Phone with the best data network support?
 

I am based in North America and currently travelling in Europe with an older Xiaomi phone (poco x3). I am using a local data sim card from vodafone but found the data connection to be unreliable, especially when travelling on train between cities. One time I got off at the wrong train station because google map wont connect due to data network issues. I am looking for a phone with strong data network compatibility. I only use the phone for gps navigation, messaging and travel bookings (no gaming or watching video), would the iphone 16 base model be the better choice over any andriod phones such as the pixel series? Andriod phones would be cheaper but I don't want to get into a situation where navigation fails to work. I plan to use this phone for world wide travel - Europe, South American, North Africa, Asia etc..

My travel experiences with Apple devices and a few Android are, iPhones from the 12 models & newer will have most or all bands used internationally by foreign carriers. Android models such as many Motorola & Samsung models from the same era will also have the required bands, including 5G. The 5G service is not as common in most countries yet, but it is gaining, and is fairly common in Europe from my limited use.

I carry an iPhone 16 Pro Max and generally at least 2 Motorola Android phones, along with 2 iPads with 5G cellular service. I have the luxury of several free lines of service on a T-Mobile US plan that each get 5Gb of free high speed data roaming overseas. I think the sweet spot for iPhones is the 13 models, due to having both physical and esim capability, and decent cameras, screens, processor speed, etc. along with lower pricing on resale sites like Swappa. The 13 series and newer utilizes DSDS (Dual Sim, Dual Standby) and permits an IMS setup for WiFi calling versatility. That function has been discussed at length here on Flyer Talk.

See this thread from about 8 months ago: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trav...-5g-bands.html

tl;dr: iPhones and Pixels cover the most bands. If you're buying in North America and only concerned with Europe, you can probably get away with some Motorola and nicer Samsung phones as well.

The cheapest good option would be a secondhand iPhone--even the iPhone XR is still supported by iOS 18 and you can score one of those for $150. The 12 series adds 5G support along with some other features so that'd be a better option but will set you back $250-300. If you're looking at new phones, the Pixel 8a is (IMO) the only logical choice.

You only need an iPhone 13 for DSDS if you're trying to use two eSIMs; if one of your SIMs is a physical SIM you can do DSDS all the way back to the XR/XS. It's similar with Pixels, eSIM and DSDS support came along with the 3a but it wasn't until the 7 that you could use two eSIMs at once.

Often it's not the phone that is the limitation, it's the carrier settings. Those can be set by the device, the SIM card (or eSIM) or the carrier itself. I don't know anything about Xiaomi devices, but I know on the Samsung Galaxy S models I have (S22, and S24U) it's quite easy to modify the channels allowed with a little hacking. I'm not sure how many markets in Europe have true 5G SA. I was surprise to see that there are still many places that are only 3G (or even 2G) when I was there last year. 3G networks were shutdown in most of the US 4-5 years ago, and 2G about 10 years ago. Don't get too hung up on what mmWave bands are supported. mmWave has pretty much been a failure so far (for phones). mmWave requires mine of sight, which isn't (yet) realistic with moving devices. C (or Mid) band is where it's at for speed these days.

I run my own private 5G (SA) cellular network. I need a minimum iPhone 13 or Galaxy S22 to support n48 (CBRS). I prefer Android devices because it's quite easy to adjust and debug carrier settings. Apple would never allow that on their KindergartenOS.

Channels being locked out in software is mainly a Samsung thing; Samsung is all-in on blocking arbitrage--you can buy phones in India for 50-60% of what a comparable model costs in Europe and they support all the bands necessary to work, but Samsung either locks out the channels or region-locks the phone to prevent enterprising traders from buying a pallet of phones and grey-marketing them. Motorola does a bit of that as well but not to the same extent.

Neither Apple nor Google allow LTE or 5G bands to be locked out--and they don't region-lock their phones either, though they both do geoblock features. Somewhat ironically it's Google who's more aggressive about that--Apple only blocks features that are actually illegal (UWB in former Soviet countries for spectrum issues, the hearing aid function of AirPods for regulatory reasons, etc) vs. Google has recently started locking out 'unsupported' features like Google Pay in India and Android Auto in HK.

That's a distinction without a difference to the user. As I said above, there's also carrier settings, which can be pushed to the device. From my experience, sometimes carrier settings don't get properly changed when switching (e)SIMs. Not a big deal if I can DIY it, but a problem if I can't.

I'm sure Apple blocks services in regions that require it too. Apple Pay is not available in many countries. Neither is Apple "Intelligence". Apple blocks far more functionality than google. Much of it is features they had previously and later removed. Off the top of my head: raw GPS data, the ability to spoof location, deep battery metrics (removed), cellular signal metrics, ability to modify cellular settings* (even field test mode was removed circa iOS11), ability to even view current (cell) signal strength (removed), hotspot while on wifi (<-- this one is unforgivable IMO), sharing VPN over said hotspot...etc, etc. All of these functions are available on Android without rooting. I'm sure there are many more.

One of my fav Android apps shows the Cellular RSRP of up to the 7 closet towers to me. Also shows what bands/freqs they're using (SA/NSA), tower ID, etc etc. AAPL would never allow something like that.

Field test mode is still there. I think they removed it in one version of iOS but it's been back for years now. Just dial *3001#12345#* <call> like always.

With my 16 pro it doesn't show as much as it used to, but still shows the basics

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...bacac081df.png

Apple blocks a lot of stuff they shouldn't--raw GPS data and the ability to move data over Bluetooth (eg to an OBD2 box) come to mind.

But they don't break things that were already working: I bought lunch in India with Apple Pay today. It's "not available" in India because no Indian banks support it, but all my American and German cards work just fine. Android used to be the same, but as of about a year ago Google hides the interface when your phone thinks it's in India. Google used to be really good about "this feature is not supported in $country.... but we're not going to stop you from trying" but they seem to have changed tactics for some reason. See also 5G support on the Pixel phones and Android Auto, which has started to disable itself if your SIM is from an unsupported country no matter where you're actually driving.

In any case, this doesn't need to be a Coke vs Pepsi, er, iOS vs Android debate. For the OP's use case of a phone that will work seamlessly in North America and Europe, they're better off with an iPhone or Pixel than most other phones. Neither Apple nor Google gets too aggressive about geoblocking in either region.

Ah, I did not realize they put it back. Yeah, that was the same way it was accessed back in the day. Another thing they removed around the same time was the ability to see the actual signal strength (RSRP) on the home screen as opposed to the 5 level antenna icon.

I agree. There are pros and cons of both OSes. I travel with an iPhone 16 Pro Max and a Galaxy Ultra S24U. I had a pixel, but didn't care for their UI. The Samsung one is more polished (even if it has some bloatware). If I had to choose between the two, I would probably go with the Galaxy (better functionality, customization, camera, battery, 45W charging, etc.), but I would really miss the integration with iMessage on iOS. I do really love my Apple TV and homepods. Appreciate the fact that they don't spam me all the time like Alexa did, and the integration between product lines at Apple is unrivaled. That being said, I did dump my Macbook Pro a few years ago for an X1 running Linux. I was spending too much time trying to get development environments to work within Apple's walled garden. Installing software to get around walled garden issues, etc. With Linux I can do anything I want.

I travel with a personal iPhone and a work Pixel. The Pixel is frustrating since the DSDV will work for a trip to Europe then not work on the next trip with the same setup. My iPhone has always worked. Have you tried DSDV with Ultra S24 if Samsung provides the option?