What smartphone to get

[code99]

Long story short, 

Im still rocking an iphone 5 but its time for this thing to go, its old and i cant update it to latest ios version since it will slow down the phone a lot and most of my apps no longer work on my current ios version.

So, i need a new phone. 
The problem is that I cannot afford current gen flagship phones so I need something else, something cheaper but still good.

Things I do mostly on my smarphones in order of frequency/importance:

- Browse the web
- Play games
- Take photos (altho i dont really need super high quality pics so an okay camera is fine, no need for latest tech)
- ... talk

I have to point out that this new phone must be able to run latest os versions without hurting its performance much.

Dont care much if its android or ios. I prefer IOS as an operating system but newer android versions also work for me.
Dont care about brand either. As long as the phone is decently build and with good OS then im fine.

 

 

I dont care about how good audio is, i always have my phone muted and i use headphones if i want to listen to something.

The battery should be large enough to power my phone for at least a day of moderate to moderate-heavy usage.

The budget is around 340-380 euros. So, samsung galaxy s7 - ipone 6s money. 
Now, id be happy enough with those phones but I am not familiar with the other brands out there, even chinese/japanese ones.

I wouldnt mind getting a chinese branded phone if it costs the same but is generally better. I've seen a lot of interesting phones on gearbest but since I dont know much about those brands i was a bit wary. 

[SammyG13]

I like the Iphone 8 but a lot of people dont for some reason. I will say don't get a Chinese brand phone, you will have to replace it in 3 months, even the $250-$300 ones break, its best to just get a flagship $700-$800 phone and have it for the next 5-10 years. rather then spend $200 every few months on a new one

 

 

[BlindGuyPCs]

You can typically find OnePlus 5 non T's for around $300 bucks. The 3T is roughly 200. Also if you want a good 200 to 300 new one I would recommend the LG style. I can't remember if it was the 2nd or 3rd model, but it works quite well for the money.

[LHJKO]

6 minutes ago, SammyG13 said:

I like the Iphone 8 but a lot of people dont for some reason. I will say don't get a Chinese brand phone, you will have to replace it in 3 months, even the $250-$300 ones break, its best to just get a flagship $700-$800 phone and have it for the next 5-10 years. rather then spend $200 every few months on a new one

 

 

There are alot of good Chinese phones you do know that there are actual  legit company in china right 

[code99]

I'd like to add a few things, 

 

I dont care about how good audio is, i always have my phone muted and i use headphones if i want to listen to something.

The battery should be large enough to power my phone for at least a day of moderate to moderate-heavy usage.

 

 

[NMS]

I would suggest a solid phone like OnePlus, but last gen. So 5 or 5T.

Or you can get a chinese brand like Xiaomi. Solid specs and very good prices. For example Mi Mix 2.

[SammyG13]

6 minutes ago, Vernw3.com said:

There are alot of good Chinese phones you do know that there are actual  legit company in china right 

im talking like BLU and all them. and if its cheap its cheap for a reason. 

[LHJKO]

2 minutes ago, SammyG13 said:

im talking like BLU and all them. and if its cheap its cheap for a reason. 

or its cheap because its not seen as a status symbol 

and blu is a reliable budget option 

[Sfekke]

10 minutes ago, SammyG13 said:

I like the Iphone 8 but a lot of people dont for some reason. I will say don't get a Chinese brand phone, you will have to replace it in 3 months, even the $250-$300 ones break, its best to just get a flagship $700-$800 phone and have it for the next 5-10 years. rather then spend $200 every few months on a new one

 

 

I call BS on that.

Imported 3 Chinese phones in 3 years, 80 - 120 Euro's each.

All of them lasted a solid year before the battery just became useless.

 

and 5-10 years?

Look not saying that isn't possible .. but isn't 3 more .. realistic?

 

I'm looking to buy an iPhone myself, soon since I haven't bought western phones in a while.

But I just plan on buying one selling it once the new one comes out rinse 'n' repeat, they keep their value pretty well so that is why I consider spending that ludicrous asking price of 800. in Belgium/EU Apple products cost .. even more. Let that sink in for a minute.

 

As for OP's question:

Depends my good sir.

If you have no need to be on the bleeding edge, just get a mid-range phone with good reviews that preferably launched 6 months ago, then you can rule out it having any instant failures/breaking down prematurely.

I've heard pretty good things about Motorola devices and nothing but problems from the cheaper Samsung devices from my own experience.

OnePlus seems to be very popular as well, friend of mine has the OnePlus 5 and is very happy with it.

[Sfekke]

5 minutes ago, SammyG13 said:

im talking like BLU and all them. and if its cheap its cheap for a reason. 

They use B-Grade parts.

Higher failure rates - Yup

Less quality/slower - Yup

Bad - Nop

 

Their batteries are the achilles heel, those are never good quality while they last long on a charge they do not keep their full capacity even 6 months.

Besides that .. chinese phones are a great budget offering, where do you think Huawei started on the market? Yea .. they weren't always this major player.

BLU is pretty shitty .. because their QA just doesn't exist, never buying from them again either; on the other hand DOOGEE is a really good chinese phone manufacturer.

Like buying any device, some brands are better then others.

[chiller15]

I'd recommend the OnePlus 5T. It may be a little higher than your specified budget, but that's the one I'd get.

[SammyG13]

14 minutes ago, Sfekke said:

I call BS on that.

Imported 3 Chinese phones in 3 years, 80 - 120 Euro's each.

All of them lasted a solid year before the battery just became useless.

 

and 5-10 years?

Look not saying that isn't possible .. but isn't 3 more .. realistic?

 

I'm looking to buy an iPhone myself, soon since I haven't bought western phones in a while.

But I just plan on buying one selling it once the new one comes out rinse 'n' repeat, they keep their value pretty well so that is why I consider spending that ludicrous asking price of 800. in Belgium/EU Apple products cost .. even more. Let that sink in for a minute.

 

As for OP's question:

Depends my good sir.

If you have no need to be on the bleeding edge, just get a mid-range phone with good reviews that preferably launched 6 months ago, then you can rule out it having any instant failures/breaking down prematurely.

I've heard pretty good things about Motorola devices and nothing but problems from the cheaper Samsung devices from my own experience.

OnePlus seems to be very popular as well, friend of mine has the OnePlus 5 and is very happy with it.

the only reason phones dont last as long anymore is people like apple intentionally slowing them down. My first phone I ever had the razor I still have and it works just how it did when I first got it its not slower by 1 bit. you shouldn't have to get a new phone every 3 years. before my Iphone 8 I had a s5 and only got a new one because i dropped it and it wouldn't turn back on and its out of warranty. and thats when I had chnnese phones. after it broke I decided to spend less and all i got where shitty phones,. all has the same exact issue, after (3 weeks at the shortest and almost 3 months at the longest)  the phones would just stop charging 

 

if you cant spend a one time payment of $800 then pay like $50 a month for how many years with a contract but im not poor so I buy most of my stuff outright. even my car was paid off before I owned it for 1 year. 

 

 

 

[Guest]

I would say get an oneplus 5t, or the moto g5 if you want the best budget option.

[code99]

A lot of you seem to suggest oneplus 5t, i guess i better check it out then. I havent considered oneplus before, dunno why ...

 

As for being on the cutting edge ... i would like to but I cant afford it. 

Besides, ive been fine with my iphone 5 for so long and im letting it go now only because i cant update IOS and most apps just dont work on ios 8 or even 9. 

 

Other than that, im still quite happy with this phone. Sure its slow and lacks the more modern features but i like the form factor and tbh im fine with what it has

 

Now, lemme go see that oneplus phone and how much its being sold here.

 

EDIT: Well, Oneplus 5t is 500 bucks here ... no thank you. Its way above my budget.

[code99]

Im looking at the LG G6. Looks ok, kinda sucks its an lcd screen tho but it seems to be great for its price.

 

Atm its at 350 euros which is within my budget. 

 

Anyone had this phone before? How does it feel/work? 

[Suika]

3 minutes ago, code99 said:

Im looking at the LG G6. Looks ok, kinda sucks its an lcd screen tho but it seems to be great for its price.

 

Atm its at 350 euros which is within my budget. 

 

Anyone had this phone before? How does it feel/work? 

Considering LG had an issue where their phones would randomly get stuck in a bootloop with no chances of getting out of it, combined with the fact that LG hasn't provided support to anybody out of warranty (which is a lot of people, including myself), I tend to recommend against LG.

[code99]

Yikes. Never heard of this bootloop outside of this thread but thats probably because i really didnt pay much attention to LG ... i better go do some research on this. 

 

EDIT: From the quick search I did, it would appear the g6 does not have the boot loop issue? Ill do some more reading tho.

[Suika]

3 minutes ago, code99 said:

Yikes. Never heard of this bootloop outside of this thread but thats probably because i really didnt pay much attention to LG ... i better go do some research on this. 

It was five of their devices that I remember, the LG G4, LG V10, LG Nexus 5X, LG G5, and LG V20.

[code99]

1 minute ago, huilun02 said:

 

Bootloop doesn't affect the G6 and later phones

Yeah thats what i gathered from my research into this.

 

I'll keep the G6 as a backup. If i cant find either the cash to get Oneplus 5T or some other phone in place of the G6, i will probably buy that.

[Suika]

2 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

Bootloop doesn't affect the G6 and later phones

Yea, which is why I didn't list it in devices I know are affected. My point is avoid LG because their customer support was absolute garbage, and if there is an issue in the G6 that's so far not widespread, well tough shit because LG won't do anything.

[Elk]

23 hours ago, SammyG13 said:

 I will say don't get a Chinese brand phone, you will have to replace it in 3 months, even the $250-$300 ones break

 

 

This is nonsense.
Chinese phones are great and brands like Xiaomi and OnePlus are on the rise because of how great their phones can be while not paying a flagship price.

 

23 hours ago, SammyG13 said:

im talking like BLU and all them. and if its cheap its cheap for a reason. 

BLU is American, not Chinese.
BLU Products, an American company is headquartered in Miami, FL with a warehouse facility over 80,000 sq. ft. BLU designs and manufacturers affordable, attractive and innovative mobile devices focusing on fulfilling the needs of the everyday person.   
http://bluproducts.com/about-us/

[Suika]

13 minutes ago, Elk said:

...while not paying a flagship price.

This statement was more applicable to OnePlus a couple generations ago. Now I'd argue that it's a premium-like device at a discount.

[code99]

Well ive raised my budget a little bit since I too happy with the LG G6 and it seems I may be able to get an S8+ (resealed, not brand new but from the pics ive seen, it looks brand new) for cheap-ish.

 

Any thoughts on the phone? Worth it over a Oneplus 5t (new) or LG V30 (resealed)?

 

I dont know if "resealed" is the right word but its what we call them here. These are phones that have been returned by the customers or phones that have been used for reviews by the store or stuff like that. 

I do get 24 months of warranty on these so i think its a good deal. They usually cost way less than buying brand new.

[Peskanova]

That money is oneplus or huawei field. oneplus  has almost-perfect build quality

[code99]

10 minutes ago, Peskanova said:

That money is oneplus or huawei field. oneplus  has almost-perfect build quality

Well no since its not "new". It costs slightly less than a Oneplus 5T. Oneplus 6 is about 100-150 bucks more.