Recommended Phones

[LtStaffel]

Hello everyone,

I am looking to get a new phone but do not know much about the phone technology. What would you all recommend? The requirements/preferences are listed below.

• Not Apple
• Easy to develop for/on
• $250USD max
• Used is okay
• I don't care about the camera
• Battery life is a plus but I carry a powerbank anyway
• I don't care much about screen resolution
• Phablet/iPhone 6 size is bad

The Asus Zenfone 2 has caught my eye because it has an intel 64bit CPU which would be pretty cool and good for development, but I am appealing to the more knowledgeable people here.

 

Thanks in advance

[DrMacintosh]

2 minutes ago, LtStaffel said:

it has an intel 64bit CPU which would be pretty cool and good for development,

Actually it would be the opposite of that. 

 

Android phones all run on Qualcomm chips meaning that Zenfone is going to get little to no attention for it being different. 

[kirashi]

38 minutes ago, LtStaffel said:

--SNIP--

The Asus Zenfone 2 has caught my eye because it has an intel 64bit CPU which would be pretty cool and good for development, but I am appealing to the more knowledgeable people here.

34 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

Actually it would be the opposite of that. 

Android phones all run on Qualcomm chips meaning that Zenfone is going to get little to no attention for it being different. 

Can confirm; own an ASUS ME302C 10" tablet - this had an Intel Atom chip inside, while the cellular version of the tablet sold outside North America has a Qualcomm chip. There is literally zero development support over on xda-developers for my tablet, aside from Root access, while the cellular Qualcomm variant has custom ROMs and development like any other Android Device. DO NOT BUY AN ANDROID DEVICE RUNNING INTEL OR MEDIATEK CPUs IF YOU WANT SUPPORT FROM THE COMMUNITY.

 

[Airdragonz]

Le Eco S3. It's cheap, easy to mod. Active XDA community working on it as well. 

[Aytex]

https://www.amazon.com/LeEco-Unlocked-Smartphone-Display-Warranty/dp/B01N9541P6

 

Le eco pro 3

 

has somewhat stable lineage os 15

[LtStaffel]

11 hours ago, DrMacintosh said:

Actually it would be the opposite of that. 

 

Android phones all run on Qualcomm chips meaning that Zenfone is going to get little to no attention for it being different. 

 

11 hours ago, kirashi said:

Can confirm; own an ASUS ME302C 10" tablet - this had an Intel Atom chip inside, while the cellular version of the tablet sold outside North America has a Qualcomm chip. There is literally zero development support over on xda-developers for my tablet, aside from Root access, while the cellular Qualcomm variant has custom ROMs and development like any other Android Device. DO NOT BUY AN ANDROID DEVICE RUNNING INTEL OR MEDIATEK CPUs IF YOU WANT SUPPORT FROM THE COMMUNITY.

 

With regards to the Zenfone, I can see that it would not have much development from the masses. But assuming I could get it rooted (like is mentioned by kirashi) then would it not be possible to develop and even compile binaries on my 64bit computer for it?

11 hours ago, Airdragonz said:

Le Eco S3. It's cheap, easy to mod. Active XDA community working on it as well. 

 

10 hours ago, Aytex said:

https://www.amazon.com/LeEco-Unlocked-Smartphone-Display-Warranty/dp/B01N9541P6

 

Le eco pro 3

 

has somewhat stable lineage os 15

Both of you recommended Le Eco X 3, why would you recommend pro over s or vice versa?

[Commodus]

13 minutes ago, LtStaffel said:

 

With regards to the Zenfone, I can see that it would not have much development from the masses. But assuming I could get it rooted (like is mentioned by kirashi) then would it not be possible to develop and even compile binaries on my 64bit computer for it?

You can already write code for ARM-based phones on your 64-bit computer.  The only real advantage would be the absence of architecture emulation when you test apps.  And that's not really worth the compromises you'd make in hardware.  The Zenfone 2 is an old phone; please don't buy it.

 

I'd check the development community for it, but the Moto G5 Plus might be an option.  If you're an Amazon Prime member you can score the base model for $230 or less.

[Nena Trinity]

Nokia 5 or 6 should be good, if you do not like stock Android then just get Huawei/Honor equal priced options.

[LtStaffel]

1 hour ago, Commodus said:

You can already write code for ARM-based phones on your 64-bit computer.  The only real advantage would be the absence of architecture emulation when you test apps.  And that's not really worth the compromises you'd make in hardware.  The Zenfone 2 is an old phone; please don't buy it.

 

I'd check the development community for it, but the Moto G5 Plus might be an option.  If you're an Amazon Prime member you can score the base model for $230 or less.

Thanks for the advice

11 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

This $200 phone has:

• SD821 chipset
• 4GB RAM
• 4070mAh battery
• Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0
• Type C port
• Dolby Atmos and included earbuds
• Android Pay
• NFC, radio, IR
• Good dev community and custom rom availability

It does not have:

• MicroSD slot
• 3.5mm port
• Water resistance rating
• OLED screen
• Full support for US carrier networks (it will work if you are on a GSM network)

Try to beat that feature set at the same price. You can't...

That loooks pretty good, I'll look into the Le more then

7 minutes ago, Nena360 said:

Nokia 5 or 6 should be good, if you do not like stock Android then just get Huawei/Honor equal priced options.

Stock android is fine. Do you recommend Nokia over the Moto and Le I'm seeing suggested here for any particular reason?

[Nena Trinity]

1 minute ago, LtStaffel said:

Thanks for the advice

That loooks pretty good, I'll look into the Le more then

Stock android is fine. Do you recommend Nokia over the Moto and Le I'm seeing suggested here for any particular reason?

Motorola is inferior software wise and build quality mainly durability, but Nokia has weaker chipsets which means if performance is important to you the Motorola may be better.

 

Edit: check my phone list in signature! :3

[LtStaffel]

14 minutes ago, Nena360 said:

Motorola is inferior software wise and build quality mainly durability, but Nokia has weaker chipsets which means if performance is important to you the Motorola may be better.

 

Edit: check my phone list in signature! :3

That's quite a few phones you got there lol

Do you have any experience with the Le others have been mentioning?

[Nena Trinity]

4 minutes ago, LtStaffel said:

That's quite a few phones you got there lol

Do you have any experience with the Le others have been mentioning?

Motorola and LG? Not much just helped people who use em, Motorola owned by Lenovo are slow to update and LG I heard many horror stories about bootloops.

 

Edit: Yes Le Eco that is a cheapo China brand, I would avoid putting any personal information on a device from a lesser known Chinese company! The only Chinese company I trust a bit is Huawei/Honor but they are not trusted by the US govt. LMAO! :3

[Aytex]

Just flash lineage on the pro.

[LtStaffel]

11 hours ago, Nena360 said:

Motorola and LG? Not much just helped people who use em, Motorola owned by Lenovo are slow to update and LG I heard many horror stories about bootloops.

 

Edit: Yes Le Eco that is a cheapo China brand, I would avoid putting any personal information on a device from a lesser known Chinese company! The only Chinese company I trust a bit is Huawei/Honor but they are not trusted by the US govt. LMAO! :3

Good to know, though I think flashing ROM would fix a lot of the trust issues, thoughts?

8 hours ago, Aytex said:

Just flash lineage on the pro.

Will look into

54 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

OP is looking for a device to develop for/on. I suppose he is into modding anyway. Might as well get a Chinese phone for the unrivaled hardware value, and install a custom ROM. In fact I installed custom ROMs on all my Samsung/LG phones anyway. Removes all possible bloat 900% and kernal tweaks to add features and improved performance/efficiency. Screw LagWiz and stubborn carrier bloat.

I do like the idea of removing the stock stuff, though a lot of it is just that I want to run my own code on it have full control over it

[Nena Trinity]

15 hours ago, LtStaffel said:

Good to know, though I think flashing ROM would fix a lot of the trust issues, thoughts?

I would think so! :3