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Comment by abriosi | Hacker News Reader

Well, no pixel 8 for me. Pixel 7a will be my last pixel phone.

I thought pixel 7a would be a nice upgrade from my pixel 4a. Three months later, the battery barely lasts a a day, and the microphone stopped working clearly due to a software bug, ie, it works on calls and videos, but not on applications.

While making voice calls on a Bluetooth system, the connection randomly drops, and when it connects back, the microphone doesn't work, only speaker. Very poor product for the price.

The wireless charging charges 1% per hour. There are probably more issues I can't remember right now

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For what it’s worth, the Pixel 7 series (and maybe 6) has compatibility issues with some wireless chargers. It’s actually quite quick if you find one that plays nice: I measure 12-15 watts, so not much slower than wired. Incompatible chargers pull 3 watts or less, disconnect frequently, and often don’t even offset the phone’s regular drain.

I had to try a few to find one that works properly in my car. I’ve had good luck with chargers from Anker and Peak Design, and bad luck with Apple, JSAUX, and Spigen branded chargers. Google’s own chargers presumably work fine as well.

(Also, a lot of Qi chargers are extremely picky about the USB-PD or QC specs of the power adapter you use. I highly recommend using a USB power/voltage monitor to make sure they negotiate PD or QC power at 9/12v rather than the base 5v/1a. Without that, you’ll be charging at an absolute maximum of 5 watts before Qi losses.)

Okay you've run into problems but it's probably worth noting that this is not typical. Most people rave about the "a" line of pixel phones and they definitely last longer than 3 months before completely malfunctioning like yours is.

I'm not sure how easy it is to repair but I'd be shocked if you're not still within your warranty period and you couldn't get a replacement for your clearly defective device.

> The wireless charging charges 1% per hour

Hmm, Iphone 14 pro max takes 2h15 to charge on the cable, so roughly 2x as much, even longer wirelessly. The other points may be a fair critique but this one isn't. My Galaxy 22 ultra takes also around 1% per hour wired, I don't see any issue there, this is what non-chinese flagships deliver now/last year.

Eh? If a phone takes an hour to charge 1%, that means charging it fully requires a little over four days.

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