So, I thought I’d kick things off here with some community building.
Quote this post with answers to the below!
What phone are you using?
Are you happy with it? What are its best and worst qualities?
Which phones have you had previously? Which were the best and worst of the lot?
How often do you upgrade to a new phone?
What other Android ecosystem devices do you have? Watches, headphones/earbuds, etc.
Do you also use any Apple products, or are you Android all the way? (And/or Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc.)
I use the Pixel 7 Pro
I love it. The cameras are unparalleled, the software is excellent, and the experience is pure. Battery life isn’t nearly as bad as people say, but it could be better.
Last few phones: iPhone 5c, Galaxy S5, Nexus 6P, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 5, Pixel 6 Pro
Worst was the 6P, because it bricked itself (though I got a few hundred dollars back in the class action lawsuit), but it was excellent aside from that. iPhone got a dead pixel within a month, but they replaced it, Galaxy was sturdy but software was awful. Best was Pixel 2 XL, I still use it as a backup sometimes.
I get a new phone every year if the trade-in deals are good.
I have the Pixel Watch and Pixel Buds. I mainly use the Sony XMs though for headphones.
I have a 14" MacBook Pro M1 Pro. Got it for the insane battery life, but I’m mostly a Windows/Linux user still.I have an iPad, it isn’t bad, but I miss the affordable Android tablets of old (Nexus 7 rocked). I don’t have any desire to move to iOS.
What phone are you using?
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
Are you happy with it? What are its best and worst qualities?
Best is screen. Worst is battery. 3-4.5 hours of SoT. Also, it stutters all the damn time. I know most people using it will say it doesn’t, but for me most animations stutter. Every 3rd time I open the Edge panel, and about a third of the times I interact with the device.
Which phones have you had previously? Which were the best and worst of the lot?
Galaxy Wonder, Galaxy S4, Galaxy S7, Galaxy Note 9 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. Galaxy Wonder was pretty bad at the time, and has not stood the test of time. It quickly became unusable. Galaxy S7 was pretty solid but nothing special.
How often do you upgrade to a new phone?
2-3 years.
What other Android ecosystem devices do you have? Watches, headphones/earbuds, etc.
I have the Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds which got the infamous battery drain due to a software update one month after warranty ended and I can’t wait to replace them. They don’t last over 5 minutes on one charge. If it wasn’t for the battery drain, I would keep using them for a very long time. Superior noise cancellation and sound quality.
Do you also use any Apple products, or are you Android all the way? (And/or Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc.)
I have an ancient iPad that is unusable at this point, and an Apple TV that I received for free many years ago. Very recently, I started using Android TV almost exclusively. The only feature I really miss is AirPlay.
- Motorola G30
- very happy! battery life (2.5 days) and weight (prolly due to the big battery)
- a string of Motorolas (I like the fact that it has the purest of the Androids)
- as soon as it shows it is ageing (around 2 years)
- none
- ChromeOS on 2 chromebooks: Lenovo Flex5 and HP 11a na0120nr
edit: typo
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.
Curious why but another phone (which would be on Android 13 or older) vs downgrading P7Pro back to Android 13?
Im on my Pixel 6 with calyxOS, which is really great. I really like the fact that i can use android without a google account.
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.
Samsung galaxy S21. I really enjoy it and has worked perfectly. I like Samsung rendition of Android, I feel like it gives me a larger overview of settings and so forth. I’ve had an iphone 6 and Huawei Mate 20 lite. My problem with the iphone was that i didn’t really understand it, and the app library was limited. The Huawei became slow fast, but that might just be because of it being the lite edition. In edition to the Samsung S21 i also own a Samsung galaxy watch 5 and a pair Samsung buds 2. Both these works great, and i really enjoy Samsungs health app wich is how the watch connects to the phone. The buds are even compatible with my windows computer :)
@MrCenny the mate 20 life’s processor just hasn’t held up particularly well, my smol huawei tablet has a similar setup and modern apps just make it choke. It can do one thing at a time okay, but multi tasking is a no go.
Yeah, it just got slower and slower by the years. At some point i couldnt even load up my emails, and that was when I had to switch phones. BUT it did actually last 3 years!
Currently, I’m using a Motorola moto g100 and I’m happy with it. Good battery life, nice big screen, much improved performance compared to my last phone. Best phone I’ve ever owned. The main inconvenience is the location of the fingerprint sensor: I’d have preferred if it was on the front of the device somehow (definitely not on the back – I often have it lying flat on the table).
I also dislike the fact it can only remember five fingerprints while I have 10 fingers. Who thought that was a good idea? :þ
Previously I had a Moto G5+ and a Moto G. I guess you could say I enjoyed the quality and relative lack of bloatware of these Motorola phones, while being more affordable than some of the alternatives I was considering at the time I bought them.
Going further back, I had a HTC Desire Z (with a slide-out physical keyboard). I picked it as my first smartphone because I was hesitant to get rid of physical keys, but as it turned out I hardly ever used them. Looking back, this one was clearly the worst value for the money.
Since I switched to smart phones I’ve been upgrading every 3 or 4 years.
Before the smart phone era, I had an Alcatel device (can’t remember the exact model). I used that tiny near-indestructable thing for over a decade, only charging it about once a week. It was mostly an “in case of emergency” though, not nearly as heavily used as later phones, because it wasn’t really usable as a miniature pocket-computer (like smart phones are). Still, I was pretty happy with it at the time: the only reason I got rid of it was because the ‘0’ button broke, and in my country all phone numbers start with 0.
I also have an LG G Watch (Wear OS). A relative worked at Google when these were handed out to employees but didn’t actually want it, so I got it as a gift. It’s pretty old now: I’ve replaced the bands a few times and it won’t charge past 70%, but it still mostly works and the battery still lasts all day. I’m not sure if I’ll get another smart watch if and when this one finally breaks, though.
No Apple products, and my laptop runs Linux Mint. These days, I only use Windows at work or when helping relatives with tech problems (sigh).
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:
- HTC EVO Shift, EVO 4G LTE, EVO 3D
- Some ZTE Phone with android 2.2
- Oneplus One, 3T, 6T
- Pixel 4, Pixel 6 Pro
- Nexus 4, 5, 5x, 7
- iPhone 4, SE, 7, 12
Edit: format and a device
What phone are you using?
Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Are you happy with it? What are its best and worst qualities?
Absolutely love it. It’s only the second Galaxy model to be sold with the Snapdragon chip in 🇦🇺 Australia, after the S22. I had an S21 Ultra (Exynos) and decided to wait for the S23, because of the rumours that the cameras would be improved.
Glad I waited, and also very glad to have an included stylus, because I’m a photographer and designer, so the stylus is bloody useful!
I honestly can’t think of an downsides to this phone, I’m so damn satisfied with it.
Which phones have you had previously? Which were the best and worst of the lot?
As noted above, I had the S21 Ultra previously. I actually bought a Pixel 7 Pro when it was released, but after about a month I decided that while it was a great phone with some clever new features, I still preferred my S21 Ultra — so I sold the Pixel 7 Pro and went back to my Samsung!
Other previous phones, let me think… First modern smartphone was the iPhone 3G, followed by iPhone 4, iPhone 5S, HTC Desire, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Sony XPeria V, LG Nexus 5X, Google Pixel, Google Pixel 2, iPhone 11 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S10, iPhone 13 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, S23 Ultra.
Not sure if that order is exactly right… haha.
How often do you upgrade to a new phone?
Usually every year, to be honest, which obviously isn’t super responsible either financially or in terms of e-waste, but it really is my number one addiction. 😂
What other Android ecosystem devices do you have? Watches, headphones/earbuds, etc.
Galaxy Watch 4, Pixel Watch, Galaxy Tab S4 (now my son’s), Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (now my daughter’s), and a Galaxy Tab S8.
Oh, and the Chromecast with Google TV.
Do you also use any Apple products, or are you Android all the way? (And/or Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc.)
I have an iPad Pro A12X (pre-M1, annoyingly) for drawing with Procreate, and I still have my iPhone 13 Pro — mostly just for shooting videos for work, since phone gimbals integrate better with iOS than they do with Android (or maybe just Samsung). I also have a work-supplied MacBook Pro 14" M1 Max.
Lastly, I also have a pair of AirPods Pro that I bought for my iPhone but now mostly only use with my Macbook, and a pair of Beats Fit Pro that I absolutely love using with my S23 Ultra. I was tempted by the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, but I really prefer buds with winglets for a more secure fit.
S10. It’s older, bought refurbished, but probably technically the “best” phone I ever had and it’s all I really need tbh.
- S23 Ultra
- Best is everything, worst is size.
- Xiaomi and Samsung. I can’t compare since they were at completely different price brackets.
- Usually every 3 years.
- Watch, buds.
- Windows but i miss linux
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.
LG v60.
I’m still headphones gang, may be the last phone of its time tho
LG G8 here, quad DAC with the high impedance trick is king, no other phone can get even close to these things 🤯. We only have Sony and Asus now and they aren’t as great as LG’s jack.
I don’t even care about the DAC that much, mostly only listen to podcasts.
I just need that jack!
Pocophone f1 and I have a xiaomi note 8 as a backup ; because I tend to drop my phone due to carelessness (¯ ¯٥) i have had my screens change twice this year.