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clyde

Phones

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Let's talk about phones.

I currently have an iphone 4s. Phones I previously owned/used previous to that in reverse chronological order are

-iphone 3gs (never broke)

-nokia 5400 (broke because I left it in the car, I got a replacement, it broke through normal use).

-a blue phone that me and my wife shared between 2003-2006. I think it was a Nokia. You could write mono-phony midi tunes on it. It didn't break.

So now that I'm not forced to pay for a new phone every two years, I've kept my iphone 4s to the point that it's starting to feel really slow and a lot of apps crash on it. I'm still impressed with its video-recording quality and the quality of audio-recordings. It's alright to use, but my heart is really starting to wander. The iphone SE looks pretty good, but I want 64gb and that costs $20/month for two years. I think I might continue to use the 4s for a while. Also my wife has an S6 and loves it and review sites are praising the S7. It's hard to figure out why people like it though. The internet on my wife's S6 seems significantly faster than the internet on the iphone 4s and she doesn't complain about apps being sluggish or crashing, but she doesn't use many apps. Virtual-reality is a significant feature of the S6 and S7, but I already have access to an S6 in the evenings.

I figure that casual discussion in this thread might help inform my inevitable decision of what new phone to get.

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If you care about expandable storage and removable batteries the LG G4 and soon to be released LG G5 are your only options. They are good flagship phones. I have the G4 Camera is good, performance is good, the only app that crashes regularly is tinder.

If you want something cheaper I have heard a lot of good things about the Nexus line of phone. The have stock android and get upgrades before any other phones including security upgrades.

The Samsung S7 is probably the best android phone on the market but there are some issues with manufacturer and carrier bloatware. I have these issues a little on the G4 but I remember my S4 having it worse. Which carrier do you use? Verizon seems to be the worst for this, I think T-Mobile isn't so bad.

All most all of this bloatware can be disabled or ignored and the reskins can be fixed by apps like Nova Launcher.

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I'm on Verizon.

Is there a common understanding of when to stop updating your phone's os? I feel like my problems with my phone started immediately after installing the first update that happened after my contract was up. It seemed to make performance worse. Maybe it was just a coincidence.

I am a bit nervous about Android. I understand how a Windows PC lets me play tons of hobbyist games and that's why I have no interest in the walled-garden of Mac. But when it comes to phones I hear people talking about bloatware and force-closing apps and some of the stuff my wife downloads on her phone asks for all sorts of permissions. I'm not sure if the openess of Android would be of any benefit to me, but that may be because I'm so inexperienced with it. Is Android buggy and susceptible to malware?

Also, are there any types of apps that you use regularly that I wouldn't know about because I've been on iphones.

Also, what would make the S7 a better Android phone than another. Speed? Durability?

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i've got a Nexus 6P for myself, and work gave me an iPhone 6. i'm only a few days into my iphone, so i can't really render an opinion.

 

however i think the nexus is the best phone i've owned. it's what i've always wanted in terms of unbloated, intuitive ui. battery last a full day of heavy usage.

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I also have LG G4 and I have been very happy with it.

 

I have not had any problems with Android apps, but then again I mostly stick to popular, known, and generally non-suspicious apps. There are definitely free flashlight apps and QR code readers that require you to give them strange permissions, which is why it is nice that Google Play lets you review the permissions table before you choose to install an app. In these situations, I have always been able to find one that does not need to access my pictures and contacts.

 

As for differences in app variety between Android and iPhones, the biggest difference for me is the home screen widget support. I also appreciate the ability to thoroughly customize the GUI using apps like Nova launcher.

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Generally speaking the app bloat on Android comes from the phone manufacturer pre installing apps that they block you from removing. So its not Android per se, it's dependent on the particular phone model you get and what they put on it.

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As I'm researching these phones y'all are suggesting on my iphone 4s, it constantly gives errors that explain it needs to reload the page.

Sites like Cnet, Polygon, Verge, and Kotaku are unreadable.

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I've been consistently on HTC or Samsung Galaxys (On Galaxy 4 right now) and they have been alright. But yeah, I hate pre-installed apps you can't get rid of. Also, if you get a phone, please get an Otterbox. I know they are kinda huge and clunky but I cannot tell you how many times I have dropped my phone and nothing has happened to it. 

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There's a Motorola phone that is marketed as "shatter-proof". There are a bunch of youtube videos of dropping them from ladders and shit.

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I wish I had the enthusiasm some show when they upgrade their phone. 

 

I went from a POS brick to an iPhone 4, and it was like a revolution, well it was a revolution. Since then, any new phone I get is just like...meh. It's just maintenance of the same technology with a few minor adjustments. If my 4's battery didn't cop out, I would never have changed it.

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I wish I had the enthusiasm some show when they upgrade their phone. 

 

I went from a POS brick to an iPhone 4, and it was like a revolution, well it was a revolution. Since then, any new phone I get is just like...meh. It's just maintenance of the same technology with a few minor adjustments. If my 4's battery didn't cop out, I would never have changed it.

 

My enthusiasm comes from the fact that I always get extremely mid range phones. Everythingeventually runs out of space, gets slow and bloats but I keep using it until a physical component goes bust. Then I get to refresh with a brand new phone that will run smoothly for a brief period.

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I'm on Verizon.

Is there a common understanding of when to stop updating your phone's os? I feel like my problems with my phone started immediately after installing the first update that happened after my contract was up. It seemed to make performance worse. Maybe it was just a coincidence.

I am a bit nervous about Android. I understand how a Windows PC lets me play tons of hobbyist games and that's why I have no interest in the walled-garden of Mac. But when it comes to phones I hear people talking about bloatware and force-closing apps and some of the stuff my wife downloads on her phone asks for all sorts of permissions. I'm not sure if the openess of Android would be of any benefit to me, but that may be because I'm so inexperienced with it. Is Android buggy and susceptible to malware?

Also, are there any types of apps that you use regularly that I wouldn't know about because I've been on iphones.

Also, what would make the S7 a better Android phone than another. Speed? Durability?

The biggest advantage to my mind for android is the customizability.

I use a custom launcher that lets me modify my home screens to a large degree, I turned off app icon text and have 5 widgets on my first home screen. I can check my calendar, do media control on podcasts and audiobooks check the weather and search. Nova Launcher also lets me resize my app grid and widgets as i please.

Android also has a lot of cool features, not sure which Iphone doesn't have until Apple pretends they invented them a few years later.

From what I understand the S7 has a camera on par with if not better than the Iphone, its well built and has a responsive OS. 

I wouldn't worry about malware, as long as you dont download shady apps, especially from outside the play store its fine. If you are worried Lookout is a free anti-malware app that seems good?

BCdIyRA.jpg

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I have an LG G3, and it's still mostly pretty great. The biggest complaint I have about it is honestly the battery life, which is alright, but doesn't really get me through a day if there is anything approaching moderate use (for emails and the like). The G5 that just came out has gotten some pretty mediocre reviews, even though everyone loves the idea of it, the S7 has gotten very good reviews, and HTC's new phone is only at the hands-on stage, but people seem to love it. So as far as that goes, the HTC 10 or Samsung S7 seem the best bets for buying something new on the android side, and the whatever iPhone (get the size you prefer) for that. 

 

I've found that the specific phone doesn't matter much. I prefer to get nexus devices when I can (my previous phones were all Nexus, and while the G3 is excellent, I miss the standard operating system and hope that the next Nexus is a better deal than the last ones were), because I tend to like simplicity in the OS, but flexibility for my own preferences, but that's about it. Look at battery life and camera quality, as well as overall build, but I mean: new phones are all supercomputers. You won't be blown away, as the 4s was already a pretty rad phone, and you won't be majorly disappointed because they all do a really solid job. More than most things, I've found that contemporary smartphones are all about making yourself feel like less of a fool for spending $600 on a texting device, so just get what seems neat, would be my advice.

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I have a Sony Xperia Z3. The only thing I don't particularly care for are the T-Mobile bloatware apps.

 

The device is waterproof (IP68 rating), has a battery that lasts three days without a charge and features Sony's fantastic camera.

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One other thing! I was initially given a Nexus 6 by mistake, and was stuck with it for two weeks, and the 6P is major leap forward. Fingerprint scanner to open, thinner, more powerful responsive.

If you're interested in Android I would reply recommend peeping it.

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If you care about expandable storage and removable batteries the LG G4 and soon to be released LG G5 are your only options. They are good flagship phones. I have the G4 Camera is good, performance is good, the only app that crashes regularly is tinder.

If you want something cheaper I have heard a lot of good things about the Nexus line of phone. The have stock android and get upgrades before any other phones including security upgrades.

The Samsung S7 is probably the best android phone on the market but there are some issues with manufacturer and carrier bloatware. I have these issues a little on the G4 but I remember my S4 having it worse. Which carrier do you use? Verizon seems to be the worst for this, I think T-Mobile isn't so bad.

All most all of this bloatware can be disabled or ignored and the reskins can be fixed by apps like Nova Launcher.

 

The S7 has a micro SD slot doesn't it? I don't think it allows the new "merge SD card and internal memory" thing that Android allows for, but I've read mixed things on that being a good idea. Fixed battery though.

 

I've got an S5. Touchwiz, the Samsung Android reskin, isn't amazing but it's gotten less obtrusive over the years plus with alternate launchers you can mostly avoid it. Like others have said, the ability to customize things really is Android's biggest strength.

 

If this is just general phone talk, a problem I've had is that ever since my phone got updated to Android 5.1.1, it's been plagued with seemingly random crippling slowdowns. Apps will take ages to load, touch input will lag very badly, the keyboard will disappear/reappear, etc. Then for a while things will be fine and snappy. Very frustrating. It doesn't seem like any app is misbehaving and cache clears and device resets haven't solved it. I'm just hoping that the 6.0 update will magically fix things once T-mobile decides to release it (the real joy of Android use :fart:).

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If you're even considering a windows phone I love mine. I understand they're not for everyone though :)

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Nexus5 still a great phone if you can get your hands on one for cheap.  it's probably a little slow by todays standard - especially compared to the 5x but should be able to get an unlocked in decent shape on for <$150 on ebay or looks like new on amazon for $200

 

 

No bloatware, sleek design, rad matte rubber back, and it runs hearthstone just fine.  

 

 

As others have mentioned above - most of android bloatware comes from the manufacturer or carrier...getting a google phone (Nexus line) is a pretty good way to avoid a lot of that...or just jailbreak it - but that affects service/warranty sometimes.  Being said - getting a new phone the nexus 5x or 6p are the new models that got fairly strong reviews...just the price is absurd compared to previous nexus devices - but not as absurd as an equivalent samsung

 

 

I'm not trolling or trying to start a firestorm but - if you are using for mostly emails and typing dont count out a Blackberry.  the Z30 is an upgrade of my favorite phone in the last few years the "z10".  The interface is great for quick back and forth to mailbox - and now they integrated the amazon appstore.  I also argue the in-line suggestive type is the best keyboard ive used to date (on a touch screen).

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i got a Nokia Lumia 635 for <$50 because i'm cheap and don't need my phone to do a lot. aside from basic phone functionality, i just use it for e-mail checking and web browsing, which it does great. coming from a Galaxy S3 i do miss some apps (specifically Google Keep and Maps) but i'm pretty happy otherwise.

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I've got a Fairphone 2 which i'm pretty happy with both from a performance and ethical/fixability standpoint.

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Nexus5 still a great phone if you can get your hands on one for cheap.  it's probably a little slow by todays standard - especially compared to the 5x but should be able to get an unlocked in decent shape on for <$150 on ebay or looks like new on amazon for $200

 

You got my hopes up then I checked and saw that it is still indeed twice that price in Ireland. :(

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I've got a Nexus 6P and have been pretty happy with it feature and performance wise, but I don't know that I'll buy another phone this big again. If I had a do over, I'd probably get the Nexus 5X. I don't have the biggest hands, so the phone size is a little unwieldy for me.

 

My recommendation for people jumping from iPhones is to get the latest Galaxy S or Nexus. LG, Motorola, and HTC can be hit or miss any given year, but you can depend on Samsung and Google to always put out a good product.

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I'm holding out for the next Google Phone, is the best estimate still end of September or early October? I can't justify ditching my S4 yet but I've had enough of the Samsung bloat.

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I have a Moto x Pure and I'm pretty okay with it. I would have preferred something the size of the iPhone 4S I was upgrading from but iTunes can die in a fire so I'm not going back.

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If you're super concerned about data privacy, you can get a Blackphone. (Do not do this, it is dumb)

 

If you're moderately concerned about data privacy, you can get the iPhone 6 or SE and turn off iCloud.

 

If you're largely unconcerned with data privacy, you can get an Android device.

 

The choice of which operating system to choose largely comes down to a basic trade-off: Do you want stability and dependability at the cost of customization? Every iPhone that I've had has lasted far longer than any Android device that I've had, and I don't really miss the customization. I can just swipe up from the bottom of the screen to control whatever audio is playing, and calendar widgets have never been all that helpful to me because of the lack of actual information they display -- just tapping the icon for Fantastical shows me the information I need, but a widget never did.

 

But ultimately, it is that basic judgment. iPhones let you do less with your device, but your data is more secure and the OS is generally more stable. Android devices let you do more to make your phone your own, but you sacrifice some security and stability. It's up to you to decide what's important to you.

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