Top - Mid Rang Mobile Phones?

Mobile Tech
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I'm looking to buy a new mobile phone, and although I'm into my tech, I do not keep up to date with mobile phones, long story short, I had a Galaxy Note 4 since it was new, and now apparently it's beyond repair. I didn't actually damage it, I think that the internals have experienced heat damage or something, I took it to be repaired, all that was wrong is that it was showing symptoms like the battery was dying. It would just randomly shut down, even with 80%+ battery life. Well anyway, they took it to Samsung because they couldn't repair it themselves, and apparently Samsung turned around and said that they refused to try and fix it.

So, now I'm just using a crappy second hand phone, and when I say crappy, I mean it crashes when I just try to reply to a single text, let alone run any social media app(s), or pretty much any app that doesn't come with the device out of the box. It's great because I've had it given to me for free, it's one of my relatives old phones, but time has taken it's toll on the poor thing, and apps just keep getting more demanding, it just can't keep up, it was even a low budget phone when it was brand new.

I'll cut to the chase, can anyone recommend a phone that meets the following criteria:

  • It isn't made by Apple (nothing wrong with iPhones, just cba for their software)
  • Has a damn fine camera - [Biggest deal breaker for me.]
  • Isn't sluggish when loading/running apps, but also doesn't have to be instant.
  • Size I couldn't give less of a f$!k about, as long as it isn't stupidly small OR stupidly big.
  • Isn't too cheap but isn't the most expensive thing you can find either.

I personally feel that after my experience with the Note 4, I will NOT bother buying a flagship phone, I'm not sure if anyone else agrees with me on this one, I just think they're WAY over rated. Don't get me wrong, when the Note 4 as working, ti was great, but even then, it just didn't seem like it was the best of the best, I didn't feel satisfied considering how much it cost to buy.

I originally went for something top of the line just because I LOVE my gadgets and hardware, but now I just feel like they're over rated on a new level.

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Another thing you should consider is how good the manufacturer is at rolling out updates. Some phones I have had in the past aren’t supported past launch and so have old versions of android with security problems. Personally, I have found Lenovo/Motorola are good at keeping phones updated. Their Moto G series is a good mid-range device while the higher models aren’t too much more but have some leading features.

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I've personally never owned a Motorola or Lenovo mobile phone before. And funny enough, I was looking at a Moto G something last night before I went to bed, may just say screw it and consider one of those. I may also consider a Samsung S7, but then again, my personal experience with Samsung, it's been 50/50, their products are either bloody amazing, or they're god awful in my personal opinion. I think with the S7, I'd probably run into the same/similar issues with the Note 4?

I may also give Huawei a try, I've heard a lot of good things about them, especially for the price. Unlike Samsung and other huge companies, I've heard that they're quite under rated?

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From what I've seen so far, it's currently looking like:

Motorola Moto Z vs Samsung Galaxy s7 vs Huawei Mate S

But Samsung seem to be a little behind because it's a bit more expensive than the other two, whereas the other two are closer to being the same price.

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Recently saw a good offer on a Moto z for £299 from John Lewis, ended up getting my Moto g from there as it came with a 2 year warranty.

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Fuck it. I'm gonna go buy one today. Moto Z it is, just checked the price online to make sure that it's still the same price, turns out it is. I owe you for that one. :joy:

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Check out Sony phones. They are generally very good with updates.

Sony Z5, Xperia X, Sony Z3+/Z4 are my recommendations.

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I bought a Moto G5 Plus last month, $299 at Amazon. Very happy this phone so far, had a Nexus 6P previously.

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Nexus 5X are pretty mid pricewise these days.

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FTFY

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Consider something like a Galaxy S6. They're available at a reasonable price (about mid-range if you buy a brand new one) and you will get updates for years to come if you put Lineage OS on them instead of the stock Android.

Actually "Is there a Lineage ROM for it?" is the first question I'd ask when looking for a new phone.

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Did you already buy a new phone @Argon

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I bought a Huawei P10 Lite in the end... Bit of an impulsive buy if I'm honest, I don't regret it however, it wasn't more than what I was looking to spend, it looks great, feels great, ticks all the right boxes, could've probably had a better deal tbh, but I ain't complaining! :wink:

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Huawei makes good phones, I hope you enjoy!

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Isn't Huawei the company that put backdoors in it's telecom equipment some years ago? I think they were banned from selling specific enterprise products in the US. At least for a while. Anywho, I can only image what they do to their consumer equipment including phones.

I can't bring myself to trust nearly any electronic device that is Chinese made and designed by a Chinese firm. Didn't help any when the guy in a Huawei store looked exactly like Mao Zedong lol.

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They do, especially for a decent/reasonable price, I love this phone, after a few days of using it, I can say that it's a pretty solid phone. I can also say that the UI is f$!king gorgeous, it's somewhat similar to an iphone in some ways.

I don't' remember what OS is on there, but I personally love it. And this phone has the best front facing camera I've ever seen, so tis awesome for taking those dank selfies.

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Android 7.0 (Nougat)

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We have to stop meeting like this @argon.

My priorities are a little different. I love my phone but hate Sprint and want to switch soon. My current phone is the HTC One M8 harmon/kardon Edition. The audio is amazing, so I have been searching for phones with good sound.

I have learned that most HTC phones have better than average audio now. The one I like best is the ZTE Axon 7, because it seems to be a flagship phone at a mid-tier price.

I also looked up cheap phones for my friend recently. The ones I liked best for him were:

ZTE MAX $130 or Blade $230.

HTC One A9 $220.

Nextbit Robin $155. Because it looks sexy. Designers have fucked up priorities.
It's a good innovative phone too, according to what I read.

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That one looks... Intersting.... :joy:

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Doesn't have the best construction.

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