What phone are you using in 2023?

[Mnky313]

I've got my modded ZFold3

Transparent back, black buttons/tray on a silver phone. Rooted Android 13 w/ MicroG.

I don't plan on upgrading for a while unless it completely dies or something crazy innovative comes out....

(Don't be fooled by the label, it's an F926B. Just has lots of parts from an F926U)

Edited June 6, 2023 by Mnky313
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[SpiritKitty]

On 6/5/2023 at 9:07 PM, Mnky313 said:

I've got my modded ZFold3

Transparent back, black buttons/tray on a silver phone. Rooted Android 13 w/ MicroG.

I don't plan on upgrading for a while unless it completely dies or something crazy innovative comes out....

(Don't be fooled by the label, it's an F926B. Just has lots of parts from an F926U)

This looks really cool, did you order it modded or do it your self?

 

[Mnky313]

4 hours ago, SpiritKitty said:

This looks really cool, did you order it modded or do it your self?

 

DIY, I've had a US model F926U1 since launch and decided I wanted to go back to a rooted phone so I imported an F926B and swapped parts between them.

The transparent back is the one from my silver U1 with the coloured film peeled off, it came out awesome.

I've had a transparent Galaxy S6, Note9 and now ZFold3.

[SircarrotII]

Galaxy J3 orbit. Plan on upgrading to a Galaxy A53.

[E-waste]

On 5/24/2023 at 1:10 PM, random person from ohio said:

I have both it and the Pixel 3 running CalyxOS.

Does that have AOSP without any G-apps?

[E-waste]

On 6/5/2023 at 12:29 PM, Deadpool2onBlu-Ray said:

Iphone 12, just got it cheap buying time for the new USB-C Iphone later this year.

 

Gonna leave this here. NO ONE should buy any android phone for any reason IMO....

 

 I won't even listen to any single argument saying android is better/even/even just slightly worse than Apple Iphones. I simply remove myself from that conversation as it's not worth arguing with people the vast majority of the time. Android's are just unequivocally universally worse than Iphones. Not even an Apple "fanboy" per se, it's just the superior product. I was an android fanboy for YEARS, hated the idea of ever having an "isheep" device. I used my Girlfriend's (at the time, now wife) Iphone 7 for legitimately 30 seconds and I put up my Galaxy S7 Edge on Ebay that same day and ordered an Iphone 7 plus. Haven't looked back since. I'd rather use a 2-3 year old iphone compared to even a flagship android. Off the top of my head reasons to get an Iphone over android.

 

More reliable, longer lasting, MUCH longer software updates

More resale value

VASTLY superior software

Faster (I think Apple is about 2-3 SoC's ahead still?)

Better animations

Better native apps

Better privacy

Imessage

Facetime

Apple Watch (android watches are ewaste)

 

Again, I'll mention my first point again. They just last longer. Every android phone I ever had was useless slow Ewaste that stopped getting updated after two years. My parents have like iphone 6's that still work perfect now in 2023.

 

It's a brainless decision. Apple>>>>>>>>>Android phones all day and twice on Sunday.

 

Obviously, it's just my opinion but I simply check out of conversations where people try to argue otherwise, they are naive or just hate Apple because they are Apple. Again, not defending the company but they have the superior product.

This is exacty what I try to share in phone recommendations.  Apple is far superior in software quality, privacy, (do not track which actually works), longer software support, better battery maintainence, stopping charge at 80% and preventing phone booting until 15%.

 

I will also say that I disagree with my own point that iPhone is always the better option.  Out-of-the-box defaults, yes from a privacy perspective, but Android does have the better case for software upgrades via community support.  So, in that regard it is nearly the same impact.  If there were not so many android brands, I'd say android would win, but in this case, with a stupid high number of brands, many hundreds of millions of phones have already and will continue to become e-waste.

 

I do wish WebOS or pinephone will gain in popularity, iOS is great, but too limited and they force you to buy a new phone every six years.  I think that's still too frequent, and would like to keep their hardware. patched, for longer.  I can run Linux on very old hardware, debian just dropped i586 (circa 2003 or 2004 or so hardware) which is still plenty fast for most tasks that most people use s computer, taxes, email.

 

I think we would all do well to adopt a similar mindset with "smartphones" and be smart about how often we upgrade the hardware.

 

If you don't understand why I'm passionate about discussing e-waste, look at it online, but be prepared.

[Commodus]

12 hours ago, E-waste said:

This is exacty what I try to share in phone recommendations.  Apple is far superior in software quality, privacy, (do not track which actually works), longer software support, better battery maintainence, stopping charge at 80% and preventing phone booting until 15%.

 

I do wish WebOS or pinephone will gain in popularity, iOS is great, but too limited and they force you to buy a new phone every six years.  I think that's still too frequent, and would like to keep their hardware. patched, for longer.  I can run Linux on very old hardware, debian just dropped i586 (circa 2003 or 2004 or so hardware) which is still plenty fast for most tasks that most people use s computer, taxes, email.

 

I think we would all do well to adopt a similar mindset with "smartphones" and be smart about how often we upgrade the hardware.

 

If you don't understand why I'm passionate about discussing e-waste, look at it online, but be prepared.

Apple doesn't force you to buy a new phone every six years; you just lose major OS updates after that point, which is a concern but not the end of the world after that long. Apple still tends to wait until raising the baseline OS for apps, so you won't immediately be cut off from app updates. And thankfullly Apple does issue significant security patches for older operating systems if there's an issue.

 

Unless LG decides to get back into the phone business and skip Android (but somehow get all the major app developers onboard), a webOS revival isn't going to happen. And Linux-based devices like the Pinephone...technological freedom is determined by what you can actually do, not the theoretical possibilities. As I like to put it: a Chinese iPhone user probably has more real-world freedom than open-source diehards like Richard Stallman.

 

I'll be frank: while I do agree e-waste is important, the notion that we should feel bad if we don't keep a phone for nigh-on a decade is unrealistic. And it's not just because of the batteries or CPU performance. I'm a new parent, and having a good phone camera will be very important for documenting memories; I don't get to retake those photos later on if they look bad. Instead of pushing people to hold on to phones forever, let's get them to either pass the devices along or recycle them properly.

[ExInferis]

I am using a Xiaomi 11T Pro, and it has gone crazy and worn me down. This is my 3rd mid-tier phone in 2 years to develop bad behavior in my pocket, and cause all sorts of pocket dials, settings changes and 100s of black photos of my pocket lining. Do we remember the Android early years when phones stayed locked in your pocket?   

 

I suspect it has come from this obsession with deleting bezels. Early Android phones used to have a dedicated light and proximity sensor up there. Have those gone now? Are they trying to mackle it with a combination of camera light input and g-sensors? Well it doesn't work and I have had enough. Shopping for a replacement but will badly miss being able to fully charge in the time it takes me to shit/shower/shave in the morning. 

[Rhyn]

Currently using an iPhone 13 mini. It's been great so far and I had an iPhone X beforehand that was fantastic. The only reason I switched to this phone was my X started randomly powering on and off and it wasn't battery related. Prior to that I used a de-googled nexus 6p and honestly I think about going back to that phone a lot or getting a newer android phone and de-googling it because it really helped with internet addiction but haven't pulled that trigger again yet.

[saintlouisbagels]

iPhone 14 Pro - I'm a filthy yearly upgrader (via the upgrade program).

This is probably my least favourite iPhone so far. Heavy, and the minimum focus distance is too far.

[m_v_p_username]

Samsung Galaxy S23. Provided to me by my former Employer. Could have gone with an iPhone 14 instead, but I already had more stuff for Android than I did iOS.

[Antares23]

iPhone 13 mini, it replaced my iPhone 11 back in october, I got it because I wanted a small phone, and I'm kinda hooked on the Apple ecosystem to be honest, so I went with the 13 mini, right before the launch of the 14, as we knew Apple wasn't going to release a 14 mini and almost all of the carrier in my country was already starting to be out of stock for the mini.

So far it's great, I love its size, the battery isn't that great but I manage to make it through the day with it.

I might consider a Android phone next time I upgrade, If I can find a decent one with a screen smaller than 5.5inch.

[jre84]

I am using a s21 ultra 128gb, would have been nice if I kept my 512gb version space gets used fast. as for upgrading I was thinking iphone 14 pro max or s23 ultra 512gb but changed my mind as I need a phone not a portable gaming system, and besides it literally runs every game at 1440p on the phone, one game that could benefit from more power is grid autosport on quality settings but then again I think its still capped at 30fps even if you have the power for 60-120fps

[Nalyk]

Samsung s4 to a moto g4 play, to a Samsung a14 5g this spring.

 

I have a lot of trouble dropping more than 2 or $300 on a phone.  Don't game on it. So the extra bells and whistles are largely lost on me. Web browsing texts and calls mostly. 

[Gnoxis7]

I use Galaxy A73 but I will switch to Honor 90 soon.

[LePetitPrince]

On 5/8/2023 at 7:26 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. 

I really wish there are more phones like these with better cameras and 3,5 mm jack available.

I'd never go back to smartphones. I loved my Nokia Asha 302, only if it had better camera, and if they didn't kill the whatsapp support for it...

[Ericbarker306]

Currently using iPhone 14, but I used Samsung and HTC in the past.

[cooky560]

iPhone 13 mini, does what I need it to

[E-waste]

On 6/20/2023 at 9:38 AM, Commodus said:

I'll be frank: while I do agree e-waste is important, the notion that we should feel bad if we don't keep a phone for nigh-on a decade is unrealistic. And it's not just because of the batteries or CPU performance. I'm a new parent, and having a good phone camera will be very important for documenting memories; I don't get to retake those photos later on if they look bad.

This is a tough, nigh impossible argument you put forth!  At what point will you find a device's camera quality acceptable enough to keep and not upgrade?  Is it just continuous improvement?  It seems the physical accessibility of taking out a device nearly always near you for photo capture is unbeatable by any other solution.

 

The fairphone 4 camera is not very good, it's dark with higher saturation, making things seem even darker.

 

Fairphone 5 has an odd issue where the preview has too high brightness, vs the capture, but overall camera quality is very good:

 

https://www.dxomark.com/fairphone-5-camera-test/

 

So, there are options to have your phone and keep it too!  For moments when you can take a regular camera with you, that would likely have far better quality than a smartphone, but most people don't want two devices and having everything in one device is just the current reality.

[E-waste]

On 6/26/2023 at 7:52 AM, ExInferis said:

I am using a Xiaomi 11T Pro, and it has gone crazy

I have never once had any mobile device unlock itself and do things, it actually seems incredibly improbable.

 

What screen lock style are you using, and what it the lock timeout?  I keep mine near instant or 30 seconds, but I could see if it was set to 5 minutes and lock instantly with power key is turned off, a situation like this could easily occur.

 

Looks like you may be able to install stock Android with LineageOS and give that a go:

 

https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/rom-oss-12-1-lineageos-19-1-for-xiaomi-11t-pro-vili.4520579/

 

On 7/6/2023 at 6:39 PM, saintlouisbagels said:

iPhone 14 Pro - I'm a filthy yearly upgrader (via the upgrade program).

This is probably my least favourite iPhone so far. Heavy, and the minimum focus distance is too far.

Have you considered keeping a device for longer than a few years and using a device and finding out exactly how many years the battery holds up?  iPhone has software support for six years, guarenteed, so have you ever kept an iPhone for six years?

 

Have you ever looked into Android, specifically fairphone, which has replacable mainboard, camera, speakers, battery and also replacable display?  Apple could offer this, but their greed really gets in the way.

[E-waste]

On 8/31/2023 at 12:55 AM, Nalyk said:

Samsung s4 to a moto g4 play, to a Samsung a14 5g this spring.

 

I have a lot of trouble dropping more than 2 or $300 on a phone.  Don't game on it. So the extra bells and whistles are largely lost on me. Web browsing texts and calls mostly.

Not bad, 2013 > 2016 > 2023!

 

Have you considered a device that supports unlocked bootloaders, is this a factor in your purchasing decision, and would LineageOS be of interest to you to keep yout phones after official software support stops?

[E-waste]

On 7/7/2023 at 2:04 AM, Antares23 said:

I might consider a Android phone next time I upgrade, If I can find a decent one with a screen smaller than 5.5inch.

I recommend a Sony xperia X series.  It is a bit dated, the bootloader can be unlocked, and if software support available, you can put LineageOS on it and get the newest android system just like a new phone.  The smallest sony smartphone in the Z series is their first Z1 compact with a 4.3" screen.

 

Check https://forum.xda-developers.com for software support as well as https://lineageOS.org for software downloads.

[E-waste]

On 9/3/2023 at 6:13 AM, Gnoxis7 said:

I use Galaxy A73 but I will switch to Honor 90 soon.

What for?

 

https://m.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_a73_5g-11257.php

 

vs

 

https://m.gsmarena.com/honor_90-12297.php

 

Higher resolution camera, and crazy high 1600 nit possible brightness.  800 nits is more than bright enough, what are you possibly getting out of this minor upgrade?

[E-waste]

On 9/27/2023 at 1:24 AM, Dean0919 said:

90hz screen, 5000mah battery and only for 180$... What else I would need from phone? Absolutely nothing.

I don't think anyone needs a 90Hz screen either, I think it is a complete waste as video content is mainly 60Hz max and I bet it drains the battery a lot faster for incredibly minor to no benefit.

[Nalyk]

On 9/29/2023 at 1:01 PM, E-waste said:

Not bad, 2013 > 2016 > 2023!

 

Have you considered a device that supports unlocked bootloaders, is this a factor in your purchasing decision, and would LineageOS be of interest to you to keep yout phones after official software support stops?

Not entirely sure to be honest.  Typically I upgrade when my phone either breaks or stops feeling functional and i find a good deal on an upgrade. My s4 the battery was dying and verified replacements were...sketchy.  I switched from the g4 because it was feeling real slow and fate had me drop it on a rock which broke the camera lense and Google fi was giving the a14 away for free with 2 years of commitment. 

 

What added functionality does what you mentioned offer.  I bought the g4 independently and unlocked.  The other two not so much.