Going back to the Pixel 3a

Google's Pixel 3a released in 2019, being the budget Version of the Pixel 3. I got it second hand in 2021 for 190€. Official support ended with Android 12 in May 2022, after 3 years. Luckily, there's many projects like lineageos that are still providing updates, which brought Android 15 to the device and will hopefully also make the jump to Android 16. The Ubuntu touch port seems functional right now. The PostmarketOS community port, which I have not tested yet, seems interesting but the wiki says "Calls may or may not work for you", so maybe not ideal.

The 3a’s biggest limitation is the internal storage of only 64GB, which cannot be expanded by an sd card. It also has a rather small battery with only 3.000 mAh. On the positive side, I like the small 5.6 inch display and the fingerprint reader on the back. It has a good-enough camera for most of my use cases, a headphone hack and USB-C.

Looking at the current smartphone market, most people would agree that improvements have been minimal over the past 5-8 years. While foldable and e-ink devices look promising, the technology is not quite matured enough for me and still expensive. As someone who values getting security updates, not leaving a lot of choices. I am also not using my phone for fancy photography or recording videos, therefore having no need for advanced cameras.

So, instead of getting another new device, I'll try to make do with my 6 year old Pixel. I should be able to use a dedicated USB-drive for media to make up for the limited storage. Though it is a bit cumbersome, since Android can be very specific about the formatting. I often have trouble using a drive that has been plugged into my laptop or other devices, even if originally formatted directly on the phone. I already carry around a power bank, should I find the battery to be lacking. Now I only need to find the time to backup my data and transfer everything.