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

I had a hard time explaining which cheap Pixel 8 phone you should buy when I reviewed the Google Pixel 8a. I finally decided to say the Pixel 8a East the low-cost Pixel phone you should buy… except for when it’s not.

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

Prices are not fixed

The Pixel 8a retail price starts at $499 and the Pixel 8 starts at $699, which doesn’t seem complicated at all. When I was writing my review of the Pixel 8a, I had a hard time understanding exactly why you should spend $200 more to get the Pixel 8, which isn’t a slight compared to that more expensive phone, but rather a confirmation of the quality of this phone. the Pixel 8a is compared to it. It does almost the same things, with only slight changes that might not bother everyone, so why spend more?

So, that’s it, then? A simple situation where you can compare specs and decide if there’s enough value in the Pixel 8 for you to personally spend that extra amount of money to own it. Unfortunately, that’s not the case, and this is where it becomes quite difficult to say which phone is better to buy – and this is all because the price of the old Pixel 8 fluctuates a lot.

Just weeks before the Pixel 8a was announced, the Pixel 8 could be purchased at Best Buy and Amazon for $549 – a significant discount from its usual retail price and only $50 more than the Pixel 8a. At this price, it is necessary certainly choose the Pixel 8 over the Pixel 8a, and even though these two deals aren’t happening when you read this, I would expect that if they happened once, they will happen again, as retailers are scrambling to mobilize. interest in the aging phone.

Release date chaos

That’s right, I said aging, because the Pixel 8 is getting a little older. It was released in mid-October 2023, more than six months before the Pixel 8a arrived. This makes the phone ripe for discounts because 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 wrongly) be much less desirable. Generating interest in a 2023 smartphone halfway through its life is common practice.

This gap between the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a is already a conundrum, and the resulting discounts on the Pixel 8 make the 8a a tough sell when you’re forced to ignore retail prices like this. Additionally, deals on the Pixel 8a have already started happening, with Amazon offering a $100 voucher with the phone, reducing it by that amount. Why has this already happened? When a slightly better version is available for only a little more money, reducing the regular retail price of the “lesser” but newer phone (or spicing it up with a tempting deal) will help ensure it doesn’t languish on the shelves.

What are you, the enthusiastic buyer, supposed to do in this frustrating situation? You can wait for a deal on the Pixel 8 instead of buying the Pixel 8a, but be sure to also look for a deal on that phone, which might not sell out quickly due to the Pixel 8 deals that have been spotted recently. The Pixel 8a is a very good phone, but you should buy the Pixel 8 if it only costs $50, or even $100 more. But also, if the Pixel 8a suddenly appears for $399, then It is a great buy too. The fact that these scenarios it’s already arrived makes it virtually impossible to recommend one over the 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 various other manufacturers are also playing with pricing in ways that make a definitive choice difficult and enlightened. Motorola keeps lowering the price of its phones, including the Razr Plus and Razr (2023) flip phones, to the point where it should just call the lowest price the retail price and stop messing around.

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

Motorola and Samsung’s pricing games are less irritating because the phones in question all come out at the same time and the pricing structure adjustments generally apply to all models. You choose your phone and decide whether or not you want to wait for a better price. That’s not the case with the Pixel 8a, as it releases several months after its closest rival, and retail prices apply much less to the older phone, which impacts the price of the new phone.

Which Pixel 8 should you buy?

It’s always good advice to buy the tech product you want now and not wait for the next big thing, because you’ll just be waiting forever if you don’t. Additionally, getting the latest model is also usually good advice. But in the case of Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a, it’s not that simple, so what should I do? Really recommend?

If you can find the Pixel 8 for under $600 or are willing to wait until you do, then it’s a great buy. If you see the Pixel 8a for under $400, that’s a great buy too. If both are at full retail price, then the Pixel 8a is very good, but if I bought it, I’d still be thinking about what the Pixel 8 would have been like if I’d had a little patience. If I had bought the very good Pixel 8 at full price, I would still wonder if I could have saved money and still been as happy with the Pixel 8a.

There you have it, a clear as mud recommendation on which one to buy, all because of aggressive pricing and boring release date strategies that make choosing a Google Pixel phone really frustrating. Until Google announces its entire Pixel lineup at once, maybe just buy an iPhone 15 instead. This way, at least the incredibly rare and usually paltry discounts on Apple devices mean you always know where you are.

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