Comparing Apple's iPhone XR versus Google's Pixel 3a XL

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  • Reply 21 of 30
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,385member
    saarek said:
    ampo said:
    AF_Hitt said:
    jbcreate said:
    spend the extra money on a device with a sub 1080p display lol... ok... a phone $350 less with the best camera out, 1080 amoled...ya..better get the ipxr I get it, finally an iphone can be touted heavily against a google pixel/nexus device but this phone isnt about the specs, its about the software and UX. We can talk about processors and RAM all day but will the average consumer using instagram notice? not at all.
    Thanks for registering just to post this single troll comment, but you can leave now. Will the average user notice the speed difference? No, not right away. But in a couple years, it will be painfully obvious. The Pixel 3a will have the equivalent of 5-6 year old technology in it by then. The iPhone XR has the exact same performance as the fastest flagship phone on the market, and therefore will be just as fast as them for the entirety of its lifespan. My XR could easily last me 4 years if I so choose. Can you say the same of the 3a?
    Your iPhone will slow as well unless you change the battery, Apple makes sure of that. That and he's right, this bargain Pixel phone will be fine years from now. My back up phone, a 3 year old Pixel, is as fast as day one so if that's any indication these new phones will remain plenty fast for most all common and basic smartphone tasks and at this price point that's all it's meant for. They won't do stuff more expensive phones like the XR do obviously, 60 fps video for example, but they will run great for a device in this price range and punch well above it's weight for things like cameras, AI and support etc. 
    Out of interest, are you running the latest version of Android on that 3 year old Pixel? The CPU was far inferior to Apple's A9 which came out a year prior and I wonder how it holds up now.

    My fathers iPhone 6S Plus has never had it's battery changed and is running like a brand new phone on iOS 12.
    I am, beta versions of course since it's not yet "released". To be fair unlike your dad's 6s I did replace the battery on mine last month since it was barely lasting thru the day. I'd assume I use my phone differently than he does if he's not seeing the same. A three year old battery has deteriorated no matter who made it. Otherwise my original Pixel phone is holding up just fine, doing everything I need it for. As a plus Google continues to roll out features for it from the latest Pixel models, things like call screening, Night Sight, Duplex, and some things I have no personal interest in at the moment: AR and VR

    IMO very few people really need the latest processors with maxed out storage, they just want 'em which is fair enough. It's your money.

    I think a two or three year old iPhone (or Pixel) will serve just as well as the newest one for most folks who only call, text, browse, watch some videos, play a few casual games, check facebook, mail, news, and photos. Yes there's a minority who run their business from one or regularly rely on high-resource iPhone apps or intensive gaming but relatively it's not many of you. For everyone else flagship "new" is nice and all but...
    edited May 2019 muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 22 of 30
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,893administrator
  • Reply 23 of 30
    tmaytmay Posts: 6,434member
    gatorguy said:
    saarek said:
    ampo said:
    AF_Hitt said:
    jbcreate said:
    spend the extra money on a device with a sub 1080p display lol... ok... a phone $350 less with the best camera out, 1080 amoled...ya..better get the ipxr I get it, finally an iphone can be touted heavily against a google pixel/nexus device but this phone isnt about the specs, its about the software and UX. We can talk about processors and RAM all day but will the average consumer using instagram notice? not at all.
    Thanks for registering just to post this single troll comment, but you can leave now. Will the average user notice the speed difference? No, not right away. But in a couple years, it will be painfully obvious. The Pixel 3a will have the equivalent of 5-6 year old technology in it by then. The iPhone XR has the exact same performance as the fastest flagship phone on the market, and therefore will be just as fast as them for the entirety of its lifespan. My XR could easily last me 4 years if I so choose. Can you say the same of the 3a?
    Your iPhone will slow as well unless you change the battery, Apple makes sure of that. That and he's right, this bargain Pixel phone will be fine years from now. My back up phone, a 3 year old Pixel, is as fast as day one so if that's any indication these new phones will remain plenty fast for most all common and basic smartphone tasks and at this price point that's all it's meant for. They won't do stuff more expensive phones like the XR do obviously, 60 fps video for example, but they will run great for a device in this price range and punch well above it's weight for things like cameras, AI and support etc. 
    Out of interest, are you running the latest version of Android on that 3 year old Pixel? The CPU was far inferior to Apple's A9 which came out a year prior and I wonder how it holds up now.

    My fathers iPhone 6S Plus has never had it's battery changed and is running like a brand new phone on iOS 12.
    IMO very few people really need the latest processors with maxed out storage, they just want 'em which is fair enough. It's your money.

    I think a two or three year old iPhone (or Pixel) will serve just as well as the newest one for most folks who only call, text, browse, watch some videos, play a few casual games, check facebook, mail, news, and photos. Yes there's a minority who run their business from one or regularly rely on high-resource iPhone apps or intensive gaming but relatively it's not many of you. For everyone else flagship "new" is nice and all but...
    I'd surmise that Google wants you to be incorrect about the above, at least wrt the upcoming Pixel 4. 

    I expect that Google will show some traditional optical expertise, and at least a dual camera layout. There's only so much you can do with computational imaging without some optional FOV's.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 24 of 30
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,545member
    gatorguy said:
    saarek said:
    ampo said:
    AF_Hitt said:
    jbcreate said:
    spend the extra money on a device with a sub 1080p display lol... ok... a phone $350 less with the best camera out, 1080 amoled...ya..better get the ipxr I get it, finally an iphone can be touted heavily against a google pixel/nexus device but this phone isnt about the specs, its about the software and UX. We can talk about processors and RAM all day but will the average consumer using instagram notice? not at all.
    Thanks for registering just to post this single troll comment, but you can leave now. Will the average user notice the speed difference? No, not right away. But in a couple years, it will be painfully obvious. The Pixel 3a will have the equivalent of 5-6 year old technology in it by then. The iPhone XR has the exact same performance as the fastest flagship phone on the market, and therefore will be just as fast as them for the entirety of its lifespan. My XR could easily last me 4 years if I so choose. Can you say the same of the 3a?
    Your iPhone will slow as well unless you change the battery, Apple makes sure of that. That and he's right, this bargain Pixel phone will be fine years from now. My back up phone, a 3 year old Pixel, is as fast as day one so if that's any indication these new phones will remain plenty fast for most all common and basic smartphone tasks and at this price point that's all it's meant for. They won't do stuff more expensive phones like the XR do obviously, 60 fps video for example, but they will run great for a device in this price range and punch well above it's weight for things like cameras, AI and support etc. 
    Out of interest, are you running the latest version of Android on that 3 year old Pixel? The CPU was far inferior to Apple's A9 which came out a year prior and I wonder how it holds up now.

    My fathers iPhone 6S Plus has never had it's battery changed and is running like a brand new phone on iOS 12.
    I am, beta versions of course since it's not yet "released". The phone is holding up just fine, doing everything I need it for. As a plus Google continues to roll out features for it from the latest Pixel models, things like call screening, Night Sight, Duplex....

    IMO very few people really need the latest processors with maxed out storage. I think a two or three year old iPhone (or Pixel) will serve just as well as the newest one for most folks who only call, text, browse, watch some videos, play a few casual games, check facebook, mail, news, and photos. Yes there's a minority who run their business from one or regularly rely on high-resource iPhone apps or intensive gaming but relatively it's not many of you. For everyone else "new" is nice and all but...
    I totally agree, it used to be that you'd buy a new phone every couple of years and it always felt like a massive upgrade.

    I fondly remember the move from my original iPhone to the 3GS, and then the jump to the 4S, followed by the 6S Plus, I never questioned the upgrade because I knew that it would be worth it. But the change from the 6S to my new iPhone XS Max..... I don't know, it doesn't really feel like a massive leap forwards in terms of day to day operation.

    The iPhone XS Max is the first iPhone I have ever bought where I regretted the purchase. It isn't that it is not a fantasic phone, it's great. But at a £400 premium above what I paid for the 6S Plus back in 2015 it was the first iPhone that did not feel like a major step up and I felt like a fool for spending so much on a phone.
    gatorguymuthuk_vanalingamavon b7
  • Reply 25 of 30
    thttht Posts: 5,536member
    saarek said:
    gatorguy said:
    saarek said:
    ampo said:
    Your iPhone will slow as well unless you change the battery, Apple makes sure of that. That and he's right, this bargain Pixel phone will be fine years from now. My back up phone, a 3 year old Pixel, is as fast as day one so if that's any indication these new phones will remain plenty fast for most all common and basic smartphone tasks and at this price point that's all it's meant for. They won't do stuff more expensive phones like the XR do obviously, 60 fps video for example, but they will run great for a device in this price range and punch well above it's weight for things like cameras, AI and support etc. 
    Out of interest, are you running the latest version of Android on that 3 year old Pixel? The CPU was far inferior to Apple's A9 which came out a year prior and I wonder how it holds up now.

    My fathers iPhone 6S Plus has never had it's battery changed and is running like a brand new phone on iOS 12.
    I am, beta versions of course since it's not yet "released". The phone is holding up just fine, doing everything I need it for. As a plus Google continues to roll out features for it from the latest Pixel models, things like call screening, Night Sight, Duplex....

    IMO very few people really need the latest processors with maxed out storage. I think a two or three year old iPhone (or Pixel) will serve just as well as the newest one for most folks who only call, text, browse, watch some videos, play a few casual games, check facebook, mail, news, and photos. Yes there's a minority who run their business from one or regularly rely on high-resource iPhone apps or intensive gaming but relatively it's not many of you. For everyone else "new" is nice and all but...
    I totally agree, it used to be that you'd buy a new phone every couple of years and it always felt like a massive upgrade.

    I fondly remember the move from my original iPhone to the 3GS, and then the jump to the 4S, followed by the 6S Plus, I never questioned the upgrade because I knew that it would be worth it. But the change from the 6S to my new iPhone XS Max..... I don't know, it doesn't really feel like a massive leap forwards in terms of day to day operation.

    The iPhone XS Max is the first iPhone I have ever bought where I regretted the purchase. It isn't that it is not a fantasic phone, it's great. But at a £400 premium above what I paid for the 6S Plus back in 2015 it was the first iPhone that did not feel like a major step up and I felt like a fool for spending so much on a phone.
    The three or four axes by which people can immediately feel value in their phones was basically reached with the 6S Plus. (I’m on the 4th year with my 6S Plus):

    1. The processor is about as fast as a low end laptop, and is faster than many ChromeBooks today
    2. RAM at 2 GB on iPhones covers 95% of the use cases for smartphone usage
    3. Robustness was basically at a peak with the 6S and 7 due to 7000 series aluminum and very abrasive resistant glass
    4. The features which people used phones for plateaued (including camera performance)
    5. LTE is good enough and coverage have been steadily improving since then
    6. Maximum device size for most people’s hands was basically reached

    There’s isn’t any low hanging fruit anymore, and you should be keeping your phone for 3, 4, 5 years, and the improvement even after 3, 4, 5 years won’t be that good anymore. It’s basically the same with laptops and desktops. There really isn’t much difference in feel in equivalent TDP systems across 3, 4, 5 years.

    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 26 of 30
    jzehazjzehaz Posts: 1unconfirmed, member
    I am getting form Google $250 back on an iPhone 6 trade in - a phone I have had for 4 1/2 years. The trade in takes the 3a "out of pocket price" to me, with tax of $180.43 (428.43-248.00=180.43). With the trade in this is a bargain. An iPhone XR, with $150 trade in has an "out of pocket price" to me, with tax of $643.18. A lot for a phone. I love the IOS/MAC OS ecosystem on my iMac and MB Air, but use mostly other than Apple apps on my phone. I am a little concerned about the IOS to Android switch. I mostly use Google apps (and back up and sync) so I don't see a real issue - just some learning curve items to solve in the swap. I am not looking for a top of line or "kick butt" phone. I don't do video recording or stream/play on line games. I take a good number of photos with my iPhone and this will be an improvement. With a trade in I am getting an excellent upgrade for a very modest price. If I get 3 years out of this $180 phone I will be happy - and ready to go to a 5G model. ALSO - I have been reading that Apple is going to retire the iPhone 6 this year and no longer support upgrades. This came at a good time.
  • Reply 27 of 30
    InfoSportsInfoSports Posts: 2unconfirmed, member
    The deals that Google are offering right now for trade-ins are very good. Purchased the 3a for effectively less than $100 with my SE trade-in ($50 cost plus CA tax). They have a $100 Play store credit for the next few days. So a great deal. I am a long time everything Apple fan (iPhones[many], iMac, Air, iPads[many], Air Pods, and Apple Watch. Currently use the XR which is I think is an excellent value as well. But the price of the 3A was just too good to pass up.
  • Reply 28 of 30
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,385member
    Well this turns out surprisingly good...

    Some may be familiar with JerryRigEverything and some not but in a nutshell he relishes in torture-testing new smartphones for durability, scratch-resistance, bending etc. The relatively inexpensive Pixel 3a now went thru his tests and emerged on the other side in a lot better shape than I would have expected considering the plastic enclosure and the pretty much unknown "Dragon Glass" instead of Corning Gorilla Glass. 

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoNOQEsMVvI
    edited May 2019
  • Reply 29 of 30
    RKSS2019RKSS2019 Posts: 2unconfirmed, member
    um.... I for one have been an iPhone user since the first and today at Best Buy I was shown this Pixel 3a and what nobody is mentioning is that they offer unlimited cloud storage, which we pay every month for our 2TB or whatever it is now and I keep getting "iCloud is full" so guess what... I am literally researching as we speak how and if it doesn't just make all the sense in the world to dump our 5 iPhones and 5 lines slowly over the next course and get the pixel line with g suite and unlimited cloud storage... save $ by half because lets face it, the iPhones are too expensive. Sure they are unbeatable and perfect... but seriously the unlimited cloud storage is what is my big "ahah" moment today and I'm still not finding a catch. On the contrary I am still not sure I am comfortable with the "security" issue perhaps but do we really have any security anymore... After all I use my gmail the most so perhaps I'm biased. And for anyone who thinks I'm a troll or whatever, I can remember to this day the day after Jobs announced the iPhone and it was less than a week after Christmas and I returned my 2 Treo 700's we had bought for Christmas and waited the 6 months because it was obvious to me that it was going to be worth it..... I have once tried the Android 8 years or more ago and hated it but this pixel has what seems to me the simplicity that comes close to what I' ve always loved about apple.... I don't know guys, I have nothing but Mac in our house and I for one am as we speak reconsidering the 2 new iPhones I was planing to buy at or around next month (wither it be the latest greatest or the current at hopefully a slight discount under an arm and a leg price)... I'm just saying. there's a point where price on these phones need to get back to freaking reality....
  • Reply 30 of 30
    RKSS2019RKSS2019 Posts: 2unconfirmed, member
    um.... I for one have been an iPhone user since the first and today at Best Buy I was shown this Pixel 3a and what nobody is mentioning is that they offer unlimited cloud storage, which we pay every month for our 2TB or whatever it is now and I keep getting "iCloud is full" so guess what... I am literally researching as we speak how and if it doesn't just make all the sense in the world to dump our 5 iPhones and 5 lines slowly over the next course and get the pixel line with g suite and unlimited cloud storage... save $ by half because lets face it, the iPhones are too expensive. Sure they are unbeatable and perfect... but seriously the unlimited cloud storage is what is my big "ahah" moment today and I'm still not finding a catch. On the contrary I am still not sure I am comfortable with the "security" issue perhaps but do we really have any security anymore... After all I use my gmail the most so perhaps I'm biased. And for anyone who thinks I'm a troll or whatever, I can remember to this day the day after Jobs announced the iPhone and it was less than a week after Christmas and I returned my 2 Treo 700's we had bought for Christmas and waited the 6 months because it was obvious to me that it was going to be worth it..... I have once tried the Android 8 years or more ago and hated it but this pixel has what seems to me the simplicity that comes close to what I' ve always loved about apple.... I don't know guys, I have nothing but Mac in our house and I for one am as we speak reconsidering the 2 new iPhones I was planing to buy at or around next month (wither it be the latest greatest or the current at hopefully a slight discount under an arm and a leg price)... I'm just saying. there's a point where price on these phones need to get back to freaking reality....
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