/pro possibly lasting through three android updates and hopefully being a bit more durable than the 6/Pro/a means I can hold onto it for 2 years, maybe even 3 or 4.
Either way, wish me luck.