Google Pixel 4a

> if you enable battery changes, a current gen device can easily last a decade), people will care. Modern batteries last surprisingly long. I assumed my 5yo pixel 4a was at 50~60% capacity based on feels and the adb batterystats printout estimated the same (with 1600 charge cycles). But when I actually measured the screentime / wattage consumed while charging, it was still at 80% capacity. Even confirmed this by replacing the battery and running the same tests. I think part of the reason the old battery felt worse is that it would read 100% when it was only ~85% full then trickle charge at like 2w for another 90 minutes.

I use ACCA[0] to select my charge rate and limit. This can also set battery idle mode (power from USB without using the battery) when the charge limit is reached if the hardware supports it. I usually limit it to 60%, and charge at 500mA when I'm not in a hurry. Maybe that's too much fuss for most people, but I'm still using a five year old Pixel 4A on the original battery and its showing no signs of reduced battery performance. I probably wouldn't put in the effort if it was easy to replace the battery, but it is not. I might be a little less aggressive about it if I liked any current phones, but I do not. [0] https://f-droid.org/packages/mattecarra.accapp/

I did! As much as I could as someone who can't stand iOS, anyway. I used the Pixel 1 and then the Pixel 4a, for 4 years each.

It’s great that Google is extending the support, and that GrapheneOS can benefit from it. I bought a Pixel 4a specifically for installing GrapheneOS. I used it happily for almost 3 years, until EOL firmware support. The phone worked fine, but I wanted the reassurance of firmware security updates. I was going to get a Pixel 6/7 (I forget which was available at the time) to use GrapheneOS again, but I was so annoyed at Google for only supporting firmware for 3 years, that I decided to switch to an iPhone SE. Shortly after this, I believe the next Pixel came out with 5+ years support. I had some regret, but the iPhone SE is OK, and I didn’t want to buy a new phone just for the sake of it. I will probably switch back to GrapheneOS for my next phone, as it really is a great mobile OS. Hopefully the project is still going strong by then.

But the screen consumes most of the charge in a modern phone anyway. The smaller the screen, the less battery capacity you need to get a sensible battery life. The CPU also matters, of course — that's one thing I like about my Pixel 4a, it lasts long even after 3 years because it uses a weak-ass SoC that nonetheless is perfectly capable for messaging and web browsing.

If you're not a phone power user, you can get by on old low end stuff. When my pixel 4a died of a bad screen crack a couple years ago, I replaced it with a random used 4a on ebay for $80. Two years later and it's still completely fine for all my purposes (texting, phone calls, chrome browsing, tolerable camera, etc.), although I still haven't accepted google's deal for a free battery swap yet from sheer laziness. I've learned that I can accept a 90 minute screen-on phone battery, though it's an odd adjustment to make. Again, not a power user.

I had a two phone lifestyle as well for different reasons: I needed car play but don't like iOS, and also needed to know Android and iOS quite well for my job. One iPhone that was wifi only, had my entire music library local, used for car play and a few exclusive apps. One android with a sim that had my communication apps, social media, and some custom tinkering stuff that doesn't exist on iOS. I did this for about two years. The main takeaways: -I 100% could have just had the iPhone with a sim for communication apps and been fine. The social media was just annoying enough to swap to that I never felt that draw and barely used it on 2phones. -even though I despise how little customization iOS lets you do, without social media or game apps, the only actual pain point with it was the nightmare of managing notifications/alert/vibration/screen wake settings* -god it made me miss small phones so much. The android was a pixel 4a, the last real phone with real hardware that released at the actual ideal size for my hands(that has an unlocked bootloader, I really can't do the Samsung hellOS experience again). Now Im on a pixel 8 only, with Glider for this site and no other social media or games. It's fine. Phones too big, car doesn't have AAuto, and Google is trying to rot the foundation of android, but for now it's fine and better than the two phone experience because it's less juggling.

imo Google Pixels are a good bet, officially supported by GrapheneOS, Lineage and a lot of alternative ROMs, easy bootloader unlock. Just buy it refurbished so no money comes from you to Google directly. My second hand Pixel 4a is running lineage micro g for a year and half and the only issue i have is the battery dying.

I've considered this before, but the short software support timeframe given by device manufacturers makes this a costly endeavour. I still have a perfectly functional Galaxy Tab S2 9.7, but even the third party ROMs have dropped it. I have a pixel 4a, and although it works beautifully running a supported version of lineage it's very likely that the modem baseband has a significant vulnerability that Google isn't patching. I don't think running banking or crypto wallet software on those devices is any smarter than running it on my daily driver pixel 8.

I was secretly hoping they'd stop supporting the Pixel 4a so I would have a reason to get a new phone, but no, still there in the list of supported devices. So I guess I'll just keep using that thing another year... Anyway: big thanks to the Lineage maintainers, keeping so many phones from landfill!

The 4a is a great phone. So thin and light, and even a headphone jack.

I’ve got a Pixel 4a as a second phone just for work… it’s a perfectly fine phone I’ve stopped using it because Google abandoned it after 18 months There are plenty of Android phones out there that are usable but get abandoned by the makers

> Approximately nobody is throwing away phones because the OEM stopped providing security patches. They're doing it for more practical reasons, like the phone getting slow, the battery wearing out, or wanting a better camera. I did this just last year because my Pixel 4a stopped getting security updates and some app I needed to use for work (I think Duo?) refused to install or run because of it. The phone was otherwise running perfectly fine and I had no reason to change it. I'm on a Pixel 8 now which is supposed to have 7 years of security updates, and I don't see myself replacing it until then.

Yep, same boat. That's why I had kept my pixel 4a for years until is finally kicked the bucket 2 years ago.

I recently upgraded my 4a to a 10 two months ago. Besides getting security updates again, it feels like a downgrade in every way that matters to me. Can't lie flat due to camera bulge. No headphone jack. Fingerprint sensor on the front that screen protectors interfere with. No sim slot. Ai bullshit triggers if i keep my thumb to close to where you touch to switch apps. Ai bullshit also replaces the old power menu, which now requires a combo button press. Such a let down.

Didn't know more people are doing this. I am also using a used Pixel 4a which I got from eBay. Still has good battery. I don't see any reason to upgrade any time soon.

Same. The Pixel 4a was the perfect phone for me: Light, screen exactly the right size to navigate with a single thumb whilst holding the phone in one hand, enough battery life, small enough to fit in my jean pockets comfortably. But people buy big phones in preference to small ones, so that’s what Google & Apple manufacture. Nobody (from the POV of Apple/Google decision makers) buys these smaller phones.

I had a Pixel 4a until I got a 10 a few months ago... they had a couple updates even after support officially ended.

I've been using it for more than 2 years, and I can't think of ever going back to a stock OS. I had to send my phone for a screen repair, in the meantime I picked up my old Samsung, and the sheer amount of apps I didn't want, notifications and dark patterns to tricking me into handing over my data made me anxious. I couldn't finish setting the phone up and drove to my parent's home to pick up their old, remotely nerfed by Google, Pixel 4a so I could install GrapheneOS into it and use it while I waited for my repaired Pixel 8.