honestly, unless you *really* need the snapdragon 855 (you probably don't) or you are heavily invested in wireless charging, the 3a is fine.
I was reading a lot about the 3a and 3a XL last night, and at those price points I really think that those are the new "default" android phones. Unless someone really wants/needs the high end, that's the phone I'm going to recommend. If I was in the market for a phone today, that'd be the one I'd get without hesitation.
considering that the 3a is literally half the cost of the 3, you could, in theory, get a 3a, then accidentally take it for a swim, and order another one, and it would still be the same price as one 3.
Or, best case, don't have to order another 3a and you've just saved $400.
firewaterwordSatchitanandaPais Vasco to San FranciscoRegistered Userregular
Yeah had I not gotten the 3 half off on that sale, I'd be returning it for a 3a. I really don't understand the where the difference in price comes from. The processor I guess? And one less front camera? Oh well glad it's an option I suppose.
what the real difference will be in a lot of things we don't see. The panels are both oled, but i'm willing to bet that if the Pixel 3's screen is an arbitrary quality number of 1, the 3a's screen will be 0.8, but have 0.6 of the cost. Most people won't notice a difference, but it saves on a component cost.
It'll be stuff like that that all adds up to being that much cheaper.
considering that the 3a is literally half the cost of the 3, you could, in theory, get a 3a, then accidentally take it for a swim, and order another one, and it would still be the same price as one 3.
Or, best case, don't have to order another 3a and you've just saved $400.
what the real difference will be in a lot of things we don't see. The panels are both oled, but i'm willing to bet that if the Pixel 3's screen is an arbitrary quality number of 1, the 3a's screen will be 0.8, but have 0.6 of the cost. Most people won't notice a difference, but it saves on a component cost.
It'll be stuff like that that all adds up to being that much cheaper.
Agreed.
Apparently it's had a resolution reduction; it's an FHD+ display on the 3a, and it's dropped the Gorilla Glass in favour of Dragontail Glass, which arguably has a cooler name but I don't think we know how it stacks up yet.
Dhalphirdon't you open that trapdooryou're a fool if you dareRegistered Userregular
To be honest I take a 1080p screen over a larger resolution any day.
unless your vision is absolutely perfect, which most peoples' is not, you're not realistically going to see a difference between 1080p and high resolutions unless you specifically go looking for it, and it's a massive battery life advantage.
Looks like the V30 will (belatedly) get its Pie update probably next month.
As someone who isn't generally great with change, is there anything I should be concerned about when the update hits? Even if it's just little UI/UX tweaks? LG will still be applying their skin, no doubt, and apparently the old style navigation bar can be re-enabled in developer settings (if indeed they implement the new version at all), but anything in general I should watch out for?
so I dug up my Essential Phone and threw the Q beta on it last night.
the new gestures are real good. real good. But don't think about installing this on any phone that's your day to day. I'm not sure about the Pixel line but on the essential phone it's super buggy.
Looking to replace my Nexus 5x, which still works but has gotten annoyingly slow.
Challenges: I live in Sweden, but visit the US for a few weeks each year. Google fi is an excellent way to have cell coverage while traveling.
Even though I very rarely take photos, the Pixel 3 (if it's discounted) and Pixel 3a look like good choices. Mostly I want to be able to play hearthstone and listen to podcasts on the bus without one crashing the other.
But I don't think I can order them here, or if I do it'll be more expensive. I visit the US two months from now, and can wait patiently until then.
Questions: can we make any educated guesses on how long the current $100 Fi credit deal will last, or whether another good deal is likely in the next two months?
Are there other phones I should be paying attention to?
Looking to replace my Nexus 5x, which still works but has gotten annoyingly slow.
Challenges: I live in Sweden, but visit the US for a few weeks each year. Google fi is an excellent way to have cell coverage while traveling.
Even though I very rarely take photos, the Pixel 3 (if it's discounted) and Pixel 3a look like good choices. Mostly I want to be able to play hearthstone and listen to podcasts on the bus without one crashing the other.
But I don't think I can order them here, or if I do it'll be more expensive. I visit the US two months from now, and can wait patiently until then.
Questions: can we make any educated guesses on how long the current $100 Fi credit deal will last, or whether another good deal is likely in the next two months?
Are there other phones I should be paying attention to?
I'm not certain about the longevity of the Fi deal, so you may want to reach out to Fi just to check on its duration. Assuming you come to the US regularly, can you purchase the phone soon and just have it delivered to a friend in the US? You could probably get them to help you activate it on Fi for the credit, as well.
Yeah, it shouldn't be a problem to ship it to family and have them activate it. Unless I need my current phone to do that, but my fi sim broke a while ago anyway.
I'm making the assumption that unless you specifically said you would trade in the 5X for credit, then Google probably doesn't care about your current phone. Request a replacement SIM first, then buy the new phone?
You may have luck emailing Fi directly and explaining your situation to see what they recommend.
the promotion on the 3a in Canada is you get a $150 google store credit with purchase. But there's also a deal where if you buy a google nest hub for $170 you get a free home mini. So if you buy the 3a you could, in theory, get a nest hub and a home mini for an extra $20.
Really good deal if you're in Canada and looking to buy.
the promotion on the 3a in Canada is you get a $150 google store credit with purchase. But there's also a deal where if you buy a google nest hub for $170 you get a free home mini. So if you buy the 3a you could, in theory, get a nest hub and a home mini for an extra $20.
Really good deal if you're in Canada and looking to buy.
That's a great deal. Too bad I'm not Canadian... 🙁
I don't agree with Gordon, even though he's arguably my favorite PC writer (from back in the MaximumPC days). I'd still rather have a traditional laptop; but then again I'm not trying to use it as essentially a tablet and noteboook replacement that also happens to work like a laptop.
as someone who does haul around a laptop with me all the time, I would kill to have that kind of form factor. the way they describe the screens, when it's half folded each side of the device is about the screen size of an iPad, which is fine for quick typing stuff.
As with all of these new formfactors, it needs refinement. the single angle stand with bluetooth keyboard to get the full screen is not ideal, and I'm sure by gen 3 or so they'll refine that to be a more elegant solution. Imagine a device that folds but then also has a fully articulating stand like the surface does so you can get any viewing angle when trying to use the full screen. that's the kind of device I'd be excited about.
I have a Surface Pro 3, and although I've enjoyed using it, I actually find the stand to be a bit of an annoyance in a way I didn't anticipate: you need way more horizontal space to set it down in "laptop" mode than a regular laptop with a hinge that can support the screen. It's even worse when you try to put it in your lap - because the whole thing sits lower, you need to tilt the screen further back to get a good viewing angle, which means the foot of the stand needs to slide back as well, and now you need like 30% more horizontal space than you did before.
For me, this is mostly theoretical; ever since I graduated from college, I find that I actually have no real need for a laptop. If I still used a laptop on a daily basis, though, I think I'd be very annoyed by the implications of the Surface stand, and would much prefer a laptop with a hinge.
If we really want to go down the flexible display rabbit hole, I can't wait for the panels themselves to be mature enough that you can buy a desktop monitor that can be adjusted between a flat panel and a curved panel, as your usage dictates.
For example, fully flat when you're browsing or multitasking; but you can bring the sides of the panel in when you want to game.
Posts
I was reading a lot about the 3a and 3a XL last night, and at those price points I really think that those are the new "default" android phones. Unless someone really wants/needs the high end, that's the phone I'm going to recommend. If I was in the market for a phone today, that'd be the one I'd get without hesitation.
Or, best case, don't have to order another 3a and you've just saved $400.
What cracks me up is that, despite all these (fairly sane) compromises and reductions, the 3a models actually add a 3.5mm headphone jack!
Steam | XBL
>.>
It'll be stuff like that that all adds up to being that much cheaper.
You make an excellent point.
Apparently it's had a resolution reduction; it's an FHD+ display on the 3a, and it's dropped the Gorilla Glass in favour of Dragontail Glass, which arguably has a cooler name but I don't think we know how it stacks up yet.
Steam | XBL
unless your vision is absolutely perfect, which most peoples' is not, you're not realistically going to see a difference between 1080p and high resolutions unless you specifically go looking for it, and it's a massive battery life advantage.
As someone who isn't generally great with change, is there anything I should be concerned about when the update hits? Even if it's just little UI/UX tweaks? LG will still be applying their skin, no doubt, and apparently the old style navigation bar can be re-enabled in developer settings (if indeed they implement the new version at all), but anything in general I should watch out for?
Steam | XBL
the new gestures are real good. real good. But don't think about installing this on any phone that's your day to day. I'm not sure about the Pixel line but on the essential phone it's super buggy.
i feel like it's missing some comment about an audio jack
SteamID: edgruberman GOG Galaxy: EdGruberman
True, but that might be rubbing it in too many peoples' faces. The way it is now only rubs it in the faces of the 12 people who own a Galaxy Fold.
I only have 90 characters to work with and I really wanted to get a folding joke in.
|A|d|o|d| T|r|a| v| 2|1|: |i|e| 3|: h|l| T|e p|i|e, |a|e c|m|r|. A|s|: d|e|n|t f|l|
So I perfectly replicated using a Samsung Fold?
try folding it
Challenges: I live in Sweden, but visit the US for a few weeks each year. Google fi is an excellent way to have cell coverage while traveling.
Even though I very rarely take photos, the Pixel 3 (if it's discounted) and Pixel 3a look like good choices. Mostly I want to be able to play hearthstone and listen to podcasts on the bus without one crashing the other.
But I don't think I can order them here, or if I do it'll be more expensive. I visit the US two months from now, and can wait patiently until then.
Questions: can we make any educated guesses on how long the current $100 Fi credit deal will last, or whether another good deal is likely in the next two months?
Are there other phones I should be paying attention to?
OP7
You may have luck emailing Fi directly and explaining your situation to see what they recommend.
I probably will contact them.
Really good deal if you're in Canada and looking to buy.
That's a great deal. Too bad I'm not Canadian... 🙁
https://www.pcworld.com/article/3394401/heres-why-lenovos-thinkpad-x1-foldable-tablet-may-have-really-killed-the-laptop-for-me.html
I don't agree with Gordon, even though he's arguably my favorite PC writer (from back in the MaximumPC days). I'd still rather have a traditional laptop; but then again I'm not trying to use it as essentially a tablet and noteboook replacement that also happens to work like a laptop.
As with all of these new formfactors, it needs refinement. the single angle stand with bluetooth keyboard to get the full screen is not ideal, and I'm sure by gen 3 or so they'll refine that to be a more elegant solution. Imagine a device that folds but then also has a fully articulating stand like the surface does so you can get any viewing angle when trying to use the full screen. that's the kind of device I'd be excited about.
For me, this is mostly theoretical; ever since I graduated from college, I find that I actually have no real need for a laptop. If I still used a laptop on a daily basis, though, I think I'd be very annoyed by the implications of the Surface stand, and would much prefer a laptop with a hinge.
For example, fully flat when you're browsing or multitasking; but you can bring the sides of the panel in when you want to game.