I enjoyed my Motorola devices in the past. Possibly a good amount of rose tinted glasses, but the 2014 Moto X was probably my favorite Android phone out of the box so far. They usually don't modify too much of the base Android experience and the few things they tend to add, such as the camera app and some gesture support, seem to work better than the AOSP stuff. I didn't like NFC support had been pushed to only their higher end devices, as I really enjoy tap to pay from my phone and other NFC features.

The last two devices I've owned have been Pixel devices. They've been pretty solid. I still think I liked the 4a over the 6a; I've had some touch accuracy/sensitivity oddities with the 6a.

I own a Motorola and I've had a very good experience (other than the fact that it's got Google in the OS, like all Androids, and the time I upgraded to Android 12 and decided I hated it).

I usually look for a phone that has proper LineageOS support and a strong xda community of third party ROMs, Kernels and what not.

I usually go to LineageOS's download page, and browse through the phone list for a not so old phone that has builds for the newest version. Afterwards I check its xda page, read the specs for the phone, check reviews on YouTube and finally decide.

I used to like Pixel phones, but sometimes even the Google experience is too much for me.

These things are a matter of personal preference, take the community's opinions then decide on your own based on your use cases.

My two must have apps are Amazon Authenticator and Okta for 2FA, what’s the story with apps on LineageOS?

These days it's very easy to use Google Play on LineageOS as if it were an official ROM. Usually because you're telling Google you are to pass SafetyNet.

I've used Okta Verify on Lineage 19 without issue. Although I managed to get Okta to spit out a regular MFA string so I could dump Verify and use my regular MFA app.

Along those lines, https://www.sustaphones.com/ is another nice site to find phones with support LineageOS and other custom Android versions.

One Plus is ok for a generic android experience, but there are some caveats.

I couldn't for the longest time do simple things like scan a QR code. Everybody else in the world just points their camera app at the QR code and it works. I have to open Lens explicitly to do it.

It's still much better than Samsung's crapdroid experience. Google Assistant or ... Bixbsy routines? Nobody wants that shit, Samsung.

I think the major caveat for One Plus is that they are a Chinese company and are required to comply with Chinese law. Google is likely required to comply with various legal regimes as well, but they're not required to hand over my data to the CCP. One Plus is.

The OP6 was their last great phone. Now they're just generic android device that cost the same as any other brand and miss the same feature (Remember when OP were joking about apple removing the headphone jack. Guess what happened with the OP6T ?)

Really sad that mine got water damaged and no longer works. Even though it no longer had software update, running custom roms it was perfect. It was 3 years old and could probably served me at least another 3. I got the OPPO x3 lite but I miss my OP6 everyday. I'll probably end up fixing it when I get the time

Bixby (AI) was a garbage, but Bixby routines is actually a great automation system like Tasker but simpler.

Used to be an AOSP guy, but Samsungs one ui is growing on me.

There is some function bloat,but you learn to disable stuff you don't use and I think Samsung is getting better at making their crap useful crap.

I've had a few Motorola phones and they've always seemed reasonably close to stock Android. A few oem shell addons, but nothing that I found annoying or intrusive. Currently using an Edge 20.

My spouse just got a pixel 7 in fall. Good price, adequate specs and zero carrier/vendor bloat. The only regret is living in a cold climate (Quebec!) where the glass over the camera could potentially shatter at any moment and google doesn't acknowledge the design defect. Oops.

Edit because people apparently don't believe what I'm saying: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/01/google-pixel-7-users...

I have only used and would only ever consider Google Nexus / Pixel phones. The modifications made by every third party seem to make things worse.

Pixel phones are great for a clean android experience, but you have to wholeheartedly sell your soul to google.

Midrange motorola phones can also be clean and open.

Nova launcher on the Pixel is a great combo for a non-rooted clean Android experience. You can disable many Google tracking/privacy things at that point, have a clean UI and quick security updates. One issue I have run into is Google breaking app switching on occasion because they want to use their launcher as the app switcher. Haven't seen this issue in the last year thankfully.

I have an old refurb pixel 3 I bought to put linage OS on but it was a verizon device and has a locked bootloader. sigh so no alternate android for me.. Anyway I am using it as a daily driver with the stock pixel android package and have zero google accounts. I mainly use f-droid and adb.

Check out Aurora store as an alternative to Play Store

No Google login yet have access to all apps without the hassle of adb

I personally use F-droid + Aurora Store.

For stuff that can't use fdroid, check out obtainium, it can pull releases directly from GitHub, etc. Shizuku is also useful for background-installing apps via some of the fdroid alternative clients (and some apps like Tachiyomi can use it for extensions and other local-adb things), as is App Manager for background-installing apps via local adb.

https://github.com/ImranR98/Obtainium https://github.com/RikkaApps/Shizuku https://github.com/MuntashirAkon/AppManager

There's also GrapheneOS as an option for Pixel phones for an even cleaner Android experience.

I went from a "flagship" Pixel to a midrange Motorola (the moto g100), and I'm very happy with it. I got a nice performance upgrade, a microSD slot, a headphones jack, battery for days, and an unlockable bootloader - all for less than half of what I paid for my Pixel.

(While most Pixels have unlockable bootloaders, including mine initially, Google screwed me when I sent mine in to repair a broken USB-C port. The phone I got back had a permanently locked bootloader, which basically cut it's usable lifespan in half. Annoyingly, I replaced the battery shortly before realizing this!)

I usually go with Nokia, even if they aren't producing the devices themselves.

Which one are you using? I'm currently using the 7.2. I wanted to get the 8.3, but finding a new one isn't easy.

The 7 Plus and 5.4. The former is frozen on Android 10, while the latter is still getting Android 12 related updates.

At least in Germany they are relatively easy to find, even if not always on the shop floor, they tend to be available on the respective online sites.

Pixel.

Pixel 6 Pro works fine for me. The phone does not really run my life so I am not really deep into what's in there.

Fairphone my dude. I'm surprised nobody mentioned it.

I've been meaning to get a Fairphone for a while. Would you (or anyone else here) recommend it?

Not an owner, but at work nearly half the devs rocking Android have Fairphones and everyone happy. The only downer for me is that it's a bit bulky.

Oh, thanks! I don't think that's gonna be a problem for me.

Only if you dont need a camera, its really bad for its pricepoint.

Oh, good to know! That seems very real but I don't use it that much and it'll still gonna be a good upgrade for me.

Not officially available in the US, which usually means US buyers should really stay away.

IMO not having official carrier support is not worth any amount of fairness.

Just as a curiosity, why? Do official carrier support matter that much in the US?

I don't care about official carrier support. I do care about supported bands and warranty.

Beyond simple support for your carrier's specific cellular bands, a lot of smartphone functionality is tied into the carrier's implementation/integration with your phone.

Apple keeps a list of supported carrier features on this page: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204039

This used to be more of a problem ~5-7 years ago or so. I'd buy an obscure Android phone and I couldn't use things like Visual Voicemail, Voice over LTE, or WiFi Calling.

Verizon used to be and may still be picky about which phones they activate as well. My Nexus 5X supported all the bands required to work with Verizon, but they refused to activate the phone on their network, despite ordering a plain SIM card for BYOD.

Only think making me hesitate to buy a Fairphone is the fact that the quality seems low for the price. I understand why that is, but I worry it would feel like too much of a downgrade coming from a Galaxy S10, and particularly if the whole idea is that it lasts a long time, how out of date will it feel in a few years time?

Do you have one, and if so does it feel reasonably snappy?

Feels reasonably snappy, but then again I always picked up midrange phones in the past.

You really have to be sure that you want a Fairphone for their ethics. Display and camera are particularly very much not great. My past Nexus 5X made much better photos (not sure how much it's just Google's camera app processing at play).

And also if you're not in the EU I would definitely avoid getting one as there's gonna be a lot of hassle with warranty shipments.

The Pixel 5 is still to me the most pleasant Android to use. It's made of non-cheap plastic that's really light, especially when carried without a case, and is the perfect size for me.

In several years, I haven't seen a flagship Android that's lighter, smaller or that isn't brittle glass.

I am using Pixel 6 + Graphene atm and am quite happy.

edit: phone has no fast charging though. I couldn't believe that when I got it.

I have a Moto G5plus that I would still be using if only the battery hadn't died. So now I use it as an Internet radio and I bought a Moto G30: cheap, reliable, decent cameras, fast enough, 128 GB storage, dual sim, more than two day battery life unless I record hours of video. And Moto don't add much bloat.

replacing the battery is not hard. Since it has failed - no way to screw it any longer, so give it a try.

It wasn't worth the effort when the Moto G30 with a much better cameras, four times as much storage, faster processor, was only 1199 NOK, less than 120 USD. Much less than I paid for the G5plus

It's convenient to use the G5plus as an almost dedicated Internet radio and podcast player.

Apple. Sorry for answer that doesn't satisfy your prompt.

Smartphones need to be reliable, get out of your way, run your apps, and work for a long time, and Apple's got the best track record in the whole industry.

- There's basically no crapware. Apple's own non-essential apps can be uninstalled.

- All phone carriers across the globe will support your iPhone and support it well. Modern smartphones have a number of features that depend on carrier support, and having something obscure can be punishing (even Google, the creator of Android, only has a 2% marketshare in the USA).

- With Apple you can expect to get OTA software updates for almost a decade or go with Android and waste your life away tinkering with LineageOS to get more than a short few years.

- Apple has insanely good manufacturing consistency. You are very unlikely to get a lemon compared to other brands.

- Android is too far behind on privacy protection and app sandboxing. Only very recently has it become to resemble something acceptable.

- Whole-phone backup and restore is downright incredible compared to my most recent Android experience. Drop your phone and need to use your old iPhone 8 while you wait for a repair? No problem, do an iCloud restore and you're back up and running in under 30 minutes with your exact same phone, preferences, etc.

To me, a phone is a communication and lifeline device first, an open source line in the sand second. It's such a critical device, that for me the budget is nearly unlimited. I'm going to pick the best, more reliable product, and there isn't a single Android OEM that stacks up to what Apple gives you.

Sony

Xiaomi or pixel with custom ROM, neither of them blow any fuse

At least for the foreseeable future, I'm going to be buying a Pixel and immediately installing GrapheneOS on it whenever I need to upgrade my phone.

The experience is not perfect, and especially if you opt to not even keep the sandboxed Google Play Services, lots of apps just won't work. But it's a trade-off I'm happy to make.

My Pixel 5 is exactly what I wanted. The problem is that Google only gets it this right every few generations, and it doesn't always coincide with me needing a new phone.

Either they forget the size of human hands, the EUR:USD exchange rate, or some other obvious thing that makes their current generation a no-go.

nothing phone 1, so far I'm totally sold.

>anything that gives smooth, AOSP, non-flashy experience?

For that, I bought a used Galaxy S9, and but /e/ OS on it. The project essentially forked LineageOS, replaced Google references with their own services, and built a fully working out of the box experience out of it. It's not hard to install the OS yourself, but if you don't want to tinker, you can order phones with the system preinstalled:

https://e.foundation/