freecia

This website compares phone band coverage to carriers and vice versa
https://www.frequencycheck.com/

iPhones have some of the largest band coverages in a single device. Google Pixel 2, OnePlus 5, Huawei Mate 10 might be a good choice, too. Some manufacturers only produce one or two few sku's of the same phone model and market it for multiple regions, usually available without a carrier tie in as "sim free".

You may want to put Samsung, Huawei, and Xiaomi on the bottom of your research list. Samsung as they tend to add software restrictions on bands available for usage depending on original region of purchase and local sim carrier network profiles switching which may not be triggered for those with US phone plans on roaming (though I'd be happy to learn otherwise as Exynos processor is probably one of the better non-Qualcomm options for long term use). Huawei and Xiaomi as they often target China LTE frequencies over EMEA with the exception of a few flagship models meant for the international market. Otherwise, it is too bad, as they consistently make dual sim phones which can be quite useful for receiving voice & sms on your existing number and use local data sim for cheaper (and faster) data.

cheltzel

It looks to me like Samsung makes some very nice multi band phones. Not in their "flagship" lines like the Galaxy S or Tab series.

Here is the bands supported by their unlocked Galaxy J7 Universal (SM-J727UZKAXAA):
GSM: 850,900,1800,1900
UMTS: B1(2100),B2(1900),B4(AWS),B5(850)
4G LTE: B1(2100),B2(1900),B3(1800),B4(AWS),B5(850),B7(2600 ),B12(700),B66(AWS-3)

I can get it new with a manufacturer warranty for about $220 US.

I haven't looked at any of the iOS devices but from my research, it gets me voice and data in most countries that have significant 4G/LTE networks (depending on carrier). Seems like LTE bands 3 and 7 are the most common outside the US. And LTE bands 2 and 4 are to most common in areas using the US/Canada spec.

freecia

Agree. Bands 8 and 20 are also useful.

I also quite like Moto for mid-range phones. The European dual sim Moto X4 might also be worth a look when it starts shipping in a bit. Most of the phone manufacturers have also announced/released this year's model so last year's flagships (or 1/2 gens back) can be a good deal, but this is the 2017 thread . Even the international unlocked Samsung S8/+ has lowered in price thanks to several other flagship releases.

There are several mid-range phones which cover older EU/AU LTE spectrums with fallback to decent 3G coverage. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LTE_networks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...tworks_in_Asia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...orks_in_Europe
has the band deployment year
Some of the markets which have had LTE for a while are adding new bands and existing bands are usually at saturation point. A phone using those one of the existing bands will work just fine, perhaps not as much coverage in some newer network build-outs or a bit slower.

I tend to lean towards higher end if it will be a daily driver for 2-3 years for build quality, more LTE coverage, decent OS updates for necessary security patches, and somewhat nicer screen/camera specs if I won't be traveling with a laptop or digital camera. Some flagships are much easier to get repaired if necessary. LTE Advanced and Carrier aggregation is also nice.
Personally, I don't use a lot of mobile data but am impatient when waiting for pages & maps to load. Mid-range is also pretty good for a secondary phone if you'll still have access to the primary with wifi.

cheltzel

I am only going to use this for travelling. I usually go for short term data heavy pre-paid sim packages. I use the voice for making local calls. But I use the phone's data allowance as a wifi hotspot for other devices. Works out well especially if I am in a hotel with daily wifi charges.

I looked at the Moto g5 Plus and the band coverage in the specs was much better:

GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

UMTS/HSPA+ (850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz)

4G LTE (B1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 25, 26, 38, 41, 66)

But it had the following disclaimer:

Band coverage varies by model, country, and carrier.

Makes me distrust anything that is published by the manufacturer. If they sty that when I am looking at a specific phone model, how can I trust if I will actually get the specific bands they listed?

LoveHateRelationship

I would take a look at sites like www.phonemore.com as they allow you to look up specific models numbers and see the bands that they support. For example I have the Canadian S8+ so its the S8 G955W so they do have a listing for that along with all the variations available as well.

Keep in mind, just because a specific band is support, carrier aggregation which drives the LTE+ speeds is very region specific.

cheltzel

Thanks for the link. I'll check it out..

der_saeufer

Worth keeping in mind is that unless you need really fast data, almost everywhere in the world is covered by UMTS/HSPA bands I, II, IV, V and VIII. Nearly every phone made in the past couple years supports all of those with the possible exception of IV which is a US/Canadian band anyway. HSPA+ as deployed in most developed countries is good for 8-10Mbps, so it's plenty fast for nearly anything you'd need to do on your phone, though the latency can get annoying when tethering a computer.

For sheer number of LTE bands, nothing can touch the iPhones. Even the Pixel has a regional split, though the "non-US" version covers the entire rest of the world.

cansutravel

iphone prices are not worth the wait

WIRunner

After the 8 (6sss?) and the X was released this year, I ended up getting a 128 GB 7, and I'll likely remain a generation behind with the iphones. I can't justify spending that much money on something that doesn't add anything that I can't get elsewhere. Face ID is neat, but I'd like to have a button still, I personally prefer the fingerprint (or even just power button) lock. It will be interesting to see how the market actually responds to a $999+ iPhone. That is macbook money.

wco81

Yup, prefer the Touch ID too, just used it at grocery store.

The 8 Plus is smooth.

deniah

if anybody wants a flagship-level phone but dont want to pay the new-standard of $1000+ , essential just dropped its price of 128gb to $499

for me, the most intriguing non-google phones are LG and Motorola. And also the under-the-table Sonys. But of them all, Essential has appeal for having the cleanest software

LordHamster

Ok, with the impending iPhone X pre-orders coming online, I have to ask the Flyertalk brain trust:

In the past, I've always bought the SIM Free model or the Verizon Model if Sim free wasn't available. I did this for the largest possible band coverage. I'm on T-Mobile but I want to be able to use the phone in places like China.

In your opinion, does the SimFree/Verizon model still have a real advantage? Or has the ubiquity of LTE diminished this advantage into obscurity?

der_saeufer

Specific to the X, both models have the same set of LTE bands but one supports CDMA and one doesn't: https://www.apple.com/iphone-x/specs/

So assuming you can obtain either model for the same price, it's better to get the A1865 "Verizon/Sprint" model to leave yourself the option of using the legacy-CDMA networks in the US since you don't lose any LTE bands.

That's not the case for most of the older iPhones--for different models, you trade a band or two here and there, and some have CDMA support while others don't. https://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/
For example, a Verizon iPhone SE is missing band 7, which is one of the main bands in Europe and has no support for TD-LTE, but the rest-of-world version is missing Verizon's band 13 and probably doesn't have a working CDMA radio if it was sold outside the US)

joshwex90

Amazon Prime had been running a promotion for the Moto G5. I can't seem to find it on Amazon. Anyone know what the current promotion is (if it's still around)? Whether G5 or G5 Plus. Happy to save money and get the one with ads. Thanks!

cheltzel

The best price I've seen for the G5 plus is at B&H Photo in NYC. $219

They are selling the XT1687 model with all the international UMTS/HSPA+ and 4G/LTE channels.

I do not see Amazon specifically listing the Motorola model number on any of their G5 Plus listings.