Looking for my first smartphone(I know I'm late to the party), looking for info

[Halazar]

I am looking for a relatively cheap smartphone(under 300€ if possible, or close to that pricing) that can withstand a little the passage of time, since I'm not a fan of changing phones(or any other equipement really) every 3 years; this means not only it not fuctioning anymore, but also not becoming too slow to fuction properly.

Thats why I was looking for features of smartphones to figure out which parts are needed for it to have a good and relatively long lasting life, but I never owned a smartphone so I am a little lost.

As far as I understand it, the battery(life and quality of the battery itself) and the recharging process are one of the main reasons for smartphones dying, and then too little RAM(or more like the increasing demand for more RAM usage from apps) is one of the main reason for smartphones becoming too slow if I'm not mistaken.


Also I have no idea of the differences between the different CPUs in smartphones, so right now I'm just going by core count, but I don't know how to check core speed and other possible features that I need to be aware of, like if some are too hot and don't have good enough dissipation and stuff like that, or if they have audio jacks, usb ports, any other feature that might be vital but I do not know of it because I never had a smartphone before.
Other features like decent resolution, camera quality etc. are all welcome but the primary objective is a reliable smartphone that doesn't die or slow down in a couple of years.


I know nothing of the smartphone world and I dived a little in websites like gsmarena.com , productchart.com etc. but I haven't really understood much.

I would like to receive more information about what to look for in a smartphone; specific vital features, information that is hard to come by, etc.

Like when you're building a computer some of the things to remember is to never cheap out on the power supply, to always check the dimensions of your hardware pieces and the case, to have a good enough cooling solution, to check the airflow in the case and setup the fans accordingly, that having 2 or 4 sticks of ram is better than having 1 or 3, that an SD, even if just big enough to store the OS, is a worthy investment, etc., these kind of tips; I completely unaware of tips like these when it comes to choosing a smartphone.
 

So yeah any advice, any comprehensive guide you can link me, any comprehensive list on the different CPUs that smartphones have, any website that can help me, really any information that might help me.
 

I found some smartphones that I think would be good candidates and I would like to know what you think of them; Xiaomi Redmi Note 5(which doesn't differ too much from the 6 if I'm not mistaken?) and the Note 6 and all the different versions of them(6?6A?6pro?), LG Q7, Xiaomi Pocophone F1, Asus Zenfone Max Pro, Realme 2 Pro, Xiaomi Mi A2 and Blackview P6000.
All of them have(or have versions with) 6GB of RAM or more, decent resolution, decent battery life(but idk about durability and quality of the battery itself), not all of them have fast-charging(something I might be interested in since I understand its something that helps in keeping smartphones alive by charging them often but not to the brim or waiting for them to have a depleted battery), they should also all have 6 or more CPU cores, but I do not know anything else of them really.
Do you have any other smartphones you could suggest for me to check out?
 

Thank you in advance!

[Fucur]

from those one you talked the pocophone is the one with the better cpu. I gift to my mother a xiaomi note 5, which has the same cpu of the note 6, without having bezels, so i think it's purely your choise from those. I can suggest you the asus zenfone max pro m2, it have good specs, and a big battery, which is uncommon in the high tier phones. having 2 cams doesnt magically make phone do nice photos, and usully mid tier phones suck on that. For 300 i suggest you one of those, altough the redmi note are selling for less than 300. Phocophone costs a little more, but still in your range.

[paddy-stone]

8 minutes ago, Fucur said:

from those one you talked the pocophone is the one with the better cpu. I gift to my mother a xiaomi note 5, which has the same cpu of the note 6, without having bezels, so i think it's purely your choise from those. I can suggest you the asus zenfone max pro m2, it have good specs, and a big battery, which is uncommon in the high tier phones. having 2 cams doesnt magically make phone do nice photos, and usully mid tier phones suck on that. For 300 i suggest you one of those, altough the redmi note are selling for less than 300. Phocophone costs a little more, but still in your range.

Yeah, I have a pocophone and it's great

 

Would DEFINITELY recommend.

[Halazar]

31 minutes ago, paddy-stone said:

Yeah, I have a pocophone and it's great

 

Would DEFINITELY recommend.

 

39 minutes ago, Fucur said:

from those one you talked the pocophone is the one with the better cpu. I gift to my mother a xiaomi note 5, which has the same cpu of the note 6, without having bezels, so i think it's purely your choise from those. I can suggest you the asus zenfone max pro m2, it have good specs, and a big battery, which is uncommon in the high tier phones. having 2 cams doesnt magically make phone do nice photos, and usully mid tier phones suck on that. For 300 i suggest you one of those, altough the redmi note are selling for less than 300. Phocophone costs a little more, but still in your range.

Do they have any particular feature or lack thereof I should be aware of, lile USB ports, audio jacks, stuff like that? Whats the quality of the battery?
Especially on the Pocophone since you both are reccomending it

[Fucur]

6 minutes ago, Halazar said:

 

Do they have any particular feature or lack thereof I should be aware of, lile USB ports, audio jacks, stuff like that? Whats the quality of the battery?
Especially on the Pocophone since you both are reccomending it

quality of battery isn't a thing, since both phones are recent, we cant know how much they will last. Usually u change a phone ever 2-3 year, if u take a good one. That's what i did 3 time. Phones have just 1 port usually and is for charging and linking them to pc. A lot of guys complains about the audio jack, but for me isn't a problem as i usually us bt headphones. I don't remember if pocophone have an audio jack, check it.

[Darkseth]

Pocophone does have a headphone Jack!

 

You pretty much only miss out on NFC (Mobile payment with Google Pay), which is missing. 

Other than that, check what LTE Bands your carrier uses, if i'm right, Pocophone doesn't have the best LTE Support for USA for example. Not sure about Italy.

Also, "just" an IPS LCD Screen instead Oled, and just Plastic (but not a bad build quality, it just doesn't "feel" as premium as glas/metal).

 

Other than this, this phone earned the "Best Budget phone 2018" with a reason from many Youtubers, it's awesome for the Price.

Also, Jerryrigeverything gave it (and the Nokia 7 Plus) the "best durable Budget phone" award too:

 

And the Camera will get a noticeable quality bump, if you install the Google Cam Port.

 

 

If you really need or Want NFC for mobile Payment, i would check out a Nokia 7 Plus for that part, or Honor 10. They are quite solid phones for that price.

 

For the USB Port: Look out for USB-C.

I would honestly not buy a non-USB C Android Phone anymore at this point, except it's a super cheap <100 bucks entry level phone or something.

[Halazar]

3 minutes ago, Darkseth said:

Spoiler

 

Pocophone does have a headphone Jack!

 

You pretty much only miss out on NFC (Mobile payment with Google Pay), which is missing. 

Other than that, check what LTE Bands your carrier uses, if i'm right, Pocophone doesn't have the best LTE Support for USA for example. Not sure about Italy.

Also, "just" an IPS LCD Screen instead Oled, and just Plastic (but not a bad build quality, it just doesn't "feel" as premium as glas/metal).

 

Other than this, this phone earned the "Best Budget phone 2018" with a reason from many Youtubers, it's awesome for the Price.

Also, Jerryrigeverything gave it (and the Nokia 7 Plus) the "best durable Budget phone" award too:

 

And the Camera will get a noticeable quality bump, if you install the Google Cam Port.

 

 

If you really need or Want NFC for mobile Payment, i would check out a Nokia 7 Plus for that part, or Honor 10. They are quite solid phones for that price.

 

For the USB Port: Look out for USB-C.

I would honestly not buy a non-USB C Android Phone anymore at this point, except it's a super cheap <100 bucks entry level phone or something.

 

 

Does the lack of NFC mean that I cannot purchase stuff from the Google Store in any way possible with the smartphone? Sounds not good 

[Darkseth]

49 minutes ago, Halazar said:

Does the lack of NFC mean that I cannot purchase stuff from the Google Store in any way possible with the smartphone? Sounds not good 

no, you got that wrong. You can absolutely buy Apps etc without any problems, that has nothing to do with NFC.

 

NFC = Mobile payment in a local Store, by saving your Credit Card info into the Phone, and by simply holding your phone to the Terminal to completely the Payment.

[Halazar]

1 hour ago, Darkseth said:

no, you got that wrong. You can absolutely buy Apps etc without any problems, that has nothing to do with NFC.

 

NFC = Mobile payment in a local Store, by saving your Credit Card info into the Phone, and by simply holding your phone to the Terminal to completely the Payment.

So between pocophone, nokia 7 plus and Honor 10, you would choose pocophone? Are there other phones I should be aware of in this price bracket?

[Darkseth]

Well, there are also Xiaomi A2, which is a VERY decent allrounder, and should be a good bit cheaper. Similar to the Nokia 7 Plus, but it has no NFC and a smaller Battery.

 

Probably Pocophone, because it has the Snapdragon 845 (2018 flaggship SoC), and the only thing it's missing, is NFC.

Otherwise, it has headphone jack, stereo speakers, a decent camera for the price (especially with the GCam Port), and there are Custom Roms for it, like Lineage OS, to make it more "stock android" like, if you don't like MIUI.

 

 

I personally... would probably go for a little less of a compromise, and get a Xiaomi Mi 8. Should be 50-100€ more, and it has compared to Pocophone:

- a bit smaller battery

- Metal and Glas, instead of Plastic

- NFC

- better Camera (same sensor if i'm right, but different optics and Optical Image stabilisation)

- Better Oled Screen

 

But it's a higher Price range.

[Halazar]

2 minutes ago, Darkseth said:

Well, there are also Xiaomi A2, which is a VERY decent allrounder, and should be a good bit cheaper. Similar to the Nokia 7 Plus, but it has no NFC and a smaller Battery.

 

Probably Pocophone, because it has the Snapdragon 845 (2018 flaggship SoC), and the only thing it's missing, is NFC.

Otherwise, it has headphone jack, stereo speakers, a decent camera for the price (especially with the GCam Port), and there are Custom Roms for it, like Lineage OS, to make it more "stock android" like, if you don't like MIUI.

 

 

I personally... would probably go for a little less of a compromise, and get a Xiaomi Mi 8. Should be 50-100€ more, and it has compared to Pocophone:

- a bit smaller battery

- Metal and Glas, instead of Plastic

- NFC

- better Camera (same sensor if i'm right, but different optics and Optical Image stabilisation)

- Better Oled Screen

 

But it's a higher Price range.

Smaller Battery? Doesnt sound like something I'd want. Are the batteries really always the same tho? Then why some smartphones batteries fail much more often then others?
And do any of them have replaceable batteries?

[Darkseth]

They are always the same, and have always the same quality.

It's all about the capacity (mAh. A2 has 3080~ mAh, Pocophone has 4000 mAh).

 

What do you mean some fail more often? I dno't know anything about that. They all "fail" the same, and lose capacity similar fast. It depends how the user uses the phone, how often he charges it, etc.

 

None of them. But on the Pocophone, you can get to the Battery the easiest, easier than on the other Glas phones:

 

[Halazar]

14 hours ago, Darkseth said:

 

I know I'm being annoying now, but if I wanted to reduce my budget to 200$ or under, what would you suggest?

[Darkseth]

Then check if Nokia 7 Plus falls below 200 (in Germany i have seen it for 229€).

 

Otherwise below 200, my suggestions would be:

 

Xiaomi A2 Lite, or Xiaomi A2.

Both with stock android (one), solid performance. Xiaomi A2 has a faster Processor, better Camera but smaller battery, no headphone Jack (you can always use adapters) and no micro SD Slot.

 

Or you get a Xiaomi Note 5 / Note 6 Pro.

I would recommend 64gb + 4gb Ram over 32gb + 3gb Ram tho, since it's mostly 20€ more only.

They come with a headphone Jack, a Processor slightly faster than A2 Lite, but slower than A2, a big 4000 mAh Battery, Micro SD Slot, Headphone Jack, decent Camera.

Also, LineageOS Custom Rom support, if you don't like MIUI 

 

Note 7 coming next month as "Global version" (with more LTE Bands for outside asia).

 

 

I think i personally would look into the Xiaomi Note 5 or Note 6 Pro with the Storage option you want, and optionally install a Custom Rom on it - otherwise, you already will have a very decent allround phone, that's one of the best in that price range.

I also highly suggest to watch some Xiaomi Note 5/6 Pro reviews, or Xiaomi A2 (lite) reviews from italian youtubers, so you can see what they are like^^

 

 

If you want NFC, then you would have to look into different phones.

[Halazar]

4 hours ago, Darkseth said:

 

Thank you so much for all the info, I will look into it in the next days, if I have any other doubts I'll let you know!

[Halazar]

5 hours ago, Darkseth said:

 

Oh; are there any smartphones around the 200€ mark with 6gb of ram that are worth buying?

[Darkseth]

Depends which smartphone it actually is.

 

There are more things on a smartphone that makes it good or bad ^^  Like, which CPU is build in, Display resolution or other Features.

If you can tell me the Model name, i can look into it.

[Halazar]

3 hours ago, Darkseth said:

Depends which smartphone it actually is.

 

There are more things on a smartphone that makes it good or bad ^^  Like, which CPU is build in, Display resolution or other Features.

If you can tell me the Model name, i can look into it.

Oh I don't have a specific model in mind; I was just wondering if there are models this 'cheap' with 6gb of ram in it, and if it doesn't mean they skip out on too many other things

[dizmo]

Fast charging killing batteries was only a problem many, many years ago and is pretty much non-existent now. As long as you're not buying some super cheap Chinese brand phone, it should work just fine without any significant detriment to the battery's integrity. I also think your view on battery degradation is a little flawed; charge cycles are sounded from 0 - 100%, so it doesn't really matter if you're charging it from 80 - 100 or 0 - 100. The first still only counts as 20% of one charge cycle, where the second is one full charge cycle.

 

You can't simply go by core count. It's a completely useless metric when it comes to performance, since a lot of the SoCs are on different manufacturing processes. The best thing to do is look at reviews. Generally, a 600 series Snapdragon is more than enough for day to day use, with the 800 series being more premium. I wouldn't bother with anything else.

 

The best thing to look for is fast, and frequent updates. Asus is pretty good at this, as is Nokia, OnePlus and Essential.

 

GSMArena is a great comparison site if you're looking at their reviews, especially when it comes to battery life, since they use the same process for each phone.

 

Whatever you do, start by finding out what bands your carrier supports; you'll want to make sure the phone you gets supports these as well.

 

 

 

 

[Wh0_Am_1]

On 2/15/2019 at 8:46 AM, Halazar said:

I am looking for a relatively cheap smartphone(under 300€ if possible, or close to that pricing) that can withstand a little the passage of time, since I'm not a fan of changing phones(or any other equipement really) every 3 years; this means not only it not fuctioning anymore, but also not becoming too slow to fuction properly.

Thats why I was looking for features of smartphones to figure out which parts are needed for it to have a good and relatively long lasting life, but I never owned a smartphone so I am a little lost.

As far as I understand it, the battery(life and quality of the battery itself) and the recharging process are one of the main reasons for smartphones dying, and then too little RAM(or more like the increasing demand for more RAM usage from apps) is one of the main reason for smartphones becoming too slow if I'm not mistaken.


Also I have no idea of the differences between the different CPUs in smartphones, so right now I'm just going by core count, but I don't know how to check core speed and other possible features that I need to be aware of, like if some are too hot and don't have good enough dissipation and stuff like that, or if they have audio jacks, usb ports, any other feature that might be vital but I do not know of it because I never had a smartphone before.
Other features like decent resolution, camera quality etc. are all welcome but the primary objective is a reliable smartphone that doesn't die or slow down in a couple of years.


I know nothing of the smartphone world and I dived a little in websites like gsmarena.com , productchart.com etc. but I haven't really understood much.

I would like to receive more information about what to look for in a smartphone; specific vital features, information that is hard to come by, etc.

Like when you're building a computer some of the things to remember is to never cheap out on the power supply, to always check the dimensions of your hardware pieces and the case, to have a good enough cooling solution, to check the airflow in the case and setup the fans accordingly, that having 2 or 4 sticks of ram is better than having 1 or 3, that an SD, even if just big enough to store the OS, is a worthy investment, etc., these kind of tips; I completely unaware of tips like these when it comes to choosing a smartphone.
 

So yeah any advice, any comprehensive guide you can link me, any comprehensive list on the different CPUs that smartphones have, any website that can help me, really any information that might help me.
 

I found some smartphones that I think would be good candidates and I would like to know what you think of them; Xiaomi Redmi Note 5(which doesn't differ too much from the 6 if I'm not mistaken?) and the Note 6 and all the different versions of them(6?6A?6pro?), LG Q7, Xiaomi Pocophone F1, Asus Zenfone Max Pro, Realme 2 Pro, Xiaomi Mi A2 and Blackview P6000.
All of them have(or have versions with) 6GB of RAM or more, decent resolution, decent battery life(but idk about durability and quality of the battery itself), not all of them have fast-charging(something I might be interested in since I understand its something that helps in keeping smartphones alive by charging them often but not to the brim or waiting for them to have a depleted battery), they should also all have 6 or more CPU cores, but I do not know anything else of them really.
Do you have any other smartphones you could suggest for me to check out?
 

Thank you in advance!

...Going by core count alone will lead you to terrible phones... Now for the 3 years thing, that may be an issue depending on your use case as almost all phone have dropped the removable battery, and Li-Ion batteries are designed to only last 2 years ( though if you baby them you can get more).

[Wh0_Am_1]

20 hours ago, Halazar said:

I know I'm being annoying now, but if I wanted to reduce my budget to 200$ or under, what would you suggest?

I would recommend grabbing an ol' used LG V20 decent headphones, a some batteries, and a case.

[Halazar]

On 2/15/2019 at 6:13 PM, Darkseth said:

 

Hey I was reading the Pocophone is not water resistant, do you think its a big fault or phones in that price category are generally not water resistant? Do you even need it to be water resistant in case of rain?

[MrFixitBlankFace]

Just keep your phone away from the sink or bathtub(or toilet) and you'll be fine.

[Darkseth]

Most phones below 300 bucks are not water resistant. So it's simply one thing, they didn't include to keep the cost down.

 

For Rain i don't think it's an issue. There are umbrellas, so....^^

Never saw someone without an umbrella calling somebody for ages within puring, apocalyptic Rain

I think, it's fine for normal use. Just for emergencies like spilling water over it, etc, might be an issue.

 

Just think about the past. Before IPxx became a thing, it wasn't much of an issue either.

[Halazar]

27 minutes ago, Darkseth said:

Most phones below 300 bucks are not water resistant. So it's simply one thing, they didn't include to keep the cost down.

 

For Rain i don't think it's an issue. There are umbrellas, so....^^

Never saw someone without an umbrella calling somebody for ages within puring, apocalyptic Rain

I think, it's fine for normal use. Just for emergencies like spilling water over it, etc, might be an issue.

 

Just think about the past. Before IPxx became a thing, it wasn't much of an issue either.

I never owned a smartphone before so I can't really think about the past  my Nokia C3-00 performed under the rain just fine!