I got my 5a 5G in January 2022 and it spontaneously bricked later in 2022; my replacement that Google sent me just bricked yesterday. So, I'm feeling a bit done with the 5a and ready to move on. But, I read that the Pixels since then have gotten worse on the fingerprint reader, which will get really annoying to me. Would appreciate any guidance on a good upgrade path from the 5a.

I'm in the USA. T-Mobile. I could do contract or not. I like around $500 but could go a little more or less. I like my 5a's size at the 6.34" but could go a tad bigger or smaller, I'm not picky about it. I mostly use it for Android Auto, heavy browsing with dozens of Chrome tabs, remote desktop into my home PC, very rarely I'll stream video on it, and don't do any gaming. I don't care about a ton of storage space since most stuff is cloud. Battery life is important. I like having NFC. I want a good camera and was really happy with the one on the 5a.

I have stuck with Pixel 3a, 4a, and 5a over the years because I like how slick the software seems to be; I came over from Samsung and Motorola before and just hated all the crap that used to come on my phones. I'd probably stay in the Pixel line if there's something good to move up to but I keep finding all these negatives about upgrading from 5a to 6, 6a, or 7 due to fingerprint and/or battery issues. So at this point, I'd be willing to leave the Pixel line if there's something else solid.

I do NOT care about how slick the phone looks since I'm going to put it in a case anyway. And I've never been one to care that much about how high quality the screen is; I personally think they're all fine and don't need the improvements from different types of displays.

Thank you!