Looking for first Android phone because I've always wanted to experience and form my own opinions about Android

[Antrikshy]

I've been an iPhone user since adulthood (iPhone 5 was my first).

 

Now, I'm a techy person with techy friends, and hang out on techy subreddits. It might sound silly, but I've always wanted to try an Android phone so I can actually participate in discussions without only having one-sided experiences. To calibrate myself, so to speak.

 

When it's time to upgrade, it feels like such monumental effort to pull out of the Apple ecosystem, especially with the Apple Watch.

 

I want an Android phone to use as primary, maybe for a year or two, while still carrying my iPhone 12 mini for ecosystem reasons and Apple Watch. Kind of like a tech reviewer, but it's more of a personal project.

1. Not very important: Camera quality. I strongly believe camera quality has been good enough for years and reviewers are just pixel peepers. For my purposes, any photo taken from a big brand smartphone over the last 5 years is good enough, and for specialty use cases (long exposure, profile photos), I have a DSLR.

2. Semi important: I'm looking in the ~$600 range, but it's not a hard limit.

3. Very important: Size is more important to me. My 12 mini is the most perfectly sized phone. Anything larger than the standard iPhone is really stretching it. I know it's impossible to find smaller phones in [current year]. Narrow width may help with this. I despise two-hand phones.

4. Extremely important: Clean, generic, minimally adulterated software is paramount. Samsung's redundant preinstalled bloatware, like double app stores preinstalled, makes them the least attractive to me. Is that still the case?

I'm in the US and on Mint Mobile, currently via eSIM.

 

Given all this, I'm eyeing: ZenFone 10 (or 11 if there's a smaller base model; I've seen the recent news), current gen Pixel, Pixel A. I have positive opinions about OnePlus and Sony, but that's subjective and doesn't mean much. Midrange phones are probably enough for me. Folding phones are intriguing, but I'd rather avoid the bulk. Moto's Razr+ is very attractive actually but I have not looked up any reviews for that one.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

tl;dr What phone would you recommend to make the best first impressions on an iPhone user who cares about UI?

[Sanedish]

Maybe a used Pixel 7 Pro? i didn't quite get it from the post if you're ok with google, but they have a very clean OS, cost around 500 to 600€ (im not 100% sure about the US market but it should be in range), but is 6.7", wich is quite big, but for me at least it's a ok size.

You can also look at the Nothing Phone/Nothing Phone 2, they are basically the iPhone of Android.

[BoomerDutch]

Well welcome to Andriod the multiverse land.

 

I would suggest nothing phone 2 indentical style phone as iphone.

 

Also no bloat just one app for earbuds.

 

Oled + minimal look + only usb C and sim slot.

 

That's all really. Not bad choice.

 

Only extra is basically cool lightning on the back of the phone 

[whispous]

The SOLE option for unbloated is a Pixel Phone. These are also the ones with the best OS update times.

[Antrikshy]

8 hours ago, whispous said:

The SOLE option for unbloated is a Pixel Phone. These are also the ones with the best OS update times.

Aren’t there some others? I’ve heard good things about the Zenfone in this regard. There are other issues, like only 2 years of updates and locked bootloader, but some reviews say the OS is super clean.

[Antrikshy]

Nothing has a fantastic aesthetic. It's really attractive to me.

 

But y'all clearly didn't read my post. I'm not accepting a phone that bulky (6.55" screen!) for free. I've tried it before with the iPhone XR and it was a miserable 2 years.

[Commodus]

I'd consider a regular Pixel 8.

 

It's more expensive, but it otherwise ticks all the boxes. It's not too large at 6.2 inches; it has a very clean OS with a strong update policy; great cameras are icing on the cake.

 

Samsung's software is definitely easier to live with than it has been, but you'll still want to go with brands like Google if you want a fuss-free Android experience.

[jre84]

suprised no one saying s21 ultra. you could go for a s21 if size really is an issue. it will be cheaper and perform better(sd 888) and has great cameras. Im getting 9hours sot and can up that to 11hrs. I have had my s21 ultra for 3 years and it blows me away. you could probably afford a s22 but it doesnt seem worth it. choice is ultimately yours but a big thumbs up to a refurbished s21.

[Commodus]

1 hour ago, jre84 said:

suprised no one saying s21 ultra. you could go for a s21 if size really is an issue. it will be cheaper and perform better(sd 888) and has great cameras. Im getting 9hours sot and can up that to 11hrs. I have had my s21 ultra for 3 years and it blows me away. you could probably afford a s22 but it doesnt seem worth it. choice is ultimately yours but a big thumbs up to a refurbished s21.

I'd say the S21 series is too old to invest in if you're new to the platform. It's still an excellent phone, but there have been enough steps forward in performance and features since then that I'd rather buy new.

[Biohazard777]

On 2/21/2024 at 6:14 PM, Antrikshy said:

Aren’t there some others? I’ve heard good things about the Zenfone in this regard. There are other issues, like only 2 years of updates and locked bootloader, but some reviews say the OS is super clean.

It is clean, works great, is very compact, and even has a 3.5mm jack.
Even the very limited 2 years of updates wasn't a deal breaker for me when I was buying the Zenfone 9... because the bootloader could have been unlocked back then, which is no longer the case.
Also:

That is the reason I will not recommend Asus (anything) to anyone and I will not be buying anything with an Asus logo on it in the future, I don't care if I have to pay more & get less with a different brand.

[ccnow]

On 2/21/2024 at 3:21 AM, whispous said:

The SOLE option for unbloated is a Pixel Phone. These are also the ones with the best OS update times.

This isn't true. OnePlus, Nothing, and Motorola all use a VERY lightly modified version of Android. 

 

If you're looking for the fastest updates, yeah Pixel is the way to go. If you're just looking for an unadulterated Android experience you're denying yourself a LOT of nice midrange device options taking this stance. 

[Antrikshy]

Since this thread got some activity (thanks all!), I figured I'd post an update.

 

I waited for the March Asus announcement just in case they'd have a small Zenfone again. I was soured on it overall though, after hearing of the 2 years of software updates and most likely locked bootloader.

 

Anyway, there was no small Zenfone, so I decided to go full novelty and get a Razr+ in Peach Fuzz.

 

The phone feels super premium, if fragile .  Despite its size, it's pretty usable and not as unwieldy as I remember the iPhone XR being. Maybe it's the weight distribution or shape overall. The vegan leather on the bottom half of the back also makes it infinitely easier to hold. Going back to the iPhone mini does feel like home. It's still my ideal phone size and that won't change unless humanity can slice the weight by half. I'm undecided on the usefulness of the outer screen; I thought it would be a good analog for a smaller phone. To some extent, it is. I wish Google Assistant was more functional on it. 

 

Modern Android is pretty great, albeit a bit rough around the edges compared to iOS. Both systems are mature and full featured enough that I wouldn't recommend anyone to switch in either direction. I'm having a fun time exploring the features, apps, settings, and soon launchers!