My answer: Whichever OS you currently use. If you use iPhone now and like it, no real reason to switch to Android. Sure, there are variations on battery life, camera quality, etc, but IMO the differences are trivial compared to how much you like (or dislike) the OS.

The Travel Technology forum has threads on this, most likely.

I concur with the other poster... the OS will be the biggest factor in deciding. Unless you are super techy, if you are happy with IOS, I'd stick to it. You'll especially miss iMessage.

The new iPhone will be released by Mid-late September, so unless you are buying used now is not a good time to buy.

I use both Android and iOS myself... I'm not a fan of Samsung due to the huge amount of bloatware they load onto their phones. If you want the flexibility and full power of Android, then I'd go with a Google nexus device. Either buy a discounted one now, or wait 2 months till the next one is announced.

Ironically, nobody calls it "bloatware" but apple-specific apps are equivalent to Samsung-specific apps. If Samsung were the only game in town, would it still be considered bloatware? (i get that there is some duplication between manufacturers and OS in the Android ecosystem whereas Apple is a closed system, but i think the larger point remains). Then you have your standard carrier bloatware, depending on where you buy it.

Either way, I'd say generally to just stick with what you know and are familiar with, unless you have some compelling reason to change.

Also see this thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...uld-i-get.html

Anyone seeking a mid-priced flagship should also consider the brand new ZTE Axon 7. It looks pretty amazing, and is $400 delivered with freebies at several online retailers.

If spending that much I'd probably go ahead and get a refurb S6 or possibly even S7 for very little more, though I'm finding Samsung Pay (and specifically MST) to be a feature worth paying for. That said, if you're in a region where Samsung Pay isn't supported, I'd surely consider the Axon 7 on equal footing at the price point.

Except, for the most part (early on Apple Maps being an exception), people actually use the Apple software, whereas I only very rarely hear of anyone using the Samsung stuff.

If it was any good, they'd release it to the Google Play store and not tie it to their hardware.

Flash player is LONG dead on Android, including on Samsung.

There are a LOT of different Android phones, which range from "at least as good as iPhone" to terrible. There are at least 4-5 different Samsung models, even if you limit it to them.

There's no objective measure of this one; beyond suggesting that you take it to a store and try them out, there's no answer at all. One thing to keep in mind is that there is some variation in navigation between Android phones, so being used to Samsung ones won't translate 100% to say, HTC or Moto or Nexus phones.

Most of the heavily-skinned carriers also tend to change their stuff a lot between generations of phones (which lately have come out a bit faster than big Android changes), so the only really consistent experience on Android is the Google one.

I'm embarrassed to admit we still have flip phones 😦, so I'm clueless about most of the advice.

We are a split household - wife has Apple, I have Samsung. My older daughter has my wife's old iPhone 5 (not activated yet) and younger daughter has an iPod touch. So I'm the outlier.

You can do the same. I would say that the annoying thing about having different operating systems (Apple vs. Android) is that we can't use features like Facetime with each other. We must use alternatives to video chat and message when on wifi only.

I don't know that Apple is necessarily any easier - Android has come a long way. My father-in-law (77), father (74) and stepmom (68) all have Samsung phones and are perfectly happy with them. They're not "optimizing" their user experiences, but they get the job done with their handful of apps, texting, video chatting, and, of course, using it as a phone.

They all went from flip phones to Galaxy S5, and my dad and stepmom now have Galaxy S7 devices. There is a bit of a learning curve, but it wasn't too steep. They did rely on family and friends and the folks at the TMO store to help them get everything set up. Don't underestimate the willingness of store personnel to help with this stuff.

Honestly, if you are going from a flip phone to a smartphone, there will be a learning curve regardless of which OS you choose.

This.

For Georgia Peach: does your husband already have a smartphone? Do any of your close friends, or your kids (if applicable?) The biggest advice on the Android vs. iPhone I can give is "get the one those close to you already have" for two reasons:
1) because you're going to have a much easier time of it if you can rely on folks around you for advice about the phone itself, and
2) because there's a bunch of stuff that you want to be able to use the same things as your immediate circle (e.g. if the people you want to talk to mostly use an iPhone, you want to have Facetime/iMessage, whereas if the people you want to talk to mostly use Android, those two are entirely useless.)

As for the other questions, if coming from a flip phone:
1) the difference in browser compatibility is going to be so far from what you're worrying about getting used to a smartphone that you shouldn't worry about it.
2) the SD card is in theory a nice thing to have (not all Android phones can take one) but it's likely an active distraction when you're just figuring out how to use one. Unless you have someone else really close who can help you set up the phone to send photos there?
3) Any "flagship" phone is going to have a good camera. The exact distinction between them is going to be irrelevant at that level if the alternative is a flip phone. If you start looking at cheaper phones, things are more variable.
4) If you do want to go Android, I've stick to the simpler and easier to navigate phones with less bloatware. They're also as a bonus a good bit cheaper.

The two Android phones I'd recommend most highly for someone brand new would be -- depending on whether you want a bigger screen or a smaller one are:
1) Moto X Pure Edition (5.7" screen, from $299 depending on amount of storage) -- probably the best single deal out there on a phone right now. Nice design, pure Android, beautiful big screen, and one of the best cameras on an inexpensive phone. Not the very fastest, but still faster and more of a flagship experience than any of the entry-level phones. Plus, it does have an SD card slot if you want to add one later. I recommend getting it with 32gb of memory rather than the base 16gb. It's also available via Amazon and slightly cheaper with 32gb than it is from Motorola, but the moto maker customization options are nice. Camera review: https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/mot...-camera-review

2) Nexus 5X
. If a 5.7" screen (more like the "Plus" iPhones) seems too big, this is my second favorite phone available right now. Good screen, no SD card slot, exact same good-but-not-quite-the-best CPU as the Moto X Pure. Camera is good -- although not as good as the iPhone or Moto X Pure -- but if coming from a flip phone you are unlikely to notice. Much cheaper via 3rd party sellers on Amazon ($269 right now). Camera review: http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pho...1305317/review

I have a very hard time recommending paying hundreds of dollars more for the iPhone 6s or 6s Plus ($600+) when these are such absurdly good values.

The main case for Georgia Peach to go Apple would be if he/she is already in an Apple household for other things besides phones. It's an elegant ecosystem if you're fully bought into it, albeit an expensive one.

I have an iPhone 6 as my work phone, but since I'm not really bought into the whole ecosystem it's basically just a really expensive phone. I'm aware of iTunes and iCloud and other iStuff, but don't really benefit from it. The iPhone 6, however, does have a great camera.

The personal phone I'm using now is the Moto X Pure, recommended in by nkedel (here and in one of the other similar threads). I went with the basic 32GB model with a 64GB SD card inserted. $249.99 + tax for the phone from Best Buy (I already had the SD card). So far, it performs great...only drawback is that it gets a bit hot when you do something graphics-intensive for a while (known issue with the Snapdragon 808 processor).

By November I may pass the phone off to my daughter and get something else. Depends on what's in the $200-300 range then. Now that we're off of subsidized cell plans and there are enough "good enough" $250 phones out there, I don't think I'm ever going to buy the newest Samsung or Apple. We'll have 4 phones on our plan...starts to add up over time, especially if you would likely buy insurance for more expensive phones (whereas you wouldn't bother on a $200 phone).

In that case, get Android if you already have a Gmail account, or get iPhone if you already have an Apple ID. The phones are best integrated with their respective ecosystems.

And you don't have to be embarrassed to own a flip phone, although I'm surprised yours still works in 2016. (The one flip-style phone I owned in the 90's wasn't very durable...or perhaps I simply dropped it too many times.) I still have a little candybar Nokia that I've used in Europe as recently as a year ago. Built in 2006 or so...light, small, durable, and a battery that only needs to be charged about once a week even if you're using the phone every day. I bought it in a street market for 15 pounds, new in the box. That little device served me well in many different countries. ^

With Apple you can find support from almost any user you know, unless you're stuck in the boondocks. iOS and its easy rich apps is best for most people because it's easier to navigate and share its experience between all users and not just family and immediate friends. And it's also far more secure in daily use compared to non-Google Androids.

Android is more flexible for technical guys who need hardcore stuff like a common file system, wireless diagnostics, update choices, and mixed user interfaces. And of course it's the natural host for Google's champion apps like Maps and GMail. But be aware that it's got huge ongoing malware issues http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-36744925

I wouldn't recommended anything but a newer Nexus or an iPhone to a regular user.