cross-posted from: https://lemy.lol/post/1519899
EDITED: As I am not in a rush, I’ve decided that my budget is now $500.
I am picky about the features I look for in a smartphone. Hopefully this post can be a good resource for myself and others who have similar preferences. For reference, I am using a Oneplus 7 Pro with a non-functional camera and flashlight.
Very important features
Battery life
It should handle a day’s worth of general usage before charging. Heat kills batteries, so decent heat dissipation is important too.
Durability or repairability
I recently bought a Google Pixel 5a, a phone I greatly enjoyed before I dropped it 5 feet and the display decided its work was done. My top priority is to have a useable device for ~5 years before needing an upgrade.
Storage
I like storing my music collection (30 GB and growing) and expandable storage would save me from having to carry a DAP (mp3 player). Without expandable storage it should have 256 GB storage.
Price
Electronics aren’t meant to last a long time; I’d prefer devices costing ~300 USD, but I would gladly pay a little more for reliability.
Microphone
Please let me be intelligible on phone calls. Please? Pretty please?
Software updates or custom ROM support
OS updates for 3+ years or resources on XDA for flashing a custom ROM. Ideally LineageOS.
Would be nice
Root capability
It’s a bit dated nowadays, but I really do appreciate having that extra bit of control. This also ties into custom ROM support.
Fingerprint Sensor
I loved the dedicated fingerprint sensor on my Pixel 5a. Power button fingerprints are worse, but better than nothing. Typing in my passcode every time is a bit of a pain.
Speakers
Preferably dual front facing stereo speakers. Having some decent output for videos when I don’t have anything else with me would be nice.
OLED/AMOLED display
Makes stuff WAY easier to see when the sun’s all sunny.
Processing power
I don’t play phone games. I watch a lot of media and I message people. Must be capable of simultaneously running muliple apps and background services.
IPA ratings
It’d be pretty sick if I could bring it with me in the shower without worrying about water damage.
Fast charging
Won’t always use it, but it’d be great to have.
Cutting corners
Screen resolution
I don’t need a 4K display. Hell, I don’t need a 1080p display. If it cuts costs, 720p is just fine so long as it looks okay.
Size
It can be big or small, thick or thin. Not picky.
Other features I don’t need
Headphone jack, NFC, 5G, wireless charging
The phones I am looking at right now are as follows
- Sony Xperia 10 V - No custom ROM support, long term durability is unclear.
- Fairphone 4 - Slightly out of price range.
- Samsung Galaxy XCover6 Pro - Way out of price range. I would appreciate any input or questions.
Very hard on that price range. Above your price range sits the Asus Zenfone 10 (the 9 is really good as well), which covers a lot of your points. The 10 allows you to disable everything and have stock Android experience. Not bad ! Not sure the 9 had that.
I am sorry for being unclear. I would be willing to pay up to $500 if a phone suited my needs very well, but I am aiming for a lower price. I do not need every feature, just the important ones. Thank you for your input, I will check out the Zenfone!
I like the Zenfone specifications, but when I watched a teardown of it it appears to be a pain to repair. It will still be on my list, but I do not think that is what I will go for. Thank you!!
I like the pixel series and recently went with the 7 pro. Wanted to wait until the 8, but my 5 had other ideas.
Same, but def not in the price range for this dude.
How long did you have your 5 before it became unusable?
Three years. I dropped it a whole lot of times in those years and eventually the battery swelled and pushed the screen off.
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Your suggestion is a good one. I am concerned about purchasing it second hand because there would be no safety net if it breaks, which is what happened to my secondhand Pixel 5a soon after purchase. I am taking your suggestion into consideration. Thank you!
I think your best bet might still be a pixel (probably a-line), since that would be the path of least resistance for software support and custom rom development/rootability. Another fun option is ASUS with great price/performance and a huge battery (I think it’s fairly repairable too?), but it doesn’t seem there’s a community for custom roms. Here’s the main possibilities and downsides as I see them:
Pixel: a little pricey, not great price/performance, not sure on repairability, weird issues with extra sw features apparently getting worse over time
Samsung: forget about custom roms, again not great price/performance at your price range, repairability okay but not good
Fairphone: bad performance, I don’t believe there’s any water resistance and build quality would be a concern for me, unsure about software support but I’d expect good custom rom community
Sony: not a large user base, so I’d assume there won’t be custom roms. I think Sony hasn’t committed to the same software support as other big names. I’d be worried about availability of replacement parts for repairs
ASUS zenfone: out of your price range. Bad track record for sw support
You grasped what I was trying to convey well and I appreciate that. I will definitely look into the Zenfone as far as repairability goes, since I think that a repairable phone with a few years of android updates might be what I need. Thank you for your input.
I wish there was a better recommendation I could have given! Good luck finding something that works well for you though :)
FP4 is IP54.
Thinking about buying a Zenphone. What is “sw support”?
Software support, basically ASUS doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to updating phones to the newest versions of Android (although they might be getting better at this). I would only expect 1 or 2 Android version updates if I were buying a zenfone (and probably to get those significantly later than Google and Samsung phones), and it would be a good idea to double check on how long they’re committing to security updates for the phone you’re eying
Whoops, I think they meant software support, like how long the phone is updated for. Hopefully this still helps.
Xperia 10 V doesn’t have 256 GB. If you’re ok with 128 GB you can have a look at the Xperia 10 III too, the differences aren’t that great (and it’s cheaper).
The III has already reached the end of upgrades whereas V will receive another 2 years. On the flip side you can install LineageOS on the III (and probably the V too in the future, check out GSI support).
The thing to keep in mind for LineageOS is that the GSI ROMs will jump to a newer Android version, but the hardware image (drivers etc.) remain stuck on whatever the manufacturer last issued. So they are an upgrade alternative, but there may be incompatibilities in the future, so they’re not a perfect one.
The V has eSim support if that’s important to you.
The Xperia 10 V has expandable storage, and I have a microsd for my music so that is not an issue. I will look at the 10 III and form opinions on it today. eSim is not important to me.
Thank you for the information about LineageOS. I am unfamiliar with it, I thought it would be a good idea since I was using GrapheneOS on my Pixel and I liked it far more than any stock I’ve experienced.
The 10 III is also similar, can take a microSD card to expand storage (interchangeable with a secondary physical SIM).
You can install any GSI ROM not just LineageOS. GrapheneOS is not available outside Pixels up unfortunately but there are many others.
Another OnePlus. Buy a brand new but not the last model. @400€
Hey OP ! I’m digging this back up, I found a smartphone that might interest you (with a few caveats) : The Nokia G42.
It’s an interesting one ! Built to be durable and reparable. It’s a smartphone, but Nokia worked with iFixIt to design this model; you can remove the back cover to “easily” change the battery, the USB-C port and the screen. It has a headphone jack (even if you don’t care), a decent screen (90Hz, 720p though), has expendable storage to 1To, approximately 2 days of battery life (Nokia claims 3 days), it’s “cheap” (can be found where I leave to around 230 euros) and has take decent photos (for its price). Not sure about rooting this one though !
The main issues from my point of view are updates (3 years of security update is OK, but 2 years of guaranteed Android updates is short), and the processor, which is quite weak. Not sure how it will perform in newer version of Android.
Wow. Nokia is fulfilling prayers now apparently.
In seriousness, this is a very promising device. I’ll likely wait a bit after release before pulling the trigger on this phone, but honestly it’s probably what I’m going to go with. As far as rooting goes, I suppose that’s up to the XDA community to decide. The 2 year android updates is pretty short, I agree. But for the price, I think that it would be a good option regardless.
Thanks for following up on this as well!
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Magisk is a popular rooting solution and framework for Android devices. It allows users to gain root access, which means they can modify the system files and settings of their Android devices to perform various customizations, install mods, and use apps that require root access. Magisk provides a systemless approach, meaning it doesn’t directly modify the system partition, which makes it more compatible with various devices and avoids issues like tripping SafetyNet
