Buying first smart phone, what to look for in carriers, etc.

[Infernalz]

I've had the same flip phone for over 12 years so I guess it's about time to stop being one the last millennials to have one. I have no idea what to ask for/look out for with this and hope not to get screwed over.

 

As of now I'm leaning on the Oneplus 7 Pro even though it doesn't have a headphone jack and expandable storage which would have been nice but they're all moving way from those so yeah. Though 256GB storage is probably going to be fine.

 

I've had T-moblie for the whole time so I'm thinking of going to them first and seeing if that loyalty means anything. I know that some phones just don't work on certain carriers and don't know what to look for that would mitigate that. I know that phones can be locked to a carrier, is there a benefit to that? Getting the phone through them? I think buying it off of Oneplus' site probably gives unlocked?

 

What about speeds? What should I ask for what they do for throttling? I know most places force contracts for things, what should I try and look out for in those?

 

And what even is data? What's a good average people use per month? Did unlimited plans return to meaning unlimited again? Friend of mine says his is unlimited but I don't think he understands throttling, though he uses one of the off smaller off-shoots of a bigger carrier things.

 

Are there any other things about having a fresh phone and number I should know about? Ways to stop robo calls from the start or things that not worth getting started with at all?

 

Anything else I need to know about this? Needless to say I know nothing about this and only remember some from LTT videos and the like.

[GoldenLag]

1 minute ago, Infernalz said:

As of now I'm leaning on the Oneplus 7 Pro even though it doesn't have a headphone jack and expandable storage which would have been nice but they're all moving way from those so yeah. Though 256GB storage is probably going to be fine.

there is allways the Google Pixel 3a if you want a modern great phone with a headphone jack. 

 

id personally avoid carrierplans, but i know they are pretty popular in the US. 

[LukeSavenije]

9 minutes ago, GoldenLag said:

here is allways the Google Pixel 3a if you want a modern great phone with a headphone jack. 

walks in with pocophone

 

you said?

[dizmo]

The OnePlus is a great choice for a first phone, especially considering how cheap it is in comparison to other flagships.

As for plans, see what ones offer the best coverage where you'll be. Check online and in store, as they can sometimes differ.

I've never had a problem with robo calls, so I can't really be much help there.

 

If you can get the phone through the carrier, it's something to consider. Though, only if it's actually cheaper. It often isn't, and sometimes can actually cost more than buying it from the manufacturer itself.

[dizmo]

Just now, LukeSavenije said:

walks in with pocophone

 

you said?

Not the greatest phone for North America.

[GoldenLag]

Just now, LukeSavenije said:

walks in with pocophone

 

you said?

holds up nokia launcher

 

Nokia 7 plus

[LukeSavenije]

1 minute ago, dizmo said:

Not the greatest phone for North America.

yeah... true... still not bad tho

 

Just now, GoldenLag said:

holds up nokia launcher

 

Nokia 7 plus

holds up mi8 with poco launcher

 

oled

[dizmo]

1 minute ago, LukeSavenije said:

yeah... true... still not bad tho

For the rest of the world, for sure. But it's lack of band support makes it a no go here.

Should be interesting to see if they offer more compatibility with the K20.

[GoldenLag]

Just now, LukeSavenije said:

yeah... true... still not bad tho

 

holds up mi8 with poco launcher

 

oled

loads up Nokia 7 plus Android One

 

enchantment of unbreaking

[The King of the Undead]

brick launcher.(loses to nokia launcher).

[Infernalz]

Cool so some phones are neat and so are some custom OS. Anything about what I should be looking for here? Please?

[Commodus]

8 hours ago, Infernalz said:

Cool so some phones are neat and so are some custom OS. Anything about what I should be looking for here? Please?

I'd say the main thing to ask is: how do you primarily plan to use it?  Will you take a lot of photos, and if so what kind of photos do you typically like to take?  Will you play a lot of games?  How about music and videos?  And of course, how important is it that the software be extra-responsive?

 

The OnePlus 7 Pro is certainly a solid pick for the performance, screen and (relatively) strong software support.  It's not the best phone for photography, but the main camera should be pretty good in most cases (you're coming from a flip phone, so most modern smartphones will seem amazing).

 

If photography is your main thing: on Android you could go with the Galaxy S10 or a Pixel phone, although the high-end Pixel 3 (not sure about the Pixel 3a yet) has a habit of bogging down over time for some people.  They're good all-rounders in most other respects, though the OP7 Pro has them beat in terms of raw system performance and screen quality.

 

And if you like games, want a really snappy phone or just prefer genuinely timely software updates... snag an iPhone.  I know some here will dismiss them, but the game and general app ecosystems are top notch.  The iPhone is overall faster than all Android phones.  And where you'll never really get more than two years of major OS updates on Android, Apple typically delivers them for four to five years, and you can install them the millisecond they're ready (instead of waiting weeks or months for your phone maker to push them to you).

[Donut417]

On 5/23/2019 at 1:01 PM, Infernalz said:

I know that some phones just don't work on certain carriers and don't know what to look for that would mitigate that

It comes down to this. There is the CDMA standard (Verizon and Sprint) and the GSM standard (AT&T and TMobile) these are network standards used for communication between devices and cell towers. Basically the phone has to have the right radio in it for the standard your provider uses. ON TOP OF THAT, each carrier has certain frequencies they bought from the FCC that they are allowed to use. The more of them your device supports the better your service should be. 

 

All that being said. CDMA and GSM are I think 2G/3G standards. Verizon is shutting down its 3G network like by the end of the year and seeing how Sprint and TMobile are kissing the government ass, their merger will most likely be approved. Meaning that in a few years Sprints CDMA network will die as well. I think in the future mostly its going to be down to frequency support. 

 

 

On 5/23/2019 at 1:01 PM, Infernalz said:

What about speeds? What should I ask for what they do for throttling? I know most places force contracts for things, what should I try and look out for in those?

Speed wise is dependent on the network. I live 2 miles from Detroit Metro Airport I get maybe 25 Mbps on TMobile's LTE network. In Canton Mi, I gotten about 100 Mbps before. So the city and such will matter. Most carriers "Deprioritize" after 25-50 Gigs of data used. Contracts at least with TMobile are kinda dead, you can "Lease to own" a phone, and make monthly payments to them for it, or do like I did and drop $750 on a phone that day and not up the bill. Most if not all carriers do some kinda of lease program. 

 

On 5/23/2019 at 1:01 PM, Infernalz said:

What's a good average people use per month

Depends on how you use your phone. On my phone I use maybe 4 Gigs with a mixture of Cellular data and WiFi. However I know the limitations of my plan and I stay with in them. Remember T Mobile does not charge overages. Now on my Comcast connection we as a family pull 700-900 Gigs a month. But thats because of streaming and all that jazz. All I do on my phone is play Bubble Which Saga, Candy Crush (Need something to do during and hour long lunch break), surf the interwebs and the normal messaging, facebook etc. 

 

BTW Im on the 4 lines for $100 a month family choice plan, it no longer exists. I get 4 Gigs of data per line. 

On 5/23/2019 at 1:01 PM, Infernalz said:

Did unlimited plans return to meaning unlimited again?

Like I said above they Deproritize your data after certain data thresholds are reached. It doesnt mean your going to be slowed down, but it could happen if the tower is congested.