Can’t decide on a new phone, halp GAF

bitbydeath

bitbydeath

Member
I've currently got an iPhone 5s which I've completely run into the ground as I'm lucky to get 2-3 hours of battery life from it.

I've been looking around from iPhone X, Samsung Galaxy S9+ and Nokia 7 Plus have stood out so far.

I'm mainly looking for something that offers a decent battery, good sized screen (less bezel the better) and is reasonably fast.

Any ideas GAF? What's the best?
 
Last edited:
Honestly? Every high end smartphone on the market these days will fit those 3 categories.
The new OnePlus 6T should be coming out soon and despite my issues with some of the design decisions it will probably be the best value mainstream phone as long as you live in a place OP supports. The Huawei P20 Pro is another standout. Other than that you can't really go wrong these days on a high end smartphone as they're all fairly similar.

I will say that I wouldn't personally go for the iPhone or Samsung though, both brand have severely inflated price tags that aren't really worth it in almost all cases.
If you give some more details about things you want or don't want as well as budget I could give you a fairly exact recommendation though.
 
Judging by what you want, Note 9 is what you are looking for. Best phone on the market right now in my opinion. I prefer Android OS and have had Notes in the past though. If you prefer iOS it might be a good idea to wait for the launch of the new iPhone lineup.

Cant go wrong with the S9+ or Note 9 though.
 
ShadowAUS said:
Honestly? Every high end smartphone on the market these days will fit those 3 categories.
The new OnePlus 6T should be coming out soon and despite my issues with some of the design decisions it will probably be the best value mainstream phone as long as you live in a place OP supports. The Huawei P20 Pro is another standout. Other than that you can't really go wrong these days on a high end smartphone as they're all fairly similar.

I will say that I wouldn't personally go for the iPhone or Samsung though, both brand have severely inflated price tags that aren't really worth it in almost all cases.
If you give some more details about things you want or don't want as well as budget I could give you a fairly exact recommendation though.
Click to expand...

I don't play games on it. I'm writing so I need a decent sized screen and the most intensive app I use is OneNote. And by intensive I mean it takes like 15-20 seconds to load.

Otherwise I mainly just use it for web and emails (Outlook)
 
bitbydeath said:
I don't play games on it. I'm writing so I need a decent sized screen and the most intensive app I use is OneNote. And by intensive I mean it takes like 15-20 seconds to load.

Otherwise I mainly just use it for web and emails (Outlook)
Click to expand...

If you had unlimited money then the Note 9 would be ideal in your case. You would never use anywhere close to all of it's performance capabilities but it has a massive battery, good build quality, a gorgeous and large screen as well as the S-pen. It's pretty much the best phone on the market but the reality is most people who will own one will never use anywhere near all of it's capabilities. I personally wouldn't and I personally can't ever see me paying $1500(AUD) for a phone.

The best value/cheapest option for you would probably be a OnePlus 6/6T or Oppo R15 Pro both are like 1/2 the price of a Note 9, have good to great performance, large all day batteries and good 6+ inch screens. The Huawei P20 Pro is probably the step up from those 2 but it focuses mainly on it's camera so you would be paying extra for that which you don't seem to need. If you want to splurge but not as much as the top end iPhones/Samsungs then I would reccomend the LG G7 ThinQ, it's not an exceptional phone but it is a very good phone, despite being boring.

If you want to stick with iOS then the new iPhone X XR is probably all you need but I hesitate to reccomend it because I don't want to encourage Apple cheaping out with the screen. Really Apple? Trying to sell a 1,792x828 LCD in todays phone market? At that price? Geezus.

Hope that helps some :) Feel free to ask any questions if you have them.
 
ShadowAUS said:
If you had unlimited money then the Note 9 would be ideal in your case. You would never use anywhere close to all of it's performance capabilities but it has a massive battery, good build quality, a gorgeous and large screen as well as the S-pen. It's pretty much the best phone on the market but the reality is most people who will own one will never use anywhere near all of it's capabilities. I personally wouldn't and I personally can't ever see me paying $1500(AUD) for a phone.

The best value/cheapest option for you would probably be a OnePlus 6/6T or Oppo R15 Pro both are like 1/2 the price of a Note 9, have good to great performance, large all day batteries and good 6+ inch screens. The Huawei P20 Pro is probably the step up from those 2 but it focuses mainly on it's camera so you would be paying extra for that which you don't seem to need. If you want to splurge but not as much as the top end iPhones/Samsungs then I would reccomend the LG G7 ThinQ, it's not an exceptional phone but it is a very good phone, despite being boring.

If you want to stick with iOS then the new iPhone X XR is probably all you need but I hesitate to reccomend it because I don't want to encourage Apple cheaping out with the screen. Really Apple? Trying to sell a 1,792x828 LCD in todays phone market? At that price? Geezus.

Hope that helps some :) Feel free to ask any questions if you have them.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I don't actually need a pen to write. Just keyboard is fine. Will look into those suggestions.
 
If, like me, you use your phone mainly as an MP3 player, the expandable memory in Android devices is a blessing. I switched from a 6S to an S8 last time I upgraded and haven't looked back since. I've found both Apple and Android have their own strengths and weaknesses, and it didn't take long for my brain to catch up with my phone.
 
Most phones are quite close in performance these days.. it's mainly the price that is the difference and the camera.

If the camera is a big thing for you get something like a oneplus device -

if not, just get something flown in from china, like the new xiaomi mi device or the poccophone, to be fair even those have decent camera's.
 
Well, Apple only charges $29 to replace the battery on your 5s, so do that and then you can sell the phone as a good unit to offset your costs on your new phone.
 
Do you get it with a contract or will you be buying it directly?

Because if you are looking at flagship phones the ones from 1-2 years ago will probably still give you all that you need but at a lower price

Like a note 8 or S8+ will cost you around $300 less than a note9/S9+ and probably still have everything you need
 
Last edited:
If you're coming from an iPhone...how hard is it going to be for you to transition to an Android phone?

And I'm not talking about the OS, I'm talking about apps you've purchased, apps you use, integration with devices you own, etc.

If you don't really have anything tying you down to the Apple ecosystem than maybe give the other side a try and see what you think.
 
Akuza89 said:
Most phones are quite close in performance these days.. it's mainly the price that is the difference and the camera.

If the camera is a big thing for you get something like a oneplus device -

if not, just get something flown in from china, like the new xiaomi mi device or the poccophone, to be fair even those have decent camera's.
Click to expand...
Does Oneplus make good cameras now? When I bought my 3 the camera was one of the places they cut costs. Great brand btw, I highly recommend them, especially if you like rooting and trying different ROMs.
 
OK here is my picks. These phone have amazing cameras.
1. S8 Plus, Stick a great phone that dropped price to 500
2. Note 8, another great phone you can scoop up cheap under 600
3. Iphone X. From last year you can get one cheap like 700ish
4. Pixel 2XL..Still one of the best camera phones like for 500 ish
5. Hauwei P20 PRO the best camera hands down. Cost about 800
6. One Plus 6, amazing phone for the price. 256gb with 8gb of ram is about 619 new.,
7. S9 Plus is about 800 now..amazing camera.
8. Note 9 is new but if you want the stylus support. amazing camera. This one is about 900
And it you want to buy them used with these price I recommend
Swappa.com not EBAY
 
Last edited:
MarineMountie said:
Judging by what you want, Note 9 is what you are looking for. Best phone on the market right now in my opinion. I prefer Android OS and have had Notes in the past though. If you prefer iOS it might be a good idea to wait for the launch of the new iPhone lineup.

Cant go wrong with the S9+ or Note 9 though.
Click to expand...

Or if you can wait, the s10 which will be a big jump for the S and Note series as I found S9/N9 were small iterations from S8/N8
 
Xisiqomelir said:
You write on your phone? Please describe how your productivity is now vs computer (typewriter?).
Click to expand...

I write in my spare time so lunch breaks I'd go outside and tap away on my phone and also on the train into work. I have 3 kids so don't get much done at home. :-/

thomasjast said:
Well, Apple only charges $29 to replace the battery on your 5s, so do that and then you can sell the phone as a good unit to offset your costs on your new phone.
Click to expand...

Thanks, did not even think of that.
Fbh said:
Do you get it with a contract or will you be buying it directly?

Because if you are looking at flagship phones the ones from 1-2 years ago will probably still give you all that you need but at a lower price

Like a note 8 or S8+ will cost you around $300 less than a note9/S9+ and probably still have everything you need
Click to expand...

Buying directly, I looked around for the 8+ but it looks to have been discontinued already.

RubxQub said:
If you're coming from an iPhone...how hard is it going to be for you to transition to an Android phone?

And I'm not talking about the OS, I'm talking about apps you've purchased, apps you use, integration with devices you own, etc.

If you don't really have anything tying you down to the Apple ecosystem than maybe give the other side a try and see what you think.
Click to expand...

I have nothing me back although I would miss the convience of iCloud storage.

Cubamus Prime said:
OK here is my picks. These phone have amazing cameras.
1. S8 Plus, Stick a great phone that dropped price to 500
2. Note 8, another great phone you can scoop up cheap under 600
3. Iphone X. From last year you can get one cheap like 700ish
4. Pixel 2XL..Still one of the best camera phones like for 500 ish
5. Hauwei P20 PRO the best camera hands down. Cost about 800
6. One Plus 6, amazing phone for the price. 256gb with 8gb of ram is about 619 new.,
7. S9 Plus is about 800 now..amazing camera.
8. Note 9 is new but if you want the stylus support. amazing camera. This one is about 900
And it you want to buy them used with these price I recommend
Swappa.com not EBAY
Click to expand...

Thanks, no mention of Nokia, are they bad?

Nikana said:
I would second One Plus line. You can't beat the value. Nothing comes even close.
Click to expand...

Will take a look given how frequently it's mentioned.
 
I'm currently also thinking about buying a phone, since I broke my old one. I'm a bit cheap, so I'm atm considering either Pocophone F1, Honor 10, Honor Play or OnePlus 6. There seems to be great value there for your money and all of them have 3.5mm headphone jack.
From what I've read OnePlus 6 seems to be the overall best one, but there's a big price difference from it to the Pocophone F1.
Anyone got any experience with the Pocophone F1? I've heard at least some screens have struggled with a problem of color degradation at the bottom, but other than that, anything else?
 
bitbydeath said:
I don't play games on it. I'm writing so I need a decent sized screen and the most intensive app I use is OneNote. And by intensive I mean it takes like 15-20 seconds to load.

Otherwise I mainly just use it for web and emails (Outlook)
Click to expand...
Then to put it bluntly, you wouldn't need any of the options you listed yourself.

Questions you should ask:
  • What do i want out of this thing?
  • What do i consider important? (Large storage, 3.5 mm jack, and so on)
  • Is there a chance that my device will see updates in the future (Especially important with Android devices)
Really judging by what you listed, i would check out Wileyfox or a Chinaphone. There is little to no need to buy 400-500 buck phones when what you want is achieved with a 100 buck phone. Hell, that's my current one :P
 
I've got a moto G5SPlus and I'm super happy about it.
Personally I would never spend more than a few hundred on a phone just to watch youtube/listen to spotify and check my emails.
So I would recommend the moto G6 as one of the best budget phone or G6Plus.
 
Let me call up my friend and see if he can hook you up.
article-1210159-063CF50E000005DC-828_468x638.jpg
 
Typhares said:
I've got a moto G5SPlus and I'm super happy about it.
Personally I would never spend more than a few hundred on a phone just to watch youtube/listen to spotify and check my emails.
So I would recommend the moto G6 as one of the best budget phone or G6Plus.
Click to expand...
Does it charge with a C type?
 
Whataburger said:
Does it charge with a C type?
Click to expand...

No, the standard cables work but they have this:
Motorola's Turbo Charging function was one of the earliest smartphone quick charging solutions out there, and it's present and accounted for on the G6 Plus. We found that we could get 20% of a charge after just 15 minutes of plug-in time. That's about par for the course with such tech, but it's mighty handy regardless.
 
Ah I've been transitioning to C type cables on my electronics :/
 
bitbydeath said:
This is what I went with. Cheaper than a Galaxy S9+ and covered everything else I was after.
Click to expand...
Missed the part about a bigger screen, and i am glad you enjoy your purchase.

Based on what you wanted though, i think its way overkill to pay that much for what you want out of it, but perhaps brand power is important to you. (As in, you tend to look at bigger brands which inevitably are more expensive.)

Regardless, congrats with your purchase.
 
Typhares said:
I'm far from being able to do that: PS4 controllers, Kindle, Phones and other gadgets all use the old standards. Only my work phone uses type C.
Click to expand...
Well my ps4 controllers all sit next to me and a usb charger. While my switch pros have their own dock and when I want to watch tv/play switch I have it plugged in a male/female c type. ^^
 
Flagships are pretty much useless nowadays if you don't do intensive high end gaming or something else really demanding (and who really does on a smartphone)? I recently bought a budget phone for the first time, the Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite for $180 bucks and it's amazing. Snappy and smooth, stock Android without shitty overlays, has everything you need, big nice screen and the 4000 mAh battery lasts more than 2 days easily.
 
Last edited:
LG G7+, mid range price with true flagship performance and better (IMO) finishing / feeling than chinese brands (Xiaomi, OP..)
-"Portrait Mode" photos are incredibly good
-QuadDAC, best (current) sounding phone if you like good audio
-obviously still has a headphone jack
-128GB + sd card slot
-Best LCD screen out there
.....
They must have terrible marketing teams, because that thing is invisible in most phone discussions.
 
Last edited:
koziakauzu said:
LG G7+, mid range price with true flagship performance and better (IMO) finishing / feeling than chinese brands (Xiaomi, OP..)
-"Portrait Mode" photos are incredibly good
-QuadDAC, best (current) sounding phone if you like good audio
-obviously still has a headphone jack
-128GB + sd card slot
-Best LCD screen out there
.....
They must have terrible marketing teams, because that thing is invisible in most phone discussions.
Click to expand...
As someone who has owned several LG phones, yes, LG's phone marketing is and has almost always been TERRIBLE and has only gotten worse since the G5 bombed spectaculary. I do think their new phones are good and I had a G7 ThinQ before it had an unfortunate date with falling off a 6 story balcony. I think the issue is that they're "boring" to a lot of people, kind of like how Blackberry is/was viewed.

I have heard that LG want to make another push into phones with their next lineup like they did with the G2/G3 era and hopefully capture some mindshare so I'm curious how that will go.
 
These days, just take the cheap ass China phone option.

I stick with Sony Xperia because they last for me. 4 years and running.
 
I had iphones for 4 years. Just bought my S9+ a few weeks ago and don't have any regrets. It took me a full day to rip everything out of iOS to put on my S9+. I also subscribed with Pond Mobile to get global roaming for a fixed price. Now I have unlimited Social Networks and Messengers all over the world. No more iTunes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Can’t upload image on gaf anymore? Bug or soft ban?
44
503
Lunarorbit replied
  • Poll
Do you have your phone on silent? I can’t remember the last time I heard a phone ring?
39
2K
GymWolf replied
Black Phone 2 | Official Trailer | Black Phone Meets A Nightmare on Elm Street?
14
382
spookyfish replied
Who is your nemesis on GAF?
2 3
128
1K
FeralEcho replied
Happy New Year GAF
2
73
3K
Trilobit replied
Top Bottom