It’s impossible to recommend a cheap Google Pixel phone | Digital trends

When I tested the Google Pixel 8a, I had a terribly difficult time explaining which budget Pixel 8 phone you should buy. Ultimately I chose the Pixel 8a Is the budget Pixel phone you should buy… except for the cases where it isn’t.

This confusing situation is entirely due to Google and is truly terrible for us as consumers. This isn’t entirely due to the phones’ specs and design, but rather the uncertain pricing of the Pixel 8a and Pixel 8 and the staggered release dates for both.

Prices are not set in stone

The Pixel 8a retails at $499 and the Pixel 8 at $699, which doesn’t sound complicated at all. When I wrote my review of the Pixel 8a, I had a hard time putting my finger on exactly why you should spend $200 more on the Pixel 8, which isn’t a downside to that more expensive phone, but more of an endorsement of how good the Pixel 8a is in comparison. It does pretty much the same things, with only minor changes that might not bother everyone, so why spend more?

So that’s it? A simple situation where you can compare specs and decide if the Pixel 8 is worth enough for you personally to spend the extra chunk of money to own it. Unfortunately, that’s not the case, and this is where it gets pretty difficult to say which phone is best to buy – and it’s all because the older Pixel 8 fluctuates quite a bit in price.

Just weeks before the Pixel 8a was announced, the Pixel 8 could be purchased at Best Buy and Amazon for $549 – a significant reduction from the regular retail price and just $50 more than the Pixel 8a. At this price you should definitely Choose the Pixel 8 instead of the Pixel 8a. And even if both of these deals aren’t available at the time of reading, I suspect that once they happen, they will be around again as retailers race to drum up interest in the aging phone .

Release date chaos

True, I did say it’s getting older, as the Pixel 8 is already a bit long in the tooth. It was released in mid-October 2023, more than six months before the Pixel 8a launched. That makes the phone ripe for discounts, as it won’t be long before the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro are announced and the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro will suddenly (and unfairly) be far less desirable. It’s common practice to drum up interest in a 2023 smartphone halfway through its lifespan.

That gap between the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a is already a mystery, and the resulting discounts on the Pixel 8 make the 8a a tough sell when you’re forced to ignore such retail prices. What’s more, there are already deals on the Pixel 8a, with Amazon giving away a $100 coupon with the phone, effectively reducing the price by that amount. Why has this already happened? When a slightly better version is available for just a little more money, lowering the regular retail price of the “lesser” but newer phone (or bumping it up with a tempting deal) helps ensure it doesn’t sit on shelves.

As an eager buyer, what should you do in this frustrating situation? You could wait for a deal on the Pixel 8 instead of buying the Pixel 8a, but also be sure to keep an eye out for a deal on that phone, which may not sell as quickly based on the recently discovered Pixel 8 deals. The Pixel 8a is a very good phone, but you should buy the Pixel 8 if it’s only $50 or even $100 more. But even if the Pixel 8a suddenly shows up for $399, then It is a brilliant purchase. The fact that these scenarios has already happened makes it virtually impossible to recommend each other.

It’s not just Google

Google’s staggered release dates for the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a only add to the pricing and decision-making chaos, but several other manufacturers are also playing with pricing in ways that make it difficult to make a final, informed decision. Motorola endlessly cuts the price of its phones, including the Razr Plus and Razr (2023) flip phones, to the point where you should just call the lower price the retail price and stop messing around.

Samsung’s retail prices are also just a guide, especially during the pre-order period where trade-ins and additional discounts can make upgrading to the new model seem very attractive. But wait, and more discounts or deals will come, so it’s just a matter of being patient if you’d rather buy your next phone at a lower price.

Motorola and Samsung’s pricing games are less annoying because the phones in question are all coming onto the market at the same time and the adjustments to the pricing structure generally apply to all models. You choose your phone and decide whether you want to wait for a better price or not. That’s not the case with the Pixel 8a, as it launches many months after its nearest competitor and retail prices for the older phone are far lower, which in turn affects the price of the new phone.

Which Pixel 8 should you buy?

It’s still good advice to buy the tech product you want now and not wait for the next big thing, otherwise you’ll just have to wait forever. It’s also usually good advice to get the latest model. But in the case of the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a, it’s not that easy, so which one should I do? Really recommend?

If you can find the Pixel 8 for under $600, or are willing to wait until you find it, it’s a great deal. If you see the Pixel 8a for under $400, it’s also a great deal. If both are at full retail price, the Pixel 8a is very good, but if I were to buy it, I would always think about what the Pixel 8 would have been like if I had had some patience. If I were to buy the similarly very good Pixel 8 at full price, I would always wonder if I could have saved some money and still been just as happy with the Pixel 8a.

There you have it, a clear recommendation on which device to buy, and it’s all due to aggressive pricing and annoying release date strategies that make it really frustrating to choose a Google Pixel phone. Until Google announces its entire Pixel lineup at the same time, you might just buy an iPhone 15 instead. That way, at least you’ll always know where you stand when it comes to the incredibly rare and mostly meager discounts on Apple devices.

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