What phone you use as your daily driver? And, a discussion of them.

[trparky]

If you, like me, can get even $300 out of your old busted 80% battery health iPhone it's absolutely worth the upgrade for at least 2 generation gaps (13 to 15).

That's how I do things as well, I upgrade every two years with a trade-in at the Apple Store.

 

[dirtyferret]

I just got the Pixel 8a

 

[Kodehawa]

I just got the Pixel 8a

How is it?

 

[dirtyferret]

How is it?

runs just like my pixel 7a which I gave to my wife since she cracked her screen. Only difference to the eye is the screen is rounded at the corners as opposed to more square

 

[forman313]

Samsung S24 256GB. Wanted something compact with good cameras and reverse wireless charging for my Buds and Watch.
So far I´m very happy with it. Its more than fast enough, and I cant even tell the difference when it set to Power Saving mode with performance set to light. It stops charging at 80% and that lasts me 2 days.

Cant say anything about the out of the box experience though. First order of business is always to install and configure Niagra launcher. Swiping back and forth or having to use search is out of the question. Its not 2008 anymore and the iphone 3 was a long time ago.
With Niagra all you have to do is put your finger on the edge, and the alphabet shows up. After a few days, you just know where all the letters are and wont even have to slide your thumb up or down to hit the right letter.

 

[Apocalypsee]

My daily is Oppo Reno7 5G, it's been with me for a year and a half. Bought it because I snap my old phone in half due to rage, I hate mobile game now infested with p2w schemes unlike early days of Androids. Phone being OK, got upgraded to Android 13 and periodic monthly security updates.

I usually put heavy emphasis on camera, it has 64MP main, 8MP ultrawide and 2MP macro. It didn't have OIS and taking video is unbelievably shaky because of it, but it has EIS mode called 'Ultra steady' that sort of work. Camera2 API is exposed so any 3rd party camera app can use some feature like taking RAW. Main have a good lossless 2x photos and quite decent in good light. Overall, for the price, it's decent enough. Still, I would like my next phone to have telephoto lens, easier to take far away pictures and videos. Also need OIS.

I quite worried of using non-Snapdragon SOC on phones but in this modern times performance is alright, Android is now mature and safe to say it's fine for almost all situation. Another perk of using midrange SOC is phone still pleasantly cool during gaming and taking videos/photos and battery last longer too. Phone got decently sized 4500mAH battery which can last whole day of heavy use

 

[Fizban]

I daily a 256 GB Pixel 8 Pro. Been incredibly happy with it. Performance is lower than other flagships in benchmarks, but in daily usage I have never had it "feel" slow.

 

[Ruru]

I just love my current iPhone SE '20

weak battery but nothing else to complain

 

[sam_86314]

Still rocking the $70 Pixel 3 as my main phone. It recently got a new battery and back panel (totally not because I destroyed the original back panel while removing it).

Lately, I've been in an Android-hacking mood and have been installing custom ROMs on a bunch of my devices.

I've got LineageOS 21 installed on my LG V40 and Pixel 3, LineageOS 20 on my Galaxy Tab S2, and DivestOS 18.1 on my Galaxy S4.

That picture was taken with my Pixel 5a, which is next in line to receive the treatment.

 

[esserpain]

Been using a green iPhone 15 as my daily driver phone. Wish I had an Android phone to supplement it since I'd love to tweak around with one of those, but new phones cost money and IDK if I want to get into even more debt than I'm already in, lmao. But the iPhone's definitely been working out for me.

The build quality in particular is a massive step up from the baseline 13 and 14 (I had a 13 previously), which is important to me 'cause I use my phone caseless. I especially love the frosted glass back since I'm a sensory-oriented person (I'm autistic) and the satin texture makes the phone much more pleasing to use for me.

I'll admit that iPhones seem to have consistent issues with overheating, since my previous 13 overheated in regular use just like my current 15 does. But setting it to low power mode alleviates that problem and tremendously boosts the battery life, so I recommend keeping low power mode on in regular use for anyone considering an iPhone. It doesn't affect performance unless you're gaming, anyways.

My only real regrets with getting this phone are A. Only getting 128GB of storage, and B. Not getting a Pro model. For the former, I play a lot of mobile games and having more storage would've made it so that I don't have to rely on my iPad as much for game storage, and for the latter, I mainly care about the better cameras on the Pros. Though I have a Canon, so there's only so much complaining I can do, lel.

I've very rarely dropped my 15 and have kept a screen protector on it at all times since after the first week, so it's in great shape despite me going caseless. Can take some pics of it if people ask for it.

Definitely surprised me positively. I think many people overstate its shortcomings.

They exist! I find it stupid that they put a 60Hz display on a 2024 flagship, but it... doesn't feel slow. At all, even on the lowest refresh rate.
Apps run a lot better than on my S22+, too.

Of course, people overstate iPhones' shortcomings. IMO, most of the negative sentiment towards them has to do with people hating Apple for one reason or another. And since iPhones are Apple's flagship product, that's what the public tends to focus on when criticizing them.

Likely, one of the main reasons for iPhones' 60Hz display feeling faster than those on the average Android has to do with the lack of bloatware on iPhones and Apple devices in general. That's one thing that Apple inarguably does better than its competitors. Manufacturers like Samsung get kickbacks from bloatware providers and they're very happy to take them, while Apple knows they're on thin ice 24/7 and that they have a reputation as a premium brand to protect.

Those cheap Motorola phone now are like the Nokia of the 90s. Won't stop can't stop

Motorolas are the netbooks of the smartphone world.

 

[yfn_ratchet]

Mainly because I've lived off of hand-me-downs from older and wealthier people in my family for a while tech-wise, I've been jumping iPhone generations my whole life just about. Went from 5 to 6 to an 8 plus to now a 15 Pro, each sticking with me until they were nigh unusuable due to a degraded battery. My most current phone obviously signaled a change in the pattern but that was because I managed to accrue a whopping $1000 credit on my phone line to be used on an upgrade. I expect to wring a healthy 5 years out of this phone if not more.

I don't like Apple as a brand and I would prefer the wiggle room an Android device gives me in terms of how I use my own damn device, but for what I primarily use my phone for an iPhone has never (and I expect will never) let me down.

 

[eidairaman1]

Mainly because I've lived off of hand-me-downs from older and wealthier people in my family for a while tech-wise, I've been jumping iPhone generations my whole life just about. Went from 5 to 6 to an 8 plus to now a 15 Pro, each sticking with me until they were nigh unusuable due to a degraded battery. My most current phone obviously signaled a change in the pattern but that was because I managed to accrue a whopping $1000 credit on my phone line to be used on an upgrade. I expect to wring a healthy 5 years out of this phone if not more.

I don't like Apple as a brand and I would prefer the wiggle room an Android device gives me in terms of how I use my own damn device, but for what I primarily use my phone for an iPhone has never (and I expect will never) let me down.

What we need are phones with enduser changeable batteries that aren't google or CRAPple based, and user preference for software updates (NO FORCED UPDATES, LOOKING AT YOU MS AND CLOUDSTRIKE)