Choosing a good cell phone (?!)

[Winemaker]

Good morning everyone, as per the title I would like to choose a good cell phone without breaking the bank.
The things that interest me most are, a well-defined screen, an excellent camera, and (since we are in a Hi-Fi forum) an excellent audio compartment for headphones, then if there are other good features they are not disdained.
I would have thought of these models, even used:

S23 Ultra
Pixel 8 PRO
Realme gt 6
Xiaomi 14 or 14 pro
...........
Advice is welcome from those who own or have owned more devices and have good experience.
I emphasize that I would like to take it on a trip as a substitute for a camera.

THANKS TO EVERYONE IN ADVANCE.

No Apple, it's too closed a world!!

 

[Blumlein 88]

One advantage of Pixel and Samsung is they get supported better for more years unless that has changed recently with the other brands. Pixels are best, but Samsungs get monthly updates and support for 5 years. Of course going with the S23 means you are a year behind.

There is not a big difference in the Samsung Ultra vs one step lower in their line up. So I might suggest an S24 one step down from the Ultra. The S24+. I have an S21+ the camera is excellent, even video is excellent. I am less familiar with the RealMe or Xiaomi. I'd trade the step down for another year of support unless you are sure you'll not keep the phone that long.

 

[Winemaker]

One advantage of Pixel and Samsung is they get supported better for more years unless that has changed recently with the other brands. Pixels are best, but Samsungs get monthly updates and support for 5 years. Of course going with the S23 means you are a year behind.

There is not a big difference in the Samsung Ultra vs one step lower in their line up. So I might suggest an S24 one step down from the Ultra. The S24+. I have an S21+ the camera is excellent, even video is excellent. I am less familiar with the RealMe or Xiaomi. I'd trade the step down for another year of support unless you are sure you'll not keep the phone that long.

I bought the last phone, I don't remember well, 2017/2018. It's a Poco F1 By Xiaomi. I'm not one to change phones often, but I don't want to spend a disproportionate amount.
Even on the second-hand market I've seen practically new phones, the Pixels have the defect of having a battery that lasts very little and heats up a lot. It is true?

 

[Blumlein 88]

I bought the last phone, I don't remember well, 2017/2018. It's a Poco F1 By Xiaomi. I'm not one to change phones often, but I don't want to spend a disproportionate amount.
Even on the second-hand market I've seen practically new phones, the Pixels have the defect of having a battery that lasts very little and heats up a lot. It is true?

I'm not up to date on the current Pixel batteries. I had a Pixel prior to my S21 and that is what happened to it. Battery didn't last long on a charge, and you charged it enough it only got worse. I checked on getting a new battery installed. Reasonable, but I was told by three different people that you had a 50% chance of breaking the screen in the process and repairing that made it a no go. So I replaced it after 3.5 years which is the shortest amount of time I've owned a cell phone.

 

[Digby]

So I replaced it after 3.5 years which is the shortest amount of time I've owned a cell phone.

Not an unreasonable amount of time, but possibly close to twice as long as the typical lifecycle for many. A sad situation, but as many people cycle through phones every two years, few manufacturers look to provide support, or a phone that still works as it should, much longer than this.

 

[Dunring]

I have a Google Pixel and the camera is epic. If your planning a vacation it's worth it just to bring back great photos with it. A relative has the S23 and the problem is there's no selection for photo resolution so every one has to be resized if he wants to send them to others.
I've had full size SLRs that the Pixel competes against for image quality.

 

[wwenze]

Seems like there can never be a smartphone with the ideal combination of parts, unlike desktop PC which can mix and match.

Using Pixel 8 (same chipset and everything... most things... as Pixel 8 Pro) coming from a Samsung A73, omg that modem reception is horrible. Also when it loses 4G connection it drops to 3G but will never switch back to 4G, which is a pain in countries which already stopped 3G. You can solve it by forcing 4G only in some kind of debug menu, but wow.
Also battery life is horrible and the phone gets hot during normal usage. Also no dual physical SIM, no microSD...

Why did I stop using a Samsung mid-upper-ranger then? Because the camera processing... oh gawd it is hellish, it's like God descended upon earth and decided man has sinned and Satan is doing a bad job at punishing people so God has decided to take it upon itself. The base hardware is probably good because I've seen China phones take more natural pictures and the OIS is excellent but everything looks like it went thru warpsharp resizing. Oh speaking of hardware Pixel 8 camera's auto focus is borked; forcing macro off helps.

I just wish for a phone with Samsung midrange specs, Pixel camera, and Samsung soft AMOLED screen.

 

[Winemaker]

I have a Google Pixel and the camera is epic. If your planning a vacation it's worth it just to bring back great photos with it. A relative has the S23 and the problem is there's no selection for photo resolution so every one has to be resized if he wants to send them to others.
I've had full size SLRs that the Pixel competes against for image quality.

And how do you feel about the battery?

 

[Jimbob54]

I've had pixels since the 3 and love them. Currently the 7 pro. The 8 series is now getting discounts due to the 9 imminent release and is the first line to get the long software update promise from Google. 7 pro the best phone I've had. Only downsides which I think carry over to the 8 Pro :

Slippy as hell in the hand but I always add a case anyway

Battery falls short of best in class (any kind of regular user will be charging overnight)

I don't like the pixel launcher but easy to use your own preferred (nova for me)

 

[wwenze]

Forgot to mention, say no to Samsung CPU (or the Google version). Snapdragon all the way, that's how u get the better battery life and reception.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I have a Google Pixel and the camera is epic. If your planning a vacation it's worth it just to bring back great photos with it. A relative has the S23 and the problem is there's no selection for photo resolution so every one has to be resized if he wants to send them to others.
I've had full size SLRs that the Pixel competes against for image quality.

Actually you can change Pic resolution on the Samsung S phones. You can even select wide or 3:2 framing. Several choices are available. I've done it many times for different reasons.

 

[kemmler3D]

I have a Pixel 6a and the battery and camera are both solid IMO. No real complaints. Really good value for money compared to an iPhone.

 

[Ron Texas]

@Winemaker perhaps you could explain for the rest of us why the walled garden approach used by Apple reduces the usability of a phone for you especially because you are in the EU where alternative app sources are allowed.

 

[wwenze]

I kind of like the ability to use Windows Explorer.

And also use $1 USB cables (Hopefully something iPhone 15 fixed)

 

[Blumlein 88]

@Winemaker perhaps you could explain for the rest of us why the walled garden approach used by Apple reduces the usability of a phone for you especially because you are in the EU where alternative app sources are allowed.

You'll spend more money on the iPhone, and accessories. You'll spend more money for apps. It works weird to me. In my case I also use Google Fi which for my purposes is by far the best deal. I do tend to stick to the google Play store for security. But I don't think it helps the OP to turn this into an iPhone vs Android thread. There are valid cases for one over the other, and the OP has made his decision.

 

[Ron Texas]

You'll spend more money on the iPhone, and accessories. You'll spend more money for apps. It works weird to me. In my case I also use Google Fi which for my purposes is by far the best deal. I do tend to stick to the google Play store for security. But I don't think it helps the OP to turn this into an iPhone vs Android thread. There are valid cases for one over the other, and the OP has made his decision.

Actually, with a deal from my carrier an iPhone 14pro was $600 vs a Pixel 4 which was $500. The Pixel stopped getting updates after a bit more than 2 years. I haven't spent any money for apps on either. I'm a bit scared of Google Fi because a user who had an alleged TOS violation (he sent photos of a baby's genitals to a physician for diagnosis) was completely shut out of Google and lost his phone number. Consider how inconvenient that would be with the prevalence of two factor authentication. Samsung requires a double sign in, one for Google and one for Samsung. The Chinese Xiaomi likely gets you on file with the CCP. It's become increasingly difficult to side load apps onto Android phones.

Don't lecture me; it's not your place to do so.

 

[GD Fan]

I agree with @Blumlein 88 that the choice isn't up for debate here. But I, for one, refuse to use Apple products not just because of their weird, wonky way of working (my opinion, obviously), but also because my feeling is files are files and I should be able to move mp3s wherever the hell I want - mobile phone, desktop computer, AVR, hard drive in the car, anywhere. And they should be compatible in all of those places. So for me, the decision has long been settled.

 

[Ron Texas]

I agree with @Blumlein 88 that the choice isn't up for debate here. But I, for one, refuse to use Apple products not just because of their weird, wonky way of working (my opinion, obviously), but also because my feeling is files are files and I should be able to move mp3s wherever the hell I want - mobile phone, desktop computer, AVR, hard drive in the car, anywhere. And they should be compatible in all of those places. So for me, the decision has long been settled.

https://www.appgeeker.com/iphone-transfer/how-to-transfer-mp3-to-iphone.html

You, the OP and Blumlien have criticized the iPhone. That clearly puts iPhone vs Android on topic. I'm not going to spend anymore time defending one of the most valuable companies in the world. Their success speaks for itself. However, I see it as hypocritical to say the decision has been made to go with Android, don't discuss Apple vs Android and then go bashing Apple.

 

[Soniclife]

@Winemaker I've got a pixel 8 and so far the battery life has been great, much better than any other phone I've owned. The promised software updates finally fix one of the real weakness of must androids, if Google deliver on it, I'm skeptical.

 

[JeffS7444]

As they emphasize repairability, PinePhone and Fairphone intrigue me, but to date, when I've been forced to replace my iPhones, it has been because the service provider's network was dropping support for the old hardware, and not because of a lack of parts. Think Pine in particular is sold as an experimental device, so it's possible that not all of the phone's features will work out of the box.

Of the major brands, Apple's privacy policy has seemed the most transparent and agreeable to me. I trust Google somewhat less (data collection and analytics are big moneymakers for them, after all). I don't know about the Chinese brands. While it's tempting to assume that "I'm not doing anything unusual, so why should my data be important?", the fact remains that much is secretive, and the value of this data has built some of the world's wealthiest companies.