A home on LW for Android users.
RULES
While this is s community focused on Android, some of us have devices from the Android, Apple, Windows and Linux worlds, etc. We may prefer Android, but overzealous and obsessive adherence to Android as some sort of infallible platform won't be tolerated long here.
That said, being critical of brands is fine. Android is frustrating in some ways, just like iOS and so forth. Let's be upfront about that.
Be thoughtful and helpful, even with 'stupid' questions. Otherwise, as ya mama said, say nothing at all. The world won't be made better or worse by snarky dudes schooling naive newcomers on Lemmy.
I'm currently running the Pixel 6 Pro with Graphine OS.
Worst thing about this phone is the curved display. Everything else is good enough for me, which is saying a lot. I've had many phones over years and only a few have really been awesome.
In no particular order:
Edit: format and a device
I have an S20 FE. Literally my perfect phone, and I have no plans to change it any time soon!
Current daily driver is a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. Pretty happy with its compact size when folded, and it serves as a mini-tablet of sorts when unfolded. It's also the first phone I've owned that I've not needed to worry about running out of juice midway throughout the day. Though I find its quite hard to find a suitable table stand for it, especially if using it unfolded.
My Android journey began in January 2014 with a Sony Xperia Z1, upgraded from an iPhone 4S with a busted home button. It was a pretty great introduction to the Android world with Sony's near-stock interface (when compared with the dark days of T**chwiz bloatware and whatnot) and lasted until January 2016 when I upgraded to a Sony Xperia Z5 Premium. The lack of an SD card slot of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 made me hold my nose and get the Z5P despite its Snapdragon 810 SoC, and I endured its abysmal 3.5 hour SOT until 20 months later I upgraded to a red Sony Xperia XZ Premium. This was a really good looking phone and its SD835 SoC was definitely a far cry from the 810 with 5.5 to 6 hours SOT. 28 months of use later and the XZP unfortunately started lagging, which prompted me to try out Samsung. The Note 10+ impressed me with its nearly bezelless screen and s-pen, but the Exynos 9825 SoC was pretty meh at battery life. So another 28 months later and I've upgraded to the SD 8+ Gen 1 Fold 4.
The pixel 7 pro. I have been so disappointed with Google phones in the last few years. I like not having bloat, and as a developer it is good to have a generic phone.
The 7 really raised the bar. I couldn't live without face ID. I don't know if I could go back. It is so much easier now.
Pixel 7 Pro, Android 14 Beta. It's sooooo broken. Pixel Launcher doesn't work, so the app switcher won't open. Crashes constantly. Debated buying something else.
OnePlus 7 Pro. I've had it for 4 years. Previously had a OnePlusOne and 5 I like their phones but will probably move to a Pixel next. I'm not in any rush given that my phone is working perfectly fine. I wouldn't want another curved screen since I like using glass screen protectors. Charging is great. Almost 80% in 15 minutes I have a Samsung S6 tablet too and I really like it. Im all Windows and Android.
Same here! Loving my OnePlus 7 pro. Although I know that next year I'll have to repair it a bit. I have to charge twice a day, so I know the battery got slower. And the back is particularly broken In September I accidentally restarted my phone completely and wow it felt new and fast and I can still run it for 2 year minimum! (And wait for a Framework Phone maybe)
LG v60.
I'm still headphones gang, may be the last phone of its time tho
I'm using the Pixel 7.
I'm happy with it. Best qualities are the camera and the worst is charge time.
I've been using Xiaomi devices, main label as well as Pocophone and Redmi labels. Worst was their data hoarding which I blocked with a pi-hole and vpn always on. Best is their hardware and price. Was great fully charing a 5000+ mAh battery within 30 minutes.
When it breaks or when there's a good deal and I have the current phone for over a year.
I still have a huami watch but don't use it anymore. Nothing else.
No apple golden cage shit for me hehe. Windows 11 on my desktop and have a home server with unRAID on it. So both windows and Linux I guess.
Thanks for this initiative.
What phone are you using?
I have a Pixel 7, Obsidian Color
Are you happy with it? What are its best and worst qualities?
I love the phone. Its my first non low-end android, and I can't see myself going back to an iPhone. I love the assortment of emulators available for Android, and the pixel 7 main camera is very good. The selfie camera could use some work, but picture taking is not what I got this phone for anyway.
Which phones have you had previously? Which were the best and worst of the lot?
My previous phones were an iPhone 11 and an iPhone 5C before that. I have a Moto G pure (low end android) for a little bit, although it was more of a secondary phone instead of something to switch to, as it is very sluggish to use. The iPhone 11 was a good phone, the selfie camera is still better than my current pixel phone. I definitely craved the feeling of freedom I got from my Motorola though, despite its shortcomings. So I went ahead and got my pixel.
How often do you upgrade to a new phone? Very rarely, I might be upgrading more often now though due to pixels having shorter security update Windows than iPhones.
What other Android ecosystem devices do you have? Watches, headphones/earbuds, etc.
None at the moment, although I am planning on getting Pixel buds.
Do you also use any Apple products, or are you Android all the way? (And/or Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc.)
For now I am android all the way. I have a Lenovo Thinkpad with Windows 11 on it, I have tried to switch to Linux but my laptops display needs fractional scaling as the dimensions of the screen are different from the resolution. So until fractional scaling gets better on nvidia cards I'll have to stay with Windows.
Dang I wrote a lot 💀
Current phone is Poco F2 Pro
I'm okay with it. Performance is nice but there is a lot of bloatware. Battery could last longer but I guess everyone wants more battery am I right? The price per hardware was very good, don't regret buying it.
I had One Plus 3T, Nexus 5, Samsung Galaxy S2... I'm sure I'm forgetting one. Best one was probably the One Plus 3T, back then the One Plus prices were so nice. Sad.
I try spend an average of 100 euros a year on smartphones. I bought my phone for 400 euros, must last at least 4 years. Never in a rush to swap, I only do it when the battery no longer lasts me a full day.
No other Android devices. I constantly try to come up with use cases to justify buying a smart watch but honestly I just can't an actual good use to justify constantly having to charge it.
I have a 10 year old MacBook that is on its last legs. Battery time is pretty miserable right now. Other than that I just use Windows. I dabbled with a couple of Linux distros but I'm just not into it. I like Windows.
Google Pixel 6. I upgraded from an iPhone 8 a year ago. I love how open the os is, letting me do a bunch more then what's on the app store.
For headphones I have Soundcore Q30. They're decent Bluetooth headphones, that were pretty cheap when I bought them.
I use Windows with WSL. I tried switching to Linux for over a month, but I had too many issues with Windows only apps.
I also love usb-c. Almost all my devices can charge using the same cords. The only exceptions are my laptop with a 200W brick, and my diabetes pump. Nothing I can do about those.
I'm on the Galaxy S23.
My previous device was a Realme GT, I really wanted to experiment with these Chinese "flagship killer" devices that offer pretty impressive specs for lower prices. It had some amazing aspects, but also deep deal breakers. I'm happier with the S23.
Though Samsung absolutely burned me twice with their Exynos processors, so if a device is got an Exynos chip I'm not getting anywhere near it.
Asus ZenFone 8.
I love it, it's a nice bit of kit, and the few gimmicks it has are useful: scheduled charging for better battery life, digital well being stuff to stop me being glued to my phone.
Battery would be a problem for a super power user, but lasts me all day with commuting, reading the web etc. Camera is not on a par with flagships but I rarely take pictures.
Prior to this I had a Huawei until the battery died on me. I upgrade when I have to, I hate consumer upgrade cycles.
I have zero android ecosystem products.
I'm Android/Linux all the way unless work force me to use a Mac, which happens periodically, as part of the great cycle of life.
Pixel 6!
I honestly want a phone with snapdragon 8 gen 2, but I don't want to go back to getting spam calls all the time. Pixel software is just too good.
Currently on a Samsung A51.
I used to get a flagship every other year, Samsung usually, but dont see the point anymore as mid range seems plenty powerful enough. I'm now closer to a 5 year cycle. Favorite phone ever was a Blackberry. To this day the BB had better features than any Android I ever had. Best in context phone dialler ever. Could dial the correct number from country code to area or city code from any place to any place.
I had a corporate iPhone. Copied the Outlook settings onto my private Android, supposedly it wouldnt work as I didnt let my IT crew install spying software on it, but it did since i used what was basically an Outlook web app. Then stored the iPhone in a drawer in my office and never touched it again.
Pixel 4a 5G. It's old and overheats like crazy and my Android Auto doesn't work half the time, but it has all my 2FA for work which is going to be a massive headache to replace when that time finally comes. Probably going with another Pixel though.
What phone are you using? Motorola Edge
Are you happy with it? What are its best and worst qualities? I love it! None of the Motorala apps are aggressively integrated and launching by themselves, and they are actually useful.
I am not sold on curved screen. I use a case so I don't really benefit from it. Some apps extend inro the curve and get awkward to use.
Just a clean Android experience.
Which phones have you had previously? Which were the best and worst of the lot? Before I was using Samsungs. The earlier ones were solid but they eventually become unusably bloated and hostile with their own apps. It advertised to me the way Microsoft Windows does, which I hate.
Had some iPhones. Nothing to complain about. It used to feel limited compared to the tweakability of Android, but I am not much of a power user. Plus, I actually buy stuff from the iOS App store, the quality is better, and I trust Apple infinitely more than Google.
Best phone I ever had was a Blackberry. I adored that thing. I miss physical Qwerty keyboards. I would give up my large high rese screen to get that back.
Blackberries were as tweakable as Androids too!
How often do you upgrade to a new phone? I try to keep my phone as long as possible. Phone technology is not progressing like it used to, it is all slabs of metal, glass, and plastic. I don't take a lot of pictures, so the camera is not a concern.
What other Android ecosystem devices do you have? Watches, headphones/earbuds, etc. Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite. Felt it was the most economical option for a good Android tablet at the time. I like it. It has Dex which I only used once... gonna try it out again.
Do you also use any Apple products, or are you Android all the way? (And/or Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc.) Got a few Apple iPads, the best being the iPad Pro. The big screen is gorgeous and nothing beats reading PDFs on it, especially text books. I also bought like every synth on the App Store, which is still a FRACTION of the price for a single analog synth, even a cheapo Behringer clone.
I am typing this on my Pixel 7 (recommend me a Lemmy app please :D )
I had a 4a before this, I liked the finger print reader way better on the 4a but other than that my 7 is better, its the best and most expensive phone i've ever owned.
Before the 4a I had some random Honor and Huawei phones and I used to upgrade phones almost yearly which I felt was kinda depressing so I figured I should "invest" in a phone I could use for ~3 years.
The only Apple product i've had was some kind of iPod that I asked my uncle to copy cd's onto, it was kinda cool i guess.
I'm also using a Pixel, and the Jerboa app seems to be doing well (for the whole 20 minutes I've been using it so far).
Pixel 7 Pro w/GrapheneOS. Being able to control what my phone is sending or not sending + the battery life gain from everything not phoning home is amazing.
Bought a used Pixel 4a 5g, running LineageOS microg (I like having root which goes against Graphene) and I'm a Linux user so that's my "ecosystem" I guess. I snatched Skullcandy Sesh ANCs off eBay for 12 bucks refurbished, if that matters.
S20 ultra. My SO got it for me at launch because he thought I deserved a nice phone after getting me a 150 dollar one that lasted me a few years. I have tiny hands yet I have no issue with the size of this phone lol.
Best qualities? Still runs great, unlocked so no bloat, real cameras instead of the fake one on my old phone, Samsung dex, oled screen, not a scratch on it and I haven't used anscreen protector in for years now. Has a large battery.
Worst? Hmm... at first finding cases that protected the screen properly because of the edge was hard. It took getting used to the whole curved edge though now I think it's weird to use one without it. It gets hot when gaming so I avoid anything too intensive. It's older and I don't know how much longer it will be supported.
I previously owned a Huawei honor 6x lol... Before that it was just a flip phone and before that an iPhone 4s which I still use as a clock.
My current phone is the best as it does everything I need, the worst is the iPhone mostly because it came with almost no memory and no way to expand it and every os update caused it to run more and more out of memory. Also it was tiny.
I upgrade when the phone I have isn't worth keeping. My last phone had a spicy pillow and even though I tried to replace it the phone was so horribly glued together it was impossible to open up with regular tools. It was cheap anyway.
I have a portable Nvidia shield that is so out of date its unusable. The battery is dead. I might repurpose it though. I don't own any apple products beyond my initial iPhone as they're too expensive. I have have had the same fitbit since 2019 or so and I got a certificate from work that paid for some belkin wireless earbuds, beyond that and a pair of skullcandy wireless earphones I don't have much else.
My windows devices are all computers.
LG G8, brought it for cheap and it's being the perfect phone for me. It has a high output high fidelity headphone jack and external μSD slot which is something very valuable for me. Cameras are showing signs of age and the display is 60Hz only but it's running strong and is plenty fast for my usage. Next phone will probably be a Xperia, but they're still quite expensive on the second hand market.
Samsung Fold 4. I like it a lot, but it's already been through 2 warranty repairs, and my warranty is up next month. Never before have I regretted not opting for an extended warranty as much as with this phone. These things just break from regular every day usage. After using the phone, I would really miss the screen real estate if I decided to go back to a regular candy bar shaped phone. But seeing as how prone they are to breaking means I think I pretty much have no choice.
Galaxy Fold 4. Would have immediately recommended it but this past weekend the inside screen protector cracked down the middle. I need to contact Samsung and see how big of a hassle this is to get it replaced. I've only had the phone like 6 months, this really shouldn't be this fragile
Yikes I've only had mine for about a month. So far no issues but keeping my fingers crossed everyday.
Was it just the screen protector or the screen itself?
Pixel 7. Quite happy - since my first phone, every next phone was bigger in size. 6.3 inches is almost perfect in terms of one-hand use, but with enough screen estate to sometimes watch media.
My favourite phone I ever had was Blackberry Pearl 9105.
S22+. Got an insane deal on a like new refurbished model, so it seemed like a no-brainer.
It's a phone. Most nondescript phone I've ever used. Nothing about it is amazing, but no major complaints. Even the battery is fine for me, despite a lot of people complaining about poor battery life on the S22 series.
Just made the change to a Pixel 6a from my really old Samsung Galaxy.
My only requirement was about size. I wanted something "smaller", first I thought about going with a newer Samsung from their mid-range 'A' category, but after seeing how big those things were, I decided to look outside the Samsung ecosystem.
I discovered GrapheneOS and as an open-source enthusiast, I really liked the idea. The professionalism of the dev team and the bloat free aspect of the OS made me get a Pixel.
The size is not that bad, but I wish it would be a bit smaller. So far I'm really liking it. I love the camera of this thing (even without GCam). The physical button placement was a bit weird for me at first, but I've gotten used to it.
I usually abuse my phones till they die, so I was looking for something that would last and I really think that I will be able to go for 5 years with this phone without an issue.
What phone are you using?>
I've got a Galaxy S21
Are you happy with it? What are its best and worst qualities?>
It's been my favorite phone so far. Prior to this I was on Virgin Mobile using the budget Galaxy models like the "A" series ones or whatever they were. Overall everything is an upgrade for me with the S21. Least favorite? The way videos are so compressed when sending them through text messages. I end up having to record on snapchat, saving it to my camera roll, then send that. If anyone knows a better way I'm all ears.
How often do you upgrade to a new phone?>
Very rarely. I got this phone when I switched carriers so whenever I get offered an upgrade I guess.
What other Android ecosystem devices do you have? Watches, headphones/earbuds, etc.>
Just the phone. Don't own a smart watch and just use JBL earbuds.
Do you also use any Apple products, or are you Android all the way? (And/or Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc.)>
I don't own much personal tech. Use windows on a laptop but other than that just a Pioneer TV and PS5.
I am using a Pixel 2 XL running LineageOS 19. I have the 128GB storage model, and the RGB LED for notifications and charging status are useful.
I used to have a Pixel 3 64GB, but it fell victim to the EDL bricking issue. I bought the Pixel 2 XL after that and its been working great.
I don't have any "ecosystem" devices as I don't want to be bound to one workflow.
The only Apple product I have are Earpods and the USB-C to 3.5mm jack adapter. They are the best non-IEM-type earbuds I've used.
Using a Pixel 5a, running CalyxOS. No problems with the phone and no plans to upgrade any time soon.
Been using a pixel 5 for a couple of years now but damaged the screen under the glass a couple weeks ago.
Thinking of upgrading to a pixel 7. Other than the camera set up is there much difference between the 7 and 7 pro?
OnePlus 7T
I love this phone. I thought it'd take longer than it actually did to get used to not having a home button anymore, but I adapted in less than an hour. Love how OxygenOS is very close to stock Android. The glass on the back is super slick. Everything is super slick to me. My hands are chronically dry. So I hate all these glass-backed phones.
I've previously used a OnePlus 3, OnePlus One, Samsung Galaxy S4, Motorola Photon 4G, and a Motorola RAZR ve20. I loved my Galaxy. It was my first OLED experience. My OnePlus One felt like kind of a downgrade, but it also allowed me to stop having to sign contracts to get an affordable phone in 2015. Plus, back then, it felt like being a part of something new and exciting. Man I miss Cyanogenmod.
I upgrade basically whenever I need to. The phone I have now is ~3½ years old. The back glass is busted and the battery is starting to lose its life. They will repair it and so I'm thinking of sending it in. I can picture myself using this phone on another 3-4 years barring some kind of carrier stupidity.
No other Android devices. I'm an otherwise Windows/Ubuntu person. Started trying Mint recently. I do have a Fitbit.
I used to have a 4th gen iPod Touch circa 2011 before I got my Photon 4G. iOS 6 ran like crap on it and I was around the corner from building my first PC. I had started using my Android phone for my games and music and such so I just didn't have a use for it anymore. Sold it off and I haven't owned an Apple product since.
I ran Lineage OS on the 7T, so it's definitely possible to get the CyanogenMod experience.
Pixel 4a5g. Works. Might swap eventually when the battery starts sucking too much, just like my last phone. Love the camera.
Pixel 6, still waiting for face unlock :))))
But also using Samsung Buds and a M1 Macbook Air for work.
Best phone I've ever owned, had mostly Pixels, iPhones and Samsung's in the past.
I have a Pixel 4a because I refuse to spend more than $200 on a phone. The battery is starting to not last very long so either I am going to replace the battery or get a Pixel 6a for $200. I'd really prefer to not need a new phone because I like the headphone jack.
What phone are you using?
Xiaomi Note 10 Pro
Are you happy with it? What are its best and worst qualities?
For the most part, yes! It's got an extremely good price to performance ratio and has great battery life, great high resolution screen. But it's got some extremely annoying bugs... For instance, sometimes it just randomly reboots, or worse yet, turns off and then takes several minutes to boot. There's seemingly no discernible pattern to it. Sometimes the touch screen seems to get jittery as well, although it doesn't majorly affect usability. Some recent update also messed up apps colors for certain elements, so yeah, not great software wise. If it wasn't for the rather major issue with crashing I would have no problem recommending it wholeheartedly though.
Which phones have you had previously? Which were the best and worst of the lot?
I had a Redmi phone before that, before that I had an iPhone SE, iPhone 5, 4 etc. The Redmi phone was great for the price, similar to this one. The SE was also great, but all of my iPhones died in the same, bizarre way. They all started to crash with weird black and white stripes, eventually becoming unusable because of frequent crashing.
How often do you upgrade to a new phone?
When the old one breaks, basically!
What other Android ecosystem devices do you have? Watches, headphones/earbuds, etc.
None that I would call "ecosystem"y. It's all intercompatible.
Do you also use any Apple products, or are you Android all the way? (And/or Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc.)
Windows as desktop OS.
Pixel 6 Pro. Got it at release to replace my Pixel 3a XL. I have pixel buds Pro to go with it and a garmin watch. Prior to my Pixels I had Honor View 10, LG G2, Samsung Galaxy S4, Galaxy S2, Taco Lite.
I do have an iPad Pro 10.5 (2017) which I primarily use for video calls.
I imagine my next phone will be a Pixel again because I've come to appreciate much of the features. I do have to use a 3rd party launcher (microsoft launcher) because I hate google search being forcibly baked in and the news page being much worse than Microsoft Launcher's news or 'at a glance' pages
Pixel 6a. Was using pixel 4 before I washed it with my trouser, best phone I have owned. I miss headphone jack. I don't have any Apple products other than a iPad.
Have a Pixel 7
For the most part, yes. Love being able to install Calyxos on it, battery life is alright, get 2 days out of it with the occasional top up in between. The 90Hz screen is a nice little upgrade coming from a 60Hz.
Just came from a OnePlus 6T, before that was an iPhone 7, iPhone 5s, iPhone 4 and a Nokia e63 (there was another Nokia before that but don't remember which one). The best one was the OP6T, although they were all great upgrades at the time, loved them all.
Nowadays I hold onto them for as long as possible, the iPhone 7 i had for about a year but sold it to get the OP6T. Had the OP6T for 4 years and the 5s for 3.5yrs (that thing took a beating from high school me).
Nope, none, not a fan of buying into ecosystems.
Don't own any apple products at the moment, the OP6T made me not want to use an iPhone ever again, have owned Macbooks in the past but now I've found that Linux is perfect for me.
I'm using a Google Pixel 6a.
I am very happy with it. Price makes it unmatched in my eyes, although the battery could be better.
Before this I had a Pixel 4XL which had awful battery life, but was still a major upgrade from my old Samsung galaxy S3. I have only upgraded because I've got a "problem reading your battery error" and replacing the battery didnt solve it.
I very very rarely upgrade and just use custom ROMS to expand the life of each of my old phones, building my own ROMs in necessary.
For everything else, I'm a ThinkPad T480 guy running Debian or Ubuntu. That being said I use a MacBook for work and she runs beautifully.
S10. It's older, bought refurbished, but probably technically the "best" phone I ever had and it's all I really need tbh.