- This topic has 37 replies, 25 voices, and was last updated 5 years ago by SandyThePig.
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Quick one – what Android?
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P-JayFree Member
Any opinions on the best Android phone? I need to order one in the next few hours.
I fancy an Android after years of iPhones, the 8 isn’t meaningfully different to my 7 and the X isn’t work approved.
I fancied a Pixel 2 but I’m told they’re no longer available and the 3 isn’t out for a month.
Perimeters are:
Cost – not overly important, it’s a work phone, but no ‘piss take’ £1k Halo iPhone X type things.
Size – standard, no XLs or Pluses.
Storage needs to be 64GB or more, currently got 128GB and use about half.
Fairly robust and decent cases available, they get battered
Works well with VW Group Android auto ‘radios’.
onehundredthidiotFull Memberi got my pixel2 from Currys at a reasonable discount.
Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition
Latest Singletrack VideosFresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...mikewsmithFree Memberhttps://store.google.com/gb/product/pixel_2
ready to ship today
FuzzyWuzzyFull MemberA new LG ThinIQ came out well in latest Which? tests, not sure how good Which? tests are for mobiles though…
brakesFree MemberI’d recommend a One Plus – I’ve tried most of the Android brands and my 5T is by far the best AND best value.
Great cameras, decent battery life, 120 GB, fast enough for most games. Stable.
P-JayFree MemberThanks for the advice, sorry I should add we only have a single supplier and they no longer stock the Pixle 2.
Samsung S9 worth a go?
faddaFull MemberHaving done similar(ish) research recently, it turns out that Huawei are (by someone’s reckoning, at least) the most reliable phones out there. I just took delivery of a P20 Pro on the back of that and am so far delighted…
sbobFree MemberAll my friends with Huaweis are pleased with them, as are the Motorola and Pixel owners. Customers most likely to ask to borrow a charger are the Samsung and Apple owners, customers with the most broken screens and most likely to get sworn at also goes to Apple.
P-JayFree MemberHaving done similar(ish) research recently, it turns out that Huawei are (by someone’s reckoning, at least) the most reliable phones out there. I just took delivery of a P20 Pro on the back of that and am so far delighted…
I like the idea of Lieca lens and they specs look good (the fact it’s a dead ringer for an iphone x probably doesn’t hurt sales)./
flyingmonkeycorpsFull MemberI have a Huawei Mate 10 Pro (similarish spec to the P20 but only 2 lenses, and no notch) and am very impressed so far. Battery life is great, shedloads of storage and great screen. Snaffles up games and spits them out the other side too.
Only downsides are no headphone jack (but it comes with an adapter and decent enough USBC phones) and no wireless charging, but I’m not fussed about that.
Also the screen is ‘only’ FHD+ but unless you’re planning on using VR I’m not sure you’ll really be able to tell. I can’t tell the difference between it and my old QHD LG, except the colours are nicer on the Huawei.
faddaFull MemberI like the idea of Lieca lens and they specs look good
I’m no photographer, but the camera/screen is damned impressive…
IHNFull MemberI’ve had a few Sonys, as they’ve always had a ‘Compact’ model that come in a smallish size; I don’t want a massive phone, and that’s generally all that seems to be available from other manufacturers.
https://www.sonymobile.com/gb/products/phones/xperia-xz2-compact/specifications/#gref
johnnersFree MemberHard to look past a Samsung
Not for anyone who’s been scarred by that Touchwiz abomination of a few years back. Hopefully they’ve dropped it now but it’s the first thing I think of when I see a Samsung Android device.
johnnystormFull MemberHonor 9 is £229 from Honor on a 48hr flash sale
5.2″, Android 8, Sd card, headphone jack, 64gb, dual lens camera.
I’ve got a Mate 10 Pro and my Mrs has the 9.
The Mate 10 Pro is a 6″ but not that much bigger as there is less area wasted on a home button and bezels than on some plus sized phones.
Both of us are happy with them.
somoukFree MemberI’ve got an S9 after having an X and there really isn’t much difference. The X has a better camera and that’s about it.
I’ve had a oneplus before and that was great, I think with either one you are seeing a good implementation of Android.
trailwaggerFree MemberNot for anyone who’s been scarred by that Touchwiz abomination of a few years back. Hopefully they’ve dropped it now but it’s the first thing I think of when I see a Samsung Android device.
Keep up granddad! its not 2010 any longer 😉
swedishmattFree MemberHuawei make very good phones – battery and camera , speed.
WATCH OUT: Huawei battery management system (aggressive) seems to kill Strava. Especially after 1-2 hours.
I have a mate 9
flyingmonkeycorpsFull MemberAye I’ve heard about the Strava issues, a mate has a Huawei and I’m not sure whether he’s found a way around it; there are ways to exclude apps from the aggressive battery management, but I’m not sure how effective they are.
I don’t use Strava so it doesn’t really bother me. Though it’ll be interesting to see if it affects navigation in the car.
edhornbyFull MemberI had a huwaei and it was ok but there is a lot of their own stuff bundled onto the android build (which is probably why folk have the battery issues) – I replaced it with a Nokia and I prefer it, they ship with an unmolested android build
Kryton57Full MemberThere is a recent Mag test pf phones around this price/capability. Basically
OnePlus 6 is the best
Honor, v good but don’t like their software
Nokia 6 all good except screen size a tad small if that matters.
Moto 6 – all good
Hauwei – all good a bit more expensive in general, battery issues
I have a Moto 5s and if I was buying I’d buy the dual SIM Amazon 4GB 64G Moto 6 on at £219 at currently.
johnnystormFull MemberThe Huawei “extras” that duplicate Google’s own apps and the free games are easily deleted.
The strava problem where it cuts rides short is also a doodle to get around.
Settings > Apps & notifications > Apps > Strava > Battery > Launch > Manage Manually > Run in Background (slide on)
Seems faffy but it’s just a few clicks and for most apps that you don’t need on all the time it makes for tremendous battery life.
johnnystormFull Member<span style=”font-family: ‘Helvetica Neue’, Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.8rem;”>There is a recent Mag test pf phones around this price/capability. Basically</span>
OnePlus 6 is the best
Honor, v good but don’t like their software
Nokia 6 all good except screen size a tad small if that matters.
Moto 6 – all good
Hauwei – all good a bit more expensive in general, battery issues
I have a Moto 5s and if I was buying I’d buy the dual SIM Amazon 4GB 64G Moto 6 on at £219 at currently.
The Honor and the Huawei will be running identical software and there is a lot of overlap between their models, they are the same company, I realise you have given a precis but to all intents and purposes their pros and cons will be the same.
Suggesting a OnePlus 6 (RRP from £469) and a Nokia 6/Moto G6 (RRP £199-£219) is a pretty wide price range!
mikertroidFree MemberI got a Samsung A8 2018 Dual Sim in January having used iPhones for years…
I paid about £330 inc a 64Gb card in the middle east.
It’s fantastic and has the latest Android which seems very slick indeed… I don’t notice the Samsung Touchwiz at all. It’s waterproof, USB-C, has great battery life and a good screen. The Dual Sim is brilliant as it saves me carrying around my crappy work iPhone SE(!). I get free ramadan dates on the calendar too.
I suspect I’ll move to the S-series as and when, but this phone is spot on for my needs right now. WAY better than any iPhone I’ve used!
Edit: if you buy a Honor/Huwaei, you’ll be spying for the Chinese 😀
sbobFree MemberSuggesting a OnePlus 6 (RRP from £469) and a Nokia 6/Moto G6 (RRP £199-£219) is a pretty wide price range!
I find it incredible that people will spend 2/3/4 even 5 times as much on a phone as my £199 G6 when at the end of the day we just use them for shit-posting on Facebook. 😀
flyingmonkeycorpsFull MemberI find it incredible that people will spend 2/3/4 even 5 times as much on a phone as my £199 G6 when at the end of the day we just use them for shit-posting on Facebook.
Could make the same argument about bikes too though! Sometimes it’s nice to have something nicer. Plus cameras, screens, gaming power etc all improve as you spend a few more quid.
CougarFull MemberI find it incredible that people will spend 2/3/4 even 5 times as much on a phone as my £199 G6
I had this argument with myself when I bought a new handset a couple of months back. Time was, you needed a premium handset if you wanted a decent user experience. These days though, like in the PC world a few years ago, the hardware technology has caught up and surpassed software demands. I don’t see many compelling reasons to be dropping North of £500 on a phone that you’ll probably be consigning to a drawer in a couple of years. You can get some cracking handsets around the £200 mark, a £500 phone may be “better” but is it really £300 better?
I narrowed my choice down to the Amazon G6 mentioned above or the Nokia 6.1. The G6 is the phone everything else is compared to at that price point, but the Nokia beats it on spec in every area bar the camera. The Nokia is on the Android One programme so came with Android 8 and immediately updated to 8.1, and I’m expecting 9.0 imminently. The form factor of the Samsung put me off – in a superb example of premium marketing BS the screen isn’t 16:9 but 18:9 (or y’know, when I went to school, 2:1) and I’m no fan of Samsung Android devices anyway. So I got the 6.1 and it’s been great so far, looks and feels like a premium product, hasn’t lagged once, the only fault I can level at it is that the camera is absolutely mince in low light conditions. And I can live with that over paying twice the price for a phone.
P-JayFree MemberWe hit a few bumps in the road, a few twists and turns and it ended up arriving 4 weeks later, in the end I bottled it and ordered….
an iPhone 8, it’s a complete game changer compared to my 7!!! Sorry did I say game changer? I meant it’s EXACTLY THE SAME.
I thought going from a 6 to a 7 was uneventful, but 7 to 8. Seems development of the numbered series has ended, guess you need an X series now.
Kryton57Full MemberSamsung S8 is £380 on amazon. 4gb Ram 64gb memory and takes a card , comes with a fast charger and is ip68.
I got mine even cheaper through some connections i have but its so good i would have paid £380 for it. Stunning phone tbh. Also small size yet large screen even with s Spigen case. Amzing camera. Long battery life
matt_outandaboutFull MemberI wanted one that was
a) waterproof and bashish proof
b) getting Pie / fairly light overlay
c) not too big
d) under £20/mth
I got a Sony XZ1, free upfront after cashback and £15.99 with unlimited calls and texts and 2gb data from EE.
Is much, much faster than the work G6 I have. Much better battery. Noticeably better sound on earphones and in car. I like. A lot.
scrumfledFree MemberAvoid the Sony like the plague. I switched from an ancient LG g3 to the Xperia xz2 compact and its been pretty disappointing.
There are known problems that Sony just don’t acknowledge and their support is just shy of insulting.
– screen isn’t responsive at times, leading to an inability to type
– ear sensor is poor… Meaning mid call your ear will be pressing buttons in the keypad
– ringer vol randomly drops… Lots of missed calls
It’s a dog 🙁
cchris2louFull MemberInstead of starting another which phone thread I ll ask here .
My blackberry Z10 deserves its retirement , it has been brilliant for the past 4 years or more .
I dont want , need Apple .
Following another thread I am all set to get the Motorola G6 play .
Anything else I should consider ?
Needs
to be under around 150 euros new or reconditioned , located in france .
be able to run apps like whatsapp , facebook etc…
Dont take many pictures , so no need for massive memory
Easy to use .
SandyThePigFree MemberI’ve got a Samsung A7 (mid range phone) and it’s a great no nonsense phone. It’s 18 months old and no signs of dying. Really great build quality, usbc, waterproof etc. Was around £300.
Someone further up mentioned the A8 (This years version) and it similarly looks hard to beat. I’m planning to replace mine next year with the (I assume) A9, just because I’d like an upgrade.
My mates have been dotting around with £1k iPhones etc and it’s crazy to think a £300 phone had a better screen (until the recent iPhone models were announced a few weeks ago).
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