android I am going to looking for a new phone, recommendation please

[jnelsoninjax]

I am currently using an LG K10, and I hate it, the battery life is horrible and it has a few other annoyances. I have been considering getting The Nextbit Robin, it seems to me to be a decent phone and it is only $120 which I find to be very reasonable. My goal would be to stay below $150, and the only requirement is that it be unlocked and Android. I have an Asus Zenfone 2 that I need to replace the screen on and that will only cost $30, but I would do that for a backup. Please offer me some suggestions as to what brand to look for.

[Brandon H Supervisor]

If you have Amazon Prime the Honor 6X is discounted to $149.99 right now.

It's the phone I have right now and I can say it's a great device for its worth.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Honor-6X-Unlocked-Smartphone-Gray/dp/B01MRZFBBH/ref=sr_1_3?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1510260597&sr=1-3&keywords=honor+6x&dpID=51y5Cu%2Bv8dL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

[jnelsoninjax]

2 minutes ago, Brandon H said:

If you have Amazon Prime the Honor 6X is discounted to $149.99 right now.

It's the phone I have right now and I can say it's a great device for its worth.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Honor-6X-Unlocked-Smartphone-Gray/dp/B01MRZFBBH/ref=sr_1_3?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1510260597&sr=1-3&keywords=honor+6x&dpID=51y5Cu%2Bv8dL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Looks like a decent phone, what do you like about it?

[Brandon H Supervisor]

Just now, jnelsoninjax said:

Looks like a decent phone, what do you like about it?

the dual camera is really nice, takes great pictures I think, even in low light.

I'd say the fingerprint reader is a neat feature but that's starting to become common on devices. it is nice though

 

it's a 720p screen which is plenty for a 5.5 in screen IMO. The only real feature that it does not have that other 'flagships' do is NFC and I can do without contactless payments

 

Battery lasts me 2 days with general use as well which I find impressive with any Android device anymore

[jnelsoninjax]

Just now, Brandon H said:

the dual camera is really nice, takes great pictures I think, even in low light.

I'd say the fingerprint reader is a neat feature but that's starting to become common on devices. it is nice though

 

it's a 720p screen which is plenty for a 5.5 in screen IMO. The only real feature that it does not have that other 'flagships' do is NFC and I can do without contactless payments

 

Battery lasts me 2 days with general use as well which I find impressive with any Android device anymore

Sounds like a good phone all around, I will defiantly consider it.

[Draconian Guppy]

Refurbished flagship with warranty:  $134

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/LG-G5-32GB-4G-LTE-H820-Android-AT-T-GSM-Unlocked-Smartphone-SRB/192349547960?hash=item2cc8ed2db8:m:m9rvPzXGy-xLzJ5GbGFATqw

 

brand new for $199

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BRAND-NEW-LG-G5-H830T-32GB-T-Mobile-GSM-Unlocked-4G-LTE-Smartphone/352049253484?hash=item51f7c54c6c:m:mJhf3WgGNAX9AXnngKnIJOw

 

 

[jnelsoninjax]

Just now, Draconian Guppy said:

Refurbished flagship with warranty:  $134

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/LG-G5-32GB-4G-LTE-H820-Android-AT-T-GSM-Unlocked-Smartphone-SRB/192349547960?hash=item2cc8ed2db8:m:m9rvPzXGy-xLzJ5GbGFATqw

 

brand new for $199

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BRAND-NEW-LG-G5-H830T-32GB-T-Mobile-GSM-Unlocked-4G-LTE-Smartphone/352049253484?hash=item51f7c54c6c:m:mJhf3WgGNAX9AXnngKnIJOw

 

 

Do you have this one? I know LG are decent phones, but this K10 is pissing me off!

[Brandon H Supervisor]

Just now, jnelsoninjax said:

Sounds like a good phone all around, I will defiantly consider it.

yeah my only gripe with Huawei/Honor was that they didn't have an App Drawer on their UI but they changed that when they updated to Nougat early this year.

1 minute ago, jnelsoninjax said:

Do you have this one? I know LG are decent phones, but this K10 is pissing me off!

I'd personally stay away from LG, their track record with Boot Loop issues is not great even affecting their latest devices still.

[Draconian Guppy]

2 minutes ago, jnelsoninjax said:

Do you have this one? I know LG are decent phones, but this K10 is pissing me off!

Nope, used to have lg3, g4, skipped the g5.

1 minute ago, Brandon H said:

yeah my only gripe with Huawei/Honor was that they didn't have an App Drawer on their UI but they changed that when they updated to Nougat early this year.

Well launchers can solve that too!

[Brandon H Supervisor]

14 minutes ago, Draconian Guppy said:

Well launchers can solve that too!

true, but the nova launcher and that tend to cause additional slow down in my experience so I like to keep it close to native

[PGHammer]

15 hours ago, Brandon H said:

true, but the nova launcher and that tend to cause additional slow down in my experience so I like to keep it close to native

There are free launchers with app drawers (Microsoft Launcher, Lawnchair Launcher, if you're willing, even the Google Pixel Launcher 2 - and that's just three examples - none of which cost diddly).

[techbeck]

15 hours ago, Brandon H said:

true, but the nova launcher and that tend to cause additional slow down in my experience so I like to keep it close to native

Never experience slow down myself.  I used APEX and Nova .  Used APEX for years until recently switching to Nova.  Nova is updated more often.

 

Anyway, see if you can pickup a Nexus device or a Pixel.  First gen Pixels should be discounted, or they were.  Personally, when I get tired of my 6p, I am going Pixel.  Longer support, faster updates, vanilla OS.  I had 1 Samsung Device.  Samsung Vibrant, aka SGS1.  Nice phone, but I hated Touchwiz.

[jnelsoninjax]

11 hours ago, techbeck said:

Never experience slow down myself.  I used APEX and Nova .  Used APEX for years until recently switching to Nova.  Nova is updated more often.

 

Anyway, see if you can pickup a Nexus device or a Pixel.  First gen Pixels should be discounted, or they were.  Personally, when I get tired of my 6p, I am going Pixel.  Longer support, faster updates, vanilla OS.  I had 1 Samsung Device.  Samsung Vibrant, aka SGS1.  Nice phone, but I hated Touchwiz.

From what I am seeing on the Pixels, they haven't dropped much in the price, still almost $500, as for the Nexus, I am seeing Motorola and LG, which one is the better choice?

[The Evil Overlord]

at this point, anything by motorola

I would have thrown in on the nokia 8, it is extremely good, and very capable, but I'm losing faith in their promise to keep it updated.

[Draconian Guppy]

13 hours ago, The Evil Overlord said:

at this point, anything by motorola

I would have thrown in on the nokia 8, it is extremely good, and very capable, but I'm losing faith in their promise to keep it updated.

how come?

[firey]

[jnelsoninjax]

2 hours ago, firey said:

Perfect and my color too!

[The Evil Overlord]

8 hours ago, Draconian Guppy said:

how come?

it hasn't had any update of any kind (outside of play store apps) since September, their promise was to keep it updated

[DevTech]

On 11/10/2017 at 7:27 PM, jnelsoninjax said:

From what I am seeing on the Pixels, they haven't dropped much in the price, still almost $500, as for the Nexus, I am seeing Motorola and LG, which one is the better choice?

I will mention what I managed to discover as a result of breaking my LCD on a Microsoft 950 XL.

 

1. Ignore brand. Every model has specific characteristics.

 

2. I dislike Android a lot compared to Windows but that's subjective and bears little on the hardware choices other than coming from an ecosystem where the OS is constantly updated it is a rude awakening to realize how isolated and petrified the Android marketplace is on that issue. That is the reason for the price premium on the Google Pixels and even Nexus phones. If you don't care about Android updates, then skip the Pixels as poor value.

 

3. After careful study, if you care at all about camera quality, only the "Hero" models will have good cameras. It is the first hardware reduction made when the manufacturer makes mid range phones. Older Hero models will have better cameras than new mid-range models. FWIW, in real testing I could not find an affordable Android with a camera as good as the 950XL and so that sucks but it's a reality I just have to accept given my constraints.

 

4. I broke my LCD and the repair cost was $200 to $300 and turn around was horrible so I had a limited budget to zero in on an older Android "Hero" quality phone as a stop gap until I could repair the 950XL. The candidates narrowed down to Samsung S6 Edge Plus, Samsung S7, Samsung S7 Edge, LG V20 and although I looked at Huwei and other even unknown brands, the availability made them out of the running in a limited time frame.

 

5. I decided on a V20 due to the large screen that was almost as good as a 950XL and the drop testing results which put it far ahead of other phones. My thinking was the last thing I needed was another broken LCD any time soon and the V20 is cleverly designed to break open on impact to specifically reduce drop stress on the LCD. This design accomplishment would be defeated by using a case so now I'm a bit conflicted on that. We'll see...

 

 

 

 

 

[jnelsoninjax]

24 minutes ago, DevTech said:

I will mention what I managed to discover as a result of breaking my LCD on a Microsoft 950 XL.

 

1. Ignore brand. Every model has specific characteristics.

 

2. I dislike Android a lot compared to Windows but that's subjective and bears little on the hardware choices other than coming from an ecosystem where the OS is constantly updated it is a rude awakening to realize how isolated and petrified the Android marketplace is on that issue. That is the reason for the price premium on the Google Pixels and even Nexus phones. If you don't care about Android updates, then skip the Pixels as poor value.

 

3. After careful study, if you care at all about camera quality, only the "Hero" models will have good cameras. It is the first hardware reduction made when the manufacturer makes mid range phones. Older Hero models will have better cameras than new mid-range models. FWIW, in real testing I could not find an affordable Android with a camera as good as the 950XL and so that sucks but it's a reality I just have to accept given my constraints.

 

4. I broke my LCD and the repair cost was $200 to $300 and turn around was horrible so I had a limited budget to zero in on an older Android "Hero" quality phone as a stop gap until I could repair the 950XL. The candidates narrowed down to Samsung S6 Edge Plus, Samsung S7, Samsung S7 Edge, LG V20 and although I looked at Huwei and other even unknown brands, the availability made them out of the running in a limited time frame.

 

5. I decided on a V20 due to the large screen that was almost as good as a 950XL and the drop testing results which put it far ahead of other phones. My thinking was the last thing I needed was another broken LCD any time soon and the V20 is cleverly designed to break open on impact to specifically reduce drop stress on the LCD. This design accomplishment would be defeated by using a case so now I'm a bit conflicted on that. We'll see...

Thanks for the nicely laid out thoughts. I really used to love LG phones, but after having two that have really disappointed me, I am not so sure what to think about them. Second, looking at Amazon I see the LG V20 from about $299, which I guess if I was getting a good phone I would say that would not be too bad of an investment, I am slightly confused about the phone, Amazon shows me an AT&T unlocked phone as well as a T-Mobile unlocked phone, both of which are different prices (of course!), I am using a carrier who uses AT&T network, so should I consider getting the AT&T unlocked, or does it make any difference?

[+Warwagon MVC]

3 minutes ago, jnelsoninjax said:

Thanks for the nicely laid out thoughts. I really used to love LG phones, but after having two that have really disappointed me, I am not so sure what to think about them. Second, looking at Amazon I see the LG V20 from about $299, which I guess if I was getting a good phone I would say that would not be too bad of an investment, I am slightly confused about the phone, Amazon shows me an AT&T unlocked phone as well as a T-Mobile unlocked phone, both of which are different prices (of course!), I am using a carrier who uses AT&T network, so should I consider getting the AT&T unlocked, or does it make any difference?

Might want to check how often those unlocked versions get updated. I was researching it when I was searching for my last cell phone and the unlocked version seemed abysmal when it came to updates.

[The Evil Overlord]

6 minutes ago, jnelsoninjax said:

Thanks for the nicely laid out thoughts. I really used to love LG phones, but after having two that have really disappointed me, I am not so sure what to think about them. Second, looking at Amazon I see the LG V20 from about $299, which I guess if I was getting a good phone I would say that would not be too bad of an investment, I am slightly confused about the phone, Amazon shows me an AT&T unlocked phone as well as a T-Mobile unlocked phone, both of which are different prices (of course!), I am using a carrier who uses AT&T network, so should I consider getting the AT&T unlocked, or does it make any difference?

Motorola

[DevTech]

4 hours ago, jnelsoninjax said:

Thanks for the nicely laid out thoughts. I really used to love LG phones, but after having two that have really disappointed me, I am not so sure what to think about them. Second, looking at Amazon I see the LG V20 from about $299, which I guess if I was getting a good phone I would say that would not be too bad of an investment, I am slightly confused about the phone, Amazon shows me an AT&T unlocked phone as well as a T-Mobile unlocked phone, both of which are different prices (of course!), I am using a carrier who uses AT&T network, so should I consider getting the AT&T unlocked, or does it make any difference?

Every manufacturer makes a wide variety of model variations mainly to provision different radio bands.

 

Versions: H990N (Hong Kong); H990DS (Global Dual-SIM); H910 (AT&T); H918 (T-Mobile); LS997 (Sprint); US996 (US Cellular); VS995 (Verizon); H990T (Mexico). Also known as LG V20 Dual H990DS/H990N with dual-SIM card slots.

 

Sometimes, there is a model that has all the bands (often called "international version" but not always) and sometimes not. 

 

For the V20, I was particularly interested getting the new Band 66 LTE which is in the H918 and the H915. I think the AT&T model has a disabled Band 66 which might be able to get turned on in the future with the right firmware patch but that is never a sure thing.

 

For the most part you just try to find out what bands your carrier is using and what bands your next choice of carrier might use and try to get as amny radios as you can for the price to give you "mobility"  - being "unlocked" is useless if the right radio is missing.

 

This logic applies to all brands of phones for the most part and is part of the slimeball game that carriers like to play.

 

 

[DevTech]

Here is how you get the info you need for any phone:

 

https://www.gsmarena.com/lg_v20-8238.php

 

https://forum.xda-developers.com/v20

 

Both those sites provide good tech info on just about any phone you would want.

 

[DevTech]

5 hours ago, warwagon said:

Might want to check how often those unlocked versions get updated. I was researching it when I was searching for my last cell phone and the unlocked version seemed abysmal when it came to updates.

There are 5 types of updates:

 

1. Carrier specific firmware adjustments for the radios.

 

2. Android Security updates.

 

3. Android OS updates

 

4. Samsung/LG/etc misc apps updates.

 

5. Carrier crapware updates

 

Android OS updates are extremely rare and few unless you have a Google branded phone. Microsoft and Apple are a breath of fresh air in that department but bring along other issues. In theory if you have a Hero phone, it will get an major Android update or two but might take 6 months or more after the code was available on a Google phone.

 

Security updates and Manufacturer updates will come no matter what and you don't want crapware updates (or crapware)

 

So the only problematic update would be radio adjustment which is important of course and would need to be investigated on a case by case basis for each phone model and each carrier.