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pik_d
Feb 24, 2006

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TRP Post of the Month October 2021
I've had a Droid Turbo for 5 or 6 years now, it's been great but it's finally time for me to upgrade. I got it because at the time it was one of the few with wireless charging and had good battery life. Recently (past few months) it started shutting off at ~15% battery, that's now upgraded to shutting off at ~33% battery.

Is there a good Motorola still, or am I better off with something like a Samsung or Pixel? The Pixel 5 looks good but I remember hearing some of the previous Pixels were let downs and I haven't keep up recently.

Basically what I care about is some Android phone that should last me 4-6 years, gets good battery life, a bit bigger than my current phone (5.2", so ~6-6.5" sound good), wireless charging, and is tough (seriously not a scratch on my phone without ever using a case or screen protector).

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pik_d
Feb 24, 2006

follow the white dove





TRP Post of the Month October 2021

Duckman2008 posted:

There is not a good Motorola right now unfortunately , and I wouldn’t get the pixel 5 either.

Samsung S20 and Note 20 are fine, although I would look for them on promo. Samsung is supposedly releasing the S21 in late January or early February , so if you can hold out a bit I would.

Maybe I'm deluding myself in thinking that I don't need to spend $1000 on a phone to get everything I want (the Galaxy S20 FE is cheaper, does it lose much? Is this part of your recommendation?), is that really the entry point for a "good" phone now?

Why wouldn't you get a Pixel 5?

pik_d fucked around with this message at 06:19 on Jan 6, 2021

pik_d
Feb 24, 2006

follow the white dove





TRP Post of the Month October 2021

Duckman2008 posted:

Galaxy FE is def fine. Sorry, I always forget about it.

And for the pixel 5

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


Like, Ars gets super on their high horse for sure, but I also somewhat agree. Google cheapened out.

Alright, I'll see what happens with the S21 (then maybe get an S20 if it's nothing impressive), are pre-orders for those similar to video card pre-orders where I need to be F5ing a page at 9AM or I'll miss it?

pik_d
Feb 24, 2006

follow the white dove





TRP Post of the Month October 2021

Duckman2008 posted:

Samsung preorders are usually not back ordered unless they are having a manufacturing issue.

Cool, I'd hate to have to deal with that poo poo again, did it for my PC twice.

Also what do you have against the Motorola Edge+? One of the biggest detracting points for it is that it's a Verizon exclusive but that's not a problem for me.

BIG HEADLINE posted:

Galaxy S21 might be the first Android phone to get four years of guaranteed updates.

I just checked and I'm still on 6.0.1, guess whatever I get will be a big change.

Bandire posted:

The Pixel 5 is a good phone, but I wouldn't pay full price for one. I snapped up mine during the 50% off promo Verizon ran in November.

The FE has some (possibly nitpicky) touchscreen issues, but its supposed to be good for the money. If the 21s are in your price range, I'd definitely wait a bit longer for details before making a decision though.

I didn't want to spend $1k but I might, in either case I'll wait since the announcement is next week supposedly.

pik_d
Feb 24, 2006

follow the white dove





TRP Post of the Month October 2021

Duckman2008 posted:

No lie, I always forget about the Moro Edge+ . But Motorola doesn’t have a good recent history of support, so I would certainly get a pixel over Motorola.

I might be hating too much on the Pixel 5 here. I think I would say it’s not a slam dunk buy anymore, especially at full price

I've looked at a few reviews of it and they were not as positive as the Pixel 5 ones (in tone and overall ratings), so while I'm still going to wait to see what the S21 is all about I'm leaning towards the Pixel 5 because it has all the features I want while costing way less than $1k even at full price.

Also I'm gonna probably get a different plan, I'm on The Verizon Plan Large 6GB right now, which I'm guessing is a really old plan. My highest usage in the past 5 months is 3.85GB so the 5GB plan may be fine, but I think the Do More/Play More plans should cost exactly the same as what I currently pay unless I'm being tricked:

pik_d
Feb 24, 2006

follow the white dove





TRP Post of the Month October 2021

Duckman2008 posted:

No, you are correct.

Your plan is $60+$20= $80

Play unlimited with autopay with checking account is $80.

FYI there is a 10GB plan that is $40+$25 = $65 (same autopay requirements).

Some of the Unlimited plans have "Premium Network Access", but the 5G/10G plans don't mention that, do they have that and is that just a "we'll throttle your speeds last" thing or something else?

pik_d
Feb 24, 2006

follow the white dove





TRP Post of the Month October 2021
OK Duckman2008 I waited until today to see how the S21 stacks up, and I'm pretty settled on the Pixel 5 based on what I've seen.

So my questions now are how often can I expect Verizon to do any kind of discounts. I guess I missed out on the November half-off sale that Bandire mentioned at the top of this page, but if I can avoid paying full price that would be cool. Obviously I don't have to buy it from Verizon but I don't see any deals anywhere else either, except $50 off at best buy which isn't all that much compared to half off sales.

For others with the Pixel 5, is it a phone that can be used without a case without any real fear of breaking it? My current Droid Turbo has a ballistic nylon back and you just can't break that like a glass back.

pik_d
Feb 24, 2006

follow the white dove





TRP Post of the Month October 2021

DrDork posted:

Verizon was just doing a BOGO deal on the P5 (not sure if it's still active), and regularly has pretty generous trade-in deals with new lines. Trade-in deals for existing lines or flat discounts are less common, especially since we're past the holidays now. Maybe they'll stick some discounts on once the S21 is actually available to buy?

The P5 has metal/epoxy back/sides which are quite durable. It'd be hard to crack it, but you can still scuff/chip it. Whether or not you use a case is largely up to how you feel about said scuffs and whether or not you like the "hand feel" of the phone. Personally, I like it, but I ended up throwing it in a cheap $5 ultra-thin case partially because I hate scuffs and dents in the corners from dropping it, and partially because the extra 1mm lip around the screen makes it easier (for me) to not trigger the swipe-as-back gesture when I mean to swipe to advance the page/list/whatever.

But then I'd be required to have a second line I don't need for however long, not sure that would even save much money if I'm paying for an unused line. Or am I misunderstanding something?

Also I don't see that deal on the website so it might be over. My current phone definitely wait until after the end-of-year deals ended to poo poo itself.

pik_d
Feb 24, 2006

follow the white dove





TRP Post of the Month October 2021

Duckman2008 posted:

Are you upgrading or switching to Verizon ?

Upgrading, but my current phone popped up as worth $0 when I tried to see how much I could get for it on the site.

Edit: Est. trade in value: $0.00 :coal:

pik_d fucked around with this message at 05:36 on Jan 15, 2021

pik_d
Feb 24, 2006

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TRP Post of the Month October 2021

surf rock posted:

I have this same plan (Small 2 GB). My total bill is $60/mo, with the data being $35, my phone line being $20, and $5 in fees and taxes.

Can I upgrade my phone without losing the plan? Either way, when the Verizon site says the Start Unlimited plan is $70, is that just for data or is that data + phone line? In other words, assuming the taxes/fees are the same $5, would my new bill be $75 or $95?

The last time I wanted to upgrade my phone but keep my old plan with Verizon, I was able to do so by just buying the phone outright. Hopefully that still works.

pik_d
Feb 24, 2006

follow the white dove





TRP Post of the Month October 2021
@Duckman2008 do you have anything that can help me here? I'm guessing not since there's nothing on the Verizon site, but my hand is being forced by my phone getting worse.

pik_d posted:

Upgrading, but my current phone popped up as worth $0 when I tried to see how much I could get for it on the site.

Edit: Est. trade in value: $0.00 :coal:

pik_d
Feb 24, 2006

follow the white dove





TRP Post of the Month October 2021

Duckman2008 posted:

I forget what phone you have , but if it’s an older phone it probably just is what it is unfortunately , you may not get a promo.

It's a Motorola Droid Turbo which came out in 2014, so that probably counts as an older phone.

pik_d
Feb 24, 2006

follow the white dove





TRP Post of the Month October 2021

Duckman2008 posted:

Yeah.....that was a good phone but you aren’t gonna get a trade in on it at this point. Sorry 😞

I did not get a trade in for it, I did get my money's worth given I had it for 5-6 years though, so I can't really be upset with that. Just hope this Pixel 5 can last as long.

pik_d
Feb 24, 2006

follow the white dove





TRP Post of the Month October 2021
Every phone should be required by law to have the moto gestures (twist phone 2x to turn camera on, chop camera 2x to turn on flashlight).

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pik_d
Feb 24, 2006

follow the white dove





TRP Post of the Month October 2021

Duckman2008 posted:

Yeah you’re good.

If you’re on a premium plan you can get the $800 trade in. Play more, Do More, Unlimited Plus and a few others.

If you need help or want to check feel free to PM, I work Mon-Fri and can always give you a ring.

Does the old 5G Play More plan really grant me an $800 trade in for my Pixel 5?

Is Verizon doing the same deal for a free Pixel Watch 2 with a P8P?

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