General What phone should I buy next? -- Not sure what device to buy? Ask here!

KidCarter93 · Aug 21, 2012

Hi everyone,

This thread is a continuation of this thread.

This is here so you can discuss what your next phone/tablet should be, if you're not sure what to pick.

Also, if you need advice as to which device is better than another, then feel free to ask those questions in here aswell.

This is an attempt to clear out all the similar threads being created around these forums.

*NOTE* I will be requesting thread maintenance as and when it is needed, to remove any SPAM comments

DonnieFox · Dec 26, 2019

Raresh T said:
Mate, instead of throwing 500 euros on a expensive phone, why not go with a midrange one? Guaranteed manufacturer suport for at least 2 years. After 2 years you can just change it for another mid range phone. Just bought an Xiaomi Note 8 Pro (just 220€) and i am impressed by it so far. Battery lasts me around 2 days (same type of usage as you). Custom roms arent what they ve used to be. You barely gonna notice a difference on a phone with 6+ gb of ram. And the amount of bloatware isnt going to slow your phone at all. Size seems it matters for you, problem is there are less and less phones on that size. Now you ve got articles that include the s8 as a "small phone". There are almost no chances to get a decent smaller phone nowadays.

Thanks for your suggestions. I'd be happy to find a phone for about 200€ (500 is my limit, but it's absolutly not necessary to reach it

). But I would prefer to set up the phone once and have it for a longer time instead of buying a new one every two years. It's just the way I prefer it with most things and most time it works well for me.
I'm not really aware about recent developements of custom roms vs stock roms, but I would prefer to have no bloatware and features like privacy guard.
Size could be an issue, I guess, but I hoped for something like the compact models from sony. I'll certainly have to find some compromises.

Amirk365 · Dec 28, 2019

djsolidsnake86 said:
what about mi 9 lite?

I have it. Love it. No regrets

juanq214 · Dec 30, 2019

HatMan22 said:
Please help me to buy a dev friendly mobile.
- Near $200 (best money value)
- Custom ROM support
- Good Processor and GPU (going to use for app development)
- 4 GB RAM
- Camera does not matters.
- Good Battery if possible

Redmi note 8 seems to fulfill what you are looking for.

Sent from my Redmi K20 using Tapatalk

---------- Post added at 03:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:31 AM ----------

DonnieFox said:
Hi, i'm looking for a new phone. My budget is up to 500€. I'm from Germany, if this maybe matters for considerations about manufacturer or model.

I don't use the phone much, mainly for phone calls, as calendar and notebook, some internet browsing, when necessary. And I would like to use the phone for listening music and audio apps.

must haves:

- good and maintained custom rom support (just normal Lineage)

- easy to unlock

- headphone jack

- long lasting (robustness and quality of hardware should make it last about 4 years+)

- long battery lifetime

- small sized (compareable to my Galaxy S4 mini, a bit bigger is ok)

- fingerprint sensor or face recognation

nice to haves:

- manufacturer supports unlocking (no loss of warranty)/custom ROMs

- manufacturer with a sustainable concept (like fairphone)

I thought about buying a shiftphone - I like the concept very much and there is a lineage rom for the shiftphone, but not with very much maintaince and support. So I’m afraid of experiencing major bugs and I just want the phone to work for a while, after i set it up

- good audio

Small phones in that price range are extinct. I would recommend a One plus 7 pro, it does all you required except for the size. The last small top of the line phone I can recall is the Xiaomi mi6, but it launched in 2017 and has a Snapdragon 835. If you can live with that go for it, though I doubt you can find a new unit, you'd have to go for a second hand one.

Sent from my Redmi K20 using Tapatalk

Archardor · Dec 30, 2019

Honor 20 vs Samsung A70

Hello everyone!

I get to choose between the Honor 20 or Samsung A70 as part of my new contract and im not sure which one to get. Im leaning towards the Honor but I have a few questions to ask and would like a recommendation overall.

What I am looking for? - I like to play old PC games ported to Android. GTA SA, Bully, Excom, Don't Starve, etc. I have bought a reasonable amount of games on the Google play store and would like to continue playing them on the new device.

What I care about in a phone? - Productivity. Fast phone, good specs, CPU, GPU.

What is somewhat important? - Battery. I have an A5 with an Exynos and a 3000mAH so any of the phones will be an upgrade. I am not aware if the Honor or Samsung A70 have any unremovable bloatware that will drain the battery really fast and would like to know if they do have such bloatware. 1 day of general use (messenger, a bit of youtube, 30 mins of gaming) is what I will be happy with. Though the less bloatware, the better.

What I dont care about unless the part is really, really outdated and total trash? - Screen. Cameras. Fingerprint sensor. Pay apps. Wireless charging.

Disclaimer: I would like to try Fortnite on my phone, dont judge me please. Its just the only BR without bots as to my knowledge. I am unaware if the Samsung A70 is supported and would like an update on the matter. Honor 10 is listed as a supported device as far as I know.

What I know about the Samsung A70?
It has a better battery than the Honor 20.
It can use Google play without any problems and I get to keep my games.
It has much slower specs than the Honor 20.

What is bugging me about the A70? - Can I play Fortnite on it?

What I know about the Honor 20?
It has faster specs than the A70.
Battery is smaller.
Google play may not work or something like that, I need clarification because it is a dealbreaker for me. (Im getting the phone from a network provider in Austria so I guesse its the European version if that makes a difference?)

What is bugging me about the Honor 20? - Can I use Google play and keep my collection of games? Is it full of bloatware that drains and kills the battery really fast? I know that the Honor 20 doesnt use clean Android but has some UI on top of it, dont quite understand it. Will it drain the battery, slow the phone?

Disclaimer: I don't want to root, jailbreak etc my devices. Just press the download button from the Play store and be done.

So, guys, any idea if I will have problems with the Honor 20? I would prefer it to the Samsung A70, just not sure with the Play store and the UI. So which one? I can only choose from those 2, by the way.

TLDR: Any drawbacks to Honor 20, will the Google play store work if I get the phone from an Austrian (Europe) network provider? Can Samsung A70 run Fortnite, any drawbacks to Samsung A70. I cannot choose a different phone than those 2.

Thank you for your time and have a happy new year!

CamoGeko · Dec 30, 2019

@Archardor

If you only get to exclusively pick between those 2 I would go for the Samsung. :good:

Sent from my mata using Thebear Blue XDA Labs

flash713 · Dec 30, 2019

Get a OnePlus. I just picked up a OnePlus 5 mint for $125. Oxygen is awesome!!! They've come a long way just since the OnePlus 3. Think I'll be sticking with OnePlus from here on out. They make great quality phones and they aren't 1k.

juanq214 · Dec 31, 2019

Archardor said:
Hello everyone!

I get to choose between the Honor 20 or Samsung A70 as part of my new contract and im not sure which one to get. Im leaning towards the Honor but I have a few questions to ask and would like a recommendation overall.

What I am looking for? - I like to play old PC games ported to Android. GTA SA, Bully, Excom, Don't Starve, etc. I have bought a reasonable amount of games on the Google play store and would like to continue playing them on the new device.

What I care about in a phone? - Productivity. Fast phone, good specs, CPU, GPU.

What is somewhat important? - Battery. I have an A5 with an Exynos and a 3000mAH so any of the phones will be an upgrade. I am not aware if the Honor or Samsung A70 have any unremovable bloatware that will drain the battery really fast and would like to know if they do have such bloatware. 1 day of general use (messenger, a bit of youtube, 30 mins of gaming) is what I will be happy with. Though the less bloatware, the better.

What I dont care about unless the part is really, really outdated and total trash? - Screen. Cameras. Fingerprint sensor. Pay apps. Wireless charging.

Disclaimer: I would like to try Fortnite on my phone, dont judge me please. Its just the only BR without bots as to my knowledge. I am unaware if the Samsung A70 is supported and would like an update on the matter. Honor 10 is listed as a supported device as far as I know.

What I know about the Samsung A70?

It has a better battery than the Honor 20.

It can use Google play without any problems and I get to keep my games.

It has much slower specs than the Honor 20.

What is bugging me about the A70? - Can I play Fortnite on it?

What I know about the Honor 20?

It has faster specs than the A70.

Battery is smaller.

Google play may not work or something like that, I need clarification because it is a dealbreaker for me. (Im getting the phone from a network provider in Austria so I guesse its the European version if that makes a difference?)

What is bugging me about the Honor 20? - Can I use Google play and keep my collection of games? Is it full of bloatware that drains and kills the battery really fast? I know that the Honor 20 doesnt use clean Android but has some UI on top of it, dont quite understand it. Will it drain the battery, slow the phone?

Disclaimer: I don't want to root, jailbreak etc my devices. Just press the download button from the Play store and be done.

So, guys, any idea if I will have problems with the Honor 20? I would prefer it to the Samsung A70, just not sure with the Play store and the UI. So which one? I can only choose from those 2, by the way.

TLDR: Any drawbacks to Honor 20, will the Google play store work if I get the phone from an Austrian (Europe) network provider? Can Samsung A70 run Fortnite, any drawbacks to Samsung A70. I cannot choose a different phone than those 2.

Thank you for your time and have a happy new year!

The honor may be better, in terms of hardware and specs, but Samsung is more reliable as a brand. Since you are not willing to root and stuff, go for the Sammy one

Sent from my Redmi K20 using Tapatalk

DonnieFox · Jan 1, 2020

juanq214 said:
Redmi note 8 seems to fulfill what you are looking for.

Sent from my Redmi K20 using Tapatalk

---------- Post added at 03:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:31 AM ----------

Small phones in that price range are extinct. I would recommend a One plus 7 pro, it does all you required except for the size. The last small top of the line phone I can recall is the Xiaomi mi6, but it launched in 2017 and has a Snapdragon 835. If you can live with that go for it, though I doubt you can find a new unit, you'd have to go for a second hand one.

Sent from my Redmi K20 using Tapatalk

Thanks for your suggestions. The MI6 looks good but doing some research I found out, that it does not support LTE with 800 MHz, which is heavily used in germany. So it's no option. The One Plus 7 pro looks good, too, but 6,7” is really much bigger as my old phone and it also lacks a headphone jack. And maybe it's even too good for my purpose, as suggested before. So I tend to look for a second hand one. It will have certainly a larger display than my old one, but I still hope to find one up to 6".

juanq214 · Jan 1, 2020

DonnieFox said:
Thanks for your suggestions. The MI6 looks good but doing some research I found out, that it does not support LTE with 800 MHz, which is heavily used in germany. So it's no option. The One Plus 7 pro looks good, too, but 6,7” is really much bigger as my old phone and it also lacks a headphone jack. And maybe it's even too good for my purpose, as suggested before. So I tend to look for a second hand one. It will have certainly a larger display than my old one, but I still hope to find one up to 6".

If you are open to second hand phones, there are better chances to find small phones. Here some models to consider:

LG G6, LG G7, oneplus 5 (only 5.5 inches) or one plus 5T (had one two years ago, one of my favorites ever), Samsung galaxy S8 or S9. Good luck in your search.

Sent from my Redmi K20 using Tapatalk

DonnieFox · Jan 3, 2020

juanq214 said:
If you are open to second hand phones, there are better chances to find small phones. Here some models to consider:

LG G6, LG G7, oneplus 5 (only 5.5 inches) or one plus 5T (had one two years ago, one of my favorites ever), Samsung galaxy S8 or S9. Good luck in your search.

Sent from my Redmi K20 using Tapatalk

Thank you very much. This looks like what I've been looking for. I had a quick look at the oneplus 5 and 5t and both seem fit my requirements very well. I'll do some more research on all this phones.

350Rocket · Jan 3, 2020

I'm still using the OnePlus 5 and plan to keep it for a couple more years. I'd be happy if I already had Android 10 but the fact that it's coming at all is nice.

Raresh T · Jan 3, 2020

350Rocket said:
I'm still using the OnePlus 5 and plan to keep it for a couple more years. I'd be happy if I already had Android 10 but the fact that it's coming at all is nice.

Does android 10 brings more battery optimization than android 9 mate?

mrrocketdog · Jan 3, 2020

ok , just looking for some opinions (and why if not too much trouble).
a galaxy s4 (extSD , removable batt.{and can get 3200 mAh replacement} , can still get kk {my fav.} , easily rootable and still some development for it.
OR
a xperia z5 compact (extSD , stereo speakers , can stay at or below N , a wee bit harder to root. but not much).
either for almost the same price. do not care about camera quality. both are small which i'm looking for.
what think xda fam?

350Rocket · Jan 3, 2020

Raresh T said:
Does android 10 brings more battery optimization than android 9 mate?

I couldn't tell you for sure, I'm expecting it to be the same. I had a pixel XL for a few months with Android 10 and 9 and it had the same battery life on both versions (much worse than the OnePlus 5). I had the OnePlus 5 on Android 7,8 and now 9, it's always been the same. I can't kill it in a day unless I really try. 6-7 hours screen on time with heavy usage (not gaming).

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

---------- Post added at 12:28 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:26 AM ----------

mrrocketdog said:
ok , just looking for some opinions (and why if not too much trouble).
a galaxy s4 (extSD , removable batt.{and can get 3200 mAh replacement} , can still get kk {my fav.} , easily rootable and still some development for it.
OR
a xperia z5 compact (extSD , stereo speakers , can stay at or below N , a wee bit harder to root. but not much).
either for almost the same price. do not care about camera quality. both are small which i'm looking for.
what think xda fam?

I'd go with Sony out of those 2. KitKat was good back in the day but probably not a good daily driver today.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

joshthemajor · Jan 8, 2020

Hello, I'd like to change my mobile during this year or the next one. I don't want to buy a flagship, I'm currently using a Lenovo P2 that I bought used from warehouse deals on amazon for 220€ (perfect condition) 1 year and half ago. So I don't mind even buying used.

The main spec that the phone must have are:

1080p
microsd slot
at least 5000mah battery (love the 9-11 hours SOT)
Unlockable bootloader for custom rom

Would be nice to have but not mandatory:
removable battery
headphone jack

flahlesslySpam · Jan 9, 2020

Hello, I would like to upgrade my Samsung Galaxy S5 to a phone that meets the following criteria:

Works with Verizon in the USA
under $150, willing to buy either used or new
has good ROM support (such as the Nexus 5x from this post https://xdaforums.com/general/help/how-developers-decide-devices-to-support-t4030503)

My gripe with my current phone is that it is feels too slow at times (lags while browsing Reddit on Chrome), battery life being so short (doesn't last more than a day), and my phone not receiving any software updates. I don't require very powerful hardware; my main activities are listening to music, using Chrome, using GPS, calling , and texting.

My main concern is software updates. I can deal with short battery by buying a portable charger and having the Reddit website lag on me does get frequently annoying which I can just deal with but not having any software updates does worry me. I would also like to use this phone as my main phone for as long as possible which is why I would like good ROM support. I do understand that $150 is on the cheap side but so I am willing spend more if I have to but I would like to stay as low as possible.

hozumi70 · Jan 9, 2020

Hello! I'm thinking of buying a UMDIGI X and POWER 3 phone. Which one would be better? Root option desired!

Raresh T · Jan 9, 2020

joshthemajor said:
Hello, I'd like to change my mobile during this year or the next one. I don't want to buy a flagship, I'm currently using a Lenovo P2 that I bought used from warehouse deals on amazon for 220€ (perfect condition) 1 year and half ago. So I don't mind even buying used.

The main spec that the phone must have are:

1080p
microsd slot
at least 5000mah battery (love the 9-11 hours SOT)
Unlockable bootloader for custom rom

Would be nice to have but not mandatory:
removable battery
headphone jack

Mate, i would recommend the Xiaomi Note 8 pro. Full HD, battery (4500 mah) holds me for 2 days, with some moderate to high usage, between spotify and some game apps, like asphalt. It has micro sd slot, the bootloader is getting unlocked pretty easy. So far no custom roms yet ( the phone got released in October. His predecessor has around 15 different custom roms. So i expect the same will happen. Priced around 220 € on Christmas. Could be cheaper now

---------- Post added at 10:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:45 AM ----------

hozumi70 said:
Hello! I'm thinking of buying a UMDIGI X and POWER 3 phone. Which one would be better? Root option desired!

Mate, both phone seems kind of bad for 2020. If the year would be 2015, they would be interesting. With 4 gb of ram you are going to have problems. Battery life seems great on paper, doubt its gonna be. Plus i havent heard of these phones before. I would stay clear of these cheap brands. Go with something more trustworthy. Recently i ve bought a Xiaomi Note 8 pro. 2 days battery, can play whatever i want, root, custom roms available, around 200€. Might be pricier, but xiaomi is a more reliable phone manufacturer.

---------- Post added at 10:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:55 AM ----------

flahlesslySpam said:
Hello, I would like to upgrade my Samsung Galaxy S5 to a phone that meets the following criteria:
Works with Verizon in the USA
under $150, willing to buy either used or new
has good ROM support (such as the Nexus 5x from this post https://xdaforums.com/general/help/how-developers-decide-devices-to-support-t4030503)

My gripe with my current phone is that it is feels too slow at times (lags while browsing Reddit on Chrome), battery life being so short (doesn't last more than a day), and my phone not receiving any software updates. I don't require very powerful hardware; my main activities are listening to music, using Chrome, using GPS, calling , and texting.

My main concern is software updates. I can deal with short battery by buying a portable charger and having the Reddit website lag on me does get frequently annoying which I can just deal with but not having any software updates does worry me. I would also like to use this phone as my main phone for as long as possible which is why I would like good ROM support. I do understand that $150 is on the cheap side but so I am willing spend more if I have to but I would like to stay as low as possible.

Mate, have you tried rooting and using a custom rom with it? Give it a try before buying a new phone. Most of the time, custom roms developers do make security updates and software updates. There might even be a Android 10 rom for your phone. Also, these custom roms do come with a very detailed instructions. So you are going to be set in no time.

flahlesslySpam · Jan 10, 2020

Raresh T said:
Mate, have you tried rooting and using a custom rom with it? Give it a try before buying a new phone. Most of the time, custom roms developers do make security updates and software updates. There might even be a Android 10 rom for your phone. Also, these custom roms do come with a very detailed instructions. So you are going to be set in no time.

Thanks for the advice! I am planning on trying to root and using a custom rom with it and hopefully I succeed but the galaxy s5 I have is the smg900v which is the Verizon version of the phone. From my research and my limited understanding, this version of the phone doesn't have too great support for rooting cause the bootloader is locked or something. It's also part of why I want to get a different phone, so that I could have an easier time figuring out how to install different roms.

flash713 · Jan 11, 2020

I just got a Xiaomi mi mix 2 for 140 near mint and it is my favorite device yet! Bought this one off Swappa. I have been nothing but impressed thus far! Xiaomi is a great company! And MIUI has come a long way. Using MIUI 11 now but going to unlock bootloader and flash HAVOC and or Bootleggers 10 in a few. Kick ass phone!!

I believe for my next device I'll get a newer Xiaomi, maybe a Mi 9T or possibly a newer Pixel 4a depending on how that turns out, maybe a 3a. You just can't beat the gcam (camera px) mods and the quality of pictures a pixel phone takes and I take lots of pics. This Xiaomi sure has impressed me though! Good stuff!

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