this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2023
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So, I thought I'd kick things off here with some community building.

Quote this post with answers to the below!

What phone are you using?

Are you happy with it? What are its best and worst qualities?

Which phones have you had previously? Which were the best and worst of the lot?

How often do you upgrade to a new phone?

What other Android ecosystem devices do you have? Watches, headphones/earbuds, etc.

Do you also use any Apple products, or are you Android all the way? (And/or Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc.)

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[–] SevenDigitCode@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

I'm on an S22U right now. The device is excellently built and the S Pen is really handy, but I do miss my OnePlus 6T's notification system. It did a much better job with conversations, categories and grouping. I had a Nexus 5 before, which was nice, but the 16GB of storage was pretty limiting.

I also have the Buds Live (the beans!) and those are awesome. They're the only earbuds I've found that stay in my ears, even when running or shaking my head around. I used to have a LEMFO watch (the huge one), but the digitizer flaked out on me.

I used to have a Lenovo Yoga C940 (which had all sorts of problems), but I've since switched to a Mac

[–] Quasi@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

I use the Pixel 7 Pro

I love it. The cameras are unparalleled, the software is excellent, and the experience is pure. Battery life isn't nearly as bad as people say, but it could be better.

Last few phones: iPhone 5c, Galaxy S5, Nexus 6P, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 5, Pixel 6 Pro

Worst was the 6P, because it bricked itself (though I got a few hundred dollars back in the class action lawsuit), but it was excellent aside from that. iPhone got a dead pixel within a month, but they replaced it, Galaxy was sturdy but software was awful. Best was Pixel 2 XL, I still use it as a backup sometimes.

I get a new phone every year if the trade-in deals are good.

I have the Pixel Watch and Pixel Buds. I mainly use the Sony XMs though for headphones.

I have a 14" MacBook Pro M1 Pro. Got it for the insane battery life, but I'm mostly a Windows/Linux user still.I have an iPad, it isn't bad, but I miss the affordable Android tablets of old (Nexus 7 rocked). I don't have any desire to move to iOS.

[–] ram@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 year ago

Samsung S21+ 5G

[–] belungar@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Pixel 7 Pro

My main PC is on Pop!_OS, Ubuntu based distro based on rolling kernel releases

[–] StrmDominatr@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

S20 Fe 5g, with SD865, 8GB RAM and 256GB Storage

[–] Perhyte@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Currently, I'm using a Motorola moto g100 and I'm happy with it. Good battery life, nice big screen, much improved performance compared to my last phone. Best phone I've ever owned. The main inconvenience is the location of the fingerprint sensor: I'd have preferred if it was on the front of the device somehow (definitely not on the back -- I often have it lying flat on the table).

I also dislike the fact it can only remember five fingerprints while I have 10 fingers. Who thought that was a good idea? :þ

Previously I had a Moto G5+ and a Moto G. I guess you could say I enjoyed the quality and relative lack of bloatware of these Motorola phones, while being more affordable than some of the alternatives I was considering at the time I bought them.

Going further back, I had a HTC Desire Z (with a slide-out physical keyboard). I picked it as my first smartphone because I was hesitant to get rid of physical keys, but as it turned out I hardly ever used them. Looking back, this one was clearly the worst value for the money.

Since I switched to smart phones I've been upgrading every 3 or 4 years.

Before the smart phone era, I had an Alcatel device (can't remember the exact model). I used that tiny near-indestructable thing for over a decade, only charging it about once a week. It was mostly an "in case of emergency" though, not nearly as heavily used as later phones, because it wasn't really usable as a miniature pocket-computer (like smart phones are). Still, I was pretty happy with it at the time: the only reason I got rid of it was because the '0' button broke, and in my country all phone numbers start with 0.

I also have an LG G Watch (Wear OS). A relative worked at Google when these were handed out to employees but didn't actually want it, so I got it as a gift. It's pretty old now: I've replaced the bands a few times and it won't charge past 70%, but it still mostly works and the battery still lasts all day. I'm not sure if I'll get another smart watch if and when this one finally breaks, though.

No Apple products, and my laptop runs Linux Mint. These days, I only use Windows at work or when helping relatives with tech problems (sigh).

[–] Gerryflap@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Currently using a Nokia 7.2

Best qualities:

  • Cheap
  • Has a heaphone jack
  • Does smartphone things
  • Fell like 5 times from more than a meter of height into a stone floor and is somehow still fine (more luck than skill probably)

Worst qualities:

  • Not the fastest
  • No more updates :(
  • Randomly turns off about once every month at night while charging, which forced me to buy a backup alarm

Before this I was using a Moto G5 plus, which was a bit of a quirky phone. Before that I used my Nexus 5, which ultimately started suffering the power button issues. My Nexus 5 is still a backup phone that I use sometimes, and every time I touch it I wish that they'd release a new Nexus 5 just like the old one but with with newer hardware specs and a better battery. I love how light and small it is, I still love the screen, and I love how it looks.

From this you can probably gather that I don't upgrade phones too often. I also don't have any other Android devices. I did at one point dabble a bit into Android development and made a few silly apps, but that's many years ago at this point.

For my PC's I usually use Linux where I can, and Window$ for gaming and music production (because sadly that's the only way to make these things work reliably).

[–] carbotect@vlemmy.net 1 points 1 year ago

If you had to buy a new phone today, would you stick to Nokia or would you choose something else?

[–] MakeItCount@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Currently have a Pixel 7 Pro with a Pixel Watch

Owned in the past a pixel 4a5G, an OG pixel (still use it to upload to my Google photos in original quality for free), a One Plus 6T, a Nexus 4/5/6

For tablets the only Android one was the Nexus 9 and I'm now using an Acer ChromeTab which runs Android apps (also have a Surface Pro 3 running on ChromeOS)

For watches I owned the moto360, the LG Watch Urbane, the Huawei Watch and the Fossil gen 5

On my PCs I only run things on LinuxMint outside of one spare laptop still on Windows

[–] Buffalox@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Moto G9 Power.

Dirt cheap less than 200$ new as of 2 years ago! Has all the features I need, stock Android, without 3rd party crap-ware.

Best Android phone I ever bought, despite it's also by far the cheapest.

I bought this cheap phone, because I was kind of disappointed by my earlier Android phones. Always something wrong.

I've been using this one for 2 years without cover, no scratches on the screen. ;)

[–] carbotect@vlemmy.net 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Would you choose a Moto G phone again, if you had to replace your phone today?

[–] Buffalox@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Honestly I'm not entirely up to date on current offers. My economy is also a bit stronger now. I think I might opt for a slightly higher end moto with similar battery (6000 mAh). I really love the stock Android Moto has, and I don't want a Google/Pixel phone.

I have little doubt that I couldn't have made a better choice 2 years ago. The value of this was/is insane. ;)

The reason I opted for such a cheap phone, was that I was quite disappointed with previous smartphones, for instance Screen to small, GPS not working properly, poor battery life etc. The Moto G9 power fixed all that, despite being cheap.

That said, I don't game, and I'm not a heavy user. Other use cases may of course have other preferences. The screen is only 1640x720 pixels, but that's fine for me, the screen is also Panda Glass, which was a bit of a worry, but after 2 years of use, without cover, there is still not a scratch on it!

I got more than I expected, and the entire concept of smartphones has way more meaning to me now. The only minor downside, is that the extra cameras are pretty useless.

[–] Venutianxspring@lemmy.fmhy.ml 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I'm using a Pixel 7 pro right now, coming from a Pixel 6 before this and OnePlus products before that. Prior to this phone my OnePlus 7 pro was my favorite phone ever and is a very close second to my current pixel. My least favorite phone was my Samsung Galaxy 7 edge, I hated that piece of garbage, it lasted less than year before the cpu was glacially slow.

I refuse to use any apple products, use windows on my work PC and my gaming PC, but use Linux on everything else (and will probably put my gaming PC on Linux soon as well).

I do admit that the Apple watch is a nice bit of tech, but I use a Garmin Fenix 6s pro since I mainly need a watch for tracking my running and cycling.

[–] circuit@partizle.com 1 points 1 year ago

What phone are you using?

I have a Pixel 7, Obsidian Color

Are you happy with it? What are its best and worst qualities?

I love the phone. Its my first non low-end android, and I can't see myself going back to an iPhone. I love the assortment of emulators available for Android, and the pixel 7 main camera is very good. The selfie camera could use some work, but picture taking is not what I got this phone for anyway.

Which phones have you had previously? Which were the best and worst of the lot?

My previous phones were an iPhone 11 and an iPhone 5C before that. I have a Moto G pure (low end android) for a little bit, although it was more of a secondary phone instead of something to switch to, as it is very sluggish to use. The iPhone 11 was a good phone, the selfie camera is still better than my current pixel phone. I definitely craved the feeling of freedom I got from my Motorola though, despite its shortcomings. So I went ahead and got my pixel.

How often do you upgrade to a new phone? Very rarely, I might be upgrading more often now though due to pixels having shorter security update Windows than iPhones.

What other Android ecosystem devices do you have? Watches, headphones/earbuds, etc.

None at the moment, although I am planning on getting Pixel buds.

Do you also use any Apple products, or are you Android all the way? (And/or Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc.)

For now I am android all the way. I have a Lenovo Thinkpad with Windows 11 on it, I have tried to switch to Linux but my laptops display needs fractional scaling as the dimensions of the screen are different from the resolution. So until fractional scaling gets better on nvidia cards I'll have to stay with Windows.

Dang I wrote a lot 💀

[–] decadentrebel@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Fold 4.

I don't have buyers remorse because it's different from the usual phones, just that I barely use it unfolded. The outer screen is good enough for most purposes.

[–] BasicallyFox@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Using a Galaxy S10e rn, everything in this phone is great except the battery.

And my laptop has Arch Linux btw.

[–] mikestevens@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

What phone are you using?

Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Are you happy with it? What are its best and worst qualities?

Absolutely love it. It's only the second Galaxy model to be sold with the Snapdragon chip in 🇦🇺 Australia, after the S22. I had an S21 Ultra (Exynos) and decided to wait for the S23, because of the rumours that the cameras would be improved.

Glad I waited, and also very glad to have an included stylus, because I'm a photographer and designer, so the stylus is bloody useful!

I honestly can't think of an downsides to this phone, I'm so damn satisfied with it.

Which phones have you had previously? Which were the best and worst of the lot?

As noted above, I had the S21 Ultra previously. I actually bought a Pixel 7 Pro when it was released, but after about a month I decided that while it was a great phone with some clever new features, I still preferred my S21 Ultra — so I sold the Pixel 7 Pro and went back to my Samsung!

Other previous phones, let me think... First modern smartphone was the iPhone 3G, followed by iPhone 4, iPhone 5S, HTC Desire, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Sony XPeria V, LG Nexus 5X, Google Pixel, Google Pixel 2, iPhone 11 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S10, iPhone 13 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, S23 Ultra.

Not sure if that order is exactly right... haha.

How often do you upgrade to a new phone?

Usually every year, to be honest, which obviously isn't super responsible either financially or in terms of e-waste, but it really is my number one addiction. 😂

What other Android ecosystem devices do you have? Watches, headphones/earbuds, etc.

Galaxy Watch 4, Pixel Watch, Galaxy Tab S4 (now my son's), Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (now my daughter's), and a Galaxy Tab S8.

Oh, and the Chromecast with Google TV.

Do you also use any Apple products, or are you Android all the way? (And/or Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc.)

I have an iPad Pro A12X (pre-M1, annoyingly) for drawing with Procreate, and I still have my iPhone 13 Pro — mostly just for shooting videos for work, since phone gimbals integrate better with iOS than they do with Android (or maybe just Samsung). I also have a work-supplied MacBook Pro 14" M1 Max.

Lastly, I also have a pair of AirPods Pro that I bought for my iPhone but now mostly only use with my Macbook, and a pair of Beats Fit Pro that I absolutely love using with my S23 Ultra. I was tempted by the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, but I really prefer buds with winglets for a more secure fit.

[–] Devgard@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago
  • S23 Ultra
  • Best is everything, worst is size.
  • Xiaomi and Samsung. I can't compare since they were at completely different price brackets.
  • Usually every 3 years.
  • Watch, buds.
  • Windows but i miss linux
[–] Izzy@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

I have a Pixel 4a because I refuse to spend more than $200 on a phone. The battery is starting to not last very long so either I am going to replace the battery or get a Pixel 6a for $200. I'd really prefer to not need a new phone because I like the headphone jack.

[–] B4tid0@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Pocophone f1 and I have a xiaomi note 8 as a backup ; because I tend to drop my phone due to carelessness (¯ ¯٥) i have had my screens change twice this year.

[–] MiddleWeigh@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

S10. It's older, bought refurbished, but probably technically the "best" phone I ever had and it's all I really need tbh.

[–] applejacks@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

LG v60.

I'm still headphones gang, may be the last phone of its time tho

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[–] spicytuna62@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

OnePlus 7T

I love this phone. I thought it'd take longer than it actually did to get used to not having a home button anymore, but I adapted in less than an hour. Love how OxygenOS is very close to stock Android. The glass on the back is super slick. Everything is super slick to me. My hands are chronically dry. So I hate all these glass-backed phones.

I've previously used a OnePlus 3, OnePlus One, Samsung Galaxy S4, Motorola Photon 4G, and a Motorola RAZR ve20. I loved my Galaxy. It was my first OLED experience. My OnePlus One felt like kind of a downgrade, but it also allowed me to stop having to sign contracts to get an affordable phone in 2015. Plus, back then, it felt like being a part of something new and exciting. Man I miss Cyanogenmod.

I upgrade basically whenever I need to. The phone I have now is ~3½ years old. The back glass is busted and the battery is starting to lose its life. They will repair it and so I'm thinking of sending it in. I can picture myself using this phone on another 3-4 years barring some kind of carrier stupidity.

No other Android devices. I'm an otherwise Windows/Ubuntu person. Started trying Mint recently. I do have a Fitbit.

I used to have a 4th gen iPod Touch circa 2011 before I got my Photon 4G. iOS 6 ran like crap on it and I was around the corner from building my first PC. I had started using my Android phone for my games and music and such so I just didn't have a use for it anymore. Sold it off and I haven't owned an Apple product since.

[–] elonspez@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Repair it for how much? Why not buy a newer but not so new OnePlus instead? e.g. OnePlus 9

I had a 6T, used it for almost 4 years, and then it became laggy with bad battery life, so I recently upgraded to a 9

[–] goldgate@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Pixel 6a. Was using pixel 4 before I washed it with my trouser, best phone I have owned. I miss headphone jack. I don't have any Apple products other than a iPad.

[–] fne8w2ah@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Current daily driver is a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. Pretty happy with its compact size when folded, and it serves as a mini-tablet of sorts when unfolded. It's also the first phone I've owned that I've not needed to worry about running out of juice midway throughout the day. Though I find its quite hard to find a suitable table stand for it, especially if using it unfolded.

My Android journey began in January 2014 with a Sony Xperia Z1, upgraded from an iPhone 4S with a busted home button. It was a pretty great introduction to the Android world with Sony's near-stock interface (when compared with the dark days of T**chwiz bloatware and whatnot) and lasted until January 2016 when I upgraded to a Sony Xperia Z5 Premium. The lack of an SD card slot of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 made me hold my nose and get the Z5P despite its Snapdragon 810 SoC, and I endured its abysmal 3.5 hour SOT until 20 months later I upgraded to a red Sony Xperia XZ Premium. This was a really good looking phone and its SD835 SoC was definitely a far cry from the 810 with 5.5 to 6 hours SOT. 28 months of use later and the XZP unfortunately started lagging, which prompted me to try out Samsung. The Note 10+ impressed me with its nearly bezelless screen and s-pen, but the Exynos 9825 SoC was pretty meh at battery life. So another 28 months later and I've upgraded to the SD 8+ Gen 1 Fold 4.

[–] democracy1984@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Google Pixel 6. I upgraded from an iPhone 8 a year ago. I love how open the os is, letting me do a bunch more then what's on the app store.

For headphones I have Soundcore Q30. They're decent Bluetooth headphones, that were pretty cheap when I bought them.

I use Windows with WSL. I tried switching to Linux for over a month, but I had too many issues with Windows only apps.

I also love usb-c. Almost all my devices can charge using the same cords. The only exceptions are my laptop with a 200W brick, and my diabetes pump. Nothing I can do about those.

I use a Pixel 5 with MicroG Lineage OS. I like it quite a bit: it's fast, has good battery life, and thanks to Lineage OS, it doesn't spy on me (as much). I do miss having an SD card slot and headphone jack, but those are hard to find anywhere these days, unfortunately.

I don't have a specific upgrade schedule: I upgrade phones when the need arises. My last phone (Nexus 6) was showing its age: it was slow, the battery struggled to hold a charge, and the USB port was worn out. Switching to Lineage OS and a wireless charger helped with these problems somewhat, but it was still time for an upgrade. My phone before that (Droid Razr M) was stuck in a boot loop, so had to upgrade that, as well.

I have an iPad 3 sitting around somewhere, but otherwise, not much of an Apple person. I try to use Linux whenever possible (I know Android isn't a traditional GNU/Linux system, but with Lineage OS and Termux, it's close enough for me).

[–] Amywho@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Just made the change to a Pixel 6a from my really old Samsung Galaxy.

My only requirement was about size. I wanted something "smaller", first I thought about going with a newer Samsung from their mid-range 'A' category, but after seeing how big those things were, I decided to look outside the Samsung ecosystem.

I discovered GrapheneOS and as an open-source enthusiast, I really liked the idea. The professionalism of the dev team and the bloat free aspect of the OS made me get a Pixel.

The size is not that bad, but I wish it would be a bit smaller. So far I'm really liking it. I love the camera of this thing (even without GCam). The physical button placement was a bit weird for me at first, but I've gotten used to it.

I usually abuse my phones till they die, so I was looking for something that would last and I really think that I will be able to go for 5 years with this phone without an issue.

[–] tag27@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Sorry for the my previous post, I hit 'publish' instead of exiting preview, lol.

What phone are you using?

Samsung Galaxy A11, Android 12/One Ui Core 4.1. I bought it in November 2020, amid a problem with not accessing Whatsapp and communicating with my schoolmates.

Are you happy with it? What are its best and worst qualities?

Yeah. I don't know how to say exactly about the best and worst things about it, I'll just say that at least it's satisfying me.

Which phones have you had previously? Which were the best and worst of the lot?

Samsung Galaxy J2 Prime and Motorola G6 Play. About the first one, it had terrible storage: 16GB, which was small even back then and it was one of the reasons I switched phones. About the second one, it lasted a few years, but as I used it a lot, it ended up with the battery becoming addicted and it stopped working during the pandemic. I still kept it, waiting for some repair, but then I had to give it to another relative.

How often do you upgrade to a new phone?

I use it until it is very old or with some defect. Yes, I know it's kind of weird to do that, but the wages here don't help much in the exchange for a decent phone.

What other Android ecosystem devices do you have? Watches, headphones/earbuds, etc.

None.

Do you also use any Apple products, or are you Android all the way? (And/or Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc.)

I have a tablet (Galaxy Tab A, 2019 version. Android 11), two cell phones that belonged to my parents (Galaxy J7 Prime and Galaxy A10, the latter being with the screen broken) and a notebook with Windows 10 that I also bought in 2020 (Samsung Essentials E20). Yes, I'm technically kind of a Samsung fan.

[–] NaughtyKatsuragi@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

What phone are you using? Huawei P50 Pro

Are you happy with it? What are its best and worst qualities? Absolutely love the phone, I'm not big on voice assistants or ecosystems so I don't need Google to be connected across all devices and have everything linked together.

As a phone it started out rough, loss of connection very frequently, dropping calls every day. After a few months these issues resolved on there own, which may have been a carrier issue and not the phone itself. Browsing and interacting with it is seamless, games run fast, apps rarely shutdown. The Camera is spectacular, the only rival is my gfs Iphone 13 but both are amazing. The only limiting factor is small amount of unavailable apps due to the lack G.P.S. but I'm not effected I just go to the mobile site instead.

Which phones have you had previously? Which were the best and worst of the lot? Huawei Nexus 6P Huawei P20 Pro

How often do you upgrade to a new phone? Every 3 - 4 years

What other Android ecosystem devices do you have? Watches, headphones/earbuds, etc. Not sure if they count but I have a TicWatch Pro 3 and EVA Earbuds

Do you also use any Apple products, or are you Android all the way? (And/or Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc.) Nope, no apple for me, Windows 10.

[–] kinther@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

I've got the Galaxy S22 standard and I like it quite a bit. I've used the Galaxy series primarily since 2012 and my most recent was the S20. It was definitely an upgrade in terms of camera quality, which is one of the main reason I got it. I can take so many more pictures now, but never do. So that says a lot about me :)

I usually go 2-5 years between phones, so this one was quicker than some I've held onto. I don't have any other Android devices and have only once before owned a Macbook Pro (2015 Core 2 Duo, I believe).

[–] sqlazer@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Galaxy Fold 4. Would have immediately recommended it but this past weekend the inside screen protector cracked down the middle. I need to contact Samsung and see how big of a hassle this is to get it replaced. I've only had the phone like 6 months, this really shouldn't be this fragile

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