Your current and next phone. - Smartphone general

[PhoBingas]

Current: Samsung A20
Next: Whatever catches my eye at the pawn shop next.
My current phone is on it's last legs, I've been holding off for a bit becaues it still mostly works, but it's slow to even bring up my text messages.

 

[Visuile]

Hey all.

I'm having a really tough time trying to find a proper phone that meets my needs and desires, and I'd appreciate some help from anybody who may have solid advice regarding this subject.

I am upgrading from a regular iPhone 11. I've jailbroken it to gain more control over it and become more of a power-user to the best extent that it'll let me (without breaking).
I am interested in moving from iPhone to a Android phone that would let me root it / install a custom ROM on it, however I am also looking for a phone with these characteristics:

>headphone jack -- I have lots of those laying around and aren't being put to good use

>SD card & SIM slot that I can take out at will -- So I don't need to get a new phone or take it into a shop to get a simple upgrade if need be

>Either the same size as the iPhone 11, or smaller. -- These things are big enough as is, and I'd rather not have to deal with holding something even bigger than the 11.

>Decent battery life -- Wouldn't need a charge if left on standby or if I have classical music playing via YouTube for 3-6 hours

>No holes/punch-holes/notches directly in the screen. -- The camera should be separate from the screen. Notches sorta count towards this, but holes look worse. If this greatly slims down my options, please disregard this one if you find something that fits with everything else.

>Under 3 cameras -- Camera count gives me an egotistical vibe.. I can't explain it. I don't take pictures often, so this would also be appreciated. This can be disregarded if it slims down my options, and you find something that fits with everything else.

>Unlocked bootloader allowing for root/custom roms -- Self explanatory.

>No 5G connectivity -- I'm a bit paranoid regarding that subject, and my area doesn't have much coverage anyway.

> Can play Roblox smoothly with my nephew

> Optional: Removable battery.

I heard about OSes newer than Android 8.1 being pozzed and full of bloat, so having it support Android 8.1 would be a nice specification as well.

I have never used an Android in my life, so please excuse any assumptions or oversights I may be making in this post.

I've looked at phones like the LG V40 Thinq and the Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact, however I'm worried that it might feel and perform more like a downgrade than an upgrade, especially with the battery longevity differences between it and the iPhone 11.

 

[CashMoney!]

I had an s20, then the screen died, so I am now back on my Note 8. I don't know what my next phone will be. I am disillusioned with smartphones.

 

[WTBOnlineFather]

I had an LG V40 for years because I'm a music autist and it has a great DAC, but I switched to wireless headphones eventually anyway so there was no more reason for me to stick.

Recently had the chance to buy a used Z Flip 3 for $250 after I'd been interested in folding touchscreens for years, so I went for it. I'm very pleased with it, the flip screen is less of a gimmick than I feared and I genuinely enjoy using it. Only two things I'm missing are a headphone jack (FUCK you apple for removing it and FUCK you every other manufacturer for following this bullshit anti-feature bandwagon) and a quick-flip button like old flip phones used to have. I remain hopeful that in a couple generations they'll find a way to implement that. It's gonna be the perfect smartphone.

 

[There Is Light At The End]

Current one is Nokia 7.2
Next one - anything good on Android one platform. Because I don't want anything aside from basics.

 

[General Emílio Médici]

I own a LG G8S ThinQ and I am looking to upgrade it, however all the good options I have seen for upgrading are quite expensive. What are some alternative OSes I could put on it to try and squeeze a little more life out of it?

 

[Two Dollars]

I currently have an iPhone 12, but I’ll switch to Android some time this year. I’m looking for something with:

• Some sort of debloating/custom ROM support (I’m leaning toward LineageOS + MindTheGapps, but open to alternatives)
• 1080p resolution at the very least
• Camera should be at least as good as the iPhone 12’s; two cameras on the back is fine
• As close to an iPhone 12’s size as possible (~6.1” screen)
• At least 512GB of storage or a micro SD slot
• A good amount of power to play games/emulate
• Preferably a built-in stylus

I’m leaning toward either a Samsung Galaxy S, Pixel, or Xiaomi. Any recommendations?

 

[Car Won't Crank]

I currently have an iPhone 12, but I’ll switch to Android some time this year. I’m looking for something with:

• Some sort of debloating/custom ROM support (I’m leaning toward LineageOS + MindTheGapps, but open to alternatives)
• 1080p resolution at the very least
• Camera should be at least as good as the iPhone 12’s; two cameras on the back is fine
• As close to an iPhone 12’s size as possible (~6.1” screen)
• At least 512GB of storage or a micro SD slot
• A good amount of power to play games/emulate
• Preferably a built-in stylus

I’m leaning toward either a Samsung Galaxy S, Pixel, or Xiaomi. Any recommendations?

Though it doesn't support custom roms like GrapheneOS, the new OnePlus Nord CE4 looks to be half decent as it has a microsd card slot. I'm eyeing that right now to replace my motorola whose screen keeps failing to register inputs on occasions.

 

[Waifu Denier]

I own a LG G8S ThinQ and I am looking to upgrade it, however all the good options I have seen for upgrading are quite expensive. What are some alternative OSes I could put on it to try and squeeze a little more life out of it?

I am pretty sure there are LineageOS ROMs available for it (up to LOS 20/Android 13 from a cursory glance), although I wouldn't really consider the Snapdragon 855 that long in the tooth.

I currently have an iPhone 12, but I’ll switch to Android some time this year. I’m looking for something with:

• Some sort of debloating/custom ROM support (I’m leaning toward LineageOS + MindTheGapps, but open to alternatives)
• 1080p resolution at the very least
• Camera should be at least as good as the iPhone 12’s; two cameras on the back is fine
• As close to an iPhone 12’s size as possible (~6.1” screen)
• At least 512GB of storage or a micro SD slot
• A good amount of power to play games/emulate
• Preferably a built-in stylus

I’m leaning toward either a Samsung Galaxy S, Pixel, or Xiaomi. Any recommendations?

Samsung can sometimes be a pain with custom ROM support due to Knox, and Xiaomi does let you do it quite easily but you have to do it through their own method. The Pixel has the most painless process, and supports a variety of custom ROMs besides LineageOS like Graphene and Calyx. No SD slot unfortunately.

 

[General Emílio Médici]

I am pretty sure there are LineageOS ROMs available for it (up to LOS 20/Android 13 from a cursory glance), although I wouldn't really consider the Snapdragon 855 that long in the tooth.

Gonna look into it. I was checking what sort of phones I could go for that would be direct upgrades to it and found that the only decent ones are expensive as hell in the shithole of Brazil which is why I wanna stretch out the life of the thing a little bit, if only so I can try and buy one whenever I go on a trip.

From what research I have done it seems my best choice for a upgrade would be the Sony Xperia V series. I can't believe fuckers are really going ahead with the whole "kill the headphone jack" meme. It was bad enough to get rid of removable batteries but this is just too far.

 

[Two Dollars]

Samsung can sometimes be a pain with custom ROM support due to Knox, and Xiaomi does let you do it quite easily but you have to do it through their own method. The Pixel has the most painless process, and supports a variety of custom ROMs besides LineageOS like Graphene and Calyx. No SD slot unfortunately.

Is Graphene completely Google-free? Because I still want to use Google apps and the Play Store, I just want to get rid of bloat and telemetry.

 

[Dishonourable Harlot]

I have a Fairphone 4, which is the best phone in the <500 dollar market. So easy to root and unlock the bootloader for, they even provide instructions on their website. Yeah, it's not the fastest. But it can do Duckstation at 1080p, which is good enough.

 

[Waifu Denier]

Is Graphene completely Google-free? Because I still want to use Google apps and the Play Store, I just want to get rid of bloat and telemetry.

Most big privacy custom ROM projects are. Graphene can be, but one thing people like about Graphene is the ability to sandbox Google Play Services and related apps, given some applications such as banking might require it. Of course, you can also just never bother with that aspect and have a google-free phone.

 

[Pee Cola]

Current: ASUS Zenfone 3
Next: Pixel 7a

I'm about to retire my ASUS Zenfone 3, thanks to the imminent shutdown of my country's 3G network and the phone's failure to support all the 4G LTE bands used over here. It's fine as a 4G phone in the city but useless in the rural areas where I spend most of my time. I'll miss having it as my EDC, as it was the best smartphone I've owned since the HTC Desire I had in 2010-12. At least I can still use it as a portable media player at home, because headphone jack.

My new phone is a Pixel 7a. The price dropped by 200 dollarydoos a couple of weeks ago, but now it's gone back up to where it was. A little odd given that the Pixel 8a is probably only a couple months away, but I'm glad I got in when I did.

Now all I have to do is work out whether to flash a custom ROM on there, or put up with stock Android. Whilst the Pixels aren't saddled with crapware, the fact they're the official Google phone makes me a bit sus.

 

[The Cock Carousel]

Decided against the RedMagic 9 and got my Pixel 8 the other day. Saved about $400 on the choice.
Liking it so far, 1000% more responsive than my A20. I got the A20 about a year after it was released, I remember it being really slow and unresponsive and it only got worse year after year.
I have giant ape hands and I wish I got the pro for the extra size, but I really did not want to drop an extra $400 for like another 4 inches.
I could not type for shit on the A20, even after calibrating it dozens of times. Pixel 8 is a bit better but that crummy ass LG smartphone I had before the A20 is still unmatched.
The fingerprint scanner never worked properly, even registering the same finger 3 times on the A20, but so far so good on the Pixel. Couple of failed attempts but I chalk that up to my finger and thumb being dirty because of work.
Could not transfer anything over because my A20 just did not watch to connect via cable or bluetooth, thanks a lot REALLY appreciate not being able to have my old photos on my new phone.
Having 5G is awesome, redownloaded all my apps what felt like almost instantly because of it.
The Pixel has that smooth display at 120hz, got to say that shit is buttery smooth and lovely to look at.
The gesture flicks the Pixel has, I am not a fan so far. I keep wanting to use the back button, home button and all open apps button the A20 had instead of having to flick to open or use those features. I guess its something I just need to get accustomed too.
Its only been like a little over a day since I received my new phone and I am really happy about it. I said I hated and had nothing but negative to say about my A20, but I may return to Samsung again in the future. I would like to try out those large flip phones that have, but I do not want to drop cash on the level of a new iphone.

Also I want to say this. I am trying out emulation on my Pixel, just booted up SotN.
How the fuck do Zoomers stomach using touchscreen analog stick and not having physical buttons to use? I cannot work with that maybe playing turn based games but definitely not action games. May end up buying one of those plugin controller device you snap onto your phone if the Pixel 8 can emulate more games I want to revisit from the past.

 

[Kikkoman]

Recently ordered a new battery for my current phone (galaxy s10) so hopefully it will last me another 2-4 years.
Looked at what's out there that has my desired basic features (headphone jack, microsd, and any kind of wireless charging) and there is jack shit. Once this phone dies I'll either need to pay $1000 for a sony (xperia 1 series, because for some reason they don't bring over the 5 series any more) that might not work on my carrier (tracfone verizon) or somehow carry both a phone and a decent music player at the same time without scratching the hell out of both. I only have so many pockets.

 

[You're MDNWU]

Current: A Pixel
Next: Likely a Pixel

Been stuck on the Pixel since the original. Before that I loved the Nexus 5 and even loved the 6P and the speakers, but overall the 6P was trash.

I've wanted to like the Samsungs but I just don't care much for them.

 

[DenseDeerFather]

Current phone...in a few days, because I'm waiting for a SIM card: Motorola Moto G54.

Yeah, it was on super sale and I had a little more money this month so I bought it for a late birthday present to myself. So my old Huawei P30 Lite will be on backup. Think the old boy could use a rest after 5-6 years of service.

Slightly related but my Huwai got a 6'15'' screen. Moto got 6'5'' and it really startled me how bigger it was even though it's less than an inch in size difference. It also made me realize how large Huawei actually was even though I just sort of grew used to it after a while. My phone before that was a Samsung Galaxy J5 which looks extremely tiny in comparison, 5''.

All of this makes me gawk in a weird mix of subtle horror and technological fascination at phones that are 6''7 and up which seem to be more and more common with newer models.

I dread the day when we hit 7''.

 

[feral cat #6385]

Current: Pixel 3
Next: No idea.

I only use my phone for texting and occasionally an internet tether. Last week the battery bulged out of the back of the phone so I put a new battery in. That should make it go for quite a while longer. I don't like to upgrade phones because they're expensive and I don't use the phone for much.

 

[Testament]

Current: A52
Next: OnePlus 12? Maybe. (Or whichever model will be the least expensive bang-for-my-buck)

A friend of mine talked about OnePlus being good when I was lamenting some of the features of the latest Samsung OneUI update that broke a lot of features/apps on my phone and made generally useless changes compared to the previous edition.
I originally chose the A52 because it had it's headphone jack still, and for sure every phone from here on out will not have it, so maybe i'll stick with this and eventually find a way to downgrade the UI, if possible. I don't even like using my phone much, but when I do, it'd be nice to have it not be an annoying task more than it is.