Personally, I buy cheap Motorola G4/G5/G6, etc phones. $150 or less, new. They are fast enough, and work well enough for me. And, cheap enough that buying next year's model when it comes out isn't a problem. And no anxiety about dropping it.
Re:Pixel 3 Review
by xmichael999 on Saturday November 03, 2018 @07:04PM
(#18372988)
Yah, I've been doing the - buy a generation or two back of the flag ship release. Just bought the LG g5 which was their flagship 2 years ago, amazing phone.
Re:Pixel 3 Review
by secfirstmd on Saturday November 03, 2018 @07:55PM
(#18373171)
I wouldn't mind doing that but the security update patch problem for Android phones that suddenly stop getting them is a nightmare.
GP mentioned the LG G5 which is still receiving security updates
If you go with that strategie you usually buy community supported or open phones. Everything with a locked bootloader is pretty much worthless after the 2-3 year update window.
I have a Oppo a37 for 3 years now. Except the rather shitty camera I don't see a single reason why I would want anything more from a phone.
The photos are all really bad (technically, I mean, they're also bad artistically, but that's not the point), but you can easily tell the difference, it's not linear PCM vs DSD placebo effect.
I'm using a Pixel 2XL currently... previously an One Plus One, Nexus 4p, and I don't recall exactly before that. Mostly following the google developer line. This will probably be the last Google recommended phone I use. Mostly because of ongoing bluetooth issues since Oreo, fixed briefly in the late P betas, but broken again in P release.
I just can't justify the price tag. At $250-400, I'd buy almost every year. At the current price tag, I want 2-3 years out of it. In the end, I'm probably going back to mid range pricing territory after 2019 unless there's something really compelling. All I feel looking at the results is, "meh."
I buy a super cool top end phone, then I wrap it in an otterbox, and in the end, I'd rather have that be closer to the mfg case with a bigger battery. The round to the edge screen makes it harder to use without a case. I think it's a time to take a step back and re-evaluate the place of function with form.
If I didn't know any better, I'd say I was in audiophile territory.