When shopping for a new smartphone, a consumer might consistently believe that a new device is always the better option. As a result, they may occasionally choose a newer budget phone over a slightly older flagship model. This is how one consumer ended up purchasing the Pixel 8a after using and loving their Pixel 7. Unfortunately, the budget experience, even with one of the best in the Pixel 8a, left a bad taste in their mouth and led them to go back a generation and opt for the Pixel 8 Pro. The difference was immediate and eye-opening, and as a result, they decided to swear off low-cost alternatives for the foreseeable future. From poor performance and small displays to missing camera features and terrible trade-in value, they refuse to subject themselves to daily tribulations for the sake of saving a few bucks.
The Performance Lag Is Noticeable
RAM: It's More Important Than You Think
A person may not realize how much they use their smartphone until they have a budget device. A user might regularly scroll through social media and need to quickly switch over to the Notes app to set a reminder while also ordering a Lyft and participating in a fantasy football mock draft. As one can imagine, all of that takes a lot of power, and budget smartphones like the Pixel 8a, which offers about 8 GB of RAM maximum, just don’t have it. Their phone would regularly freeze, lag, or generally go haywire when asked to do basic tasks like swapping between apps.
The Displays Are Always Too Small
Bigger Is Simply Better
Many people hate when a big smartphone ruins their pantline as much as the next guy, but the 6.1-inch display of the Pixel 8a doesn't do much to help that when compared to the 6.8-inch display of the Pixel 8 Pro. There are no larger XL options in the Pixel A series, which means that to save money, a user is forced to endure a small screen, typically with larger bezels to boot. Granted, this is mostly a problem for painstakingly loyal users of Google Pixel phones, which are regularly smaller than their flagship and Pro counterparts. The Samsung A Series, for example, doesn’t have as much of a problem with this, with the Galaxy A54 sporting a 6.4-inch display, which is actually bigger than the 6.2-inch display on the Galaxy S24.
The Missing Camera Features Are Brutal
You Don't Miss Them Until They're Gone
As the only Android user in their extended family, a person might become known as the go-to photographer. Family selfies with the ultra-wide lens, zoomed-in shots of the grandkids playing at the beach, and group shots that involve them running around everyone before the timer runs out become their responsibility. However, a person could nearly lose this title during their time with the Pixel 8a. The missing camera features, like less zoom power, no action pan, no cinematic blur, and no dual exposure on the wide camera, eventually add up to a less enjoyable experience for those who really want to use the widely celebrated Pixel camera to its full potential.
The Trade-In Value Is Heartbreaking
Good Luck Getting a New Phone for Cheap
If someone cannot resist the lure of a new phone after a year or two, they are probably very aware of the trade-in value of their particular device. Suppliers like Google can be a bit tight with their purse strings when it comes to their trade-in offers, but some phone providers like T-Mobile are a bit more generous, as long as the user doesn't have a budget phone. That’s right, some phone providers, like T-Mobile, only differentiate their trade-in offers based on whether a person is trading in a budget phone or a non-budget phone. A user might realize while researching that T-Mobile is offering up to $800 to trade in any smartphone that isn’t a budget device. The Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9, Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel 8, and even Pixel 7 offer that huge trade-in value for eligible customers. Alternatively, if the user still had their Pixel 8a, they would be subject to a mere $400 trade-in value despite it being almost two years younger than the flagship from 2022.
Budget Phones Still Have Their Place
If You Want to Save Money, You've Got Options
To be fair, this is mostly personal preference. The affordable price tag of some budget phones is just too much to pass up sometimes, with certain devices costing as little as $200 for a surprisingly enjoyable experience. In 2025, there are plenty of budget smartphones that will check a lot of boxes for users who aren’t prone to multitasking, picture-taking, or phone trading. However, a specific user might not be one of those people. They may mind the laggy performance, detest the small displays, loathe the knee-capped camera features, and simply will not stand for the abysmal trade-in value. With all that said, a person might bid farewell to budget smartphones for good.
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