[General Topics] TheMystic:
I have a Google One subscription that may require me to upgrade to the next tier as storage under the plan is slowly becoming full. This makes me think about options to keep my costs to the minimum, while keeping my photos secure in the cloud.

To be clear, Google Photos is indispensable for me for the following reasons:

1. I have multiple devices and Google Photos allows me to access my camera roll and screenshots on all my devices.

2. Google Photos is secure. I'm sure they have multiple backups (I believe 3) and several layers of security built-in to prevent hackers and other bad actors from taking control of my files.

3. I don't have the expertise to host my own local server in a secure manner. Hosting a personal server is much more than simply buying hardware.

Google Pixel​

This is one device that I always shortlist, but then I end up choosing another brand for the following reasons:

1. Stock Android is too basic for my taste. It lacks several very useful features that other OEM implementations of Android offer.

2. Stock Android may lack bloatware, but it doesn't translate into better performance or battery life. The so-called 'clean' nature doesn't offer the benefits that one would expect from it.

3. Google Pixel offers one of the best cameras on a smartphone. But so does Samsung, and flagships from other brands are great alternatives too. One needs the camera to capture great photos and videos, and not necessarily the absolute best, which also has a subjective element to it. A smartphone is much more than its cameras. And with GCam available for most devices, it reduces the need for a Pixel even more due to its cameras.

4. Google Pixel offers some advanced editing features. Since these are also available for Google One subscribers, they are of no additional use to me.

5. Offline voice transcription: This is probably the only Pixel exclusive feature, but then not many care about it.

6. Fast software updates: This doesn't actually make anyone's life better.

Google One Subscription​

1. The plans are reasonably priced. Buying an old Pixel (Pixel 5 or older) to get unlimited storage on Google Photos doesn't make much financial sense. It would take a minimum of 10 years to recover the initial investment, and the phone may become too old by the end of that period. The effort required to transfer all media to the Pixel and then upload it to Google Photos is just not worth it. See the 1st comment below to see why it makes good sense to backup using a Pixel 5 or older Pixel phone.

2. Google One subscribers have access to the same editing tools that is available on the Google Pixel.

3. Google One storage can be shared with 5 other Google accounts, very useful if these are family members.

Custom ROMs for non-Pixel devices​

I'm told Pixel Experience ROM (and some other custom ROMs and mods) allow for spoofing the device details to make Google Photos believe that the device is a Pixel, thereby unlocking unlimited storage on Google Photos.

I'm still looking at the Pros and Cons of this method.

CONCLUSION

​

It doesn't make any sense to buy a Pixel device (Pixel 5 or older) just to unlock unlimited storage on Google Photos. Since Google isn't offering unlimited storage for Pixel 6 and newer devices, this makes Google Pixel a bad choice of smartphone for most users. See the comment below to know why backing up using a Pixel 5 or older Pixel phone is very beneficial over the long term.