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Ask HN: What phone should I buy?

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Re: Ask HN: What phone should I buy?

#11

Post by rehemiau »

The mid-range processors to look at are Qualcomm 625 and 630

1. Nokia 7. The new Android-based HMD Global's Nokia is providing the fastest updates on the market. And the phones look really nice. Just came out so I think you'll have to wait for it or get a slightly less powerful (but also cheaper) Nokia 6. Or a Nokia 5. Or even a Nokia 3, if it's powerful enough. All of them should receive Android Oreo ([source](https://twitter.com/sarvikas/status/903867368052490240)]

2. Xiaomi Mi A1. Thanks to Android One project the phone should deliver both great stock system experience and fast updates. Unfortunately not available in every country.

3. Moto G5 plus. Stock Android and prettty good updates. But not as good as Nokia's.

4. Buy a cheap Xiaomi and install Lineage / other OS. The model I suggest is Redmi Note 4. I personally have a Redmi 4 Prime because it's smaller, but Note 4 has better ROM support.

Re: Ask HN: What phone should I buy?

#12

Post by veeti »

The best choices for no bloat and timely updates are Android One, Nokia and Sony devices. They have guaranteed updates for at least two years and actually provide timely security patches (so that in October you have October's security patch level instead of something from x months ago).

LineageOS is not a replacement for security updates from the manufacturer because they can't patch vulnerabilities in proprietary drivers. Custom ROM's are also often riddled with issues that you may or may not have the patience to deal with, and Safetynet attestation means that you may have trouble using some apps on a modified device.

Re: Ask HN: What phone should I buy?

#14

Post by fulafel »

corford wrote: post #9

Moto G5 Plus (though updates might not stretch to 3 years). Here's a review: http://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/moto-g5-plus tl;dr: stock android with no bloatware (Nougat, though should get at least the Oreo update), fast Snapdragon 625 CPU, big screen, dual-sim, decent battery, good camera and available for ~$320 (or ~$100 less for the basic G5). I'm about to swap my ageing Moto G2 for one.

Moto is poor with updates IME, security patch level lagging 6-10 months.

Re: Ask HN: What phone should I buy?

#15

Post by iKlsR »

moh_maya wrote: post #6

Something from the OnePlus series, which, if you are comfortable with rooting, you can install a custom ROM and keep getting updates. Alternatively, you could perhaps buy a nexus 6P? It's on amazon.com now for about 300$.

I have my OnePlus One from early 2015 which is my daily driver, swapped in a new battery the other day and I'm good again. Sadly they seem to have abandoned it entirely tho, haven't seen an update or anything in over a year. Performance wise however, I don't see myself switching anytime soon.

Re: Ask HN: What phone should I buy?

#16

Post by fulafel »

veeti wrote: post #12

The best choices for no bloat and timely updates are Android One, Nokia and Sony devices. They have guaranteed updates for at least two years and actually provide timely security patches (so that in October you have October's security patch level instead of something from x months ago). LineageOS is not a replacement for security updates from the manufacturer because they can't patch vulnerabilities in proprietary dr…

Does LineageOS have working OTA updates? Last I looked, I got the impression that it was a reinstall & restore affair to get security patches in.

Re: Ask HN: What phone should I buy?

#17

Post by corford »

fulafel wrote: post #14
corford wrote: post #9

Moto G5 Plus (though updates might not stretch to 3 years). Here's a review: http://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/moto-g5-plus tl;dr: stock android with no bloatware (Nougat, though should get at least the Oreo update), fast Snapdragon 625 CPU, big screen, dual-sim, decent battery, good camera and available for ~$320 (or ~$100 less for the basic G5). I'm about to swap my ageing Moto G2 for one.

Moto is poor with updates IME, security patch level lagging 6-10 months.

Fair point. Hopefully Lenovo will get better at this. I kind of overlook it since I don't use my phone for anything other than calls/sms, email, light web browsing (99% of the time wikipedia or hn), google maps, whatsapp, uber and taking a few photos. Rightly or wrongly I don't care too much about security since I'm not installing loads of apps and don't use the phone for much (still encrypt it though in case of physical theft).

Re: Ask HN: What phone should I buy?

#18

Post by madmax108 »

nik736 wrote: post #4

You should look into Xiaomi. They produce high quality phones that receive regular updates, even older phones on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. They update security patches very fast and even offer the A1, which is stock Android, for around 200 bucks. I myself own a Mi5 Pro for 1-2 years now and I still love it and I am not even thinking about upgrading, this thing is perfect even nearly 2 years in. Also, compared to i…

I second a recommendation for Xiaomi. Happy owner of a Redmi Note 3 for about a year and a half now. No lag, very little junk apps by default, and a UI that is actually useful (instead of good looking, but impractical UIs). Even my mom, who's very non-technical loves the straightforward nature of the UI (I ended up getting a Redmi 4 for her recently).

Plus, the developer forums are very very active, so even if you run into any issues (rooting, flashing , etc if that's yout thing), then you know you have a very supportive group of devs. Also doesn't hurt that the phones are cheaper, so the whole "what if I lose my warranty?" or "What if I drop/lose my phone?" concerns are much lesser.

It's not got the most stunning camera in the world, but having ZERO lag and a easy 1.5-2 days of charge besides all the other pros more than makes up for it!

Re: Ask HN: What phone should I buy?

#20

Post by sshine »

Fire-Dragon-DoL wrote: post #19

I'll add one requirement to the OP request: not wider than 71mm. My hands are small and I use my phone with one hand most of the time. I'm still on a nexus 4 (love the size), but it's getting laggy and battery suffers (i owned this phone for 4+ years)

1 year in with the Nexus 5P and it's lagging for upwards of 1-2 seconds in Maps and runs out of battery sometimes in less than a day. The screen width is nice for reading but hard for using in one hand, e.g. when using it on a bicycle. Next time I'm definitely getting a smaller, cheaper phone with less battery use. And an FM receiver.
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