I have been running a droid ultra for about 3.5 years. I has been locking up and performing like crap lately. I finally droped it and now need a new phone. I am looking for suggestions for a new phone. My requirements/wish list are.
Requiments
Long battery life CDMA networks high repair ability actually has updates headphone jack
Wishlist
usb c large on board storage or sd card expansion. phantom glass screen protectors available otter box available the Chinese government wont spy on me. (one government is more than enough)
The Google Pixel ticks off everything on that list except for: -High Repair Ability (realistically, most new cell phones won't have that, sadly) -SD Card Expansion
Another recommendation is the Sony Xperia line. They tend to be very good with updates, and most/all have SD Card expansion, however, they will also not be easy to repair, some don't have Type-C, and may not have Otter Box's available (which I personally feel like are over-rated).
With the people recommending the pixel, yeah let's have a company spy on us, they wont/dont sell us out!
But a more serious answer i'd put in is the LG V20.
Having used a G3 for a while, owning a G4 (which unfortunately had the boot loop but was still under warranty), LG's i've found have been decent, reliable and good looking phones (i really like the look of the plain front and buttons on the back).
It also has 4 DAC's for the audiophiles out there.
I second +greenwithao. I think LG is a great competitor in a market that is saturated with Apple and Samsung. Not sure what network you have or your budget, but I have to recommend the LG flagships since I have been using the V10 as my daily driver for about 14 months now with great satisfaction.
So far its ether the lg or the pixel. unfortunately Verizon is the only passable cellular provider here. (also under a family plan.) Right now i'm leaning toward the pixel because of the daydream vr and doesn't come loaded with the Verizon bs that bogged down my old phone.
The v20 has some nice features. Dose LG use stock android and if not how is their own version?
Realistically, everything that you do on the internet, heck, even with technology that connects to other devices (ex. texting to a friend), is monitored and recorded. Doesn't matter what device you use, it will happen. The best thing you could do is try to minimize it (blocking IP's, completely uninstall tracking apps, etc), but it's impossible to stop at this point.
They have their own skin. For a pure android experience, or with few modifications that only bring improvements without sacrificing the vanilla flavor, you have to go either Google, Motorola or Oneplus (maybe Blackberry). Otherwise, you have these hideous skins (I really don't like skins over android). And with Google you get 3 years of official updates, as with other brands, you often get from 6 month to 1 year, even none some times.
You can buy unopened note 4s still for under 300 unlocked. Also extremely easy to load stock android on with SD slot also you can put in a 10000mah battery since its removable.