Looking for suggestions for a Phone without AI

[Daniel95H]

Hio Guys, Gals, and NB-Pals,

 

I'm looking for suggestions for a new Phone to replace my probably 10 year old Galaxy S10.

 

Important to me are the following:

- A good Camera, I like to take pictures from near and far (don't care about selfies too much)

- Decent Specs to play games on (Nikke, MH Now, Z3, Azur Lane)

- Ample Storage for photos and videos

- NO AI features or as little as possible (I have an active aversion to AI)

- Optional: Second Sim Tray as I might need 2 different numbers (1 for work)

- Optional: Bright enough to run in sunlight without the screen burning in (happened a little on my S10 while playing Pokemon Go during it's release summer)

 

Budget: Whatever it takes, but of course best bang for my buck

 

Thanks in Advance to you all.

 

Edit: I forgot to say I have multiple Wireless Charging Pads in my home and would appreciate a phone with Wireless charging capabilities so those don't go to waste.

[OhYou_]

sony xperia 1VI

[Mark Kaine]

It's not totally what you're looking for, idk about gaming performance as I do not play video games on my phone (not even streamed) and the camera might be questionable (idk honestly but it kinda feels like focus is broken... ) but I really love my Sony Xperia 10 VI... the only "AI" it has is DLEE Ultimate and omg is it good! I want this on every device! (Lol)

 

PS: regarding the camera, I even already did this on my old Sonys, kinda glad this is still a "feature"!

Spoiler

A Real Art!  

 

¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

 

1 hour ago, OhYou_ said:

sony xperia 1VI

Might be a better choice, Im just happy to have a Sony phone again after struggling with samsung for several years... A RESPONSIVE SCREEN ALONE IS A GOOD SENT! 

 

[Whosthepronow]

Nothing phones don't have AI 

[Somerandomtechyboi]

1 hour ago, OhYou_ said:

sony xperia 1VI

Flip it backwards and you have a phone that seems to go for ~300$ used with the gen previous to it (1iii) ~200$ and the pro-i somewhere between the two if you can find one that is

 

2 hours ago, Daniel95H said:

Optional: Second Sim Tray as I might need 2 different numbers (1 for work)

Yeah id keep my personal and work phones seperate, the s10 is only 6 years old and should do fine as a secondary or a work phone

[Potatoes2241]

My iPhone 13 has no AI stuff that I can see compared to my GFs 16. If you are into iPhones though, some later models should also be this way. Apple does not seem to be too pushy about their AI stuff compared to Google.

[Commodus]

On 3/19/2025 at 3:38 PM, Daniel95H said:

Hio Guys, Gals, and NB-Pals,

 

I'm looking for suggestions for a new Phone to replace my probably 10 year old Galaxy S10.

 

Important to me are the following:

- A good Camera, I like to take pictures from near and far (don't care about selfies too much)

- Decent Specs to play games on (Nikke, MH Now, Z3, Azur Lane)

- Ample Storage for photos and videos

- NO AI features or as little as possible (I have an active aversion to AI)

- Optional: Second Sim Tray as I might need 2 different numbers (1 for work)

- Optional: Bright enough to run in sunlight without the screen burning in (happened a little on my S10 while playing Pokemon Go during it's release summer)

 

Budget: Whatever it takes, but of course best bang for my buck

 

Thanks in Advance to you all.

 

Edit: I forgot to say I have multiple Wireless Charging Pads in my home and would appreciate a phone with Wireless charging capabilities so those don't go to waste.

You have more options than you might think.

 

One answer: an iPhone with Apple Intelligence turned off (and it's not as pervasive as you might think). The regular 16 is the safe pick, but the 16 Pro is great if you want a telephoto lens or an always-on display.

 

In the Android world, my preference is for the Pixel 9 series, but you'd definitely have to take care if you're determined to scrub as much AI as possible. I don't find Google's approach problematic in practice, but there's no question it would like you to use Gemini.

 

How about a OnePlus 13? There's a dash of AI, but it's light and doesn't really get in the way. Good cameras, a bright screen outdoors, and ridiculously long battery life (I have to try very hard to run it down in one day). It won't have as robust aftermarket support in North America as Apple, Google, or Samsung, but that's to be expected for any brands beyond those three.