In general, I am a big proponent of getting used equipment and keeping it running for well after the manufacturer has abandoned it.
Before the Pixel 2, I hadn't purchased a new phone in like 12 years - I had gotten a couple of used Android phones, and used Windows Mobile before that. They all had the issue of essentially 0 support from the manufacturer by the time I got them, so I was dependent on community ROMs to keep them up-to-date. The phone I was using at the time had multiple issues, including an aging battery, physical damage, and something wrong with the GPS sensor.
A couple of the big reasons I bought the new phone rather than another used one were the promise of 3 years of support (which Google delivered) and waterproofing (which has come in handy a few times). I also just liked the phone in general, and there wasn't much on the used market with a similar feature set.
I like tinkering with my phone, but this was shortly before my second child was born and I knew I wasn't going to have the time to mess with custom ROMs to fix whatever was broken that week. Now that my kids are a little bit older and I can sleep through the night most nights, I think I'm ready for that "fun" again.
Before the Pixel 2, I hadn't purchased a new phone in like 12 years - I had gotten a couple of used Android phones, and used Windows Mobile before that. They all had the issue of essentially 0 support from the manufacturer by the time I got them, so I was dependent on community ROMs to keep them up-to-date. The phone I was using at the time had multiple issues, including an aging battery, physical damage, and something wrong with the GPS sensor.
A couple of the big reasons I bought the new phone rather than another used one were the promise of 3 years of support (which Google delivered) and waterproofing (which has come in handy a few times). I also just liked the phone in general, and there wasn't much on the used market with a similar feature set.
I like tinkering with my phone, but this was shortly before my second child was born and I knew I wasn't going to have the time to mess with custom ROMs to fix whatever was broken that week. Now that my kids are a little bit older and I can sleep through the night most nights, I think I'm ready for that "fun" again.