Your current and next phone. - Smartphone general

[Frail Snail]

I don't know if this is region specific or just a retarded decision by me, but I only buy used phones. A lot of people tend to get rid of theirs as soon as the warranty is officially up and buy a new device. Here's my reasoning:

• A year or two of usage is not enough to wear out the components that matter (battery, soldered-on storage, RAM)
• Smartphones are incredibly fickle and essentially unreliable pieces of technology. Buying one at 1/3 of the price to last another 2-3 is smart. This also gives me a good base of reviews to identify the most common issues in models I'm interested in.
• You can perform a lot of checks in-person to verify the quality of the device through hidden menus, specialized videos testing RGB, etc.

Through a combination of living in bugman country and sniffing out resellers from genuine people, I've managed to avoid having to drop unreasonable amounts on a device that loses 85% of its value if I accidentally damage its screen. Current one is a cheap shitter I bought 3 years ago, next one will again be something I can install LineageOS on - chinkshit like Xiaomi, Samsungs, Motorolas, Nokias. In that order.

None of the apps I installed through FDroid made the trip, wish I could remember the name of the YouTube alternate I installed; it was better than NewPipe by a mile. Neither did my contacts, though that is probaby due to Metro PCS.

Was it SkyTube?

 

[grasshoppermustard]

I'm using an s10e, and recently installed LineageOS 18.1 on it. I'm tempted to get an S22, but it would just be a consoomer purchase, I don't need it so I'm not going to buy it, but the battery on this s10e is getting shit after almost 3 years. I love Samsung hardware but FMD, even without installing something like LineageOS, you need to use adb to uninstall all the fucking bloatware that come with their phones, I don't know how people can just use this shit out of the box.

I'm another who doesn't want to give up headphone jack, micro sd card, and even the bixby button which on the s10e I have configured to take screenshots instead of that retarded bixby shit.

 

[IamnottheNSA]

Previous: Sony Xperia Z1. Bought it back in 2014 and used it until I bought my new phone 2 months ago.
Current: Unihertz Jelly 2. I'm liking it so far, it really reminds me of my old Nokia 5800XM. A breath of fresh air in the world of razor-thin smartphones you can't get a good grip on. Also headphone jack and a sharp-angled screen with no notch, which is nice. Kinda wish it had a replaceable battery though.
Next: I don't even know.

 

[Elwood P. Dowd]

Was it SkyTube?

YouTube Vanced, and I didn't remember what it was until I read about it here again.

Also, this new phone of mine is so locked down I had problems installing it. Something like three sets of messages about "are you sure you want to install this?" Then some weird thing about not being allowed to install apps from this source, then it took me like 10 minutes to figure out how to approve the YouTube Vanced site. Possibly because I am a tech idiot, possibly due to the phone, or probably some combination of the above. I did ultimately install it, but my old phone had none of these issues.


For what it's worth, the biggest fail of this new phone of mine so far is the fact that I cannot link this s***** mobile game I've played for years to myFacebook burner account. Meaning I cannot get into the account I had before. Very sad. I guess my days playing Battle Islands are done.

 

[Never Scored]

Currently using an iPhone SE 2016. I only bought it last fall after the flip phone I had been using since 2020 stopped getting software updates and everything broke except basic phone calls and texts. It seemed almost like the software developer shut down the DNS server and there was no way to change it in software. I'm fine without apps and shit, and I don't really do social media, but I really do need to be able to access my emails and look up phone numbers/street addresses on the go, and it's nice to be able to download podcasts directly onto the phone. All the flip phones at the store now are just have smartphones that have stripped down versions of Android with no way to access the bootloader.

I would have gotten a second hand Google Pixel device to install Lineage OS, but I have to see how the 3G shutdown goes. I'm not interested in using stock Android at all. I'd sooner use iOS if I can't install a custom rom. The stock versions of Android generally spy on you like a motherfucker.

 

[grasshoppermustard]

I would have gotten a second hand Google Pixel device to install Lineage OS, but I have to see how the 3G shutdown goes.

4G LTE works on my s10e, but there is still zero support for VoLTE, and might never be. Not sure about 5G, but I don't really need VoLTE, but eventually they'll switch 3G/4G off and you'll need something that supports VoLTE, so I'm not sure how useful LineageOS will be then. This is Samsung phones, not sure if VoLTE is supported by LineageOS on other manufacturers.

 

[Fentanyl Floyd]

I have an s7, it works pretty well. The only real problem is that it gets too hot for no real reason sometimes. One of these days I need to install a custom rom on it.

 

[Never Scored]

4G LTE works on my s10e, but there is still zero support for VoLTE, and might never be. Not sure about 5G, but I don't really need VoLTE, but eventually they'll switch 3G/4G off and you'll need something that supports VoLTE, so I'm not sure how useful LineageOS will be then. This is Samsung phones, not sure if VoLTE is supported by LineageOS on other manufacturers.

VoLTE is essentially voice calls over 4G. My understanding is most carriers in North America are switching to VoLTE exclusively for voice calls very soon. They haven't cracked it yet in Lineage OS, and thus your voice calls in Lineage are actually done over 3G. It is hard to find detailed info which is why I'm taking a wait and see approach, and sticking to an old beater iPhone for now. You should look into it though, because there's a good chance your voice calls will stop working soon if what I have read is correct. Your data and text messages will still work as 4G voice calls are the issue, not 4G data.

It's a real kick in the dick, because I like Lineage OS a lot.

 

[grasshoppermustard]

I read about it prior to installing 18.1, but I so rarely make an actual voice call that I thought fuck it and went ahead. Most of my voice calls are done over signal anyway, so it's just using data and the few voice calls I've made have worked fine so far. In Australia, the biggest/best network is Telstra, and they plan to switch 3G off in 2024, but by that time I'll have left Australia and likely replaced the s10e with an S23/24 or whatever comes next over the next 24months.

I think it's a bigger issue for Americans as it seems they are going to switch those networks off much sooner than Australia will, they should probably let people know on the LineageOS site as I only found out about it by searching more about it prior to installing.

 

[Feline Companion]

Galaxy s10e - it's small, modern enough to run everything perfectly and in my opinion samsung's oneui has the best implementation of floating apps you can get on an android phone which allow for very nice multitasking.

Don't even know what my next phone might be as the small size and the samsung feature set is rather important to me, yet they don't even to be making small phones anymore.

 

[Kosher Dill]

They haven't cracked it yet in Lineage OS

And they never will, because VoLTE support seems to depend on binary blobs that they either can't or won't support. For people who use phones as phones, LineageOS has no future outside of a few Pale Moon-style hobbyists who try to kitbash those blobs into the system and make unofficial forks in obscure XDA-Developers threads.

 

[DeadwastePrime]

well i finally got my motorola one 5g ace. granted, its the gimped version that only has 64gb of storage and 4gb of ram, but its still better than the phone i had before

and its already cracked on the very border edge of it so at least it isnt affecting the screen

this is why i hate parades

 

[Phalanges Mycologist]

I'm using a iphone 11 pro at the moment, and I'm likely going to get a 14 or 15 when it's released, and by then I will be due a upgrade.

I've tried Android quite a few times and I just can't seem to get on with them, I also like how the iPhone works with my mac out the box when it comes to contact sync, images, and other media like books, music video etc. I don't tend to think of my phone as a phone I mostly use it for email, text and audiobooks and occasionally ebooks when I'm out and about, I do use the camera but mostly when I don't want to or can't pull out my DSLR that lives in my bag.

 

[Pee Cola]

I don't know if this is region specific or just a retarded decision by me, but I only buy used phones. A lot of people tend to get rid of theirs as soon as the warranty is officially up and buy a new device.

I'd sooner buy a brand new 2-3 year old mid-tier or flagship phone. You'd be surprised at how many superseded models are still available brand new from places such as AliExpress. The ASUS Zenfone 3 (released 2016) I bought brand new from AliExpress in 2019 is still running like a champ, and it cost me around the same as a current year Moto G Play would've set me back.

That, and God knows how much human slime could've oozed into a smartphone after a year or so of daily use.

 

[Frail Snail]

I'd sooner buy a brand new 2-3 year old mid-tier or flagship phone. You'd be surprised at how many superseded models are still available brand new from places such as AliExpress. The ASUS Zenfone 3 (released 2016) I bought brand new from AliExpress in 2019 is still running like a champ, and it cost me around the same as a current year Moto G Play would've set me back.

That, and God knows how much human slime could've oozed into a smartphone after a year or so of daily use.

You have to be careful around AliExpress stores selling older phones. A lot of them have begun selling refurbished models and they use very nebulous language to signal this.

 

[No Batty Boys in Jamaica]

My next phone is going to be a flip phone. Smartphones and their consequences have been a disaster for the human race.

 

[Stormy Daniel's Lawyer]

I had a iphone 6 or 8, can't remember which model I owned, had it for what seems like eternity. The phone did its job, and I was happy with it. Then, the wife forced me into getting a 10 back a few months ago. She loves getting new ones, I'm a stickler for if it ain't broke, don't replace it. She waited until I was in the hospital to pull the trigger. Hopefully, she will leave me be and let me keep this one for a long minute. I will never understand the geeks that wait in line for the newest model, seems gay to me..

 

[Uber driver reviewer]

iPhone 12 Pro

Will upgrade to iPhone 14 Pro Max when it comes out.

I don’t give a shit about how much more I can do with a cracked android. I like Apple’s walled garden. I’ve never felt that my phone can’t do what I want it to do. I also have a household apple ecosystem and only have a PC issued from work.

Apple can be a little behind the times in terms of technology. But generally speaking they work great once Apple implements a new technology.

iPhones also last a long time. My two prior phones lasted 4 and 5 years. I’m now replacing much sooner as my income now is at a point that it’s becoming trivial, and the new camera features pay off daily with taking pics of my family.

 

[Eto]

My previous phone was an iPhone 6s and my current is a Samsung Galaxy A51 that I got last year. The difference is night and day for me. It is, however, a bit sluggish and my A key keeps wanting to input Q, but otherwise it's fine for my general usage. The battery on my 6s turned to shit, as a full charge will instantly go to 10%. I don't know what phone I'll be getting down the line, but it's definitely going to be an Android.

 

[Muu]

I got another Motorola, their naming is retarded as you have no idea what's new and what's not but the battery level was kaput and the screen was coming out the phone so now I have the g60s which has good specs and 12 hour battery life, I'm gonna wait untill thier new releases get cheaper or if this one breaks just get the same one.

I have a Motorola G series I for poor budget I'm planning on getting another Motorola G series but an upgraded version.