Which new android phone?

Frack N Cylons

Frack N Cylons

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My Moto Z3 has been a fantastic phone over the past 5 or 6 years but is showing it's age. I gave $250 new for this phone so the satisfaction per dollar has been high.

What is the new hotness in the budget category?

I'm on Verizon and want to buy outright. I don't know if it matters, but the ability to work well with Android Auto is important to me.
 
If you want something else in the $200-$300 range, I would opt for a oneplus 9 or 10 pro from ebay. The older flagship phones are just better.
You can get a new Moto Gplay for like $100 which is excellent for the money, but a barebones smartphone, it should be android auto compatible but I have heard of some issues people have pop up.
Spending a little more - the new Google Pixels are excellent phones for the money and rival many of the new flagship models, but costs double what the oneplus does. I have had a lot of luck with them in the past.
 
If you want to use a cellphone for text , phone calls and Waze they can be very inexpensive

If you want to use a cellphone as a PC with a lousy screen and keyboard, they can be very expensive.

I'm cheap.
 
@Desron23 Ive looked into the pixels a little bit and I'm pretty heavily intertwined with the google suite so that might be a good option.

Sometimes I feel a little lost looking at all of the different models, almost like a Sig Sauer catalog. Which models do you recommend?
 
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I have been invested in the Pixel line since the Pixel 2 or 3... I just upgraded to the Pixel 8 Pro simply because they made it so cheap to do so. Compared to the Samsung Android I use for work, the experience on the pixels is just better, less bloatware and just make sense. You can probably find a Pixel 6A or 7A a couple of hundred dollars
 
Frack N Cylons said:
@Desron23 Ive looked into the pixels a little bit and I'm pretty heavily intertwined with the google suite so that might be a good option.

Sometimes I feel a little lost looking at all of the different models, almost like a Sig Sauer catalog. Which models do you recommend?
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Yeah I definitely understand. I personally would stick with the plain Pixel 8, unless you prefer the larger phone (I do not) or extreme cell phone camera that the 8 Pro has.
The reason I say 8 rather than 7 (the actual hardware is not that different) is that you'll get 7 years of software updates promised from google, and as good as the hardware is on the 8/8 pro it will still be a useful phone then. Battery life is less than the other two options listed but you get 27W charging with the 8 and 30W with 8 Pro, so you can charge very quick. I think even though you're a few hundred less mAh with the 8 battery capacity compared to the 8 pro it should last about as long.

However if you're of the type that getting a new phone in 2-3 years isn't a bad idea and/or you tend to break them, save money and get the 6 or 7A like @NCMedic mentioned.
 
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Desron23 said:
Yeah I definitely understand. I personally would stick with the plain Pixel 8, unless you prefer the larger phone (I do not) or extreme cell phone camera that the 8 Pro has.
The reason I say 8 rather than 7 (the actual hardware is not that different) is that you'll get 7 years of software updates promised from google, and as good as the hardware is on the 8/8 pro it will still be a useful phone then. Battery life is less than the other two options listed but you get 27W charging with the 8 and 30W with 8 Pro, so you can charge very quick. I think even though you're a few hundred less mAh with the 8 battery capacity compared to the 8 pro it should last about as long.

However if you're of the type that getting a new phone in 2-3 years isn't a bad idea and/or you tend to break them, save money and get the 6 or 7A like @NCMedic mentioned.
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I've been getting a day to day and a half from my P8 Pro, based on usage obviously.
 
Wife and I run Pixel 5a, if it died I'd go with plain P8.
Edit: we had Nexus 6's but they were not 4G on AT&T, so I had to change to the Pixel.
 
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I've been buying the second to most recent Moto series phone for a while now, I'm on my third one and I've been happy every time. Most I've paid for an unlocked ebay one was $200.

Currently on a moto g power and it's great, except I don't like where the fingerprint dingus is, I like it when it was below the screen in the bezel.
 
I’m using a Galaxy S9 on Verizon without any issues but have an iPhone 11 that I’m thinking about moving to so I can have better access to things on my iPad.
The only things that makes me hesitate is the stuff I will lose during the transfer and what happens with the Google and iCloud accounts that get messages from about their being “almost full” and I need to spend money to upgrade.

The Verizon guys say that I will lose nothing but I know it is a lie… I lost some things just transferring between Samsung phones.
 
Count me in the pixel camp. Pixel 6 is pretty cheap these days. I'm still using one from 2 years ago as a work phone (I pay for a separate line and my company gives me a stipend). The 6 was my personal phone that stepped down to work duty a few months ago when I upgraded my personal to a 7. Traded in a Pixel 3 that was still working OK as a work phone but was starting to show it's age with battery life. With the trade in and the sale Google store was running at the time I ended up about 350 out of pocket for my Pixel 7. That's all in, pay for phone up front, no contract BS. And I'm also on Verizon.
 
S20 ultra or Note 20. They still have the memory card slot and will be good to go for many years to come. I picked up my s20 ultra 512gb for $250....
 
NCLivingBrit said:
I've been buying the second to most recent Moto series phone for a while now, I'm on my third one and I've been happy every time. Most I've paid for an unlocked ebay one was $200.

Currently on a moto g power and it's great, except I don't like where the fingerprint dingus is, I like it when it was below the screen in the bezel.
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When I need a new phone I buy a Moto G power from Sam's Club. I've had 3 and they were all good. At less than $200, I can lose one, buy two more and still be way ahead of the latest iPhone buyer.
 
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I was in this situation 2 months ago and bought a Pixel 7 based on advice from a couple guys in the I.T. field. I was an Apple user and thought I should broaden my horizons and learn / try the Android stuff.

Full disclosure - I'm a very basic user and don't push the envelope but my I.T. buddy does and has been a huge help as I learn the features. To that point it's not uncommon for me to go 2 or 3 days without charging.

Check out Visible, they're an on-line only division of Verizon and I am on their $25 per month unlimited plan.
 
Been using a Galaxy A54 for about 6 months now and it has been an excellent phone on T-Mobile. Not a heavyweight user and I get about two days between charges. Phone has been very stable and the camera is actually pretty good.
 
So..... notifications on this phone are delayed by 10s of minutes or even hours in some cases.

It seems this has to do with a background process called Android Doze. Turning off adaptive battery use is SUPPOSED to disable this, but that is not the case. Notifications are still delayed.

There appears to be some developer tools to disable this that would have to be done everytime a reboot happens. That sucks.

This is ruining my experience.

Any ideas?
 
Just curious here...what's the average cell phone lifespan experience by people here?

Ever since my first pocket cell phone (Motorola StarTAC), I'd say I get an average of 5 years or more. And that's including my first smartphone which I have now, the Galaxy S9, which is still going strong and will hit 5 years next November.
 
I'm STILL using a Pixel 3a, and have no issues other than slightly degraded battery life. It also only cost me about $100 to fix at the time when I dropped 230 lbs on it and taco'd the thing.
 
I don't tend to keep a phone more than 2-3 years. Currently using a Samsung S23+. I can't say I've found any issues with it. Battery lasts 2 days.
 
Frack N Cylons said:
I've tried just about everything. This is bull crap.

Tech support is no help, and of course I'm past the return window. I assumed I'd have it figured out by now.
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Try asking on XDA forums. All the Android geeks are there.
 
Thanks for the info @Timfoilhat . I poked around there and it looks like there is no easy fix without jumping through a bunch of hoops. I just finished a factory reset then set the phone back up and it’s still doing this. Texts come in immediately but other notifications either take forever or don’t come in until you unlock the phone. Dumb. It basically makes all of my alarm system and camera system equipment worthless if the notifications don’t come in immediately.

After going through the tech support hoops, it looks like they are willing to do a replacement or a refund and I’m leaning towards refund. I’ll give them credit for working with me there.

I’ve been on Android for my personal phone for maybe a decade and honestly this is leaving a bad taste in my mouth. I’ve had 3 different iPhones for work (they keep making me upgrade for some reason) and they have all been flawless. Yea you can’t do certain things but you don’t have to fight with them to get things to work.

Or maybe I try a Samsung.

Thoughts?
 
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Frack N Cylons said:
Or maybe I try a Samsung.

Thoughts?
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Multiple Samsung phones here, at least 3 different generations of Galaxy.
Two have been refurbished, by me, and one of those is my daily personal phone.
None made in Red China, which is a bonus to me. The parts come from South Korea.
There is zero chance I'd ever use an iPhone.
 
Frack N Cylons said:
Thanks for the info @Timfoilhat . I poked around there and it looks like there is no easy fix without jumping through a bunch of hoops. I just finished a factory reset then set the phone back up and it’s still doing this. Texts come in immediately but other notifications either take forever or don’t come in until you unlock the phone. Dumb. It basically makes all of my alarm system and camera system equipment worthless if the notifications don’t come in immediately.

After going through the tech support hoops, it looks like they are willing to do a replacement or a refund and I’m leaning towards refund. I’ll give them credit for working with me there.

I’ve been on Android for my personal phone for maybe a decade and honestly this is leaving a bad taste in my mouth. I’ve had 3 different iPhones for work (they keep making me upgrade for some reason) and they have all been flawless. Yea you can’t do certain things but you don’t have to fight with them to get things to work.

Or maybe I try a Samsung.

Thoughts?
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I like freedom and choice. Put what I want on it, when I want, and sideload what I want.
I want to be able to have my phone break, and get a dirt cheap used phone shipped to my house in two days, work perfectly, and activate it myself.

That's why I like android. It depends on what you value, walled experience that is always the same, or freedom with headaches.
 
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I agree with the sentiment, but I also want a device that cost $600 to perform one of its core functions correctly and that isn’t the case.
 
Frack N Cylons said:
I agree with the sentiment, but I also want a device that cost $600 to perform one of its core functions correctly and that isn’t the case.
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True, like I said, depends on what you value. Here, for example, is a good condition Pixel 6 Pro for $227. I always try to buy last year's flagship for a steal.

But different strokes. Some people might not want the risk of getting a lemon used phone, all depends.
 
nhusa said:
I’m using a Galaxy S9 on Verizon without any issues but have an iPhone 11 that I’m thinking about moving to so I can have better access to things on my iPad.
The only things that makes me hesitate is the stuff I will lose during the transfer and what happens with the Google and iCloud accounts that get messages from about their being “almost full” and I need to spend money to upgrade.

The Verizon guys say that I will lose nothing but I know it is a lie… I lost some things just transferring between Samsung phones.
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Screw cloud storage for several reasons.

First, storage costs you more money on a monthly basis...and the more you use, the more it costs.

Second, cloud storage is ONLY good for a long as they continue to host and serve it. If they decide to do away with it...poof goes all your cr*p you had on it without any recourse guaranteed.

Third, anything you store on someone else's servers is subject to snooping...by themselves and by whatever other agencies they decide to give access to. So at least encrypt your stuff. And honestly, I wouldn't bet there aren't government computers which are capable of cracking encrypted files of they're really interested.


SO...get a phone with a decent amount of storage on it to suit your needs. And then buy yourself a thumb drive you can plug into the charging port and transfer all your files to it at need.

Storage problem solved.
 
I tried a few of these apps on my work iPhone and all of the notifications came in immediately.

I was also able to unlock an older work iPhone and I think I'll use that as my personal phone for now until I can sort things out. The price was pretty good if nothing else.

The Pixel will be going back, but I haven't given up in Android yet.
 
For anyone interested, Google has completely dropped the ball on the refund. They have told me 3 or 4 times it has been refunded but it clearly shows in the google store that it has not. They don’t seem to understand the difference in a debit and credit.

I fear a chargeback would result in them banning my account, and that would really blow.
 
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