What phone are you using in 2023?

[Dedayog]

9 hours ago, Nior2008 said:

I'm selling my xiaomi redmi note 12 turbo to get the F5 pro with wireless charging

I looked at Wireless Charging, but with the speeds they achieve, I went with the OnePlus 11.  0-100% in less than 30 minutes?  Yes please, thank you!

[Elarion]

I currently have a Pixel 7 with exploded camera glass. My Pixel 6 dropped calls all the time, my Pixel 4a5G had a cable disconnect from the camera, and my Pixel 3a had a charging port die. I had a Galaxy S7 for nearly 5 years before these, and an HTC for almost 4 years before that.

 

And I'm over here, looking at the Google Fi page, where they're offering me a Galaxy S23 for $400, and yet I am still looking at the Pixel 7a. I don't know WTF is wrong with me.

[Nior2008]

On 5/12/2023 at 3:13 AM, Elarion said:

I currently have a Pixel 7 with exploded camera glass. My Pixel 6 dropped calls all the time, my Pixel 4a5G had a cable disconnect from the camera, and my Pixel 3a had a charging port die. I had a Galaxy S7 for nearly 5 years before these, and an HTC for almost 4 years before that.

 

And I'm over here, looking at the Google Fi page, where they're offering me a Galaxy S23 for $400, and yet I am still looking at the Pixel 7a. I don't know WTF is wrong with me.

I think Google has brainwashed you, I'd rater get the poco F5 pro with 12gb +512 gb storage. And it comes with a charger and tpu case u till I get my steel plate cooler and magnetic case for wireless charging

[TheUnofficial_Boss]

iphone 5s  :/ 

tryna tank with it until I can buy a new phone

[AudiTTFan]

iPhone XS. I still refuse to give up 3D Touch.

[SgtBoomo]

I started using the Pixel 7 Pro in December 2022 and found it to be quite good.
I switched it out from an S21 Ultra. For me, the simple Android experience is somewhat refreshing.

[Egon3]

I got a Galaxy Z Fold 4 about 7 months ago. So far I'm quite pleased with it. I don't use the big screen as much as expected, but it is nice to have when browsing the web, propping up and watching a YouTube video while doing the dishes, or docking it in the car and putting my maps app and music app in split screen.

[E-waste]

On 4/28/2023 at 2:45 PM, Commodus said:

iPhone 13 Pro (plus a Pixel 6 on the side). Definitely not in a rush to upgrade this year ... but next year is another story.

Leaving out personal detials, as that is actually more important than any phone, but not what I want to discuss.

 

Why, exactly, would you feel the compulsion to purchase new phone hardware?  I think your apple device has about three or four more years of updates, so seriously why?

[E-waste]

On 4/28/2023 at 5:53 PM, Azzychan said:

Nokia 5.3.

Deal with the cracked corner in your screen, let's not get so picky.  I wish I'd kept my lcd monitor from years ago, it had two sepia yellow spots, at the top and bottom, no big deal, and had better color reproduction in blue tones.  I would actually like that monitor more than my current one.

 

Don't let software bugs force you into a completely needless hardware switch and try getting Lineage OS onto the device.

 

XDA-developers is a wonderful website, and I've visited their page since 2008 or so.

 

Here's a guide on how to unlock the bootloader of a Nokia 5.3

 

https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/guide-heres-how-to-unlock-the-bootloader-of-nokia-5-3.4568619/

[ToboRobot]

first gen iphone SE 

[E-waste]

On 5/9/2023 at 10:29 PM, ManOverboard1224 said:

I did have an iphone 13 but just got the S23 Ultra today

What forces pressured you or coerced or gave you the idea that you wanted to upgrade?

 

You have gone to a device without gps-based emergency mode.  Without tracking protection for apps, at all, in fact, Google is going to be all up in your business with telemetry collection--but you can block the connections.

 

Also, you have at least one year less of update support and both samsung and google are collecting data on you, and, you no longer have access to Safari, a web browser that still uses WebKit which originated from KDE open-source developers, and competes with Google's MASSIVE 65% market share, up to 23% of safari use, from mobile apple devices.

 

I suggest looking into immediately TODAY not tomorrow, how to unlock the bootloader (do not update the software, ever on android) and get Lineage OS installed.

 

XDA-developers has a lot of guides on how to do this for specific devices, so go check that out, and use DNS filters to monitor and reduce your network activity as well, while you figure out how to change the operating system firmware to a better alternative.

 

This will allow you to keep the device supported MUCH longer than five years that Samsung reluctantly allows (pressured by society) and the six years Apple offers (surprisingly the ONLY other company challenging this is Fairphone), and keep your device out of the ground for a longer time.

[E-waste]

On 5/10/2023 at 5:24 AM, Nior2008 said:

I'm selling my xiaomi redmi note 12 turbo to get the F5 pro with wireless charging

 

On 5/10/2023 at 5:24 AM, Nior2008 said:

On 5/9/2023 at 10:29 PM, ManOverboard1224 said:

I did have an iphone 13 but just got the S23 Ultra today

I'm selling my xiaomi redmi note 12 turbo to get the F5 pro with wireless charging

 

Why do you feel the necessity or compulsion to want wireless charging?  It's slow (which is excellent for battery maintanence) and it's really not all that wireless, and requires a charging cable anyway.  If you actually want slow charging, rummage through your box of micro-usb cables and plug in each one to a PC or other usb port and pay attention to the estimated charge times.

 

Use the cable that says it will take 7h 45m to charge your battery.  This way, you can better maintain your battery and have a longer lasting device.  Also, the recommended charge level of li-ion battery is between 40-60%.  Keeping it in this range will allow that battery to maintain overall charge capacity for at least several years, vs one or two with "regular" 20-80% charging levels.

[Tan3l6]

Almost 6 year old Xiaomi Mi Max 2 - don't really miss any features. Battery could be better though.

[E-waste]

On 5/10/2023 at 2:36 PM, Dedayog said:

On 5/10/2023 at 5:24 AM, Nior2008 said:

I'm selling my xiaomi redmi note 12 turbo to get the F5 pro with wireless charging

I looked at Wireless Charging, but with the speeds they achieve, I went with the OnePlus 11.  0-100% in less than 30 minutes?  Yes please, thank you!

Don't charge from 0-100%.  Not obly can you charge even faster by not allowing the battery to ever get that low, but your battery will maintain charge capacity over time for many years vs maybe two.

 

Keep the battery around 40% at the minimum and not much past 60% if you really want it to last.  Sadly, depressingly, most people change devices with zero existential NEED to do so, for new "features" or performance reasons, or just to look cool, which is not a healthy way to think about technology as a tool, instead of a toy.

[E-waste]

Just now, Tan3l6 said:

Battery could be better though

Look for battery-saver modes and leave them on 100% of the time.

 

Use script blockers on websites like Privacy Badger, or NoScript, and swap out current apps for open-source alternatives, which often times are not written to gather data, but by people who are actually passionate about the program they write.

 

Use NextDNS.io to filter out unwanted network connections, some that you didn't know were happening, and block them at the dns service servers.  Pi-hole is also an option on your local network, but takes more setup inside a virtual machine Linux system.

 

Keep your battery level (especially as it isn't great already) in a smaller range, instead of trying to squeeze every last atom of power from it, stay in a small range of 40-60% where possible, so that it maintains its currently lower capacity better over time, instead of constantly getting even more degraded.

[Dedayog]

28 minutes ago, E-waste said:

Don't charge from 0-100%.  Not obly can you charge even faster by not allowing the battery to ever get that low, but your battery will maintain charge capacity over time for many years vs maybe two.

 

Keep the battery around 40% at the minimum and not much past 60% if you really want it to last.  Sadly, depressingly, most people change devices with zero existential NEED to do so, for new "features" or performance reasons, or just to look cool, which is not a healthy way to think about technology as a tool, instead of a toy.

I'm sorry, but your information (wherever you got it) is inaccurate in the whole.  Keep a phone between 40-60%?  is that even a realistic ask?

 

I keep phones for 3-5 years (from Samsung Blackjack, OnePlus 3, OnePlus 7T Pro 6G McLaren,  OnePlus 11), I always leave them on a charger for as long as I feel like it, I run then to 100% for hours on end, I will even bring them to 0% should I be out and about (cuz I frankly can't care if my phone is available for anyone else to contact me).  I have never had a phone battery die or even perform worse.

 

So, please stop peddling the "don't charge to full or the world will end" tripe.  It's inaccurate at best, and fearmongering at worst.  

 

Stop reading things and instead use them so you have a practical first hand knowledge of how things actually work.  Not how a theory works (NVMe SSD's anyone?) and not how something SHOULD work.  But how it actually DOES in the real world.

 

 

[Adept_Austin]

Galaxy Note 9 128 GB Headphone jack gang 4 lyfe

[E-waste]

On 5/16/2023 at 12:10 PM, TheUnofficial_Boss said:

iphone 5s  :/ 

tryna tank with it until I can buy a new phone

I know that a few years ago, Apple forcibly disabled group sms on iphone 6 / s devices and obviously it's gone up since.

 

You don't really NEED all app updates, but are you able to update any programs, and what is disabled compared to a "supported" device.

 

I haven't updated spotify in about two years, the app version I have was released somewhere around early 2022, or late 2021, still works fine.  That's on one device, on another, it's even older, probably early 2021 version.

 

Unless it is a web browser, I generally distrust all app updates.  I only update usually if there is a new feature available that I am likely to use, and sometimes, functionality changes that I don't want, so I just never update that app, as it wss fine before that update existed.

[E-waste]

1 hour ago, ToboRobot said:

first gen iphone SE

Refreshing!

 

When did the whole SE thing come out and. what about, what is the iPhone C?  Or is that still the se?

 

What iOS version are you stuck with / are you still getting updates for the OS or apps, and what features are disabled (like group sms for iphone 6 or 7)?

[ToboRobot]

2 minutes ago, E-waste said:

Refreshing!

 

When did the whole SE thing come out and. what about, what is the iPhone C?  Or is that still the se?

 

What iOS version are you stuck with / are you still getting updates for the OS or apps, and what features are disabled (like group sms for iphone 6 or 7)?

I had an iPhone 5C and loved the plastic phone but upgraded to an SE (and then another refurbed one a few years later when I broke it).  I think the first gen SE came out in 2016.

Latest version of iOS on the phone and other than poor battery life it works fine!

[E-waste]

On 5/8/2023 at 1:26 PM, LloydLynx said:

The CAT S22. I kinda regret not going full on dumb phone because Android requires a touch screen to use and this things screen gets smudged with barely a touch. The phone just sits on my book shelf 24/7 only being used for call and text. It'll last a good week and a half from 100% battery. 

Thank you for mentioning the battery runtime, that is very good news.  It's about the same as my six year young smartphone can do on the max power save mode.

Does this also have power saving modes that you can enable, have you tried and tested those, and can you install apk files from sites like apkpure?

I would try to get a custom rom on it but it looks like thay hasn't been developed yet, due to lack of device use, or "coolness", compared to other devices.

 

https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/twrp-for-the-new-cat-flip-phone.4381359/

If you want sideloaded apk files though and it doesn't install, then you can follow this guide to get things like F-droid free, open-source software on the device to increase network security by filtering dns requests either locally with a virtual machine Linux install with pi-hole, or forward requests to a Nextdns.io account to block android data collection when you use wifi to check weather or download picture messages from cellular.

It seems really good dumb-phones don't yet exist, with even DECADES-standard alarm clock apps sometimes not working and other minor bugs, but reddit has a cool area called r/dumbphones you can look around and learn about.

You may like the Punkt MP 02 (either the older model, with blackberry in-security, or the new one, without) which has a transflective lcd for bright outdoor viewing, and very simplistic features.

There is also the light phone I and II which uses an e-ink screen, as well as mudita pure, with supposedly low audio quality on the built in speaker, whereas dac output through a headset is just fine, maybe that will be fixed, maybe it won't.

There is also the HiSense a5 a5c A7 and a9 (a9 has amber frontlight mode!) which is e-ink display on android, the C variants have a significantly reduced contrast (brightness/reflectivity) color layer over the e-ink.

There is also Nokia 2720 and similar, the Sunbeam phones and the Kyocera flip phones as well.  Personally, I think smartphones are a huge waste of money and an absolute scam.  The constructed design to basically persuade device owners to upgrade every two or three years is unsustainable.  Phone carriers with upgrade plans are just destroying our planet, with no fucks given whatsoever, as long as they, and all the different phone manufacturers get their revenue stream.  I think it is AT&T advocating and encouraging YEARLY device upgrades.

It's disturbing.  Anything past the iPhone 4 is needless.  There's ZERO need for anything more powerful.  It could run your apps, play music, games, take decent photos, videos, web browse, everything anyone would ever want from a smartphone.

Didn't it have GPS too, so what else could you possibly want?

Consumers are all caught up in this weird upgrade cycle, with phones from 2019 being seen as old or unusable.  Yet, a PC from 2007 is perfectly usable and can play many games just fine--especially to the point of OpenGL ES 2.0 level games on mobile SOC hardware type stuff.

So why is a four year young phone outdated, too slow, unsupported, or "just not good enough" for many people here?  I can't understsnd this point of view and my phone works just fine six years later.  Yeah, the battery is horrible, when browsing the web, even with NoScript and NextDNS.io filtering the network, and I can only safely get 30-40 minutes of web browsing from a 70% charge to 30%. or something like that.

When not using wi-fi, I can get several days of battery easily, so it's not that the battery is aging poorly, I think it's just heavy software.

 

I'ved had this discussion a couple times here on the forum, but I haven't gotten a clear answer as to why people are upgrading their devices so rapidly.  I'm not sure how I sure phrase the question or ask politely, this hyper-paced upgrade cycle issue is actively harming not just the planet (Congo in Africa, and Peru South America and other places) but also ripping away any human dignity and forcing inhumane living conditions on MILLIONS or at minimum, hundreds of thousands, if you don't believe that, for no good reason, except corporate greed and negligence.

[Dedayog]

2 hours ago, E-waste said:

Thank you for mentioning the battery runtime, that is very good news.  It's about the same as my six year young smartphone can do on the max power save mode.

Does this also have power saving modes that you can enable, have you tried and tested those, and can you install apk files from sites like apkpure?

I would try to get a custom rom on it but it looks like thay hasn't been developed yet, due to lack of device use, or "coolness", compared to other devices.

 

If you want sideloaded apk files though and it doesn't install, then you can follow this guide to get things like F-droid free, open-source software on the device to increase network security by filtering dns requests either locally with a virtual machine Linux install with pi-hole, or forward requests to a Nextdns.io account to block android data collection when you use wifi to check weather or download picture messages from cellular.

It seems really good dumb-phones don't yet exist, with even DECADES-standard alarm clock apps sometimes not working and other minor bugs, but reddit has a cool area called r/dumbphones you can look around and learn about.

You may like the Punkt MP 02 (either the older model, with blackberry in-security, or the new one, without) which has a transflective lcd for bright outdoor viewing, and very simplistic features.

There is also the light phone I and II which uses an e-ink screen, as well as mudita pure, with supposedly low audio quality on the built in speaker, whereas dac output through a headset is just fine, maybe that will be fixed, maybe it won't.

There is also the HiSense a5 a5c A7 and a9 (a9 has amber frontlight mode!) which is e-ink display on android, the C variants have a significantly reduced contrast (brightness/reflectivity) color layer over the e-ink.

There is also Nokia 2720 and similar, the Sunbeam phones and the Kyocera flip phones as well.  Personally, I think smartphones are a huge waste of money and an absolute scam.  The constructed design to basically persuade device owners to upgrade every two or three years is unsustainable.  Phone carriers with upgrade plans are just destroying our planet, with no fucks given whatsoever, as long as they, and all the different phone manufacturers get their revenue stream.  I think it is AT&T advocating and encouraging YEARLY device upgrades.

It's disturbing.  Anything past the iPhone 4 is needless.  There's ZERO need for anything more powerful.  It could run your apps, play music, games, take decent photos, videos, web browse, everything anyone would ever want from a smartphone.

Didn't it have GPS too, so what else could you possibly want?

Consumers are all caught up in this weird upgrade cycle, with phones from 2019 being seen as old or unusable.  Yet, a PC from 2007 is perfectly usable and can play many games just fine--especially to the point of OpenGL ES 2.0 level games on mobile SOC hardware type stuff.

So why is a four year young phone outdated, too slow, unsupported, or "just not good enough" for many people here?  I can't understsnd this point of view and my phone works just fine six years later.  Yeah, the battery is horrible, when browsing the web, even with NoScript and NextDNS.io filtering the network, and I can only safely get 30-40 minutes of web browsing from a 70% charge to 30%. or something like that.

When not using wi-fi, I can get several days of battery easily, so it's not that the battery is aging poorly, I think it's just heavy software.

 

I'ved had this discussion a couple times here on the forum, but I haven't gotten a clear answer as to why people are upgrading their devices so rapidly.  I'm not sure how I sure phrase the question or ask politely, this hyper-paced upgrade cycle issue is actively harming not just the planet (Congo in Africa, and Peru South America and other places) but also ripping away any human dignity and forcing inhumane living conditions on MILLIONS or at minimum, hundreds of thousands, if you don't believe that, for no good reason, except corporate greed and negligence.

We get it, bud.  You have a soapbox and you want to preach e-waste and your own viewpoints.

 

Take a chill pill, relax a little and let people just do their thing.  

[Mymkvi0130]

iPhone 12 Pro. Got it because the ecosystem was better than the Pixel and Huawei phones I had. I'll keep this for a while unless the type c iphone comes out then I might have to transition to that. Having an Apple/Android house can be a pain

[Commodus]

17 hours ago, E-waste said:

Leaving out personal detials, as that is actually more important than any phone, but not what I want to discuss.

 

Why, exactly, would you feel the compulsion to purchase new phone hardware?  I think your apple device has about three or four more years of updates, so seriously why?

A number of reasons. To start, my work revolves around keeping up to date with tech. I don't have to have the absolute latest, but I also can't afford to slip very far.

 

Another point: I'm a new parent. My phone will likely be the only camera I'll have handy when my son starts to walk or otherwise hits important milestones in his life. I don't get re-dos for those moments, so I'd like to have the best camera possible.

 

And I resell or recycle phones whenever I can. I know you care a ton about e-waste, but not all of us are tossing our phones in the trash or upgrading purely because we want a shiny new toy.

[TheUnofficial_Boss]

16 hours ago, E-waste said:

You don't really NEED all app updates, but are you able to update any programs, and what is disabled compared to a "supported" device.

I can basically update no programs (nor install any new ones). Since last year most of the apps in the store were iOS 13 supported, and now it's gone up to iOS 14, which drives home how old iOS 12 is. I mostly don't use my phone for anything other than music, calls and text. Most of my friends use WhatsApp so I don't notice any changes to messaging. I regret uninstalling some apps that are now unobtainable for me, as older versions of apps become unavailable for installation. Always pisses me off when it asks if you want to install the most recent version that is compatible on my device and then proceeds to tell me there are not available versions.

 

Some apps update, like social media and messengers, and most apps in G suite. Otherwise I don't really bother checking the update tab, either because they don't add features or because they are non-existent. 

 

Apps crash pretty often. For example if I have too much pings or DMs on Discord the app crashes upon launch and I have to clear my notifications on my computer before I can use the app. Poorly optimised (or just performance heavy) apps do not work at all. This reflects on how the hardware is becoming increasingly outdated in performance. Browsing websites is a pain due to the small screen, especially with ads that take up 60% of the screen real estate anyways. I think iPhone 6 is bare minimum for screen size. 

 

My camera also doesn't work half the time, which allows for some wacky glitched photos.