Alternatives to the V²

[MikeyMike01]

The Galaxy S5 meets most of your criteria. The only thing it lacks out of those is the front-facing speakers. I know, some people would argue it also doesn't have a "durable body," since it's made out of plastic, but I 100% disagree. My S4 was tough as hell, despite being plastic (and I actually think partly because of it, since plastic flexes and also weighs less, so less impact force when falling). I've thrown it so many times, to the point the case came off and the battery flew out once, and it never so much as got a scratch that I saw. And the only reason I put a case on it was because it was too thin and felt weird in the hand, and the case I used was a very slim one, so it didn't add much to the phone, just a tiny bit of extra thickness and a better grip. As much as I dislike Samsung right now, the S5 would be my next phone if it were available unlocked with 32GB internal memory.

I agree with you on the plastic. My Captivate, Galaxy S II, and Galaxy Nexus all were naked their whole lives with little more than a few imperceivable scuffs. My iPhone 5 was beat to hell in a matter of months. My 5s has had to be in (an admittedly lovely) leather case its whole life.

I'm not sure if the Galaxy S V is exactly what I'm looking for, but you're right it does meet most of those criteria.

 

[Zinguy]

A phone's size was never much of an issue for me, though I understand folks who have smaller hands & those who don't want to talk into or pocket a phablet. So I re-upped with Att after being w/o a contract for a couple years and bought a galaxy note 4 today ($199@bestbuy- 2 yr att contract). I basically use my phone as my laptop. Hopefully the visual real estate will outweigh the pocket inconvenience, plus I'm looking forward to the split screen multitasking. I can send it back if it's too big.

 

[Cullenator]

S5 is probably the closest I've seen to what I would like in a phone, but I'm hoping I can find something with a Snapdragon 808 or the new Exynos chip in the S6. In other words, if the S6 hadn't done away with the SD slot and removable battery... >:[

 

[vertigo_2_20]

A phone's size was never much of an issue for me, though I understand folks who have smaller hands & those who don't want to talk into or pocket a phablet. So I re-upped with Att after being w/o a contract for a couple years and bought a galaxy note 4 today ($199@bestbuy- 2 yr att contract). I basically use my phone as my laptop. Hopefully the visual real estate will outweigh the pocket inconvenience, plus I'm looking forward to the split screen multitasking. I can send it back if it's too big.

I'm not sure if all plans are the same, but when I talked with an AT&T guy recently, he told me that if I renew my contract and get a subsidized phone, my plan would go up $25/mo, making it actually cheaper to buy the phone outright and stay on the next (no-contract) plan. I worked out the math and he was right. This would be especially true for an older, cheaper phone like the Note 4, which you can buy for ~$620 new or $4-500 in mint condition on swappa. Something you may want to look into. I'm personally considering the Note 4 if nothing else comes out soon. Right now, I'd say it's between that and the Alcatel Idol 3 5.5. The problem with that phone is while it's a pretty good phone for the price, it still feels a bit expensive for what it is, and I think at that point ($250), I'd rather spend an extra couple hundred for the big upgrade to the Note 4. The only thing that isn't better with it is the speakers, which I'm ok with.

S5 is probably the closest I've seen to what I would like in a phone, but I'm hoping I can find something with a Snapdragon 808 or the new Exynos chip in the S6. In other words, if the S6 hadn't done away with the SD slot and removable battery... >:[

A lot of people have said this. I came across an article a couple days ago discussing how the S6/S6 Edge sales have actually been pretty poor, and way under Samsung's expectations. This seems to be contradictory to what we've been reading, but it seemed legit (it was on Forbes.com, and he claimed to get the info direct from Samsung). This certainly wouldn't surprise me, and I'm quite happy about it, as they need to be taught a lesson. If they had kept even just one of the two, their sales would have been much higher. If they had kept both, considering how otherwise amazing the S6 is, the sales would have been phenomenal. But too many people like you and I said no due to the changes. Of course, personally, I would have also preferred an extra mm or 2 in thickness with another several hundred mAh battery. And waterproofing would have been nice, too. Sony can do it without adding a bunch of extra bulk, so I don't see why Samsung can't. This stuff may have reduced their profit margin per phone, but they would have sold a LOT more, which would not only mean similar or larger overall profits, but a happier and larger customer base, one who has been overwhelmingly loyal to them until this recent screw-up and would continue to be had they continued on their original path, meaning more sales on future models as well.

 

[TonyStark R.I.P.]

This is an interesting alternative I saw on BGR but I doubt it will be available with support for US networks. It's made by a Chinese company called Innos and it has a 5.2-inch 1080p display, a Snapdragon 615 1.8GHz octa-core processor, a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, 3 GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and Android 5.0 Lollipop. The most interesting thing about it is that has dual batteries with a total capacity of 6000mAh, an internal one that's 2480mAh and an external replaceable one that's 3520mAh. I don't think it has a microSD memory card slot but if someone can read Chinese then the second link will have all the specs. I tried Google translate on the page but it didn't translate much.

http://bgr.com/2015/05/22/best-smartphone-battery-innos-d6000/
http://www.innos.com/yiluo/product.php?lang=cn&class2=168

Interesting you mention this. I remerthis being shown aroud the same time as the Saygus in Barcelona

 

[Sam K]

Interesting you mention this. I remerthis being shown aroud the same time as the Saygus in Barcelona

Thanks for the video. In the video when he takes out the removable battery, it looks like there's a microSD slot and dual SIM card slots.

 

[vertigo_2_20]

This is an interesting alternative I saw on BGR but I doubt it will be available with support for US networks. It's made by a Chinese company called Innos and it has a 5.2-inch 1080p display, a Snapdragon 615 1.8GHz octa-core processor, a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, 3 GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and Android 5.0 Lollipop. The most interesting thing about it is that has dual batteries with a total capacity of 6000mAh, an internal one that's 2480mAh and an external replaceable one that's 3520mAh. I don't think it has a microSD memory card slot but if someone can read Chinese then the second link will have all the specs. I tried Google translate on the page but it didn't translate much.

This is an idea I had a while back, have the internal battery essentially act as a UPS so you can swap batteries when the removable one is getting low without having to power down the phone. Of course, it would be a lot better if it drained the removable battery first, both to allow a maximum charge on the internal battery when swapping and to reduce wear on the internal battery. If it's draining them simultaneously, I wonder how low the internal one is by the time the removable one is dead, or if you can even let the removable one drain all the way. Maybe you have to swap it out at 5% or more so you still have enough charge on the internal one to keep it running while you do so. Of course, the other interesting thing about it is that somebody finally creates a phone with this ingenious way to allow battery swapping, but in a phone that it's unlikely you'll need to swap the battery. But then, Chinese batteries aren't known for being high quality, so maybe despite the combined 6Ah rating they won't last all that long. I do hope more manufacturers start doing this, both the massive battery capacities at the expense of thinness, which is getting out of hand anyways, and the dual battery setup.

 

[Cullenator]

My morning's findings

So I did some searching on GSMArena's phone finder tool and dug up the following options. My search criteria was:

1. SD Card slot
2. At least 2GB of RAM, preferably 3
3. Avoid Snapdragon 810
4. Between 5.0 and 5.5 inches
5. Available (can buy today; not rumored or expected)

Here's (in my opinion) the 3 best affordable (as in below 600 USD) options. This ended up making me realize that I would probably be looking at 2014 phones, but I'm not crazy about bleeding edge tech anyway. Here's my findings:

EDIT: The S5 Plus doesn't support American (or Canadian, in my case) LTE bands. So it's not an option for me.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Plus
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s5_plus-6748.php

Basically, the Galaxy S5 but with a Snapdragon 805 processor.

Pros:

• "Sweet spot" 5.1 in screen size.
• Snapdragon 805 with Adreno 420 GPU (faster than 801, without battery drain and overheating of 810)
• Water and dust-proof
• Removable battery
• Wireless charging
• Great battery life
• Fingerprint Scanner
• Decent camera

Cons:

• Higher price due to Samsung name (but not too unreasonable; around 500 USD)
• Only 2GB of RAM (which is not terrible, but not the best)
• Lollipop performance complaints.

Sony Xperia Z3
http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_z3-6539.php

A few of my friends have this one. I've played around with them and have to say I was impressed.

Pros:

• Waterproof and dust-proof
• Excellent 20.7 MP camera
• Dedicated camera button
• Excellent battery life
• Gorgeous screen
• 3GB RAM

Cons:

• Higher price because of Sony name
• No fingerprint scanner
• Snapdragon 801 (OK, but 805 would be better)
• Lollipop performance complaints.

LG G3
http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_g3-6294.php

I'm still on the fence about a 5.5 inch screen. I'm concerned about pocket-bulge and one-handed use, but most reviews say the G3 is decent for one-hand use.

Pros:

• Quad HD
• Wireless charging
• Decent camera that includes OIS
• 3GB of RAM (but in the 32GB model only?)
• Double-tap to unlock looks nice
• Reasonable price

Cons:

• Average-to-poor battery life (but on the plus side, LG has done some impressive work with built-in battery optimizations)
• Not water-proof.
• No fingerprint scanner
• Snapdragon 801 (OK, but 805 would be better)
• Lollipop performance complaints.

My preference?
Not sure... I think each phone has its unique upsides and downsides. I'm leaning towards the S5 Plus as I think the faster processor and GPU will keep me happier for longer, plus it's the only option (on this list anyway) with a removable battery, which I have found to be really useful when traveling.

As for stand out features for the other two, the Z3 has a really nice camera, combined with more RAM and excellent battery life; but the G3 has a camera with OIS, combined with more RAM and a quad HD display.

I hope you found this helpful. Please let me know your thoughts, especially if you find a phone (that actually exists) in the below-600 USD range that you think is better!

One major disappointment is that there I couldn't find a phone in my criteria that didn't have issues with Lollipop, but maybe it's not as bad as people say?

 

[shaxs]

If that Samsung Galaxy S5 Plus SM-G901F had 3gb ram I would be all over it.

Edit: Or if it supported US LTE which it does not.

 

[Cullenator]

If that Samsung Galaxy S5 Plus SM-G901F had 3gb ram I would be all over it.

Edit: Or if it supported US LTE which it does not.

IKR? So close... :/ Incidentally, the Korean S5 LTE-A does have 3GB: http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s5_lte_a_g906s-6450.php

Not sure if it can be found outside of Korea though... Or if it supports US LTE.

 

[Cullenator]

Edit: Or if it supported US LTE which it does not.

GREAT catch; I didn't think to look at that. It doesn't appear to work with Canadian bands either. The LTE-A looks like it does on paper (at least for Canadian LTE-2100), but it was released as a Korea-exclusive, so I'm a little bit skeptical now.

 

[vertigo_2_20]

The Xperia Z3 was one of the original ones I looked at, but then I figured I'd wait for the Z4 since it was right around the corner, and was disappointed, as were many people, to find it wasn't the upgrade everyone was hoping for and it was Japan only. Even if the Z3 was available with more than 16GB internal memory (the reason it's a no-go for me), I'd hate to end up right back where I started a few months ago after all this headache. I just find it ridiculous that it's so hard to find a device without so many compromises. Another thing with the Z3, and one of the big reasons I decided to wait for the Z4, was that in order to be waterproof it has a cover over the USB port, which I know would just get on my nerves. I'm still hopeful the Z4 (Z3+?) will make it here, since it looks like maybe the best bet, but there's not much news from legitimate sources regarding this. At this point, if the Idol 3 goes on sale for $200, I'm going to buy it and wait until Fall to see what happens. Unfortunately, I doubt it will, since that wouldn't be fair to the preorder folks.

 

[shaxs]

The Xperia Z3 was one of the original ones I looked at, but then I figured I'd wait for the Z4 since it was right around the corner, and was disappointed, as were many people, to find it wasn't the upgrade everyone was hoping for and it was Japan only. Even if the Z3 was available with more than 16GB internal memory (the reason it's a no-go for me), I'd hate to end up right back where I started a few months ago after all this headache. I just find it ridiculous that it's so hard to find a device without so many compromises. Another thing with the Z3, and one of the big reasons I decided to wait for the Z4, was that in order to be waterproof it has a cover over the USB port, which I know would just get on my nerves. I'm still hopeful the Z4 (Z3+?) will make it here, since it looks like maybe the best bet, but there's not much news from legitimate sources regarding this. At this point, if the Idol 3 goes on sale for $200, I'm going to buy it and wait until Fall to see what happens. Unfortunately, I doubt it will, since that wouldn't be fair to the preorder folks.

My problem with the z3 and z4 are the huge bezels! The phone is about the same physical size of a 5.5" phone.

 

[vertigo_2_20]

My problem with the z3 and z4 are the huge bezels! The phone is about the same physical size of a 5.5" phone.

People keep saying this, and I haven't seen one in person, but the screen-to-body ratio is roughly the same as with the S4 and S6, and it's only very slightly larger than the S6, with a 5.2" screen vs 5.1". That said, the G4 is only barely bigger than the Z4 with 0.3" more screen size. Granted, I'd prefer it to be slightly smaller, but considering how great of a phone it is and how long the battery life is, I think I'd be ok with the slightly larger size. If the Z4 becomes available in the U.S., it'll likely be my next phone, no question. And IMO, the only phone that comes even close to it would be the V2, which isn't real. The G4 is also a top-runner, largely because, as mentioned, despite its large screen, it's barely bigger than the S6, and because it retained the expandable storage and replaceable battery. I'm just not sure how I would like the rear-mounted buttons.

Check out this link to see the comparison between the phones: http://www.phonearena.com/phones/si...,Samsung-Galaxy-S6/phones/7597,8764,9104,8997

 

[Cullenator]

People keep saying this, and I haven't seen one in person, but the screen-to-body ratio is roughly the same as with the S4 and S6, and it's only very slightly larger than the S6, with a 5.2" screen vs 5.1". That said, the G4 is only barely bigger than the Z4 with 0.3" more screen size. Granted, I'd prefer it to be slightly smaller, but considering how great of a phone it is and how long the battery life is, I think I'd be ok with the slightly larger size. If the Z4 becomes available in the U.S., it'll likely be my next phone, no question. And IMO, the only phone that comes even close to it would be the V2, which isn't real. The G4 is also a top-runner, largely because, as mentioned, despite its large screen, it's barely bigger than the S6, and because it retained the expandable storage and replaceable battery. I'm just not sure how I would like the rear-mounted buttons.

Check out this link to see the comparison between the phones: http://www.phonearena.com/phones/si...,Samsung-Galaxy-S6/phones/7597,8764,9104,8997

I didn't realize the G4 had a removable battery as well! That's awesome. Given that it's Snapdragon 808 and not the 810, it's probably the best option (at least for me). I'll wait to see what it ends up costing in Canada (with much trepidation)... But it does look like an awesome phone.

The Z4's also a contender. I like the Xperia cameras, but I just don't trust the 810, given its crazy benchmark results after throttling kicks in.

 

[vertigo_2_20]

I just don't trust the 810, given its crazy benchmark results after throttling kicks in.

Agreed. I haven't looked at benchmarks, so I don't know specifics, but I don't like carrying around a space heater in my pocket, and I definitely don't like the idea of paying a premium price for a sub-premium product. I'd rather have an 801 or 805, as they are still plenty fast but also more efficient. But then, most of the comments I've seen regarding the 810's issues are with screens > 1080p, and the Z4 stuck with 1080 instead of jumping on the qHD bandwagon, which is another thing I like about it. Another concern I have about the G4 is the battery life, as LG has a history of average to less than average performance in that area, and so far from what I can tell the G4 will be no exception, whereas the Xperia line is known for excellent battery life.

 

[Freaky Beanie]

http://www.gsmarena.com/oneplus_2-6902.php a little look of what could be the one plus two specs...

 

[Sam K]

My problem with the z3 and z4 are the huge bezels! The phone is about the same physical size of a 5.5" phone.

I agree. That's my biggest gripe about the Sony phones. I did briefly consider the smaller Z3c with a 4.6" screen but unfortunately it doesn't support LTE on band 12 which I want as a T-Mobile customer.

The G4 is also a top-runner, largely because, as mentioned, despite its large screen, it's barely bigger than the S6, and because it retained the expandable storage and replaceable battery. I'm just not sure how I would like the rear-mounted buttons.

I'd strongly consider the LG G4 if it wasn't so large for my taste. And unfortunately the smaller G4c with a 5" screen looks like the typical lower spec compact version. The only manufacturers that doesn't skimp on specs with their compact/mini versions are Sony and Apple.

The Z4's also a contender. I like the Xperia cameras, but I just don't trust the 810, given its crazy benchmark results after throttling kicks in.

The only thing about the Z4 (besides the large bezels) is that Sony didn't bother including optical image stabilization in the main camera.

 

[Cullenator]

http://www.gsmarena.com/oneplus_2-6902.php a little look of what could be the one plus two specs...

If they add an SD Slot and removable battery, that might be tempting, but we may have a long wait and a stupid invite system ahead of us to bother with for the 1+2.

 

[crazedgod]

Motorola Turbo\Maxx

Instead of waiting for the V2 to appear I cancelled my order and bought the Motorola Turbo (India version) and I love it!!!

Pros:

• Great Battery Life- easily get a day and half on a single charge with 3.5+ hrs of SOT
• Quick Charge – Super useful in those times when you overslept and forgot to charge your phone
• Screen – The screen visibility in sunlight is very good
• Fast – The 805 Qualcomm is able to handle pretty much everything thrown at it.
• Moto Suite – Moto Display, Moto Assist, Moto Actions and Moto Voice are really really really useful
• UI – Pretty much stock with the few useful apps above

Cons:

• Heat Issues- Phone heats up when on charge and when playing games
• Speakers- With a single front facing speaker, the sound quality is average at best
• Camera – Could have been better
• Display – While outdoor visibility is great, I personally prefer the popping colours on Samsung screen
• Custom ROMs – With sales being limited to 2 countries (India\Brazil) doesn’t look like much development’s going to be done on this phone.