Physical changes are also welcome, so things like skins, cases, screen protections etc... are fine to discuss.
For me, in this order:
- Wi-Fi calling: it was very surprising that this was not on by default, and enabling it helped a bit with the battery life on my Pixel 7a;
- Try custom launchers: I was happy with the phone but the very first annoying thing is the damn Google search bar and how there was no way to just hide it like any other widget. So I ended up installing KISS Launcher (it's FOSS and still maintained);
- Bite the bullet and install GrapheneOS: you get more security, sandboxed Play Services, a more fine-grained permissions system and you can still install the default Pixel apps from the Play Store while cutting off their internet access, and most importantly you get rid of the Google bar (also enabled Wi-Fi calling as previously done).
I bought a case that has a builtin MagSafe ring, it's super easy to snap the phone on the car charger and have it wireless charge.
Out of curiosity, which one did you get?
But yeah, a case is definitely the first must-buy (went case-free for years, changed my mind recently as I dropped my P7a on concrete for the third time ๐). No MagSafe ring for mine, but I got a Ringke Onyx case. It's pretty cheap, looks great and even makes your phone much more pleasant to hold.
I went with the TIANNIUKE Magnetic Case, more specifically the dark-gray one.