I haven’t seen anyone mention this yet, but… other than the Duo, the iPhones have been the same size since the iPhone X? Obviously not counting the Max/Plus/Mini lines, but the standard ones have had 6”-ish screens for almost a decade now (and the screen itself has increased in size, but that’s because they decreased the bezels), so they’ve hardly made a new phone that is larger than the one before since then.
Personally, I quite like the size of the standard iPhones, fits in my pocket, can use it one handed well enough, and the display is big enough to comfortably view content. I have quite small hands though and I can see how someone bigger than me would like the size of the Pro Max line.
Also this size clearly works, because basically all phones now are this exact same size give or take a few mm.
I’ve found that those sites tend to charge insane amounts for shipping (20€+ to Portugal at least) which considering the price of the parts in question generally makes it not worth it unfortunately. Maybe it’s better now, I haven’t tried in a few years.
In Portugal at least, all (I think? At least all the major ones like Benfica, Sporting and Porto) of the clubs are sports associations and are controlled by the club members. This does not mean that there isn’t major money in this, but a club president can get removed by fans, which happened with Porto recently (due to corruption… the club almost went bankrupt).
These clubs are often very old as well, and often were small regional clubs that got big, so they are significant in their cities and do a ton more than just football.
I've used it on trains a bit and it does turn off when the train is going straight ahead. You might be going 200km/h, but if the speed isn't changing and you're always going forward you don't really feel any force, and neither does the phone, so the dots don't need to be there any more.
A lot of banks won’t even give you the option of a non-instant transfer now, at least here in Portugal. Though non-instant transfers can in theory be recalled since there is some time before the money gets to the destination account, my bank even gives a warning now when doing a transfer to ensure I have the details right because they can not recall a transaction after the money arrives.
Google’s phones are pretty good nowadays, I feel like they carry that ethos more than modern OnePlus phones anyway. Plus they can be unlocked trivially, which is officially supported, and you can install GrapheneOS on them.
I buy Pixel for GrapheneOS, but the hardware is terrible for the price. They charge flagship prices for what are mid-range SoCs. They are very heavy for the size (e.g. the 10/10 Pro are around 205g) and the weight distribution makes them feel like a brick. Battery life is very mediocre, even with almost no apps or other crap installed. They have also had a lot of hardware/software issues in recent years - spicy pillows, display issues, camera bars that fall off, software updates that resulted in boot loops for many people, etc. In (most of?) Europe, they farmed out repairs to another company and often reject warranty claims if there is as much as a scratch on the case.
I would only recommend Pixel if you want to run GrapheneOS. GrapheneOS is stellar and until next year, getting a Pixel is the only way to run it. Also, wait until midway the cycle of a model to get a large discount.
If you do not want to run GrapheneOS, do yourself a favor and either:
1.) Get a Samsung S series (or maybe A5x). It's the only phone besides Pixel that does reliable monthly updates, QPR2 and rolls out major updates fairly quickly. They have a separate secure enclave (Knox Vault). Also, after a few months the pricing is really good (e.g. an S26 with 256GB storage costs 620 Euro here now). You can pretty much remove all of the bloat, including Gemini, Google hot words, Bixby, etc. with UAD. The SoC, battery life, etc. will blow Pixels out of the water.
2.) Get an iPhone. The most secure phone after GrapheneOS and the hardware is well worth the price. Their support is stellar, easy to reach a human by phone, generally easy to get repairs.
I just got a new phone a month ago. I wanted a Pixel so I could run GrapheneOS. After researching the hardware I ended up with a OnePlus 13. Google's hardware is far behind, buggy, and overpriced.
I have a OnePlus 13. Best hardware ever. Running lineage with microg + magisk and use nix on top of termux to install stuff using sudo, including AI harnesses - it's my portable AI workstation now.
I've ordered a physical keyboard that attaches to the back of the phone using magsafe to make it easier to use. I wouldn't be surprised if we see new types of hardware or at least new mobile UI paradigms that make AI coding on the go easier.
The Pixel can run Graphene, which means you can permanently take control of the phone and give Google the boot. The iPhone is entirely controlled by Apple, and you are one OTA away from a hostile "upgrade." By default, everything on your phone is sent to Apple for "backup" too.
I have had a mixed experience. Bought my Mom a Pixel 9a. It seems to be running fine with no issues.
Bought a Pixel 10 Pro XL for myself and had to return it. Connectivity issues (WiFi connected, but no internet), screen losing colors (white would turn gray), ghosting issues (scrolled/hidden content would stay on screen for a period of time).
People need to stop caring about warranties so much. Don't overpay, and have emergency funds. If you break something, fix it or replace it. When someone dropped my phone and cracked the screen, I spent 300€ on a new phone. Not 3000€ because I'm not an idiot.
I mean, I don't particularly understand how "caring about warranty" goes against what you've written after that. Replacing something for free is surely better than doing so for $300 dollars, no?
Are you saying I should have installed GrapheneOS on the phone, possibly discovered that the phone has hardware issues and then go out to buy another phone because I have an emergency fund? Or stick with a new phone that had issues?
Or maybe I have made a mistake by buying a phone more expensive than $300? I can see this one actually, but I was going for something that didn't have ads in every menu as the cheap Chinese phones I was using up until this point.
Outside of the used market, which I tend to ignore due to battery/performance degradation, there's no way for me to buy a Pixel for less than $300 anyways.
Just don't listen to someone who tells you that you need a custom ROM to have a phone not suck in 2026. Google's hardware has been middling (camera sensors, display) to downright trash (the Tensor SoCs) ever since the P6, and GrapheneOS won't magically make its modem Qualcomm or even Mediatek.
Funnily enough, no. When I read that comment, I didn't even know that phones can go for such a price. But, apparently some triple folding phones do.
I read that as a "buy a budget phone and use it until it's gone, don't buy an expensive phone," which to be fair was exactly what I was doing up until this point.
> And having a phone you like more is surely better than having to return your phone and buy a different one, no?
Yes. But I do include functionality when evaluating how much I like a phone. I liked the phone at first, but then the issues moved it to a dislike. Considering I only had it for a week, what further issues awaited? I didn't want to risk that.
Searching for a different phone sucks, but at least I get my money back.
This might come as a bit of a shock to you, but not everywhere has terrible customer protection. I was less interested in the (free) 2 year warranty than the 14 day free return mandated by the EU.
I wasn't really risking being denied, as long as I didn't break any rules.
I got badly burned by the Pixel 5a, but especially with Google's support. My wife and I both had 5a, and both died spectacularly right around the end of warranty period. Mine ultimately got replaced under warranty and that replacement died the same way when I was on vacation less than a year later... which they refused to repair under warranty.
They put up such a shit show and had us run through so many hoops with my wife's phone that it ended up being out of warranty by the time they agreed it was broken and needed repaired. The support experience was so painful I reluctantly let them get away with their bullshit, bought a new phone (oneplus) for my wife, and swore not to buy another Pixel phone despite having a strong preference for them and the pure Android experience.
I always wonder what people who say things like this are doing with their phones.
Two generations of phones ago, these performance parameters were fine. What software has come out on Android phones since then that's made that performance level unacceptable?
Pixel phones have always been behind in hardware power. They're not performing at budget level, but compared to most OnePlus devices they are way behind in performance. In the Android world performance means longevity. Any Pixel tensor chip or non-high-end Snapdragon or MediaTek chip has a "smoothness" lifespan of 2-3 years.
> In the Android world performance means longevity.
This is the assumption I'm challenging. What are people doing on their phones that makes a two year old phone feel two years old?
Maybe it's 3d gaming, I don't do any of that on my phone but for any productivity apps, I don't think I've noticed an effective difference in my phone for years.
The moment the phone is no longer the latest one, you start to notice it.
Dropped animations, slow downs in the summer due to heat, poor battery life because it has to use boost, and so on. You don't have to game to notice it.
I think the issue is more the prices that Google charge for what is largely a mid-range phone (except maybe cameras). I don't think people would object as much if Google priced them as Pixels in the old days.
Prices usually get ok halfway the cycle, though this year not as much due to the RAM/SSD squeeze.
Ryanair has only ever lost a plane once, due to a bird strike with only some injuries, and they are one of biggest airlines by number of flights (if not the biggest).
Turns out plane accidents are expensive, and the reputation loss as well. Don't even need to lose the plane, just the plane being stuck on the ground is expensive (they are also one of the most timely airlines because of this). Really can not afford to have accidents!
Honestly I just don't really care to anymore. I used to flash custom ROMs on all my phones because I could only afford cheap (100-200€) phones that were filled with bloatware, but ever since I started being able to afford a decent mid-range phone (Pixel 6a was the first one I didn't reflash) I just found out I wasn't actually missing anything, and I definitely enjoy things like contactless payments, and not having something randomly break every time I update.
Same with me, apparently three different models think I am a minor football player. Looking it up, I am not the first result for my full name, but there also is no minor football player with that name, so…
Also have an extremely common name in Portugal (just in my company there are 4 people with my name, including my previous manager), only slightly helped by the fact that we’re one of the few countries that inherits last names from both parents, which helps with differentiation. At least I did snag pedroalves.pt when I found it available!
EDIT: Username does better, but for some reason Kimi seems to think I do algorithmic competitions, and Llama 3.1 thinks I am a German football club (no longer just a player, a whole club now!)
> Same with me, apparently three different models think I am a minor football player.
I read the parent comment’s blog post right before coming back and reading your comment, and for a moment I thought you meant “models” as in “fashion models” (which makes sense with the footballer) and was expecting a crazy story.
That made me remember how much more fun HN was before it became AIN. It can’t be good for any of us to be inundated with the same subject everyday.
Personally, I quite like the size of the standard iPhones, fits in my pocket, can use it one handed well enough, and the display is big enough to comfortably view content. I have quite small hands though and I can see how someone bigger than me would like the size of the Pro Max line.
Also this size clearly works, because basically all phones now are this exact same size give or take a few mm.
reply