Pixelated.

Adding one more toy to the Xmas trip toy chest.

Picked up a Pixel 4 XL through Google Fi. I've flirted with the idea of getting a 4 or 4 XL to replace the 2 year old Pixel 2 XL I have now, and even test drove the Pixel 4 at launch. The 4 has some cool features and I love the design, but the small size, battery life (crappy) and price (high) made it too hard a sell.

Come a month later though, and presumably due to sluggish sales the Pixel line is on 50% off through Fi for Black Friday. The $450 discount comes in the form of service credits, so once I clear a 60-day activation period I will have basically no-cost Fi service for around 15 months. I will just need to pay the cost of no-interest financing the phone, so that will be around $40/month, which cuts my bill down by over $20 a month. Sold. Also getting another $200 in cash for selling the 2 XL so the actual cost of the phone ends up at $250. That's ridiculous for a flagship.

The 4 XL has wireless charging, face unlock, a radar chip and one of the best smartphone cameras in the world. It also has a much bigger battery than the 4 I test drove, so it should be able to last a couple days with my usage, which is pretty minimal. I use my work iPhone almost exclusively during the week so I should have no issues with the phone dying on me.

I wanted the orange color version but that would have meant waiting until after my trip to get it so I settled for the white. Still cool and has the matte finish so it shouldn't show much in the way of fingerprints. Looks similar to my panda 2 XL, really, which I like.

So along with the new iPad and the power bank I'm all sussed out on electronics for the coming trip/trips.