Which of the two is the better flagship phone from best buy?

[wasab]

Hi, 

I am looking for an android phone to replace my iphone x with

 

My budget is only $200 USD but I have $200 dollars best buy gift card which puts me in range of sub $400 android phones.

 

The phone has to be a flagship devices which means a snapdragon 835 so that means either this

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/essential-essential-phone-4g-lte-with-128gb-memory-cell-phone-unlocked-black-moon/5973000.p?skuId=5973000

or this

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sony-xperia-xz1-compact-4g-lte-with-32gb-memory-cell-phone-unlocked-black/6045200.p?skuId=6045200

 

i have never used a handset from either companies so does anyone know which is better? 

 

oh, these are last years flagships so do you think i should just wait for snapdragon 845 phones instead? 

 

[RollTime]

Essential phone, probably. It has more storage, a better screen, etc. The sony one has a better camera and better IP rating, however.

[cflanders]

30 minutes ago, wasab said:

Hi, 

I am looking for an android phone to replace my iphone x with

 

My budget is only $200 USD but I have $200 dollars best buy gift card which puts me in range of sub $400 android phones.

 

The phone has to be a flagship devices which means a snapdragon 835 so that means either this

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/essential-essential-phone-4g-lte-with-128gb-memory-cell-phone-unlocked-black-moon/5973000.p?skuId=5973000

or this

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sony-xperia-xz1-compact-4g-lte-with-32gb-memory-cell-phone-unlocked-black/6045200.p?skuId=6045200

 

i have never used a handset from either companies so does anyone know which is better? 

 

oh, these are last years flagships so do you think i should just wait for snapdragon 845 phones instead? 

 

The Essential Phone was originally built to be a flagship similar to the Pixel line only better. Since then. the price has come down a lot and it seems to be a really good phone for the money. 

 

Side note: Would you consider selling your X?

[Radioactive Snowman]

Why not sell the X and get a pixel 2 xl or whatever other Android phone you want? Between those 2 I’d recommend the essential phone though 

[wasab]

15 minutes ago, Radioactive Snowman said:

Why not sell the X and get a pixel 2 xl or whatever other Android phone you want? Between those 2 I’d recommend the essential phone though 

Because it is birthday gift from my parents so I will be returning it to them. 

[wasab]

3 hours ago, cflanders said:

The Essential Phone was originally built to be a flagship similar to the Pixel line only better. Since then. the price has come down a lot and it seems to be a really good phone for the money. 

 

Side note: Would you consider selling your X?

Okay, seems like the consensus is the that essential phone is the better buy so essential phone it is.

 

no, I won’t be selling it.

 

 

[dizmo]

What do you use your phone for?
If you use the camera at all, don't get the Essential phone. It's abysmal. The Sony would be a better bet at that point.

Snapdragon 845 is nice, but honestly not that much of an upgrade.

[wasab]

26 minutes ago, dizmo said:

What do you use your phone for?
If you use the camera at all, don't get the Essential phone. It's abysmal. The Sony would be a better bet at that point.

Snapdragon 845 is nice, but honestly not that much of an upgrade.

I just realized the xz1 has no finger print scanner. This is a deal breaker. I am getting the essential phone. 

 

Sd 845 seems to have much better gpu but oh well. I don’t think any of the phones will be around $400 when they launched anyway.

[dizmo]

12 minutes ago, wasab said:

I just realized the xz1 has no finger print scanner. This is a deal breaker. I am getting the essential phone. 

 

Sd 845 seems to have much better gpu but oh well. I don’t think any of the phones will be around $400 when they launched anyway.

You can get it to work with the ROM from another region.

Just know going in that the Essential Phone has a horrible, horrible camera.

[wasab]

25 minutes ago, dizmo said:

You can get it to work with the ROM from another region.

Just know going in that the Essential Phone has a horrible, horrible camera.

how?? and will lte gonna work if i do that? 

[dizmo]

1 minute ago, wasab said:

how?? and will lte gonna work if i do that? 

You'd have to look it up, but the work around to get the fingerprint sensor to work is to use the UK ROM.

I don't imagine it'd affect it at all. It's a world phone so it should have most if not all the bands active anyway.

[cflanders]

1 hour ago, dizmo said:

What do you use your phone for?
If you use the camera at all, don't get the Essential phone. It's abysmal. The Sony would be a better bet at that point.

Snapdragon 845 is nice, but honestly not that much of an upgrade.

That was true at launch, but I am pretty sure it has gotten better with software. Also, look at a 5 year old smartphone camera, is looks "abysmal" by today's standards but still looks great. On the topic of cameras, Austin Evans says that it has gotten better. 

 

[79wjd]

I know @Suika had used the Essential Phone before promptly dumping it.

[Suika]

10 minutes ago, djdwosk97 said:

I know @Suika had used the Essential Phone before promptly dumping it.

To be fair, that was back in November or something. My biggest gripes with it may have been solved with software updates, or a decent custom rom may be available. At $400 it may be pretty worth it.

[dizmo]

25 minutes ago, cflanders said:

That was true at launch, but I am pretty sure it has gotten better with software. Also, look at a 5 year old smartphone camera, is looks "abysmal" by today's standards but still looks great. On the topic of cameras, Austin Evans says that it has gotten better.

Haha, that allllmost has me tempted to try it. They're much cheaper in Canada; only $360 USD.