What am I Supposed to Recommend Now??

[BigDamn]

It appears I made the right choice between the Pixel 4a and the (I think) OnePlus Nord. Both phones were similarly priced, and on paper the OnePlus was actually the better phone, but I went with the Pixel and have been quite happy with it. After owning Galaxy Note phones for years I thought it may be tough going to a lower end phone, but it really wasn't. And being that I'm never doing any strenuous tasks (nor did I use the S-Pen) I really couldn't justify spending $1000+ for a phone. The Pixel 4a performs quite well in daily tasks, gets me great battery life, and a near bug free experience. That said, it isn't without it's quirks: the headphone jack (one of my selling points) is a joke. It can't produce consistent volume and WILL stop playback and switch itself to full volume on its own. If you don't adjust the volume back down, BUCKLE UP, It's gonna be loud. And Google will not fix it, despite a length support thread I started with many users reporting the same thing (with multiple Pixels, not just the 4a). Also, the fingerprint scanner sucks. It's fast when it works, but when it doesn't work you're fucked. Wanna check your portfolio on TD Ameritrade? Hope your fingerprint scanner is working! If not, you aren't getting in (blessing in disguise with the current market).

 

All in all, for $350 my Pixel 4a has been a hell of a deal. I'd still possibly consider OnePlus in the future, knowing that Pixel/Nexus has a rich of history of back breaking flaws/bugs, but it's certainly disappointing to see OnePlus in this state.

[quark23]

15 hours ago, hishnash said:

Custom ROM implies no secure boot so many apps (banking, media and other DRM based apps) will not not work at all (for liability reasons). 

 

I'm not sure what you are basing this on. Custom ROMs can have secure boot. You can sign your own LineageOS build and install it, and all those apps work just fine.

10 hours ago, Herrscher of Whatever said:

Just a note in case other people wonder about the other companies that allow bootloader unlock on smartphones: Xiaomi's approach to bootloader unlocking is rather unintuitive at times, like having to wait 7 days minimum to unlock the bootloader, and by creating your own Xiaomi account to do this, (all there to prevent scammers from putting viruses on their phones then reselling them) but it's there, and it's better than nothing. (And besides they still void your warranty for that as well)

 

Aside from that, these bugs seem like the company just doesn't care, and that's a shame for BBK in general, since Realme sells more phones very well nowadays, and they still run on a ColorOS derivative.

I'm not touching Xiaomi. All this "make an account with us or you can't use our product" crap has to go. They always have some kind of excuse for doing it. Everybody does when they push some bull

[Commodus]

This is sadly part of a mounting problem for Android — there's a shrinking number of brands you can consistently recommend (or in some cases, recommend at all).

 

OnePlus? Losing all the things that made its phones special. Google? Still a bad habit of shipping otherwise good phones with bugs or flaws (ahem, Pixel 6 fingerprint reader) that sour the experience. Sony? Pricing itself out of the market. Motorola? Doesn't seem to know how to make a good high-end phone, or offer more than a couple of years of OS updates. And while you can point to brands like Xiaomi/Poco or Realme, they're not officially available in some key markets (and thus not practical for most customers in those markets).

 

Samsung is the de facto choice at this point simply because there aren't any major screw-ups. It still tends to think too much of its own apps, and it certainly isn't immune to problems, but at least you'll get a generally solid device with long-term support (longer than Google's, even). It's difficult to tout the diversity of the Android ecosystem when you know you're probably going to get a Galaxy S22 like everyone else.

 

The jury's still out on the Nothing Phone 1, but I'm hoping that it revives interest in good (if slightly gimmicky) Android phones for enthusiasts. Now, sell it in North America, please...

[Peterrrr]

Let me start this by saying I had a OnePlus 3T for 4 years and loved it. Great phone, huge fan of the OnePlus product.

 

Not anymore.

 

September 2021 I bought a Nord N200. 3 weeks later my storage was full with 90% of it being system storage that I couldn't do anything about. Customer support asked me to do a factory reset so I did, knowing the problem would resurface. 3 weeks later - same problem. They tried a remote session which couldn't fix the problem so I sent the phone in for repair. Had the repaired phone for about 1 month when the problem arose for the 3rd time. Sent it in for repair again. Had this repaired phone for about 6 weeks and the problem arose for the 4th time. I sent it in for repair/replacement. They couldn't repair it so they sent me a brand new device. Had this brand new phone for about 5 weeks and the problem came back FOR A 5TH TIME.

 

OnePlus clearly does not have a fix for this problem. They simply don't have an answer. Their customer service is terrible. Emailing, calling or live chat - it doesn't matter. It takes ages for them to get back to you. It would typically be a few days between emails so I was without a phone for a week after which they had me send it in for 'repair' so I was without my phone for another week.

 

They sent my case to the 'escalation support'. They asked for a few days to look into it. Didn't hear from them. I called. They asked me to wait a day or two to hear from them. The next day they contacted me only to ask me to wait another 3-5 days. I asked to speak to a supervisor. They were 'busy' but would call me back in an hour or two. I never got a call back.

 

Eventually they sent me a second replacement device. I'm now on my third Nord N200. Guess what... same issue.

 

It is now June 2022. 9 months after I bought the phone. Still no fix. Still terrible customer service. I was such a huge OnePlus fan but I am done.

[williamcll]

I hope the nothing phone could be what oneplus was once.

 

That said, what's the closest phone to the oneplus these days? I could use a phone that is easily rootable and not full of bloat. Can't take the pixel because there's no warranty here.

[ToboRobot]

Smartphones (hey Framework) should be like PCs.  Buy a Mac (iPhone), buy a Dell (Samsung), or DIY by assembling a case, mainboard, display and battery, and then let me choose my OS and tinker with it.  Android was never the promised land to me for smartphones.

I just want a marketplace ecosystem where I can get what I want, not something a company thinks is close enough.

[OhioYJ]

20 hours ago, hishnash said:

Custom ROM implies no secure boot so many apps (banking, media and other DRM based apps) will not not work at all (for liability reasons).

Odd they work for me?

 

While you are correct, many will require "work arrounds" or for you to hide the unlocked bootloader, or root, this really isn't a big deal. There are very few apps that "don't work at all" if any honestly. All that apps I need work just fine. All the apps needed in my house hold work fine. As every device here is unlocked and rooted. If someone in my family needs a "loaner" device for a moment, they usually ask me as I generally have spares laying around, and they get handed a unlocked rooted device with Lineage on it. Never had anyone say anything.

[Pave]

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4 hours ago, Commodus said:

This is sadly part of a mounting problem for Android — there's a shrinking number of brands you can consistently recommend (or in some cases, recommend at all).

---
Well, this very depends on what brands and devices you're allowed to purchase in the first place;
after all, many of the devices and brands are very region-exclusive / restricted.

Of course the company-names you mentioned tend to be highest-tier / perhaps far to overpriced-category.
But there are loads of comparatively smaller-guys out there who seem to have a decent dominance when to comes to mid-tier or other cheaper but decent devices:
Besides the earlier mentioned Nokia / HMD Global, there is
- Blackview
- Caterpillar
- Doro
- Honor
- Poco
- realme
- Ulefone

Many of these companies also offer rugged / heavy-duty-enduring phones that the "big boys" seemingly don't offer at all currently, aside for Samsung that seems to be flip-flopping between making a rugged-phone once every five years or perhaps go almost a decade without a new one
( well, more of that they're simply consistently not making rugged-phones compared to list above ).

Just to be clear, the list I have here is taken from the shop of a Finnish-teleoperator "DNA", so more than likely majority of these brands are not available in Americas.
---

[Commodus]

2 hours ago, ToboRobot said:

Smartphones (hey Framework) should be like PCs.  Buy a Mac (iPhone), buy a Dell (Samsung), or DIY by assembling a case, mainboard, display and battery, and then let me choose my OS and tinker with it.  Android was never the promised land to me for smartphones.

I just want a marketplace ecosystem where I can get what I want, not something a company thinks is close enough.

They tried that (see Project Ara as an example) and, at least at the time, it didn't work.

 

Modularity often introduces a bunch of compromises in mobile devices: bulk, reduced battery life, lack of weatherproofing, ergonomics... you get the idea. And It only works if there are enough meaningful parts to choose from. It's (relatively) easy for a manufacturer to offer a choice of a few cameras, chips and battery packs for one model; it's another thing to spread that across multiple devices and support it over multiple years. Don't even get me started on getting other vendors to agree to common standards.

 

The modular PC ecosystem works because of both the spacious nature of desktop PCs (most of them are just boxes with boards inside) and decades of standards development (ATX, PCIe and the like). Even Framework's laptop system is limited; you can't add a dedicated GPU, for example. It would require a Herculean effort for phones to catch up on a basic level, let alone offer something as elegant as the phones you can buy now.

 

The boring reality: "close enough" is probably as good as you'll get. And I'd rather spend time enjoying a not-quite-perfect phone than waiting for the perfect device that will never come.

[Commodus]

7 minutes ago, Pave said:

---

---
Well, this very depends on what brands and devices you're allowed to purchase in the first place;
after all, many of the devices and brands are very region-exclusive / restricted.

Of course the company-names you mentioned tend to be highest-tier / perhaps far to overpriced-category.
But there are loads of comparatively smaller-guys out there who seem to have a decent dominance when to comes to mid-tier or other cheaper but decent devices:
Besides the earlier mentioned Nokia / HMD Global, there is
- Blackview
- Caterpillar
- Doro
- Honor
- Poco
- realme
- Ulefone

Many of these companies also offer rugged / heavy-duty-enduring phones that the "big boys" seemingly don't offer at all currently, aside for Samsung that seems to be flip-flopping between making a rugged-phone once every five years or perhaps go almost a decade without a new one
( well, more of that they're simply consistently not making rugged-phones compared to list above ).

Just to be clear, the list I have here is taken from the shop of a Finnish-teleoperator "DNA", so more than likely majority of these brands are not available in Americas.
---

I'm definitely familiar with those brands, but I don't think any one of them would offer a truly stellar experience. Nokia tends to skew to the budget side these days. Poco and Realme offer some good value and are probably the closest to what I'd look for outside of Samsung, but someone with a bigger budget would still spring for something else. Caterpillar is focused on rugged design at the expense of other specs. And Honor... it's not tied to Huawei anymore, but it stands about as much chance of reaching some countries as Huawei does (that is, virtually none).

 

The variety is great, and what helps Android stand out. But finding a phone you can unreservedly recommend to many people? That's the tough part. In North America, the iPhone sells so well in part because it's a safe choice. It's not the best at everything, but there aren't big showstoppers. My concern is that the range of Android phones with that reliability is small, and appears to be getting smaller.

[simoouhaddou]

Can anyone please give an effective fix to the mobile data connection issue ? I have a Oneplus 8T.