Thanks to Google's design mistakes, I get a cheap phone.
Turns out the Pixel 7a has a systemic battery issue so common that google were willing to send me a discount code for £300 off a new Pixel when I contacted support.
I was already considering getting the 9a - the 7a is honestly as much phone as I'll ever need, but I'm very compelled by shiny new tech and the 9a was enough of an upgrade that I'd been eyeing it. Ultimately, I'd decided to wait for the 10a, but circumstances intervened!
I was on holiday when the bulging started, breaking the watertight glue on the back cover. Didn't quite realise what the cause was until it got worse, and was about to take it to a local repair guy (only slightly scammy, does good work though) when I remembered that Google's direct support had been very decent when my Pixel 2 had problems - they replaced it outright, actually gave me a 2XL - not really a pure upgrade in that generation, more of a different set of compromises, including a worse screen.
God, what a phone. The fingerprint sensor on the rear of the case is the most ergonomic implementation I've ever used - my phone was usually already unlocked by the time I could see the screen pulling it from my pocket.
Anyway yeah, between the big "oopsy-daisy" code and the discount they're already running in the run-up to the Pixel 10 release, I had a choice between:
- Pixel 9 Pro for £379 (£620 off!?)
- Pixel 9 for £249 (£550 off!?)
- Pixel 9a for £129 (£370 off!?)
It looks at first glance like the bigger discounts on the "higher-end" phones makes one of those a better option, but spec-wise idk if I'd even choose the 9 over the 9a if they were the same price. The 9a gets better battery life, and the 9 gets some camera gubbins I wouldn't ever use.
The 9 Pro might be more interesting? No, ultimately all that really brings to the table is a higher res screen and even more camera cruft.
I really don't get high-end phone pricing - or maybe I don't get how the hell they price the "a" models. Probably some kind of loss-leader platform-switcher. I was already a Pixel enjoyer, but it did make a convert of my partner. Wonder if her battery is acting up...
An underrated part of the decision to take the 9a was that, ultimately £129 just isn't a lot of money - it's enough that I won't just spend it on a whim, but I can soak that up even in a tricky month, and it's pretty trivial when I have on-demand credit. Once the price creeps past £200 I really need to start budgeting properly to make sure I don't create problems.
Also the pink model looks so vivid.
