Pixel or not?

[AndrewAsd]

Black friday is coming up and the google store tend to have some great deals running. Plus they provide some of the best trade-in value. 
My mother is currently running a Samsung Galaxy S21 which is starting to show its age, she's ok with technology so the change to a different UI shouldn't prove too big a hassle. I'm already using a Pixel 8 Pro and I've been satisfied with it, especially the value I got with a similar black friday deal last year so I'm thinking a similar upgrade for her is worth considering. 

Google trade in value for S21 is 200£ for reference

The main question is what would be the best upgrade path between these 3 options? Is it worth spending extra on the Samsung?
S25 FE 500-550£ no trade-in. (estimated trade-in value between 80-90£)
Pixel 10 400£ with trade-in
Pixel 9 Pro 300£ with trade-in (assumming they will be running the same deal they had last year on the Pixel 8 pro but on the 9 now instead)

[CasualExtremist]

If you aren't opposed to going used, there's even better savings to be had around the 8a and 9a generations. (I always go the "a" variant because they get longer support life due to their release later in the year).

 

I'm seeing Amazon refurbished and The Big Phone Store have options for used. Lowest I've seen is

£230 for 8a 128GB

£395 for 9a 256GB

£320 for 9a 128GB

 

Also, assuming your trade-in phone was 128GB version with minimal wear and tear, looks like you'd get £50 for selling to a place like The Big Phone Store. You could probably get double following a short YT video on fully clearing data from phone and selling private sale (locally).

 

I am mostly an advocate for Pixels because they at least give the option to run Graphene OS. With Samsung, if they decide tomorrow to enshitify their OS even more than it is currently, you have no alternative OS to fall back on.

 

I hope someone else can fill in the gaps for comparing Samsung to Pixel, I know I am a little biased and not covering the totality of your specific situation.

[Commodus]

3 hours ago, AndrewAsd said:

Black friday is coming up and the google store tend to have some great deals running. Plus they provide some of the best trade-in value. 
My mother is currently running a Samsung Galaxy S21 which is starting to show its age, she's ok with technology so the change to a different UI shouldn't prove too big a hassle. I'm already using a Pixel 8 Pro and I've been satisfied with it, especially the value I got with a similar black friday deal last year so I'm thinking a similar upgrade for her is worth considering. 

Google trade in value for S21 is 200£ for reference

The main question is what would be the best upgrade path between these 3 options? Is it worth spending extra on the Samsung?
S25 FE 500-550£ no trade-in. (estimated trade-in value between 80-90£)
Pixel 10 400£ with trade-in
Pixel 9 Pro 300£ with trade-in (assumming they will be running the same deal they had last year on the Pixel 8 pro but on the 9 now instead)

Of those, I would go with a Pixel 10 unless your mum wants the absolute best camera quality of the lot (in which case the 9 Pro is your pick).

 

The Pixel 10 isn't necessarily faster, but I would trust its overall camera output more. It'll be easier to hold (the S25 FE is considerably larger). And your mum might like Google's wider mix of AI features (like call screening!) as well as the timelier OS updates.

 

With that said, I would seriously consider the S25 FE if familiarity is important, if a larger screen is ideal, or just if you want better after-sale support (it's easier to get a Samsung phone fixed at a local shop). Do you have a sense of your mum's priorities in a phone?

[AndrewAsd]

2 hours ago, Commodus said:

Do you have a sense of your mum's priorities in a phone?

It's primarily photos, light games, content consumption and some work use as well for slack and emails. Battery life is probably most important.

[Commodus]

21 minutes ago, AndrewAsd said:

It's primarily photos, light games, content consumption and some work use as well for slack and emails. Battery life is probably most important.

That might skew you toward the S25 FE. The Pixel 10 isn't terrible, but it might make your mum nervous if she's using it constantly throughout the day. You could see if there's a discounted Pixel 9 Pro XL out there. I just wish Samsung cared more about the cameras on non-flagships. They're fine, just what you'd expect from an upper-mid-range model with a bit of cost-cutting.

[AndrewAsd]

28 minutes ago, Commodus said:

That might skew you toward the S25 FE. The Pixel 10 isn't terrible, but it might make your mum nervous if she's using it constantly throughout the day. You could see if there's a discounted Pixel 9 Pro XL out there. I just wish Samsung cared more about the cameras on non-flagships. They're fine, just what you'd expect from an upper-mid-range model with a bit of cost-cutting.

 

According to the GSMArena tests they're not that different, web and video score higher than the S25 FE but also gaming and calls are lower on the Pixel 10, at the same time.