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The back is plastic,
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*Well, not just girls: people of all gender identities are welcomed here.
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Pixel 4XL for grapheneOS and a big enough screen.
Im definitely happy with it, the phone is overall really good and graphene is excellent, it does have problems like no jack plug and end of life but outside of that it perfectly fits me
I only use android and Linux
Is there any bug on GrapheneOS ? I've used custom a rom before and it was incredibly buggy.
I'm using Motorola One 5G. I'm pretty happy with it.. It's great for a midrange. Worst quality it has is that due to having it 76% full, it's a little laggy and slow when switching apps. I had a lot of phones previously, the best one was an LG G3 in 2015. I usually upgrade every 3 or 4 years. I have a android tablet but I don't use it much. I don't have any apple products. I hate apple.
I am using a Nokia XR20. I'm pretty happy with it I was excited about the new XR21 coming out but they dropped the wireless charging for some stupid reason.
The S23 Ultra. The stylet help me a lot with my job, and it's a beast with emulation. Also, I love taking photography so I use all the cameras at their max capacities
LG V50 on Corvus OS. Unfortunately nobody is developing for the phone so I guess this is where I stay for a while. A phone that is waterproof, has a headphone jack (Quad DAC) and MicroSD card, and isn't a Sony just doesn't exist nowadays :/
LG V60 here... My next phone will definitely be the Xperia 1V for that exact reason. Cameras are good enough (and gcam exists) on all flagships now for that to be a non-factor for me. Don't get me wrong, I do want good cameras, but I also want my mSD card, headphone jack, IP rating, wireless charging, and large battery. Name another (new) phone that ticks all those boxes.
I just can't stomach the price. I paid $500 to furnish my sister in law, father, brother in law, and my wife with the V50. They are insane value right now.
I'm using an Oppo Reno. The first one, with the motorised front camera, for four years now. I'm thinking of upgrading now to the Find X6. I've been using oppo close to a decade now and I have to say, they earned themselves a lifelong user if they keep this up. I started with the R7plus, then the R9s, then the Reno. All beasts for their time and price.
I had handled the Samsung S9+ and iPhone 14 from my partner. Good lord I hated them. The photos they took of people were horrendous and the software is just unpleasant. After using my phone throughout the years, she was a complete Oppo convert without much convincing. Tbh I quite like ColorOS.
I'm using a trusty Samsung Note 9! It's definitely showing it's age but it remains sturdy enough for me to use. Really not liking the performance drops, especially in rhythm games and my keyboard where inputs suddenly don't get registered.
Before this phone, I had a Note 5 that was traded in for this phone. In some ways I miss the home button but in others the new pen features are quite nice.
As you can probably tell, nothing has moved me to do another upgrade but it's really tempting. Like the performance drops are quite bad but I think I just need to reset my phone.
I have a portable touchscreen monitor exclusively for emergency monitor space and rhythm games. Paired with my Linux laptop it's been pleasant, especially with some tools to sync my notifications and messages in any network.
I'm using an Mi 11x a.k.a Poco F3
This is my first Android with a flagship processor solovinhg the snappiness of it even 2 years in. Plus 120hz and Amoled at this price point was an amazing deal. Its battery is not greatnoew, 2 years in, and the camera is okay, and not amazing.
I've had a Galaxy 5, Galaxy SL, Galaxy S4, then Redmi 2, Note 3, 5, 7 (all pros) and lastly, the Mi 11x.
The best, for its time, was probably the Redmi Note 3 Pro, a great upper midranger at a budget price point. The Note 7 Pro had a great camera at the same price point as well. On the performance front, and overall, Mi 11x is easily the best.
I have an Mi Pad 5 as well, great for watching shows and movies on the bed.
I have a Macbook Pro from the office.Its's good but I don't see myself purchasing into their ecosystem due to price and closed garden concerns.
What phone are you using?
Currently have my SIM card in the S23 Plus. I go back and forth between that and my Pixel 7. I have an iPhone 8, Sony Xperia 5 II, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone SE 3rd Gen on reserve for testing.
Are you happy with it? What are its best and worst qualities?
Pretty happy for the most part. I upgrade and try new phones all the time, so honestly, only so many devices excite me anymore. The S23 Plus and the Pixel 7 have been much better experiencing for me than the S22 lineup and the Pixel 6 lineup in terms of overall software stability and battery life. Both devices are buttery smooth with a slight edge going to the Pixel in terms of smoothness. I like the Pixel because I'm in the US and I can root the Pixel and take advantage of a few things like Unlimited Google Photos backup. For the S23 Plus, I like that it pairs seamlessly with my laptop, but that's not a huge deal to me.
Which phones have you had previously? Which were the best and worst of the lot?
I've had almost every phone you can think of that sells in the American market. I've owned all the Pixels since the Pixel 2. I've owned every iPhone since the 3gs. I've owned every Samsung S and Note device since the S3 and the Note 2. For OnePlus devices I've owned everything since the 7 Pro. I've also owned every Z Flip, Z Fold, Surface Duo 1 & 2, and the Nothing Phone (1). The only ASUS device I've owned is the Zenphone 9. Shit, I've even owned the RAZR (2019).
Regarding the best, my absolute favorite phones are the iPhone 5c and the Pixel 2. I used the shit out of both of those devices.
The worst would have to be the Surface Duo (1), Z Flip 3, and iPhone 12 Mini. I had high expectations for each of those 3 and was tremendously disappointed by each device. Honorable mention goes out to the iPhone 14 Pro. I regretted that purchase since the return period ended.
How often do you upgrade to a new phone?
Usually, every time a new phone comes out.
What other Android ecosystem devices do you have? Watches, headphones/earbuds, etc.
The only devices I have that are directly tied to the Android Ecosystem are my Pixel Watch and Galaxybook3 Pro 360. I have many other devices and headphones, but they aren't a part of the Android ecosystem.
Do you also use any Apple products, or are you Android all the way? (And Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc.)
I like to keep a diverse ecosystem. I have an Apple Watch Series 7, AirPods Max, iPad Pro 12.9" M2, and MacBook Pro 14" M2. On the other hand, I have a Legion 7 Slim gaming laptop, Samsung Galaxybook3 Pro 360, ASUS ROG Ally, Surface Headphone II, Bose QC II, and Galaxy Tab S8.
I have a Moto g7 power running lineage os
I'm using the Pixel 7.
I'm happy with it. Best qualities are the camera and the worst is charge time.
I've been using Xiaomi devices, main label as well as Pocophone and Redmi labels. Worst was their data hoarding which I blocked with a pi-hole and vpn always on. Best is their hardware and price. Was great fully charing a 5000+ mAh battery within 30 minutes.
When it breaks or when there's a good deal and I have the current phone for over a year.
I still have a huami watch but don't use it anymore. Nothing else.
No apple golden cage shit for me hehe. Windows 11 on my desktop and have a home server with unRAID on it. So both windows and Linux I guess.
Thanks for this initiative.
Current phone is Poco F2 Pro
I'm okay with it. Performance is nice but there is a lot of bloatware. Battery could last longer but I guess everyone wants more battery am I right? The price per hardware was very good, don't regret buying it.
I had One Plus 3T, Nexus 5, Samsung Galaxy S2... I'm sure I'm forgetting one. Best one was probably the One Plus 3T, back then the One Plus prices were so nice. Sad.
I try spend an average of 100 euros a year on smartphones. I bought my phone for 400 euros, must last at least 4 years. Never in a rush to swap, I only do it when the battery no longer lasts me a full day.
No other Android devices. I constantly try to come up with use cases to justify buying a smart watch but honestly I just can't an actual good use to justify constantly having to charge it.
I have a 10 year old MacBook that is on its last legs. Battery time is pretty miserable right now. Other than that I just use Windows. I dabbled with a couple of Linux distros but I'm just not into it. I like Windows.
Pixel 4a 5G. It's old and overheats like crazy and my Android Auto doesn't work half the time, but it has all my 2FA for work which is going to be a massive headache to replace when that time finally comes. Probably going with another Pixel though.
you should consider Aegis for 2FA, you can export all your keys to a file (encrypt able) that you can store on a USB!
S22+. Got an insane deal on a like new refurbished model, so it seemed like a no-brainer.
It's a phone. Most nondescript phone I've ever used. Nothing about it is amazing, but no major complaints. Even the battery is fine for me, despite a lot of people complaining about poor battery life on the S22 series.
Motorola Edge 30 Pro (aka Motorola Edge+ 2022 for the North Americans here), which I got back in early November last year. I did research for a while before buying it (and got it with a huge discount) and I'm mostly happy with my purchase, it's a nice phone with a clean near-stock Android experience (although I've since changed launcher to Kvæsitso) and it's extremely fast, although I must say I'm not a heavy smartphone user.
Worst things are that the Android 13 update took nearly three months long than planned to come (and here in Italy apparently we were among the first to get the update) and Motorola is not that fast with security updates; while the only really annoying thing is that sometimes it stops the internet connection usually after giving the command to download/update apps, whether from the Play Store or from F-Droid; the connection somehow is still there as it's enough to cancel and tell do download/update again and everything works.
This is my first Android phone: my first smartphone was a Nokia X6 running Symbian which I got in 2011 and then I used iPhones for a decade (while having been a Mac user all the time), first an iPhone 5C in 2013 and then an 8 Plus which I got in 2018. Clearly the newest was the best of the bunch as it was a quite major upgrade from the 5C, which in turn came when Symbian was an abandoned OS; the last two phones both lasted me just short of five years, and I changed back in November mainly because I could hand it down (refurbished) to my mom, otherwise I would have waited perhaps another year.
This time I decided to leave iOS for good as I was increasingly unsatisfied and worried with Apple's walled garden ecosystem - for the same reason I had already left macOS for Linux back in 2020 (never had any other Apple products nor subscriptions except for a few iPods over the years) - and even after the novelty has worn off I vastly prefer Android. Right now I have this Android phone and my laptop I'm writing from, which only runs Linux, specifically EndeavourOS, although my old 2009 iMac still works - thanks to a SSD swap back in '17, although it hasn't gotten newer updates since High Sierra - and I tinker with it from time to time. At work I use Windows 10... but that's not my choice.
Nothing Phone 1.
For a mid-range phone, it's fantastic. Really would recommend it.
Sony Xperia 1 III. I updated every 2 years until last year when I bought this one at a severe discount. Got fed up with Chinese phones and their severe lackluster software. Also into cameras so this one was a right fit. Has many issues but I like it. Been doing this since my iPhone 4 and I don't miss Apple at all. I love the openness of android and the ability to tinker.
Also have the Sony earbuds which I much prefer over the Galaxy Buds Live I used to own (came for free when I bought the S21 for the missus). Apart from that, only an android tablet (S7+).
Blu F91 5g
I currently use a Pixel 6. It's my first Pixel phone (previous was on a Galaxy S10e and before that, OnePlus 5T).
The software has been not bad and I like the lack of bloatware. However, the Pixel 6 is too wide and very heavy, which means my wrist gets tired from holding the phone while I'm reading.
I hear the Pixel 8 will be more compact (and hopefully lighter as well), so I will consider that, a Pixel 7a, or perhaps an iPhone later in the year.
Fairphone 4. It's very good.
LG V60.
Excellent flagship that's still very fast, large battery, and headphone jack.
Only cost about $200
Using a Samsung Galaxy A12 Works perfect for my needs and was super cheap 🤷 My favorite phone ever was my Nexus 5 These days I just replace a phone when I stop getting security updates 😀
Reminds me of the olden days of r/Android where threads like this were a blast!
What phone are you using?
Following in the footsteps of Captain2Phones, I am simultaneously using a Google Pixel 6a and a OnePlus 7 Pro.
Are you happy with it? What are its best and worst qualities?
Pixel 6a is the best phone I've ever used, including flagship iPhones. I love the camera bar design and the whole look of the phone's rear while I don't particularly like the chunky bezels and the hole punch. I have been spoilt by the fantastic uninterrupted curved display (yes, you read it right. I like curved screens) of the OnePlus 7 Pro. It's smooth and the cameras are great. I love the animations and the overall look of Material You. It's a really good phone.
As for the OnePlus 7 Pro, it was the best phone I had ever used until they ruined it all with their subpar software updates which made the phone literally a chore to use. I still use it and like it, but the experience it heavily marred by the atrocious software experience of the new OS which is nothing like OxygenOS.
Which phones have you had previously? Which were the best and worst of the lot?
Have had flagship iPhones for several years until I got the OnePlus 7 Pro. The Pixel has to be the best phone, a shitter Micromax that I had a decade ago has to be the worst.
How often do you upgrade to a new phone?
Every 2/3 years.
What other Android ecosystem devices do you have? Watches, headphones/earbuds, etc.
Not a big fan of smartwatches. Well, a big fan of the smartwatch tech, but not a big fan of wearing one over a traditional watch. Have several fitness bands made by Android OEMs (though none of them run Android) and several true-wireless earphones and headphones by Anker and Soundpeats that I use with my Android devices as well as my Windows devices.
Do you also use any Apple products, or are you Android all the way? (And/or Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc.)
Not at the moment. But my next computer will be an MX Macbook Pro.
I use the Pixel 7 Pro
I love it. The cameras are unparalleled, the software is excellent, and the experience is pure. Battery life isn't nearly as bad as people say, but it could be better.
Last few phones: iPhone 5c, Galaxy S5, Nexus 6P, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 5, Pixel 6 Pro
Worst was the 6P, because it bricked itself (though I got a few hundred dollars back in the class action lawsuit), but it was excellent aside from that. iPhone got a dead pixel within a month, but they replaced it, Galaxy was sturdy but software was awful. Best was Pixel 2 XL, I still use it as a backup sometimes.
I get a new phone every year if the trade-in deals are good.
I have the Pixel Watch and Pixel Buds. I mainly use the Sony XMs though for headphones.
I have a 14" MacBook Pro M1 Pro. Got it for the insane battery life, but I'm mostly a Windows/Linux user still.I have an iPad, it isn't bad, but I miss the affordable Android tablets of old (Nexus 7 rocked). I don't have any desire to move to iOS.
Im on my Pixel 6 with calyxOS, which is really great. I really like the fact that i can use android without a google account.
What phone are you using?
Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Are you happy with it? What are its best and worst qualities?
Absolutely love it. It's only the second Galaxy model to be sold with the Snapdragon chip in 🇦🇺 Australia, after the S22. I had an S21 Ultra (Exynos) and decided to wait for the S23, because of the rumours that the cameras would be improved.
Glad I waited, and also very glad to have an included stylus, because I'm a photographer and designer, so the stylus is bloody useful!
I honestly can't think of an downsides to this phone, I'm so damn satisfied with it.
Which phones have you had previously? Which were the best and worst of the lot?
As noted above, I had the S21 Ultra previously. I actually bought a Pixel 7 Pro when it was released, but after about a month I decided that while it was a great phone with some clever new features, I still preferred my S21 Ultra — so I sold the Pixel 7 Pro and went back to my Samsung!
Other previous phones, let me think... First modern smartphone was the iPhone 3G, followed by iPhone 4, iPhone 5S, HTC Desire, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Sony XPeria V, LG Nexus 5X, Google Pixel, Google Pixel 2, iPhone 11 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S10, iPhone 13 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, S23 Ultra.
Not sure if that order is exactly right... haha.
How often do you upgrade to a new phone?
Usually every year, to be honest, which obviously isn't super responsible either financially or in terms of e-waste, but it really is my number one addiction. 😂
What other Android ecosystem devices do you have? Watches, headphones/earbuds, etc.
Galaxy Watch 4, Pixel Watch, Galaxy Tab S4 (now my son's), Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (now my daughter's), and a Galaxy Tab S8.
Oh, and the Chromecast with Google TV.
Do you also use any Apple products, or are you Android all the way? (And/or Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc.)
I have an iPad Pro A12X (pre-M1, annoyingly) for drawing with Procreate, and I still have my iPhone 13 Pro — mostly just for shooting videos for work, since phone gimbals integrate better with iOS than they do with Android (or maybe just Samsung). I also have a work-supplied MacBook Pro 14" M1 Max.
Lastly, I also have a pair of AirPods Pro that I bought for my iPhone but now mostly only use with my Macbook, and a pair of Beats Fit Pro that I absolutely love using with my S23 Ultra. I was tempted by the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, but I really prefer buds with winglets for a more secure fit.
LG v60.
I'm still headphones gang, may be the last phone of its time tho
S10. It's older, bought refurbished, but probably technically the "best" phone I ever had and it's all I really need tbh.
Current daily driver is a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. Pretty happy with its compact size when folded, and it serves as a mini-tablet of sorts when unfolded. It's also the first phone I've owned that I've not needed to worry about running out of juice midway throughout the day. Though I find its quite hard to find a suitable table stand for it, especially if using it unfolded.
My Android journey began in January 2014 with a Sony Xperia Z1, upgraded from an iPhone 4S with a busted home button. It was a pretty great introduction to the Android world with Sony's near-stock interface (when compared with the dark days of T**chwiz bloatware and whatnot) and lasted until January 2016 when I upgraded to a Sony Xperia Z5 Premium. The lack of an SD card slot of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 made me hold my nose and get the Z5P despite its Snapdragon 810 SoC, and I endured its abysmal 3.5 hour SOT until 20 months later I upgraded to a red Sony Xperia XZ Premium. This was a really good looking phone and its SD835 SoC was definitely a far cry from the 810 with 5.5 to 6 hours SOT. 28 months of use later and the XZP unfortunately started lagging, which prompted me to try out Samsung. The Note 10+ impressed me with its nearly bezelless screen and s-pen, but the Exynos 9825 SoC was pretty meh at battery life. So another 28 months later and I've upgraded to the SD 8+ Gen 1 Fold 4.
Pixel 6a. Was using pixel 4 before I washed it with my trouser, best phone I have owned. I miss headphone jack. I don't have any Apple products other than a iPad.
Google Pixel 6. I upgraded from an iPhone 8 a year ago. I love how open the os is, letting me do a bunch more then what's on the app store.
For headphones I have Soundcore Q30. They're decent Bluetooth headphones, that were pretty cheap when I bought them.
I use Windows with WSL. I tried switching to Linux for over a month, but I had too many issues with Windows only apps.
I also love usb-c. Almost all my devices can charge using the same cords. The only exceptions are my laptop with a 200W brick, and my diabetes pump. Nothing I can do about those.