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What Android to get next?

Discussion in 'Technical Discussion' started by redhotsonic, Mar 2, 2016.

Which phone should I go for?

  1. Xperia Z5

    33.3%
  2. Samsung Galaxy Note 4

    16.7%
  3. Samsung Galaxy S7 edge

    50.0%
  1. redhotsonic

    redhotsonic

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    So, I'm due an upgrade, yay! But I am torn between 2 (maybe three) phones. A little history first:

    Years ago, I had a Sony Ericsson Yari, then 2 years later, a Sony Xperia X10 Mini Pro, then an Sony Xperia S, and currently now, a Sony Xperia Z1. All these phones have served me well. Now an upgrade is due, I naturally thought, "I will go with the Sony Xperia Z5!" but looking at some reviews, the display isn't so bright and the speakers are mediocre at best. Now, this made me think, maybe it's time for a change.

    I've been looking at the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (no Note 5 coming to UK... yet) as I do like big phones, but I heard that the screen display isn't exactly bright. I then thought of the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (out in a few days), but it's terribly expensive, and makes me think I could just live with a worse display of the note 4 or Z5 for a lot less money. So here is my question to you guys:

    1) If you have an Xperia Z5, is the display and speakers good or bad? How do you get on with the phone?
    2) If you have a Samsung Galaxy Note 4, is the display any good? Is the sound any good (doesn't have stereo speakers)? How do you get on with the phone?
    3) If you have a Galaxy S6 edge, does the edge of the phone start to irritate you after a while? Is it possible to turn the edge bits off when you please? How do you get on with the phone?
    or 4) Any other Android phone to suggest (iphone is not an option).


    I appreciate your feedback guys. I do have the money for these phones, but I don't want to spend more than I necessarily need to. If you want to know my uses, I use my phone for music, satnav, videos, talk and messaging and social apps. The only thing I don't do is play mobile games (except the MD and GBA emulator when I'm bored).


    EDIT: I forgot to mention, years ago I dropped my Xperia S in the washing up bowl (don't ask) and least to say, it broke. That's what made me get an Xperia Z1 afterwards. So an Z5 and S7 edge have the advantage over the note, but I am willing to part with the non-waterproof-ness if needs be.
     
  2. Herm the Germ

    Herm the Germ

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    MIDI-to-SMPS-conversions, mostly. Takin' requests, too.
    Well, my only Android experience so far has been with Huawei (specifically the Ascend P6), so if they kept the good ratio of quality-over-price they did back then, maybe one of their current products could be a well-considered alternative.
     
  3. LordOfSquad

    LordOfSquad

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    As far as screen brightness and speaker quality goes, I've been REALLY happy with my OnePlus X that I picked up a few months ago. It's got a gorgeous AMOLED screen that consistently blows my hair back (although I upgraded from a Nexus 5, I assume your Sony phones probably had nicer screens than that). The speaker on it (just one I'm afraid) is the loudest and crispest single speaker I've ever heard personally in a smartphone, I'm pretty happy with it all things considered. Of course it sounds great with headphones or speakers plugged in.

    Some other pros:
    - Expandable memory
    - Tweaks to Android that actually make it better and more customisable instead of bogging it down with unneeded apps and bloatware
    - Extremely reasonably priced for what a high quality phone it is
    - It's gorgeous, even if you keep it in the case it comes with

    A few cons:
    - Camera is serviceable but not great
    - The glass back panel could probably get scratched and otherwise fucked up if you don't use the case
    - Not running the newest version of Android yet, but some of the previously mentioned tweaks make up for it
     
  4. Overlord

    Overlord

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    A colleague at work has the S6 Edge - it seems a nice enough phone and while I've not handled it for extended periods the edge stuff doesn't seem to bother me.

    I'm currently on an S3 and have no real complaints other than the S4-style upgrade a couple of years back slowed the phone down extensively and that the thing is beginning to show it's age (it's nearly 4). I'm probably going to upgrade in October, possibly to an S7.
     
  5. Neowl

    Neowl

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    I recently upgraded from a 1st Gen Moto G 4G to a Hauwei P8lite (GSMArena specs in link), and for a budget phone, I must say I'm absolutely blown away by the device. The only slight I have against the thing is the lack of gyro-meter, rendering my Cardboard VR kit useless - ah well, not the end of the world here.
     
  6. Flygon

    Flygon

    Member
    I've been enjoying my Note 5, but I'm not entirely sure how that compares to a Note 4. On paper, the specifications seem very similar.
     
  7. Graxer

    Graxer

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    I have a Oneplus One and would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to get a phone at the moment. It is really cheap for its high spec (£219/$299 for the 64GB version) and it has run everything I have thrown at it at full speed except for WIP emulators like Dolphin and Yabause (When playing Sonic R). I gather the Oneplus X that LordOfSquad mentioned is good too, but I don't know how that compares spec-wise to the Oneplus One. I can say however that the Oneplus One does not have expandable storage like he stated the Oneplus X has. (Although I have the 64GB model, so that hasn't been a problem to me)

    EDIT: There is also the even higher spec Oneplus 2 for £249/$349
     
  8. LordOfSquad

    LordOfSquad

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    The X is basically a smaller, "premium" version of the One. 5" AMOLED for the X VS 5.5" LED on the One. The processor and RAM are the same. The smaller form factor was a deciding factor for me.
     
  9. redhotsonic

    redhotsonic

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    Thanks for the advice so far guys. Here's what I've come to so far:

    - The Xperia Z5's price has suddenly bumped up, almost the same as the Galaxy S7 edge, so the Z5 is now a no
    - OnePlus X would be the only option (as the others have no SD card slot which is a must), but I can't find any OnePlus deals on Carphone Warehouse or O2/Vodafone.
    - The Huawei Mate S is (almost) the only one I find reasonable on Carphone Warehouse. I might give this a try and decide. But that's £31 a month (currently £29) and it's not much better than my Z1 (specs-on-paper wise anyway)
    - I've asked my 2 mates how they find their S6 edge and they love it, and they confirmed you can turn the edges off. So I am really tempted to go for the S7 edge at this moment in time.
     
  10. Graxer

    Graxer

    Member
    OnePlus devices can only be officially purchased from the OnePlus website, although you will find them on eBay. That is one of the reasons they are so cheap for the spec. The company doesn't spend money on marketing or branding and instead relies of word of mouth. It seems to work though. At my university department a suprising number of students and staff have Oneplus devices.
     
  11. redhotsonic

    redhotsonic

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    Yeah, I went into Carphone Warehouse and O2 and neither had any OnePlus phones, so I couldn't test it out. Anyway, I finally crumbled in and decided to order the Galaxy S7 edge which will arrive on Tuesday. It's £36 a month (£6.40 more than what I'm currently paying) and I had to pay £129 up front. Although you get a free Samsung Galaxy Gear VR headset. I will be selling that as I have no interest in it (anyone want to buy that here? lol) and putting the money towards the upfront cost. Then I will sell my Z1 and do the same.


    Thank you all for the advice, guys :)
     
  12. Mastered Realm

    Mastered Realm

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    I hate samsung interface so much. For the it's the 'anti-design'. A phone for people engineers for sure. I'd go with Motorola, Asus or Sony, never Samsung.
     
  13. urlogic

    urlogic

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    I would suggest an LG. In my experience(having owned 4 LG phones in the past 7 years), they are very sturdy and well performing phones without a ton of bloat.

    Also, android developers are moving to make a lot of things 5.0+ only so try to make sure the phone you get at least runs that.
     
  14. LordOfSquad

    LordOfSquad

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    I'm not a fan of Samsung's UI at all either, but it sounds like the S7 Edge is a seriously solid piece of hardware. Hope you dig it!
     
  15. redhotsonic

    redhotsonic

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    Well, yesterday I got my new Samsung S7 Edge, and here's an interesting story for you lot to laugh at.


    Went to work this morning and drove to my parents. I always park at my parents and then walk to work from there (20 minute walk) to save on car park charges. It was pissing it down with rain, so I put my waterproof coat on and my waterproof trousers. I then put my shiny new phone in my pocket.

    Walked for 5 minutes, and after crossing a road, I went to grab my phone out my pocket, and to my horror, THERE IS NO POCKET! It's just a pocket opening that leads to no where; I've lost my phone! I ran back to my car to find my phone face up in the middle of the concrete road being hailed on by rain! Luckily, it just has a little scuff up the top, and I am guessing no car drove past in the meantime (otherwise it would have got crushed), but the phone isn't offically out yet and it's not been 24 hours since owning it and I've already dropped it! Feel like crying :(

    Damn trousers. I've heard of fake pockets that don't actually open, but why a pocket with nothing in there? It's just a hole! Finally learnt it's to get to the trouser pocket you're wearing underneath but.... grrrr....



    Except for that, the phone is holing up pretty well. And I love the edge bit so far, although I keep forgetting to use it half the time. As for the Samsung UI, except for the big news feed on one of the home panes, it's a lot like the normal Android UI, so I'm good with it. Also, any "bloatware", you can disable most of them (but not remove unfortunately).
     
  16. winterhell

    winterhell

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    I'm going to ask why exactly do you need the absolute latest phone available.
    Or more like, why do you want to upgrade? What is wrong with, say, S4, S5 or S6?
    Are their screens too small, the phones being slow or what?

    Is it because smartphones are the new Rolex?
    I'm honestly puzzled about the benefits.
     
  17. redhotsonic

    redhotsonic

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    I didn't exactly need the latest one; in fact I was thinking of getting the S6 but I learnt it wasn't waterproof (this morning [my previous post] just proves I need it to be). I was thinking I could live without it but then I also realised the S6 doesn't have the SD card slot either so it was a no go (I need a lot of space).

    I had my previous phone for almost 3 years; I could have upgraded ages ago. I would have left it even longer but Vodafone kept playing me around so I decided to leave.

    I was thinking Sim only, but for an extra tenner or so, I could get a brand new phone with it, so I opted for that. Then looking at all the other phones, even if it wasn't the latest and greatest phone, the prices were practically similar. S7 edge, £36 a month, or the Z5 (which isn't as great), £35 a month. And I was already paying £30 (well, £29.60) a month on my older phone. No brainer really.


    I don't need the latest phone, hence why I made this topic asking for other alternatives. It just turned out that for the latest and greatest, the phone was at a good deal, and I needed to change from Vodafone; so I went for it (now on O2) :)
     
  18. Felik

    Felik

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    Isn't S7 waterproof anyway?
    I've seen people submerging it into water on videos.

    @winterhell: for me having newest smartphone = having best digital camera in your pocket at all times.

    Edit: ninja'd
     
  19. redhotsonic

    redhotsonic

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    Yes, hence why I got the S7 and not the S6 =P