Discounts and gifts for bugs: Google trying to trick people into buying new Pixel phones?
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In case some of you have missed it, Google's been… very generous lately.
Even back then, though, I thought to myself:" Why so generous, Google?". The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro were already noticeably more affordable than flagship phones from Samsung and Apple, and Google's expensive gifts made it all seem almost too good to be true.
Because… it was too good to be true.
Google will pay you $200 and give you a Pixel 6A for your iPhone 13 Pro Max or $300 for an old iPhone 7, iPhone 8
Google will pay you in order to exchange your iPhone for a Pixel.
The initial idea for this story was sitting in a document for many months, and the reason I decided it was a good time to bring up the topic was another "too good to be true" set of deals that Google made available.
This time the incredible deals concern the newly-launched Google Pixel 6A. Let's take a look at some trade-in deals across Europe and the US. As of now, Sundar Pichai & Co allow you to trade in your:
- iPhone 7, iPhone 8 for up to $300 (US)
- Galaxy S10 for $300 (US)
- iPhone 4S for €90 (Europe)
- iPhone SE 2016 for €150 (Europe)
- Galaxy S9 for $175 (Europe)
- iPhone 8 for €250 (Europe)
This by itself is unbelievable value, as a phone like the iPhone 4S is worth virtually nothing right now. The most impressive trade-in deals are for the old iPhone 7 and iPhone 8, though. These phones are over five years old at this point, and Google is ready to give you up to $300 if you were to switch to the Pixel 6A, bringing the price of the excellent mid-range phone down to just $150. But that's not all…
1. Hilarious
2. Almost suspiciously amazing
Did Google always know the Pixel 6 series was going to be problematic, and are the gifts trying to buy your happiness and patience?
Too good to be true or just good enough to make up for the bugs?
All these suspiciously amazing deals bring me to the original question I had. Are Google's incredibly generous deals and gifts a way to compensate for what the company knows to be buggy devices, or is Google just ready to sell some phones at a loss on the way to establishing itself as a serious player? Xiaomi's known to do the latter.
Of course, we can't know the answer to this question. However, I can give you two perfectly different perspectives on the fact that Google gave away so many gifts and good deals for the buggy Pixel 6 series:
The first one is my perspective as a Pixel 6 Pro owner who also happens to be a tech enthusiast. I think the pair of Bose 700 headphones I received absolutely doesn't make up for the buggy phone I bought for €900, which stayed buggy for 10 whole months (things seem to be getting better with Android 13, but we'll talk about that in a future story).
Pixel 7 series: Is it worth pre-ordering a potentially buggy phone in exchange for a pair of earphones and a good trade-in deal?
I wouldn't risk pre-ordering another Google phone again.
I know that's a very personal and even a family-centric story, but I actually like the fact that I can work with practical examples here.
Of course, they aren't up to date with the latest and greatest on smartphones, which means I had an important decision to make on behalf of them: Do I recommend a Pixel 6A, which they could effectively get for as low as €200 (Galaxy S9 trade-in and the free Pixel Buds A) and €120 (iPhone 8 trade-in and the free Pixel Buds A), or do I make the wiser choice of not repeating a potential Pixel mistake again?
I chose the latter.
Things that are NOT allowed: