What smartphone do your use? What's the best phone you had owned?
Moi? I use currently a NOTE 20 ultra 5g. Probably my second best phone, I only hate the fact it's so massive (I miss being able to use just one hand for my phone) and the mediocre battery life for someone like me that watches a lot of videos. But the S pen is so handy those few times you need it.
The best phone was probably a landline that was shaped like a duck.
It quacked when you had an incoming call.
How is it that technology has gone backwards in this area?
Pixel 8 with GrapheneOS
cheapest. there hasnt been an innovation since they added bluetooth i care or need.
my phone is [generally] not used for content consumption, i have real machines for that.
Like your mouth and stomach?
What a beautiful pussy you are you are, what a beautiful pussy you are
My good condition used 7 pro is arriving tomorrow and I plan on doing the same.
Would this be an overly complex process for those with only some tinkering experience (e.g., I've got Linux on my laptop and have a general sense of how terminal/tilix works)? I've read the docs but can't get a sense of the complexity
Thank you! 😊
GrapheneOS is by far the simplest experience I have ever had with flashing a custom ROM over the years. The web installer is very straightforward.
Awesome, thanks so much! I'll bump this into the projects list 😁
Okay time to show my ignorance lol. Can you offer a resource on what a sandboxed browser is and what kind of tinkering is required??
This is what I have going, and I too wish it had wireless charging. But overall, just a fine phone and not ridiculously huge.
I'm going to switch it out at some point. Any gotchas?
The phone or the OS? Hardware wise, my only gripe is the lack of wireless charging. I use an aftermarket plug to add it, but it doesn't put the charge pad quite in the right place, so I sometimes have to put it upside down. It also means the USB-C port is always occupied. That isn't a huge deal for me as I like to use plugs to keep dust out anyway
Software wise, I'm still running regular Android. I don't like that there's no Gallery app. You have to use Google Photos. That coupled with the fact that .nomedia files don't seem to work mean that the app shows ALL photos on your phone, including some you might want to keep private.
Other than that though, I'm pretty happy with it. Just upgraded mine to 15.
Thanks. Yeah I didn't specify, I have the phone. I really wish the pixel line had replaceable batteries. And like you said wireless charging is a game changer. I like it so that the USB C will last longer. At least in theory.
I took just run android but I plan on experimenting after I get another phone. I'm looking for a phone that will last more than a couple of years...
It's more than theory in my experience. I had a OnePlus 5 and lint completely ruined the USB-C port. I could spend 10 minutes trying to dig stuff out and get the cable right for it to establish a charge before I finally gave up and upgraded. It's why I'm not AS annoyed that the wireless charging add-on takes up the port. As long as it's also keeping debris out of the port (and the rest of the phone continues to run well) I'll live with it.
Had this phone, Google pushed an OS update that caused the bootloader to get corrupted on a factory reset. Tried to tell me I had to pay them to get the motherboard replaced even though their faulty ass update broke the phone. Three months out of warranty. Never buying a pixel again.
I have a Fairphone 5. Maybe too expensive for what it is, but hopefully it doesn't have a big evil annoying company behind it and it should hopefully last a while. Still running stock Android on it though, because I don't want to lose Play Attestation or whatever it is called.
I dropped my FairPhone 5 from a bicycle on unwelcoming pavement at good speed. Broke the camera glasses, the screen protector, the carry case and the back cover. It looked positively destroyed and my first thought was "yay, it's repairable". Repairing was easy enough and aside from some war wounds on the side of the case (scratches) it's as good as new. I'm glad I got this phone.
Aside from being repairable, I also appreciate the e/OS support.
Mine was 300€ used, definitely worth the money.
I recently got an Asus zenfone 10. I usually buy midrange phones but this time I couldn't find a good one. I like small phones, and they seem to be an endangered species these days. This one also has a headphone jack which is nice.
Current: Pixel 6a. Probably the best out of all the phones I've owned. Wish the battery life was a little bit longer.
I do have a soft spot for my first ever smartphone, the Nexus 4. I adored it.
Agreed, Nexus 4 was amazing and I miss it.
Sony Xperia 5 V
Great camera, small size, excellent battery life, removable storage, IP rated, and has a headphone jack. The only thing it is missing is a removable battery.
This is ny daily driver as well. Just wish Sony would update the phone for longer
Yeah, I actually bought mine just before the VI models were available for purchase when I found out at 5 VI was not going to be produced. Its a big hole in the segment imo.
The OnePlus 7t back when it was on oxygen os 10. Great hardware, perfect software. It was the first phone I got where I didn't need or want to flash a custom rom. Unfortunately, every software update that it got since then felt like a downgrad. After oxygen os 10, oxygen os and Oppo's color os have been going through something of a merge. The result is that oxygen os is no longer as stock-like as it used to be and lots of small convenience features have disappeared in favor of flashy yet useless-to-me features. I have an 8t now and it's fine but I don't think that I'll get another OnePlus.
I have an iPhone 14 Pro Max. It's a nice phone. I like IOS better than I thought I would. I do think the Galaxy I had before it was pretty good though, too. If I didn't struggle so much with the iPhone keyboard, I guess this would be my favorite, but I use my phone so much and the swipe typing is so rough, it's hard to give a full endorsement.
That said, I am probably overestimating how gos typing on Android was. I remember lots of autocorrect issues, but iOS has a bunch of keyboard bugs that make correcting errors even more frustrating than making them in the first place.
I’ve been using Apple phones since like 2008 I think. The keyboard used to be great. This last year I would be tearing my hair out if I had any hair. I don’t know what happened, but it has gone to absolute shirt. I am really hoping the more I type the better Apple AI and hopefully-smarter-Siri will get at figuring out what I’m trying to say. I’m really hoping because it’s endlessly frustrating and maddening for me.
Fun side note: I have very fond memories of my bright yellow Windows phone that I was given long ago when I worked at the AT&T store back in maybe 2014. I think it was a Nokia. They also gave me a Samsung back then at some point too. I have zero memories of any kind about that phone.
I also loved my windows phone. The seamless continuation moving from phone to laptop was something that only now is sort of coming back. The phone just needed apps but the os and the design was really fun.
My exact same analysis. The OS was terrific, attractive, and fun to use. And there were edges and corners, which you just don’t get with Apple.
I am so glad someone else has noticed this too. Typing a search term in safari is the most frustrating experience ever.
When and where and to what degree the supposedly AI powered correction suggestions appear or how accurate they are, seems to vary wildly, which definitely does not help the experience
Asus Zenphone 10; headphone jack, minimal bloatware, two physical sim slots, good battery, small size so it actually fits in a pocket, finger print sensor on the power button so it's seamless to unlock. Best phone I've had in quite a while
One possible drawback is that I don't think it supports esim or has an sd card slot.
Currently using a OnePlus 9 Pro. Best phone I've used? The OnePlus 5t, hands down. Slightly wider aspect ratio in portrait orientation, great screen, camera and fingerprint reader for its day and fantastic 3rd party ROM selection.
Seconded! My 5T was the best phone I've ever carried. I carry the OP11 5G these days and I've been really happy with it, but overall I prefer the size and weight of the 5T.
Currently using a Google Pixel 8, I've been reading up about GrapheneOS.
Why would an average user need to install this over the stock OS?
New interface, customisation, fdroid apps, security updates/data protection; the list goes on, I think..? 🤔 I haven't looked it up in a while; but it's definitely one of the reasons I got a Pixel 8 Pro. You should stay curious.
To not be dependent on Google and send all your data to them.
I know the average user doesn't care, but they should.
I've been a fan of the Pixels. I'm on a 7 now, no complaints.
iPhone 12 Mini. I loved my 5S and first gen SE and I still can’t understand why phone manufacturers these days insist on making tablets and calling them phones. I just want something that fits in my pocket. I would probably have switched to Android years ago but I haven’t found a single Android phone with a small form factor, decent performance and decent camera.
12 mini for me too, for the same reason. Hopefully the trend will reverse and smaller phones will become more popular.
US owner of an EU Fairphone 4. It is functionally locked to T-mobile due to AT&T not wanting unlocked devices on their network and the 5G bands dont always line up correctly so calls while driving are tricky. Beyond that, I love the device and can do that cool party trick where you can take out your battery and everyone stares in awe at my organic, free-range smart phone. (That part is a lie, I dont go to parties).
Joking asside, I like having an attempt at an ethically sourced phone, even though it is a finicky device. There is a US redistributor and they sell a model with region appropriate changes and a de-googled cloud backup service, but im not in the market for replacing this thing yet.
Eu fairphone 4 user here. Obviously i have none of these issues as phone/network locking isnt a thing here. And im running lineageos and not fully degoogled ( which im ok with ).
But the party trick is very real haha.
I plan to use this phone for at least 8 years as my previous phone, a one plus x, i used for 8 years.
Fairphone also has 5 (!) year of warranty if you sign up for free.
And you can still buy all the spare parts for the Fairphone 2 which came out 9 years ago.
So getting to 8 years shouldn't be a problem.
Exactly the reason why i replaced the one plus x ( which was running a lineageos android 11 build fine ) with the fairphone 4 :D
Pixel 7 pro here. They're overpriced at release but if you're willing to buy last year's model they're pretty good.
iPhone 15 pro currently. Blackberry passport was the GOAT though.
Samsung Galaxy S20, still doing good work for me.
Nothing really compares to that first iPhone though.
Currently a Galaxy S9+. Battery life isn't the best anymore, and I'm running low on internal storage, but it's still serving me well. I'm not even sure what I'd upgrade to, I really need the SD slot that almost nothing new has anymore.
Best was my old Motorola Droid 2, I miss slide-out keyboards so damn badly.
This cherry phone with a physical keyboard from the Philippines that allowed you to watch television using an antenna in the top right. However it sadly stopped booting for me.
Pixel 2 XL was my favorite phone and still works. I'm still on a Pixel 5 because of the physical fingerprint sensor
Same, 2XL was just a great phone all around, I really wish Google stuck with the panda colour scheme and not following trends like the notch or hole-punch, I'm on the 4a after my 5a shit itself, love the rear fingerprint reader!
I miss the physical sensor from my 4a. Enjoy the time while it lasts!
Pixel 4a. I'm too lazy to get a new phone that often. Though, I don't get any proper updates anymore, that sucks. Best phone has always been the current one I use at the time.
iPhone 14 Pro. Got it deeply discounted from my carrier when the 15 line came out.
It's ok, but it's a modern smartphone like any other so I have too many dislikes to say it's the best. The phone I think of most fondly was probably my LG Keybo 2
Probably 1+ 6t (that's before it was merged). No bloat nice phone.
Or my old BlackBerry before they stopped bothering to test anything and rested on their laurels. I miss the one place portal everything posted its notifications etc. Android is awful for that.
I like my Pixel 7 Pro (current phone) but I have to have a launcher on it because their home screen sucks.
Samsung Galaxy S10+ stable, battery lasts, all good
My current and best phone is the Pixel 7 :3
Best phone I ever had was an LG G7. It was dope.
Galaxy Z Fold 5. Before this I had a Z Flip 4. This Fold 5 is probably the best phone I've ever owned. The screen is amazing to watch stuff on, I make music sometimes on it, I played through all of Paper Mario on it, I use it to draw when I'm bored or waiting for someone.
Had the fold 3, was fine at first, but my eyes aren't as perfect, and the screen was so thin it was less usable folded.
The pixel fold has a better form factor, but it crappier otherwise.
Cheap android phone with custom rom support.
Current phone: OnePlus 9 Pro
Best phone ever: Nokia N900
I miss the Nexus 6. I loved the large comfortable display and dual front-firing speakers. It does not have modern pros like a fingerprint reader, USB C, or a recent processor. But it also doesn't have modern cons like an obstructive front camera, 9:18/20 display, or curved glass.
I once played around with a fair phone. It felt like the best phone I ever played with.
I had an old Motorola that had Android, replaceable battery, and audio connection. It does after 4-5 years when the power button stopped working and they stopped updating the phone after the first couple of months.
iPhone 16 pro. Too early to tell but this might be my favorite ever.
Previous ones I also really enjoyed were all nexus or pixels but they all inevitably shit themselves after a couple years of use. Most recent one pixel 7 just decided it was gonna drain 6% battery per hour while idling out of nowhere. And nothing I tried fixed it. And I tried a lot.
iPhone 15 Pro and Pixel 6 for work. They’re both fine. Does phone things. Wish the battery life on the iPhone were better though.
On an iphone 13 mini because it's just about the last reasonably-sized smartphone left even though ios has tons of little quirks that annoy me. Favorite was probably the OG Pixel I had until like 2020 when it finally died, RIP
iPhone SE. I would use a smaller model of iPhone, if there was one. I need a phone I can easily take with me, not some aircraft-carrier sized high-tech device ;)
I have a Galaxy S24 Plus. My three gripes with it are that it is too big, no headphone jack, and no SD card slot. Really, being too big is the worst. I miss smaller phones. Like the Galaxy S6. My favorite phone was probably either my ZTE Axon 7, which had fantastic front facing stereo speakers and a nice aluminum body, or my HTC Vivid with its horizontal dock.
I have the same phone. I don't mind the size, but I'd like it to be lighter.
The lack of headphone jacks across the industry should have been a criminal offense, initiating RICO lawsuits from our government.
The problem with smaller phones is the lousy battery
So be it. I should be able to text one handed without stretching my thumb through inhuman effort to reach the "a" key.
Between an Android or an Iphone smartphone.
Anything with Android on it for sure.
When you look at smartphone manufacturers, the only reason you should consider a specific manufacturer besides price (i'm talking function wise) is for any prebuilt settings. Some might have some special kind of battery saving feature among others including opening Android more compared to others. Some phones might have build in local radio support or Bluetooth others likely don't.
Samsung Galaxy note 4 or my current asus rog phone 6d. Note 4 was a peak of smartphone design, large screen, exchangable battery, stylus ( mostly for fun, i do like to have phones that have something special in them, but it was quite usefull for playing nonograms , havent actually used it for notes ever ) microsd, jack. Evrything ever needed in a phone was there.
Rog phone 6d on the other hand has suprisingly many features minijack ,TWO usbc ports , actually large storage ( microsd is good but android has a lot of limitations on what you can use it for so its not that usefull and you still need fairly large internal memory unfortunetly ) and most imporantly the back has rgb ( have i mentioned that i like phones that have something special ). Also it comes with a fast charger included ( which shouldnt be special for such an expensive phone but apparently getting single usb cable for charging somehow became a standard practice ). Also a large screen and it looks sick.
I have a Pixel 8a. Before that I had a Pixel 4a. Both of these are probably the best phones I've owned.
I say both, because for someone who isn't a heavy user, the only real benefits of the 8a over the 4a for me are the bump in performance and the 120hz screen. Oh, and updates too, of course.
I miss my Galaxy S4. After that, things just got worse and worse... Shoutout to my Nexus 6 for the screen size and ratio, though.
I absolutely love my Xperia 1 VI. I didn't realize how much I missed the headphone port until I had it back. Also there's so many fun camera settings to play around with. And the expandable storage that I loaded up with ROMs
Huawei nova 3 was the best one I had, Second best one I had was iPhone 6s plus because it was handed down to my mom from my dad and then handed down to me and i still had software updates and was still smooth compared flagship samsung trash i owned that slowed down after 4 years. I might have put iphone6s as the best if sideloading was easier.
Samsung Galaxy A13 5G. It's fine.
Some motorola g30-something.
Great value for money. I don't care for anything extravagant when it comes to phones.
Redmi Note 11
Nokia N-Gage
Samsung S10 here. It needs replacement or LineageOS.
Best phone? I LOVED my Nexus5. Oh man, was that a great phone. Before that - get ready - StarTAC 7800: a feature-flip. Not as indestructable as my micro-TAC 550 but still a great phone.
I have the Samsung XCover 6 pro. Solely because it has replaceable batteries. Kinda a bad camera but I dont take a lot of photos so it doesnt matter to me.
Current is a Pixel 6 Pro, it's faster than the 5a but the 5a had better battery life. Both with Graphene. Best would be either the unbreakable LG P500 or Pixel 6 Pro, worst was definitely the LG G3.
Current: S24U, Moto Razor 2023+, Pixel 8 Pro.
Best phone: Probably the LG V20 or V30. Can't remember which.
Currently on a CMF phone 1.
Best phone is a tie between Nokia E70 or the HTC Dream. Suitable form factors and physical keyboards <3
One Plus 8, it's been more than 4 years. I refreshed it with a /e/OS install and I still love it!
I've only had to replace the charging port a few days ago. It's not too hard if you have a heat gun
Using a mid budget Redmi Note 10 pro, nothing exceptional, it works pretty good with a nice screen. My favorite was the Nexus 5.
I've generally enjoyed the iphone line the most. Idk if the iphone 4 was actually the best or if I just have a lot of nostalgia for it, but either way I'd say the iphone 4
Currently have Pixel 9 Fold, it's ok
Best is probably HTC G2. Still waiting for HTC to make a G3
I just got the 9 Fold and I really like it so far. The fold screen has a weirdly square aspect ratio, but it's excellent for reading.
Yes, it's quite excellent, but for the Honor V3. I got the Honor for my GF who doesn't care as much about having the latest android version and latest features. Hardware wise, it's miles ahead and makes the Fold feel very dated.
CAT S22 Flip as my daily driver. I also don't really use my phone for content consumption anymore; I just need the basics + hotspot.
"Best phone" doesn't really exist for me in the smarphone era because they've all been compromises. If my OnePlus 3 had a slide out QWERTY keyboard, it would probably qualify, though.
Currently using a Moto G Stylus 2020, this thing has never had major updates pushed, and the last security one was a while ago, it's pretty decent but has gotten much slower over time and is probably near the end of its life.
The best phone I had was an iphone 7, it was originally terrible, but the it was iOS 12? (13?) that came out and it was so much better. Like you would have major performance issues with this thing before the update, Apple was probably at their peak around then. I stopped using it because it was vendor locked to Sprint, and sprint stopped existing in my area when T Mobile bought them out
I liked my Motorola One Vision, 21:9 source ratio was a banger, lots of screen real estate and the phone fit in the hand nicely, vanilla Android was cool, I hate the iPhoney flavor of Android my current OnePlus has, only downsides was:
You can rip my blackberry key2 from my death cold hands.
I got a Nothing Phone 2 after two 1+ phones (5t and then an 8 Pro, and didn't like where the OS was going). I love it. It's been awesome, maybe 7 months with it?
S8+ I thought was the best one that I had till I upgraded
Current: Asus zenfone 9 favorite: Nextbit Robin
such a perfect phone for the price. Wish they made something like it now
Current Pixel 9 Pro. Second best phone I've used, but it hasn't stood the test of time yet.
Best I used was the Galaxy S7.
Note 9 would be my top choice, but it started having display issues around the 2-year mark.
Considering the state of the phones back then my 1+ 3t was amazing. No bloat, dirt cheap. A real flagship killer, as they positioned it.
These days I only require a phone to have fast charge like OnePlus or Oppo delivers it. 15 minutes charge for a full day of use. That's awesome. I can never go back to iOS because I'm so used to my custom keyboard and the gestures I use for quick acces to apps and other stuff.
I have had 3 brands. One I cannot remember, ZTE, and Samsung. Samsung has been the best I've had. My A71 has been my best phone so far. I'd say my A15 is the best, but I only had it maybe a month or two before accidentally going swimming with it.
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G
Currently using a Galaxy S21 FE. I'm honestly not rhat picky, as long as it's not apple, and as long as it's fast enough, as my employers have paid for them. I got this one after being on the wrong side of the country while my phone died, so I had the shop clerk phone up the guy at the head office to confirm that I could just pick one and send them the bill. The S21FE was what was in store at the time, and I was kind of in a hurry, as I was in the middle of a projectrelated field work.
I've mostly stuck to Samsung because that's the (mangled) version of Android that I'm used to. It takes some tampering with adb to remove the bloat, but once done it works really well.
The "best" phone (quotes, because I think that's highly subjective) I ever had was the Galaxy Note 2. I loved that phone. Great stylus, good OCR, and once it got used to my terrible handwriting, it was much better and less prone to error than typing on the softkeys. The Note 3 through 6 were not available in my country, so I know nothing. And it annoyed the fuck out of me that Note 7 was a safety hazard, because beyond that it seemed like a really good phone. Sadly the later iterations of the Note series seem too cheaply made. Plastic stylus, etc.
Honorable mention: Openmoko GTK 2. I loved it, but the concept of a linux smartphone (or smartphones in general) hadn't matured completely in 2007, so it wasn't at the stage where it could replace my dumb phone completely.
Today, as mentioned, I'm not that picky. I feel like most phones are the same, except the ones that are too cheap. There is only so much useful hardware that can be crammed into a phone, and beyond that there are mostly improvements on things such as the camera. The rest comes down to software.
Note 2 was epic, they changed the whole game. Pos cpu though, dropped mine and the note 3 was a huge jump in cpu back when that really mattered.
Pixel fold
V60
Best phone ever made, headphone jack, beautiful sound, perfect screen, had the extra screen if you wanted, did everything, microsd, no bullshit software, still had docked mode.
Had the z fold 3, was OK, but it was really way too skinny to use folded, and unfolding it all the time was a pain, the pixel fold really nailed the form factor.
Shame google makes garbage software, Samsung put infinite bloatware, but they also had docked mode and charge limit, which this crap doesnt. OTOH at least I can read and use it folded.
Currently g42 hawao with calyxos, best past one was nexus 6
Currently a Note 8, my favorite was the Note 4. I love big phones lol. I have fat fingers and I just really liked it. My least favorite was the iPhone. I got an iPhone 2 awhile ago and even jail breaking it wasn't enough for me to like it. I actually had that phone until a few months ago. I was using it as an alarm clock (that's literally all it could do), but the battery broke the screen, so 🤷🏿♀️
Note 8, wow that old? Does that even work nowadays, the updates must had killed the ram
I'm going to have to replace it. 😮💨 It's to the point where I can't update apps because it's too old. And it takes ages to send anything. But it's served me well.
Do you use the pen often?
Nope. Lost it ages ago.
Lenovo ThinkPhone. I like it. Very tough, fast, and good battery life.
I miss my LG Alias 2
I'm currently using a Samsung s21 ultra, and it's kinda meh. The compass is not bad, it's horrendous. It used to be offset by say 90 degrees, but nowadays it seems more likely that it's a random number generator from 0 to 360 degrees, making any maps app bacically unusable unless you look at road markings, and other buildings to guess which way you're facing. The main camera has over time developed a hardware issue that makes all pictures always out of focus, unless you hit the phone on a hard surface to dislodge the focusing mechanism. From a software standpoint it's a good device. No major bugs, and it's pretty stabile.
My favorite phone was a used Samsung s6 as it felt kinda "flawless". Battery was good, camera was great (for the time), and hardware was pretty awesome. It was a great phone while it was still getting updates.
I miss my note20. I'm a behemoth, with massive hands, so it was just the right one-hand size for me hah. It was also just a quality phone that survived a lot of abuse. Contrast to my pixel 7 pro, that I bought for one feature, and whose screen has had numerous issues in the year I've had it... Not happy with that switch.