I fell out of luck with my 3 year old Moto X Play, it stopped working completely this morning, but i guess it was already time for me to move out of it anyway.
In fact i had saved some money up to pick a BlackBerry Priv this Christmas, my friend has one and i absolutely loved the device, but after reading that BB droped support for it, i’m not sure i should pick one up.
I live in Brazil (explaining the “R$” beforehand) and my phone is an essential part of my work, so i’ll have to pick something available locally, today or tomorrow.
These are the devices in my price range and their respective prices:
1- ZTE Axon 7 (4gb RAM, 64gb ROM version) - R$1600
2- Samsung Galaxy S7 (non-Edge version) - R$1600
3- Asus Zenfone 3 Zoom- R$1540
4- Motorola Moto Z2 Play - R$1470
5- BlackBerry Priv - R$1350
6- Xiaomi Mi Max 2 - R$1300
7- Motorola Moto X4 - R$1220
8- Xiaomi Mi A1 - R$1050
Of all of these devices, the only one i had opportunity to experience was the BB Priv, at the time it felt just perfect , but nowadays i’m not so shure i should pick one up.
So, which one should i bring home?
When I was buying a phone earlier this year I was looking at the priv. I decided against it because of age and ended up getting an axon 7. Unfortunately I got one from a bad batch because the screen stopped responding after 1 day. Great phone I just got unlucky. Ended up with an s8 because it was a great deal for the price ( under 600usd). Your list is how I would rate them for the most part, if you get an axon that’s not from a bad batch that is.
The Axon on my list is kind of a gamble, it has a seller 3 weeks warranty and that’s it, didn’t knew it had a bad batch, i guess i’ll keep my eyes open…
I’m currently looking at the Nokia 6, the Nokia 8 is beyond my budget.
I have been doing lots of research on different phones lately. I have been using Nexus phones for the last few years and I’m very impressed with the pure Android experience and frequent updates. Given that Google has canceled Nexus and replaced them with much more expensive Pixel devices I’m at a loss, I’m now looking for new phone.
Nokia are one of the only manufactures I can find that makes budget phones that do not put a skin on top of Android. They have also promised to provide updates in a timely fashion. My Wife’s phone died last week , spilt cup of tea… We picked up a Nokia 3. Now it’s not really powerful enough for my needs but I was very impressed. It’s running Android 7.1 something or other and has the latest security update. There was only one non stock Google app that being the Nokia support app.
The build quality of the new range of Nokia phones looks really impressive that along with the software support and stock Android is enough for me to make it my next phone. Assuming that these Nokia phones are available in your local market and within you budget I would recommend you at least look at these phones.
Unfortunately we are yet to receive the new Nokia models here in Brazil, after the lack of sucess with Windows Phone the brand seems to be a little bit shy to show up in the market again.
I went to the store just a few minutes ago, i had the opportunity to take a look at both the Z2 Play and X4 from Motorola.
Its good to see that Lenovo not just kept the overall build quality of the Z and X line, it actually improved it, both phones feel as dense as they could possibly be.
I really liked the Z2 Play, its a very slick device, i don’t have the best eyes on the block, so the 1080p Amoled display looks perfect to me.
I wouldn’t recommend any Asus phones. I had a buddy who got one about a year ago and has had nothing but problems with it. They should stick with PC hardware I guess.
How much time do you spend on your phone, and what do you need it to do?
I’d say i spend an average of around 4-5 hours on my phone on a daily basis, mostly using Chrome with multiple tabs, Whatsapp and e-mail apps (K-9 mail) at home and on the office, sometimes i take it on trips and use the GPS on offline mode.
The phone only has to be sturdy and run multiple apps on the background, which i think shouldn’t be a big problem for most of those in the list, a decent camera and DAC would also be nice features to have.
PS: I also play some games on it when i’m bored at work, like GTA:SA and such.
Yup, about that much, but it has to be on Brazil, importing a phone from somewhere else would mean a 3 month waiting period, the max i can spend without a phone would be about a week or so.
Do you have the One +5? They’ve done some shady stuff in the past, but as far as the phone goes it is very hard to beat for the price.
Do you have the Pixel phones? I don’t know if they’d have the deal there, but the non XL is $599 right now. Bit on the expensive side, but it’s supposed to be the be-all-end-all of phones.
I’ve never had an IPhone, and I don’t plan on getting one anytime soon. From what I’ve seen they don’t do what I want a phone to do.
