Official 2017-19: Which Smartphone Should I Get?
Aug 2, 2017, 10:17 am
#61
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Just got a Huawei Mate 9. Love the hardware.
Am likely to be returning it, as the software is a deplorable mess that I'd otherwise have thought could only have come from Samsung.
After a few hours playing with it last night, I've discovered:
* there is no way without rooting to uninstall or even disable the Alexa feature.
* there is no global option disable notifications on the lock screen, only app by app
* it is not clear how to turn off the Huawei "magazine" lock screen to put a picture of one of my kids there
...and just generally, there is wayyy too much stuff baked deep into the phone that my usual approach to skins (install the Google Now launcher and as many of the actual Google apps as possible) does not seem to be sufficient to avoid.
OTOH, given that the newer crop of larger phones seem to all be going to 18:9 (or taller, in the case of the Galaxy S8/S8+) and the biggest reason I want a big screen is to be wide enough that I can f#$#ing type on it with any accuracy, I'm not sure where that leaves me.
edit to add: I've decided to keep it. I'm probably going to root it (the only way to disable some of their crap, as I don't want to go the custom ROM route), but I've discovered that as absolutely AWFUL as their reorganization of the settings is (compared to AOSP or Nexus; in some ways even worse than the last time I saw Samsung's mess) the settings search feature actually worked, and it does support disabling lock screen notifications. I've found instructions for turning off their magazine feature, although I haven't yet figured out how to add my own photo there.
Am likely to be returning it, as the software is a deplorable mess that I'd otherwise have thought could only have come from Samsung.
After a few hours playing with it last night, I've discovered:
* there is no way without rooting to uninstall or even disable the Alexa feature.
* there is no global option disable notifications on the lock screen, only app by app
* it is not clear how to turn off the Huawei "magazine" lock screen to put a picture of one of my kids there
...and just generally, there is wayyy too much stuff baked deep into the phone that my usual approach to skins (install the Google Now launcher and as many of the actual Google apps as possible) does not seem to be sufficient to avoid.
OTOH, given that the newer crop of larger phones seem to all be going to 18:9 (or taller, in the case of the Galaxy S8/S8+) and the biggest reason I want a big screen is to be wide enough that I can f#$#ing type on it with any accuracy, I'm not sure where that leaves me.
edit to add: I've decided to keep it. I'm probably going to root it (the only way to disable some of their crap, as I don't want to go the custom ROM route), but I've discovered that as absolutely AWFUL as their reorganization of the settings is (compared to AOSP or Nexus; in some ways even worse than the last time I saw Samsung's mess) the settings search feature actually worked, and it does support disabling lock screen notifications. I've found instructions for turning off their magazine feature, although I haven't yet figured out how to add my own photo there.
Last edited by nkedel; Aug 2, 2017 at 8:27 pm
Aug 2, 2017, 1:43 pm
#63
Join Date: Jan 2005
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Posts: 949
Any thoughts on Nokia 6?
My requirements are: Works on T-Mobile's Band 12 with VoLTE. Over 1.5 GHz quad core. Doesn't overheat easily when used as dash cam. As close to pure Android as possible with frequent updates. Nice to have NFC. Don't play games.
Nokia 6 seems to check all the boxes. This will replace my Moto X 2014. I know the Nokia brand is licensed to HMD, the actual manufacturer. Hearing good things so far and hope they can keep it up.
My requirements are: Works on T-Mobile's Band 12 with VoLTE. Over 1.5 GHz quad core. Doesn't overheat easily when used as dash cam. As close to pure Android as possible with frequent updates. Nice to have NFC. Don't play games.
Nokia 6 seems to check all the boxes. This will replace my Moto X 2014. I know the Nokia brand is licensed to HMD, the actual manufacturer. Hearing good things so far and hope they can keep it up.
Aug 3, 2017, 1:20 am
#64
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: DEL
Posts: 1,057
For those of you in Europe--or who spend a lot of time in Europe and have a phone at home that doesn't work here--shameless plug for the Moto G5. I was about to buy a Moto C Plus as a backup/lend to visitors phone, but Amazon.de had the dual-SIM European G5 (XT1671) for €130 last week, so I grabbed one. For the price, it's really hard to argue with almost-stock Android 7, 2GB of RAM and a MicroSD slot. Even better, both SIM slots support high-speed data; you can still only use data on one at a time, but you don't have to physically move SIMs like on a lot of phones, just flip a toggle in settings.
It's sort of a upgraded cross between the G4 Play and the regular G4--good specs, 2.4 and 5GHz wifi, but a smaller 5" 1920x1080 IPS display.
If I didn't use my camera constantly, I'd seriously be considering selling my Pixel at a profit and getting another G5 for myself. The G5's camera is great for a €150-200 phone, but unsurprisingly isn't up to the standards of a $650 Pixel.
Sadly, it has zero of the important North American LTE bands, nor does it have AWS HSPA, so using it in the US means HSPA on AT&T at best. The US gets the G5 Plus, but Lenovo has said the regular G5, along with the Moto C line, will not be sold in the US.
It's sort of a upgraded cross between the G4 Play and the regular G4--good specs, 2.4 and 5GHz wifi, but a smaller 5" 1920x1080 IPS display.
If I didn't use my camera constantly, I'd seriously be considering selling my Pixel at a profit and getting another G5 for myself. The G5's camera is great for a €150-200 phone, but unsurprisingly isn't up to the standards of a $650 Pixel.
Sadly, it has zero of the important North American LTE bands, nor does it have AWS HSPA, so using it in the US means HSPA on AT&T at best. The US gets the G5 Plus, but Lenovo has said the regular G5, along with the Moto C line, will not be sold in the US.
Aug 3, 2017, 2:55 am
#65
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 1
My phone du jour is now the Bluboo Picasso 4G which is ~£70 in the UK. The English in the description is amusing too. I know they are cheap phones but I don't understand why they don't spend a little money on getting someone with English as a first language to rewrite it. Anyway, I shall dither over that phone now.
Aug 3, 2017, 6:46 am
#68
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Both Nano.
No, micro USB.
Aug 3, 2017, 6:55 am
#69
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For those of you in Europe--or who spend a lot of time in Europe and have a phone at home that doesn't work here--shameless plug for the Moto G5. I was about to buy a Moto C Plus as a backup/lend to visitors phone, but Amazon.de had the dual-SIM European G5 (XT1671) for €130 last week, so I grabbed one. For the price, it's really hard to argue with almost-stock Android 7, 2GB of RAM and a MicroSD slot. Even better, both SIM slots support high-speed data; you can still only use data on one at a time, but you don't have to physically move SIMs like on a lot of phones, just flip a toggle in settings.
It's sort of a upgraded cross between the G4 Play and the regular G4--good specs, 2.4 and 5GHz wifi, but a smaller 5" 1920x1080 IPS display.
If I didn't use my camera constantly, I'd seriously be considering selling my Pixel at a profit and getting another G5 for myself. The G5's camera is great for a €150-200 phone, but unsurprisingly isn't up to the standards of a $650 Pixel.
Sadly, it has zero of the important North American LTE bands, nor does it have AWS HSPA, so using it in the US means HSPA on AT&T at best. The US gets the G5 Plus, but Lenovo has said the regular G5, along with the Moto C line, will not be sold in the US.
It's sort of a upgraded cross between the G4 Play and the regular G4--good specs, 2.4 and 5GHz wifi, but a smaller 5" 1920x1080 IPS display.
If I didn't use my camera constantly, I'd seriously be considering selling my Pixel at a profit and getting another G5 for myself. The G5's camera is great for a €150-200 phone, but unsurprisingly isn't up to the standards of a $650 Pixel.
Sadly, it has zero of the important North American LTE bands, nor does it have AWS HSPA, so using it in the US means HSPA on AT&T at best. The US gets the G5 Plus, but Lenovo has said the regular G5, along with the Moto C line, will not be sold in the US.
The model I have has 3GB RAM and was an Amazon UK special.
My gripe is that there does not seem to be any software updates for it in the period I have had it - now that might be a blessing in disguise as it runs just fine and if it ain't broke then don't fix it, but I do wonder if it will be able to support later versions of Android and whether Lenovo will port it to this model. I do not want to go down the rooting road ever again, those days are long gone for me now.
Aug 7, 2017, 11:33 pm
#71
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We've had that issue with both the G2 and the G4. When one of our G4's developed the bootloop issue just before a European trip, we dumped them and replaced both with Samsungs, an S7 and an S7 Edge. We haven't looked back. There is a reason that both are top rated by Consumer Reports (article, video).
Unfortunately, last week my screen suffered a fatal error out of the blue. Brought it in and they replaced the display but on idea what else they did. Hopefully getting it back today or tomorrow. Phone generally works fine, but that's 1 major issue and 1 decent-sized issue, all within 1 year of purchase.
Aug 9, 2017, 10:44 am
#73
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Since the release of the first iPhone, have you heard anyone say, "This phone is too thick."? I don't get where this race for thinness started.
I think people would gladly accept 2mm of extra thickness for a headphone jack and a bigger battery.
I think people would gladly accept 2mm of extra thickness for a headphone jack and a bigger battery.
Aug 9, 2017, 11:25 am
#74
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No but it isn't as if people are switching to other high-priced models in droves because iPhone 7 removed the headphone jack.
Aug 9, 2017, 1:14 pm
#75
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I stuck with slider-keyboard style phones long after most people gave up on them (all the way to 2012!) and I heard that quite a bit from other people. Worked great for me, and I could type on that a lot faster than I can on screen even with nearly 5 years of practice now.