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Ask HN: What phone model do you currently own?

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Re: Ask HN: What phone model do you currently own?

#11

Post by navjack27 »

Pixel Fold and I still have my old Pixel 5 just in case.

I've used Pixel phones since the first Pixel came out and I've been in love ever since. I'm also on Google Fi so that might skew things a little bit because everything is just so seamless and it works so perfectly. I love the camera on the Pixel phones and I love the fact that I can get the latest beta updates for Android and that my Android experience is basically as stock as can be. I don't root my phone because it wouldn't give me anything that I don't already have. I use all of the Google features quite extensively so I don't need to like remove anything from the phone.

There really isn't anything I look for in a phone. My current upgrade schedule is... Well, I had the Pixel 1 and then I went to a pixel 2 and then when that stopped getting software updates entirely I bought a pixel 5 and then I bought the Pixel fold and I'm going to keep this until it also stops receiving any updates. Then I'll buy whatever the just launched pixel is at that point in time.

Re: Ask HN: What phone model do you currently own?

#12

Post by jventura »

IPhone 5S for the last 8 years. This model was launched in 2013 (10 years ago). It’s working perfectly fine for what I need from a phone (calls, occasional email, youtube, gps, and web browsing - typing this on my iPhone). I like this form factor so my next one will be an 2016 iPhone SE..

I’m being serious! This works perfectly fine for my usecase. And when I need to do real work, I use my Macbook Pro Late 2013 (8 GB RAM). I’m a CS prof and also web dev, use pycharm, docker and all that modern things. Less is more and I get to save a lot of money!

Re: Ask HN: What phone model do you currently own?

#14

Post by mattbrewsbytes »

iPhone 12 pro, upgraded 2 years ago from an iPhone 7. I treat my phone like an appliance, there really aren't compelling reasons to upgrade frequently anymore. I'm not on it much, don't do social apps. I usually by used phones and use an MVNO otherwise the costs are nearly as much as a small used car payment.

Why Apple? I'm not a fanboi but really the JustWorks™ thing has a lot of truth behind it with the hardware. Outside of the Apple OSes the only real app from them I use consistently is iMessage. Sure I could probably go all-in on Google's hardware just as easily but making the switch at this point would be too much effort, little reward and I'm lazy. I used to game on Windows and build PCs, even built a Linux MythTV box years ago. I just want my stuff to work, I don't want to waste time tinkering since I have other interests.

Re: Ask HN: What phone model do you currently own?

#16

Post by romanhn »

Samsung S9 that I got 5 years ago. Prior to that I upgraded my phone every two years (typically every other Samsung smartphone generation), but the newer phones don't seem to be compellingly better than my S9 and phones these days are eye-wateringly expensive, so there's not been much reason to update while this one continues to work perfectly.

Re: Ask HN: What phone model do you currently own?

#17

Post by muzani »

I'm an app dev and I get access to most models except for Pixel.

I usually buy a higher end Xiaomi/Poco phone, and iPad Air.

Poco punches way above its price range. Gaming tier phones and a pretty screen for a decent price. 120 Hz screen, smoother video than my monitor, whole day battery life, charges to full in 10 min. Camera is good at night, and zoomed in. Macro camera can read the tiny text on money, the kind you'd need a magnifying glass to see.

Downsides: lots of bloatware, camera claims to have a bazillion megapixels but doesn't scale in quality, probably sells my data to the CCP

iPad Air is complementary to it. It's great for all "second devices" use, especially banks and auth if you have your main device rooted. Apple Pencil is amazing. I think most Apple stuff is overpriced and more style than function, but the Apple Pencil absolutely delivers on function. Also nice for signing business docs. The general iPad feels a little too big and heavy for casual use.

Re: Ask HN: What phone model do you currently own?

#18

Post by schwartzworld »

Moto G stylus 5g. I have never once used the stylus.

It's more than adequate for web browsing, listening to music, tracking runs, watching videos. Normal phone stuff. It does have too much latency for many music production apps, but sequencer based workflows work well. Termux works fine and I also use my phone to SSH into servers. Voice control is pretty standard "ok google" which means I can respond to a text or change music or navigation without taking my eyes off the road or hands off the wheel.

I used Moto phones for years and they were always in the sweet spot of value to price. They run stock android (or pretty close) and do what I need them to. At one point I "upgraded" myself to a Pixel 4, which turned out to be a poor choice. It didn't last 2 years before dying, I believe due to poor heat management. The screen just went black one day and I was told by multiple repair people it was unfixable.

Now I'm back to Moto and it's fine. I just don't want my phone to be the center of my workflow for most things. It doesn't meet my ideal phone requirements, but pretty much none of them do. Really what I dream of is a small phone with a small screen (or no screen) that can still take good pictures. Basically I dream of a flip phone with an amazing camera.

Re: Ask HN: What phone model do you currently own?

#19

Post by runjake »

GianFabien wrote: post #10

Used to have iPhones, but the forced obsolescence has driven me to Android phones. Last one was a Motorola Razr/V, currently an Oppo RenoZ. Probably the next one will be an Oppo as well. Middle of the range Oppos have 8+ core CPUs and 3+GB RAM so they are snappy. The cameras are Ok, not iPhone grade, but good enough for me. Samsung appear to be better phones, but at a considerable bump up in price. I tend to upgrade…

  > Used to have iPhones, but the forced obsolescence has driven me to Android phones.
Which forced obsolescence is this? The average iPhone support lifecycle is approximately 7 years. The average Android device lifecycle seems to sit around 2-4 years, if you're lucky.
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