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Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

Kenning posted:

I'm on Verizon, and I'm thinking of getting a Pixel 5. My current phone is a Galaxy s6 that's really giving up the ghost with terrible battery life and a basic inability to open more than a couple apps at a time. I like to have a high-quality camera, but otherwise mostly use my phone for browsing Facebook/Something Awful, listening to podcasts and audiobooks, and making calls on a Bluetooth headset. Are there any downsides to a Pixel 5 that I should know about before pulling the trigger?

Main downside to the Pixel 5 is it is near the cost of the S20 phones, but has a mid range processor. So like, you pay a bit for for a S20, and you get better hardware.

That said, if you want straight forward android , that’s def still the Pixel. My opinion is you can pretty much get rid of most bloatware on a Samsung phone in 30-60 mins, but of course that’s not for everyone.

FYI, a lot (but not all) Verizon accounts have retention upgrade offers, so I would call customer care and see. I can tell you for sure the S20+ is on sale for $400 off, which brings the $1200 (lol yeah I know) phone down to $800. For $100 more than the pixel 5, I would look up reviews of both and compare.

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BaldDwarfOnPCP
Jun 26, 2019

by Pragmatica

Duckman2008 posted:

Main downside to the Pixel 5 is it is near the cost of the S20 phones, but has a mid range processor. So like, you pay a bit for for a S20, and you get better hardware.

That said, if you want straight forward android , that’s def still the Pixel. My opinion is you can pretty much get rid of most bloatware on a Samsung phone in 30-60 mins, but of course that’s not for everyone.

FYI, a lot (but not all) Verizon accounts have retention upgrade offers, so I would call customer care and see. I can tell you for sure the S20+ is on sale for $400 off, which brings the $1200 (lol yeah I know) phone down to $800. For $100 more than the pixel 5, I would look up reviews of both and compare.

In reading the iphone thread it's pointed out that they have 3-4GB of RAM. Comparably a flagship android phone has maybe twice that? And yet for all the problems of the crapple environment it's still smooth. I would love to get a Pixel 5 that either had over 128GB of storage or a card slot but I feel like Goog is well, making the right decision for them but I want more storage for music and pictures without relying on cloud storage.

Still considering the Pixel 5 and maybe trimming out my entire music library some of which just does not need to be on there. Looking at you The Caretaker, you're no fun in the car.

butt dickus
Jul 7, 2007

top ten juiced up coaches
and the top ten juiced up players

Duckman2008 posted:

Main downside to the Pixel 5 is it is near the cost of the S20 phones, but has a mid range processor.
is this something to care about? in the past it might have meant fewer updates, but the 5 is guaranteed at least 3 years of monthly updates. i haven't noticed any kind of slowness in my usage

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

butt dickus posted:

is this something to care about? in the past it might have meant fewer updates, but the 5 is guaranteed at least 3 years of monthly updates. i haven't noticed any kind of slowness in my usage

It’s probably subjective at the end of the day, but it’s also worth mentioning it could be more noticeable 2-3 years down the road.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/11/pixel-5-review-google-spends-its-bill-of-materials-budget-unwisely/

It’s Ars, so they’re both super thorough on details, and also sometimes get way too obsessive on said details that even most “heavy phone users” won’t notice. Still worth a read before buying said phone.

They have a point that if you look at the Pixel 5, you may want to look at the 4a and save money.

Twerk from Home
Jan 17, 2009

This avatar brought to you by the 'save our dead gay forums' foundation.

BaldDwarfOnPCP posted:

In reading the iphone thread it's pointed out that they have 3-4GB of RAM. Comparably a flagship android phone has maybe twice that? And yet for all the problems of the crapple environment it's still smooth. I would love to get a Pixel 5 that either had over 128GB of storage or a card slot but I feel like Goog is well, making the right decision for them but I want more storage for music and pictures without relying on cloud storage.

Still considering the Pixel 5 and maybe trimming out my entire music library some of which just does not need to be on there. Looking at you The Caretaker, you're no fun in the car.

Memory usage isn't quite comparable between Android and iOS, the operating systems are so different. Apple is using automatic reference counting for memory management in their applications, an a less-common alternative to tracing garbage collection.

Historically ARC has either required more work from the developer or had a larger CPU usage overhead than tracing GC, but the trade off is ARC typically can work happily with lower overall memory usage. Apple has improved the CPU usage by specifically building their CPUs to make ARC fast. In fact, by committing every layer of their stack, from user applications to OS to kernel to CPU to instruction set itself to make ARC faster, they're now blowing away Intel performance for basic software operations like handling objects:

https://twitter.com/Catfish_Man/status/1326238434235568128?s=20

Long story short, if Google's CPU effort goes anywhere and we start seeing Google design hardware to work specifically for Android's runtime and optimize for its garbage collector, we might see Android CPU / memory usage improve.

tl; dr: iOS will use less memory to do the same work, and the only reason that they can do this without a performance deficit is that Apple designs their CPUs specifically to run iOS.

sourdough
Apr 30, 2012

Duckman2008 posted:

It’s probably subjective at the end of the day, but it’s also worth mentioning it could be more noticeable 2-3 years down the road.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/11/pixel-5-review-google-spends-its-bill-of-materials-budget-unwisely/

It’s Ars, so they’re both super thorough on details, and also sometimes get way too obsessive on said details that even most “heavy phone users” won’t notice. Still worth a read before buying said phone.

They have a point that if you look at the Pixel 5, you may want to look at the 4a and save money.

Ars has by far the harshest review on the Pixel 5 I saw, so also keep that in mind. Here's another review with some actual quantification of smoothness (keeping a stable 90 fps) and speed (opening common apps), where the Pixel 5 kills the OnePlus Nord (using the same chip) and matches/edges out the Galaxy S20 (using the flagship chip). Compared to the S20, the Pixel has the same ram, storage (but no SD card), and substantially better battery. But yeah if you're paying full price, the 4a for $350 is undoubtedly the better deal.

Dik Hz
Feb 22, 2004

Fun with Science

Is there a cheap T-mobile plan that has hotspot data? My partner is unwilling to change providers and we need a hotspot connection. It looks like my only option for LTE data is a $50/month add-on.

TheParadigm
Dec 10, 2009

Do you have an old family member on t-mobile? Their senior/"55" plan is amazing. I'm not sure if its still running, but it was am amazing promotion if you could get on it. More or less an unlimited plan everything with cheap extra lines.

I thought most of their plans had hotspots built in?

Impotence
Nov 8, 2010
Lipstick Apathy

TheParadigm posted:

I thought most of their plans had hotspots built in?

It's throttled to 2G/3G speeds and generally heavily depri

SweetMercifulCrap!
Jan 28, 2012
Lipstick Apathy
I'm looking to get a phone with the best possible camera, excellent night mode, and wide/telephoto lens. I have an iPhone 8 and I know the 12 Pro is an obvious answer, but I'm considering switching to Android and trying to figure out if I can get similar quality for cheaper. For years I have considered Google Pixel phones for their raved about cameras, but almost every time I've ever tried a display model, it is either overheating or frozen. I know they are display models, but it doesn't sit well with me. They also feel cheap.

Oh, also I don't want a "plus-sized" phone.

So I'm looking into Samsung but I don't know much about their models. I see the S20 FE is a new "value" option, but does it's camera compare to the S20/Note 20?

MorrisBae
Jan 18, 2020

by Athanatos

Dik Hz posted:

Is there a cheap T-mobile plan that has hotspot data? My partner is unwilling to change providers and we need a hotspot connection. It looks like my only option for LTE data is a $50/month add-on.

Ting's new plans are attractive, and (I think) are still on T-Mobile's towers if you request it:

https://ting.com/plans

Max Wilco
Jan 23, 2012

I'm just trying to go through life without looking stupid.

It's not working out too well...
So I've been thinking about upgrading to a new phone. The phone I have now (Galaxy J7 Prime) has had a mix of annoying minor issues, mostly having to do with the battery.

When I restart it, the phone will lose a chunk of its charge (around 8% to 10%). At one point (although this happened a long time ago, and it hasn't happened recently) the phone would suddenly restart, and the same thing would happen; I would lose a chunk of battery life. Additionally, sometimes when I put the phone on the charger, it won't charge to 100%; it will stop at 93% or 86% or something.

The first solution I found was to re-calibrate the battery (by taking the battery out and holding down the power button for 30 seconds or so). This worked, and it charged to 100%, but not long after, it happened again. The second (and current) solution I have is to use a battery life app (Kaspersky Battery Life) to stop any apps that are running. This seems to do the trick, as it helps to charge battery to 100% (although I don't actually think it's holding that much of a charge). However, some apps restart, so I have to do it multiple times for it to stay off. Chrome was especially bad where no matter how many times I killed it in the battery app, it would restart, so I just disabled it outright.

Another issue was that I stopped getting notifications for Gmail, and I can't figure out why. I don't get a lot of email on that account, save for notifications on Steam about sales and whatnot, but it suddenly stopped doing it. I think I fixed it at one point (I think it had something to do with it being marked as an unimportant app or something), but it happened again.

-

Griping aside, what I'm looking for is:

Country/Provider: USA through T-Mobile

Contract Status: It's part of a family plan; don't know the exact amount, but I don't think it would make a difference in buying a new phone

Budget: $500 maybe? I'm not really sure. I'd like something that's not going to start crapping out in a year's time, and maybe has some processing power for apps and the like, but some of the phones are like $1,000, which seems absurd. Rather than paying a monthy plan, I thought about just paying it in full on my credit card, and then paying half now, and the other half the next month.

Features: A good quality camera (preferably an upgrade over what I have now) and the Android OS. Reason for Android is because I've got some stuff tied into Google (Gmail, Youtube, etc.) and it's nice being to sync that. I don't really many games on my phone (in part because of the battery issues, though there are other reasons), but I've seen some stuff on the Google Play store I've thought about , like the Dragon Quest ports, along with some other various games. I've also seen emulators for PS1, DOSBox, and SNES, so if anything, I'd like something where I could experiment with that stuff without the phone dying or draining its battery in ten minutes.

One thing that I do like about the Galaxy is that in being a Samsung phone, it can cast to our TV (also Samsung), which makes it easy for me to pull up a playlist of YouTube videos. However, I don't know if I want to get another Samsung phone, and I think there's an Samsung app you can buy that does the same thing.

Something I was considering (though it doesn't seem to be out yet) is the Google Pixel 4a. I have a relative who got a Samsung S10e, though she said it has issues with sensitivity and battery life (she said, though, that she uses it a lot during the day, and has the brightness turned up so she can see the screen). Another relative bought an iPhone (don't know which one). He's insisted I buy one, and while I think the camera on it is amazing, it doesn't have Android, so I wouldn't have access to my stuff on Google.

Uthor
Jul 9, 2006

Gummy Bear Heaven ... It's where I go when the world is too mean.
I'm an Android guy, but iOS has all the Google apps you can want. The SE is a good value and should have software updates for a long time, at least.

The Pixel 4a is a fine phone and I'll probably get one myself soon.

Moto makes some good cheaper phones, but the camera won't be as good.

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

Max Wilco posted:

So I've been thinking about upgrading to a new phone. The phone I have now (Galaxy J7 Prime) has had a mix of annoying minor issues, mostly having to do with the battery.

When I restart it, the phone will lose a chunk of its charge (around 8% to 10%). At one point (although this happened a long time ago, and it hasn't happened recently) the phone would suddenly restart, and the same thing would happen; I would lose a chunk of battery life. Additionally, sometimes when I put the phone on the charger, it won't charge to 100%; it will stop at 93% or 86% or something.

The first solution I found was to re-calibrate the battery (by taking the battery out and holding down the power button for 30 seconds or so). This worked, and it charged to 100%, but not long after, it happened again. The second (and current) solution I have is to use a battery life app (Kaspersky Battery Life) to stop any apps that are running. This seems to do the trick, as it helps to charge battery to 100% (although I don't actually think it's holding that much of a charge). However, some apps restart, so I have to do it multiple times for it to stay off. Chrome was especially bad where no matter how many times I killed it in the battery app, it would restart, so I just disabled it outright.

Another issue was that I stopped getting notifications for Gmail, and I can't figure out why. I don't get a lot of email on that account, save for notifications on Steam about sales and whatnot, but it suddenly stopped doing it. I think I fixed it at one point (I think it had something to do with it being marked as an unimportant app or something), but it happened again.

-

Griping aside, what I'm looking for is:

Country/Provider: USA through T-Mobile

Contract Status: It's part of a family plan; don't know the exact amount, but I don't think it would make a difference in buying a new phone

Budget: $500 maybe? I'm not really sure. I'd like something that's not going to start crapping out in a year's time, and maybe has some processing power for apps and the like, but some of the phones are like $1,000, which seems absurd. Rather than paying a monthy plan, I thought about just paying it in full on my credit card, and then paying half now, and the other half the next month.

Features: A good quality camera (preferably an upgrade over what I have now) and the Android OS. Reason for Android is because I've got some stuff tied into Google (Gmail, Youtube, etc.) and it's nice being to sync that. I don't really many games on my phone (in part because of the battery issues, though there are other reasons), but I've seen some stuff on the Google Play store I've thought about , like the Dragon Quest ports, along with some other various games. I've also seen emulators for PS1, DOSBox, and SNES, so if anything, I'd like something where I could experiment with that stuff without the phone dying or draining its battery in ten minutes.

One thing that I do like about the Galaxy is that in being a Samsung phone, it can cast to our TV (also Samsung), which makes it easy for me to pull up a playlist of YouTube videos. However, I don't know if I want to get another Samsung phone, and I think there's an Samsung app you can buy that does the same thing.

Something I was considering (though it doesn't seem to be out yet) is the Google Pixel 4a. I have a relative who got a Samsung S10e, though she said it has issues with sensitivity and battery life (she said, though, that she uses it a lot during the day, and has the brightness turned up so she can see the screen). Another relative bought an iPhone (don't know which one). He's insisted I buy one, and while I think the camera on it is amazing, it doesn't have Android, so I wouldn't have access to my stuff on Google.

Yeah, you should buy either the Pixel 4a or iPhone SE. either is fine. All my poo poo is in google and , with some one time quick setup steps, it all syncs fine on my iPhone. That said, just pick whether you want android or iPhone and go from there.

Classy Devil
Nov 1, 2015
Country/Carrier: :911: / Verizon Wireless
Contract: Monthly
Budget: Technically no limits here, but I'm a cheap bastard and don't really want to pay $1000+ for a phone
Features: 3.5 mm port, minimal/removable bloat, decent build quality, preferably new-ish so it will get supported for a good while
Functions I Actually Use: Phone calls, texts, GPS, music/podcasts, camera, web browser if absolutely needed

So my old Galaxy S7 is slowing down at this point and it's becoming increasingly obvious that it's on borrowed time. If I understand correctly it's no longer getting updates of any kind, which seems like a huge infosec problem waiting to happen. Until this started happening I had absolutely no complaints about it other than the obligatory ones about Samsung bloatware, so if this hadn't happened I probably wouldn't even be looking for a new one. I do absolutely no gaming or other compute-heavy tasks of any kind on it, since I usually just do that on my regular PC when I'm at home.

My cursory looking around suggests the Pixel 4a, since the Pixel 5 dumped the 3.5mm port and I use that regularly both for my headphones and to hook the phone up to my car's sound system. Anything else I should consider?

sourdough
Apr 30, 2012

Classy Devil posted:

Country/Carrier: :911: / Verizon Wireless
Contract: Monthly
Budget: Technically no limits here, but I'm a cheap bastard and don't really want to pay $1000+ for a phone
Features: 3.5 mm port, minimal/removable bloat, decent build quality, preferably new-ish so it will get supported for a good while
Functions I Actually Use: Phone calls, texts, GPS, music/podcasts, camera, web browser if absolutely needed

So my old Galaxy S7 is slowing down at this point and it's becoming increasingly obvious that it's on borrowed time. If I understand correctly it's no longer getting updates of any kind, which seems like a huge infosec problem waiting to happen. Until this started happening I had absolutely no complaints about it other than the obligatory ones about Samsung bloatware, so if this hadn't happened I probably wouldn't even be looking for a new one. I do absolutely no gaming or other compute-heavy tasks of any kind on it, since I usually just do that on my regular PC when I'm at home.

My cursory looking around suggests the Pixel 4a, since the Pixel 5 dumped the 3.5mm port and I use that regularly both for my headphones and to hook the phone up to my car's sound system. Anything else I should consider?

The 4a sounds like exactly what you want. If you want a slightly bigger phone and don't care about keeping Verizon, the Pixel 4a 5G has all the benefits of the 4a and a few other perks (ultrawide lens, slightly faster processor, slightly better battery), but the Verizon compatible version is $600 rather than $500, which makes it not worth it vs the 4a st $350 or the 5 at $700.

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

Classy Devil posted:

Country/Carrier: :911: / Verizon Wireless
Contract: Monthly
Budget: Technically no limits here, but I'm a cheap bastard and don't really want to pay $1000+ for a phone
Features: 3.5 mm port, minimal/removable bloat, decent build quality, preferably new-ish so it will get supported for a good while
Functions I Actually Use: Phone calls, texts, GPS, music/podcasts, camera, web browser if absolutely needed

So my old Galaxy S7 is slowing down at this point and it's becoming increasingly obvious that it's on borrowed time. If I understand correctly it's no longer getting updates of any kind, which seems like a huge infosec problem waiting to happen. Until this started happening I had absolutely no complaints about it other than the obligatory ones about Samsung bloatware, so if this hadn't happened I probably wouldn't even be looking for a new one. I do absolutely no gaming or other compute-heavy tasks of any kind on it, since I usually just do that on my regular PC when I'm at home.

My cursory looking around suggests the Pixel 4a, since the Pixel 5 dumped the 3.5mm port and I use that regularly both for my headphones and to hook the phone up to my car's sound system. Anything else I should consider?

Call Verizon and check your options, the Pixel 5G is on sale for upgrades if you have unlimited data. Compare prices with that and the 4a.

If you need help feel free to PM (I work for big red) or post in the VZ thread.

dex_sda
Oct 11, 2012


my nokia 7.2 has started having problems with the hardware button. that said i loving loved the phone as a whole. it's not really findable anymore. is 5.3 a good replacement or what's the mid-budget phone to look for right now?

Classy Devil
Nov 1, 2015
Appreciate the answers! I'm not on an unlimited plan, so the 4a 5G was the full 600. I ended up going with the regular 4a instead.

simmyb
Sep 29, 2005

dex_sda posted:

my nokia 7.2 has started having problems with the hardware button. that said i loving loved the phone as a whole. it's not really findable anymore. is 5.3 a good replacement or what's the mid-budget phone to look for right now?

I'm in a similar situation. Just smashed my 6.1 which I really liked and not sure what to get.

The 6.3 was supposed to come out in September but has been delayed over and over, with no current release date.

The 5.4 is getting released Jan 11 here in Aus, so might just wait for that.

CopperHound
Feb 14, 2012

simmyb posted:

Just smashed my 6.1 which I really liked and not sure what to get.
I liked the feel of my 6.1, but it was becoming a mess. Phone calls were super quiet even over bluetooth, but speaker and wired headset was fine. MMS would take forever to send or outright fail. And the fingerprint reader was just unreliable enough for me to regret using a strong password to unlock 1password.

I just picked up a pixel 4a to replace it. It's fine, it just doesn't have the same physical feel though.

Ksrugi
Mar 21, 2010
Country/Carrier: USA/ Verizon Wireless, but have the option to switch to Google Fi
Contract: Monthly
Budget: $1,200
Features: Good video capabilities, good battery life, prefer Android
Functions I Actually Use: Text, web browsing, shooting video

I'd like a smartphone that has the capability to shoot good quality videos. I'm an actor and I've been booking work with my OnePlus 6T (I even shot a big brand commercial with it), but would like something that's of better quality. I currently use my phone and a Canon Rebel EOS T6 camera when have an audition request.

Honj Steak
May 31, 2013

Hi there.
The best phone camera for professionally usable video is the iPhone 12, hands down. The video stabilisation is ridiculously good, the dynamic range is massive and with Filmic Pro you can record 10-bit log, which is something many professional cameras didn’t have only a few years ago.

ExcessBLarg!
Sep 1, 2001
I could use advice moving to a new two-line phone plan from my old-rear end Sprint SERO Premium 500. I used to post in this forum a fair bit, but life and interest changes have kept me away from phone shenanigans in a while so I really don't know what I should be looking for. I know I already missed out on the SERO to SWAC deal by ignoring the Sprint thread for a year and a half, but honestly I'm not sure that deal is really that valuable for us anyways.

Country/Provider: US/Sprint. Now T-Mobile? The merger is part of why I'm trying to figure this out before they shutdown the Sprint towers or something.

Current contract status: I've had two lines on SERO Premium 500 for a decade. Out of contract, have purchased phones out of pocket since 2017.

Budget (phone/plan): Right now our plan is $50/mo per-line for unlimited everything (data, text, roaming, etc.) but landline minutes and no hotspot. We pay $110/mo out the door. Given that we've been purchasing our own phones at cost for a while now I assume what we're paying here isn't competitive with standard consumer plans these days. So $100/mo for two lines is what I'm willing to pay, but if it can be done cheaper that's great.

Features I know I want: We've been happy with our Sprint service to date and I used to be a T-Mobile prepaid customer at one time too. I have no particular desire to switch to Verizon, AT&T, or a regional carrier so moving to a proper T-Mobile plan is fine if it makes sense for us to do so. I'd like unlimited voice/text/data if it's cost effective. Unlimited roaming, hotspot, and international data are also things I'd be looking for but wouldn't really use that often. I'm not sure how "unlimited data" really works these days, but in practice we rarely use more than 10 GB/mo between our two lines if that helps understand what "unlimited" would mean for us.

Edit: Actually it looks like I might still be able to convert my lines to SWAC, but I'd lose data prioritization which is something I might not even care about?

ExcessBLarg! fucked around with this message at 04:37 on Jan 4, 2021

ClassActionFursuit
Mar 15, 2006

ExcessBLarg! posted:

I could use advice moving to a new two-line phone plan from my old-rear end Sprint SERO Premium 500. I used to post in this forum a fair bit, but life and interest changes have kept me away from phone shenanigans in a while so I really don't know what I should be looking for. I know I already missed out on the SERO to SWAC deal by ignoring the Sprint thread for a year and a half, but honestly I'm not sure that deal is really that valuable for us anyways.

Country/Provider: US/Sprint. Now T-Mobile? The merger is part of why I'm trying to figure this out before they shutdown the Sprint towers or something.

Current contract status: I've had two lines on SERO Premium 500 for a decade. Out of contract, have purchased phones out of pocket since 2017.

Budget (phone/plan): Right now our plan is $50/mo per-line for unlimited everything (data, text, roaming, etc.) but landline minutes and no hotspot. We pay $110/mo out the door. Given that we've been purchasing our own phones at cost for a while now I assume what we're paying here isn't competitive with standard consumer plans these days. So $100/mo for two lines is what I'm willing to pay, but if it can be done cheaper that's great.

Features I know I want: We've been happy with our Sprint service to date and I used to be a T-Mobile prepaid customer at one time too. I have no particular desire to switch to Verizon, AT&T, or a regional carrier so moving to a proper T-Mobile plan is fine if it makes sense for us to do so. I'd like unlimited voice/text/data if it's cost effective. Unlimited roaming, hotspot, and international data are also things I'd be looking for but wouldn't really use that often. I'm not sure how "unlimited data" really works these days, but in practice we rarely use more than 10 GB/mo between our two lines if that helps understand what "unlimited" would mean for us.

Edit: Actually it looks like I might still be able to convert my lines to SWAC, but I'd lose data prioritization which is something I might not even care about?

I'll admit I've never understood the weird SERO people, it seems like modern unlimited plans more than eclipse whatever they offered for about the same price (if you can get more people on the plan though obviously it's better). If you're not interested in AT&T and Verizon, have you thought about just calling up T-Mobile and asking what they'll do for a two line plan? I'm not on a current T-Mo plan but for reference I have four lines with unlimited everything (no video downsampling but I don't think you can escape that now) for $158 after taxes and fees and all of that.

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

ExcessBLarg! posted:

I could use advice moving to a new two-line phone plan from my old-rear end Sprint SERO Premium 500. I used to post in this forum a fair bit, but life and interest changes have kept me away from phone shenanigans in a while so I really don't know what I should be looking for. I know I already missed out on the SERO to SWAC deal by ignoring the Sprint thread for a year and a half, but honestly I'm not sure that deal is really that valuable for us anyways.

Country/Provider: US/Sprint. Now T-Mobile? The merger is part of why I'm trying to figure this out before they shutdown the Sprint towers or something.

Current contract status: I've had two lines on SERO Premium 500 for a decade. Out of contract, have purchased phones out of pocket since 2017.

Budget (phone/plan): Right now our plan is $50/mo per-line for unlimited everything (data, text, roaming, etc.) but landline minutes and no hotspot. We pay $110/mo out the door. Given that we've been purchasing our own phones at cost for a while now I assume what we're paying here isn't competitive with standard consumer plans these days. So $100/mo for two lines is what I'm willing to pay, but if it can be done cheaper that's great.

Features I know I want: We've been happy with our Sprint service to date and I used to be a T-Mobile prepaid customer at one time too. I have no particular desire to switch to Verizon, AT&T, or a regional carrier so moving to a proper T-Mobile plan is fine if it makes sense for us to do so. I'd like unlimited voice/text/data if it's cost effective. Unlimited roaming, hotspot, and international data are also things I'd be looking for but wouldn't really use that often. I'm not sure how "unlimited data" really works these days, but in practice we rarely use more than 10 GB/mo between our two lines if that helps understand what "unlimited" would mean for us.

Edit: Actually it looks like I might still be able to convert my lines to SWAC, but I'd lose data prioritization which is something I might not even care about?

I would post in the T-Mobile thread, I think there’s a goon there that works for them.

ExcessBLarg!
Sep 1, 2001
Welp, can confirm that SERO to SWAC still works, so I went and did that. Looks like I'm back to paying $68ish/mo for two lines out the door, which is much more competitive than T-Mo's consumer plans.

Thanks for the sanity check.

Phraggah
Nov 11, 2011

A rocket fuel made of Doritos? Yeah, I could kind of see it.
Country/Provider: USA / ATT

Current contract status: Want to stick with current plan. Need new phone hardware. Out of pocket ok. Looking for unlocked?

Budget (phone/plan): $500? Preferably lower, but could be convinced going up for a perfect match.

Features I know I want: First, longevity - don't want to buy a new one for a while. Second, most emphasis on security and privacy options. Maybe I'll be crazy and install more secure OS or platforms (Lineage, Rattlesnake, MicroG?) I'm open if anyone has suggestions for doing stuff like this. Third, battery life. No camera preferences. Common tasks include web browsing, text, email, basic apps and of course Awful. No need for huge amounts of processing or graphics. Edit: And a decent ability to block ads

Thanks in advance!

Phraggah fucked around with this message at 01:42 on Jan 7, 2021

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

Phraggah posted:

Country/Provider: USA / ATT

Current contract status: Want to stick with current plan. Need new phone hardware. Out of pocket ok. Looking for unlocked?

Budget (phone/plan): $500? Preferably lower, but could be convinced going up for a perfect match.

Features I know I want: First, longevity - don't want to buy a new one for a while. Second, most emphasis on security and privacy options. Maybe I'll be crazy and install more secure OS or platforms (Lineage, Rattlesnake, MicroG?) I'm open if anyone has suggestions for doing stuff like this. Third, battery life. No camera preferences. Common tasks include web browsing, text, email, basic apps and of course Awful. No need for huge amounts of processing or graphics.

Thanks in advance!

If you want the most secure OS, that is by far iOS. Same with longevity. I would recommend an iPhone SE or iPhone 12.

Phraggah
Nov 11, 2011

A rocket fuel made of Doritos? Yeah, I could kind of see it.

Duckman2008 posted:

If you want the most secure OS, that is by far iOS. Same with longevity. I would recommend an iPhone SE or iPhone 12.


iphone gives me pause because its difficult to block ads, and the charging cable costs. Know anything about those things?

ClassActionFursuit
Mar 15, 2006

Phraggah posted:

iphone gives me pause because its difficult to block ads, and the charging cable costs. Know anything about those things?

Both are trivial if you care about longevity or privacy. Security is debatable, since iOS is more targeted specifically because an exploit is going to work against all iPhones whereas Android vulnerabilities usually only affect a subset of Android devices, but then iOS is patched more effectively so it evens out.

In any case if you care at all about privacy and longevity then iOS is so far ahead that it's not even worth talking about alternatives. You'll get five years out of an iPhone and you'll get first class privacy protections that simply aren't available outside of moving to a unabomber cabin in the woods.

spouse
Nov 10, 2008

When our turn comes, we shall not make excuses for the terror.


Country/Provider: Southeast USA, currently on Cricket but happy to swap to any other competitive MVNO.

Current contract status: None, I plan to buy an unlocked phone and BYOD to whatever carrier I use.

Budget (phone/plan): $200-300~, could go higher if it's really worth it. I pay $35 a month now for 10gb/mo, usually use 6~ of it in a normal month.

Features I know I want:
Good price to performance (absolute must). I don't play games, but I multitask on phone a lot.
Headphone jack would be nice, but not necessary.
Water Resistance a big plus.
Android, not interested in moving to iOS at this time.

I've always been a fan of budget cost to performance phones, and I plan to stay there. I had an Essential Phone I got for cheap for a while, and while the specs and software were great for me, the wifi antenna and LTE connection were dogshit in head to head comparison with other even cheaper phones, and the screen glue fell apart after 18 months. I bought a Moto G8 Plus, and despite glowing budget phone reviews, it's hot garbage. Apps lock up, using android auto is like using an old Android G2, Swipe up is detected poorly when using any case, and trying to play spotify while doing anything other than super-light apps is near impossible. I've factory reset the phone, I've tried limiting my apps, but I have to have Airwatch Intelligent Hub on my phone for work, along with Outlook and Teams. I'm sure this doesn't help with processing and ram headroom, but it wasn't an issue on past phones.

So, TL;DR: I need something (hopefully much) faster, but still affordable.

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer
Does the Pixel 4a fit in your budget ?

Fellis
Feb 14, 2012

Kid, don't threaten me. There are worse things than death, and uh, I can do all of them.
Country/Provider: USA/ATT
Current contract status: Happy with current plan

Budget (phone/plan): ~$500-600? I'm a little flexible beyond that

Features I know I want: A larger form factor and iOS. I mostly use my phone for web browsing, discord, reading comics and whatever apps. No fancy gaming or anything specialized beyond that. I want to stay with iOS because I appreciate they are pretty idiot-proof and the phones keep fairly well (at least mine has).

I currently have a 6S+ that I've been keeping going with battery replacements and external batteries, etc. I'm perfectly happy with it aside from my main camera not working and I guess iOS is going to drop support for the 6S+ soon? I haven't felt the need to upgrade in the past 6 years. Unfortunately Apple has locked their larger form factor behind the pro models recently. I have been looking at the XR or 11 as a replacement because it has similar screen real estate while being slightly smaller. I guess I'm just looking for a second opinion from goons past whatever I've found online. I'm not sure what phones had major/minor problems or are good value, I really don't pay attention to this stuff.

While I was reading through threads, I've seen Swappa mentioned and I saw the XS Max on there for ~$550 for good+ condition ATT phones. I haven't bought a phone in 6 years and I have no idea what reliability or trust in the secondary markets there are, or what pitfalls to look out for there. Buying a new phone does give the advantage of spreading it over a few years, but I also have the money to buy one outright.

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

Fellis posted:

Country/Provider: USA/ATT
Current contract status: Happy with current plan

Budget (phone/plan): ~$500-600? I'm a little flexible beyond that

Features I know I want: A larger form factor and iOS. I mostly use my phone for web browsing, discord, reading comics and whatever apps. No fancy gaming or anything specialized beyond that. I want to stay with iOS because I appreciate they are pretty idiot-proof and the phones keep fairly well (at least mine has).

I currently have a 6S+ that I've been keeping going with battery replacements and external batteries, etc. I'm perfectly happy with it aside from my main camera not working and I guess iOS is going to drop support for the 6S+ soon? I haven't felt the need to upgrade in the past 6 years. Unfortunately Apple has locked their larger form factor behind the pro models recently. I have been looking at the XR or 11 as a replacement because it has similar screen real estate while being slightly smaller. I guess I'm just looking for a second opinion from goons past whatever I've found online. I'm not sure what phones had major/minor problems or are good value, I really don't pay attention to this stuff.

While I was reading through threads, I've seen Swappa mentioned and I saw the XS Max on there for ~$550 for good+ condition ATT phones. I haven't bought a phone in 6 years and I have no idea what reliability or trust in the secondary markets there are, or what pitfalls to look out for there. Buying a new phone does give the advantage of spreading it over a few years, but I also have the money to buy one outright.

Yeah, iPhone 11 or 12 should be a good improvement over what you have now.

Your phone is a 5.5” screen, basically every phone will be an upgrade. The Pros are 5.8”, 11/12 are 6.1, and Max is 6.5” (or 6.7” for the 12 max). So yeah, that’s more a question of preference of size of phone. The 11 has a LCD screen, so I would for sure recommend a Pro or a 12 over the 11, I think it’s worth it.

Swappa is good and reliable. It’s either buy used, or check with your carrier to see if they have a good trade in. I would check, trade ins have been off and on worth looking at.


Somewhat shameless plug: I have an iPhone 11 Pro for sale, feel free to check SA Mart or PM me if interested.

spouse
Nov 10, 2008

When our turn comes, we shall not make excuses for the terror.


Duckman2008 posted:

Does the Pixel 4a fit in your budget ?

The only thing that concerns me is the battery capacity, but I'll read a few reviews. Everything else seems solid for the price.

Fellis
Feb 14, 2012

Kid, don't threaten me. There are worse things than death, and uh, I can do all of them.

Duckman2008 posted:

Swappa is good and reliable. It’s either buy used, or check with your carrier to see if they have a good trade in. I would check, trade ins have been off and on worth looking at.


Somewhat shameless plug: I have an iPhone 11 Pro for sale, feel free to check SA Mart or PM me if interested.

What does checking trade-in entail? I call up the local ATT store and ask, or is there a website?

That's a bit out of my price range, but thanks for the offer! I think I wasn't clear that it's not just the size of the screen but the actual size of the phone. I really like my 6S+ because I have huge hands and the phone fits really nicely. I have no problem reaching my thumb clear across to tap something on the top for instance. I'm willing to go for a smaller phone (I know they are only like 5-10% smaller), but I'd prefer the large one.

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

Fellis posted:

What does checking trade-in entail? I call up the local ATT store and ask, or is there a website?

That's a bit out of my price range, but thanks for the offer! I think I wasn't clear that it's not just the size of the screen but the actual size of the phone. I really like my 6S+ because I have huge hands and the phone fits really nicely. I have no problem reaching my thumb clear across to tap something on the top for instance. I'm willing to go for a smaller phone (I know they are only like 5-10% smaller), but I'd prefer the large one.

Yeah, check the trade in promos is just call ATT. Or check switched credits if you are open to switch carriers.

kazr
Jan 28, 2005

Anyone have strong opinions on the sub $100 burner prepaid phones? I bought an LG Phoenix 4 a year ago and love having a piece of poo poo I don't need to care about. The screen cracked and it's getting to the point where I'm going to need another soon. My biggest complaint with the Phoenix 4 is low storage and no expansion options. Looks like the Phoenix 5 has an SD card expansion.

Country/Provider: US / AT&T

Current contract status: monthly

Budget (phone/plan): $100, hopefully less than $60

Features I know I want: basic poo poo any smart phone available will have

Any of these cheap phones better than the other?

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Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

kazr posted:

Anyone have strong opinions on the sub $100 burner prepaid phones? I bought an LG Phoenix 4 a year ago and love having a piece of poo poo I don't need to care about. The screen cracked and it's getting to the point where I'm going to need another soon. My biggest complaint with the Phoenix 4 is low storage and no expansion options. Looks like the Phoenix 5 has an SD card expansion.

Country/Provider: US / AT&T

Current contract status: monthly

Budget (phone/plan): $100, hopefully less than $60

Features I know I want: basic poo poo any smart phone available will have

Any of these cheap phones better than the other?


They’re all going to be bad, piece of poo poo godawful phones.

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