Can't choose a smartphone

[Count von Schwalbe]

I'm just sticking to Google phones from now on. All phones run Android and from a hardware standpoint they're all quite similar. Why would I bother buying a different brand only to load the phone up with their software as well? I'll keep it simple.

Amen brother.

 

[P4-630]

Can't choose a smartphone

Maybe try again next year...

 

[AMF]

I cut to the chase: a friend of mine is in need of a non-Apple smartphone. And neither of us has a smartphone expert degree. He lives in the US.

Preferences:
• Display: 6.5" to 6.9"; 6.7" is ideal. Colour precision, refresh rate, resolution, and all these fancy things don't really matter. OLED is unnecessary. Shock resistance matters. This dude isn't your average careful one.
• Battery: matters but not to the extent of a billion years without recharge. Wireless charge is a must.
• Camera: should be at least comparable with iPhone 6. 60 FPS at 720p is a must. The more the merrier.
• Performance: at least on par with Huawei Nova 5T. The more the merrier.
• Storage space: mostly irrelevant, he keeps his stuff on his PC anyway.
• NFC is a must.
• Ability to use a SIM card of any existing in the US cellular provider is a must.
• eSIM is unnecessary but won't hurt.
• The heavier the phone the better.
• Colour doesn't matter.

Other features don't matter much. His earphones are wireless so 3.5 mm jack is unnecessary as well.

Phone will mostly be used for messaging and amateur photo shooting/video recording. Gaming is irrelevant.

Budget: about $300 but will be happy to spend less if possible. Only considers BNIB.

What do we choose? Thanks in advance.

Galaxy A23 5G UW​

Verizon | 64GB | Black | Learn more

 

[bug]

The a23 has a card slot which will take a 512gb card

And then you'll discover Samsung doesn't implement adoptable storage either and you can only see that card as a separate drive and, as a consequence, can only move very few apps over.

 

[FoulOnWhite]

And then you'll discover Samsung doesn't implement adoptable storage either and you can only see that card as a separate drive and, as a consequence, can only move very few apps over.

oh bad samsung. Still enjoying my s22 ultra though.

Gonna be a google pixel next though

 

[bug]

oh bad samsung. Still enjoying my s22 ultra though.

Gonna be a google pixel next though

I imagine these things don't matter much on high end models that come with craploads of storage anyway. But they do hurt on cheaper models or, in my case, tablets

 

[FoulOnWhite]

I imagine these things don't matter much on high end models that come with craploads of storage anyway. But they do hurt on cheaper models or, in my case, tablets

To be fair, i don't cram my phone with crap, so only really ever need 128gb, though my phone is a 256. I don't really understand needing 1tb on a phone

 

[bug]

To be fair, i don't cram my phone with crap, so only really ever need 128gb, though my phone is a 256. I don't really understand needing 1tb on a phone

I keep mine pretty clean, too. But I imagine filming your meals in 4k will eat up storage space in no time.

 

[FoulOnWhite]

I keep mine pretty clean, too. But I imagine filming your meals in 4k will eat up storage space in no time.

I guess so, some people seem to film their whole lives.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

I'm just sticking to Google phones from now on. All phones run Android and from a hardware standpoint they're all quite similar. Why would I bother buying a different brand only to load the phone up with their software as well? I'll keep it simple.

Well, for one thing google phones have ATTROCIOUS battery life. Android police was praising the pixel 8 pro for 5.5 hrs of screen on time.

My moto g power, when new, got double that. Pretty sure my nexus 5 got close to that in 2013. And it has a SD card slot. And a headphone jack. And it was half the price....

Moto G stylus is very similar to the G84, with the exception of the screen and more efficient CPU; It looks solid so far

I believe the numeric G series are used as the basis for US G stylus and power phones.

Or maybe the Moto G Power, if he wants a heftier phone with extra juice (which I always welcome, but this isn't about me).

The current G powers do get good battery life, but with low end mediatek chipsets, they are a step down from the 2020 snapdragon 625 model IMO.

 

[Fizban]

Pixels do not have atrocious battery life. Might not be the best battery life of any phone I've ever used, but it's more than adequate, and I do literally nothing to conserve battery. I have Now Playing on that detects music playing near it and identifies it. I have the always on display on, I have it linked to my watch that tracks heartbeat, etc.

The 8 Pro can get far more than 5.5 hours of screen on time.

shows 6.5 hours

Over 9 hours here

What you're doing on the phone is going to largely impact its screen on time, but for most users, it can exceed 5.5 hours by a huge degree.

Moto G Power's are incredibly battery efficient, but they're also horribly, horribly, slow.

motorola moto g power (2022) - Geekbench

Benchmark results for a motorola moto g power (2022) with an ARM MT6765H processor.

browser.geekbench.com

183 single-core
1011 multi-core
on the Motorola G Power 2022

Compare that to my Pixel 7 Pro:

Google Pixel 7 Pro - Geekbench

Benchmark results for a Google Pixel 7 Pro with an ARM ARMv8 processor.

browser.geekbench.com

1068 single-core
3149 multi-core

The Moto G Power is painful to use. It's literally slower than my Moto Z play from 2016 that had a Snapdragon 625.

I am not a power user, but I took my phone off the charger at 11 AM, Monday, it is now nearly 9 PM Tuesday, and my phone is at 19% battery, it is telling me it expects to die at 2 AM.

 

[R-T-B]

literally almost everyone lets you do that.

Not on ones compatible with American providers.

Well do you know all the LTE/5G bands available from all carriers everywhere in the US? What if the phone ends in a dead zone in some remote location in Hawaii/Alaska or Death Valley

I mean the carriers only use a few bands each nationwide. You can google this, guys.

 

[R0H1T]

Right except carriers can use multiple bands, or not use some bands, within specific regions of the country. I know that's how it is over here & probably some other nations as well?

 

[de.das.dude]

looks like even TPU cant decide on a smart phone haha

Honestly i'd go with what erocker said and get an older google pixel. A pixel would also be my first bet but they stopped selling here in India due to some weird 5G band issues, and their after sales support is horrible. But they do know how to make great phones that are actually priced well.

 

[r9]

I cut to the chase: a friend of mine is in need of a non-Apple smartphone. And neither of us has a smartphone expert degree. He lives in the US.

Preferences:
• Display: 6.5" to 6.9"; 6.7" is ideal. Colour precision, refresh rate, resolution, and all these fancy things don't really matter. OLED is unnecessary. Shock resistance matters. This dude isn't your average careful one.
• Battery: matters but not to the extent of a billion years without recharge. Wireless charge is a must.
• Camera: should be at least comparable with iPhone 6. 60 FPS at 720p is a must. The more the merrier.
• Performance: at least on par with Huawei Nova 5T. The more the merrier.
• Storage space: mostly irrelevant, he keeps his stuff on his PC anyway.
• NFC is a must.
• Ability to use a SIM card of any existing in the US cellular provider is a must.
• eSIM is unnecessary but won't hurt.
• The heavier the phone the better.
• Colour doesn't matter.

Other features don't matter much. His earphones are wireless so 3.5 mm jack is unnecessary as well.

Phone will mostly be used for messaging and amateur photo shooting/video recording. Gaming is irrelevant.

Budget: about $300 but will be happy to spend less if possible. Only considers BNIB.

What do we choose? Thanks in advance.

I have redmi note 12 pro 5g and like it.

 

[Macro Device]

I have redmi note 12 pro 5g and like it.

Are you from the States? If yes how does it fare with local connectivity?

 

[P4-630]

I'm pretty satisfied with my S23, able to upgrade to android 14 now but I'll wait a bit...

 

[bug]

looks like even TPU cant decide on a smart phone haha

Honestly i'd go with what erocker said and get an older google pixel. A pixel would also be my first bet but they stopped selling here in India due to some weird 5G band issues, and their after sales support is horrible. But they do know how to make great phones that are actually priced well.

I have my beef with Pixels, in OP's friend's shoes, I'd look into stretching for a new Pixel 8a. It seems Google came to their senses and started offering 7 years software support starting this generation. Plus, I don't think 8a was announced yet. And plain 8 is too expensive

 

[r9]

Are you from the States? If yes how does it fare with local connectivity?

In US yes.
I have Mint and no issues.
Only thing I had to fiddle with was to enable wifi calling.
The option wasn't in the settings had to type in a code in the dialer to enable that option.
But no issues with calls, 5g, LTE or wifi.

 

[Fizban]

I have my beef with Pixels, in OP's friend's shoes, I'd look into stretching for a new Pixel 8a. It seems Google came to their senses and started offering 7 years software support starting this generation. Plus, I don't think 8a was announced yet. And plain 8 is too expensive

8a won't release for 6-7 months. The a series launches just before the next numbered version. ie. 8 launched this October, the 7a in May.

 

[unwind-protect]

I just researched how much I would get for my Pixel 6 (got a P8Pro now).

It is $180. Bad for me, but I'm sorry that is just an awesome phone for that price. If I needed a cheap phone I would instantly get one.

 

[bug]

I just researched how much I would get for my Pixel 6 (got a P8Pro now).

It is $180. Bad for me, but I'm sorry that is just an awesome phone for that price. If I needed a cheap phone I would instantly get one.

It depends. How much longer will it get software updates?

 

[de.das.dude]

It depends. How much longer will it get software updates?

based on a quick search, 3 more years of updates. but not sure if its security patches or full updates.

 

[bug]

based on a quick search, 3 more years of updates. but not sure if its security patches or full updates.

For under $200, that's not bad (either way).

 

[de.das.dude]

For under $200, that's not bad (either way).

usually that is standard across their devices. Although, sometimes it can be bad if hardware is low. My old A51 from samsung just got an update, and frankly the exynos chip in it isnt upto scratch.