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I'm indeed very sensitive to the price. However, here in the EU the prices are much higher and a Pixel 7a costs 509€ in Google store and the 6a 349€.
I've been using my phone for almost 6 years now and now that I started uni I need a phone that doesn't crash when opening Gmail or takes too long to do any thing. I'm sure the 7, 7a or 6a can do this fine but I'm trying to get the 8 because of the 7 years support so I can flash graphene and forget, while the others have less than 5 years if I buy them now.
And yes it is a huge amount of cash for me, I never had a phone that expensive, but I feel like I need a phone like this one and its original price is almost 200€ more expensive so that's why I'm asking here. Can't even consider iPhone as they're literally unaffordable for me.
I too flashed it with GrapheneOS and it is pretty great (though some features work differently than the default OS). The long support life is one of the biggest selling points. GrapheneOS has hinted that they will likely support the 7 series even longer than the 5 year window if possible.
In my opinion, flagship phones are quite overpowered for reasonable use cases, so you're better off with a cheaper option. IMO such an expensive phone only makes sense if you need the extra power for gaming or if you really need the higher quality camera.
Maybe you can buy a used 7 series? I'm not sure how the market works in the EU, but in the States people often trade in their old phones when the next model comes out, which is great for the second-hand market. I bought mine on Amazon from a third-party seller.
If after all that you're sure you still want the 8 then you may as well get it now.
Note since you mentioned GrapheneOS: never buy a phone that was previously from Verizon. They're a scummy carrier in the US that locks the bootloader so you can never install another OS. Pixel devices have a 5 digit code that specifies the model variant. Always check that a used phone is not a Verizon variant and therefore ruined by this awful practice
Thanks for sharing your experiences. In fact here there are shops for second hand devices, but considering I need the phone to last for at least 5 years (for the uni degree), I don't think a second hand option seems very appealing to me, as probably the battery life of the device would be reduced and I don't know if it could be unlockable.
In any case, I could buy a new 7 series but the shop where the discount is offered only has the 7a and the 8 and 8 pro. The discount for the 7a is only 50€ because it is a different offer instead of the 11/11 one (the store says it's a black friday offer, not the 11/11), so it is 459€.
Google says it'll get guaranteed Android updates until at least March 2026, and security updates until May 2028. The 8 series get both Android and security updates until October 2030.
I have seen what you said that Graphene hinted that the 7 series will probably get Android updates until their end of life, which is good to hear.
I have been struggling with this decision for some months, and you're right that nowadays phones are too overpowered and have processors that are better than needed. So the decision is to either get the 7a for 459€ and have 5 years of support or the 8 for 623€ and have 7 years.
Just get the Pixel 8. Sometimes you have to pay a premium. A bird in the hand is better than a bird in the bush (a used phone you will have to find).
Yeah I got the OnePlus 5 when it came out and it lasted me five years. Once you look after them, decent android phones have a very long shelf life these days