this post was submitted on 03 Dec 2024
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The last 4 phones I had were just a mess. I am starting to loose hope of there being something that would work well. I just recently got a new phone, it's a mess as usual. Maybe what I am experiencing is enough for a warranty claim, maybe it's just a quirk to be dealt with...

Every couple years every newer phone I try is just worse and worse. I thought that maybe once PinePhone and available software gets mature enough..., but at this point, maybe other phones will just get crap enough.

My last good phone was ironically an ultra-cheap Lark Cumulus 5HD. It was just 50 EUR new. No lags, no crashes, swappable battery, a just works experience. 50 bucks...

Chronologically...

Moto G5s Plus

Great hardware, except that focus on my camera was kind-of broken, but I was too lazy to get that repaired under warranty.
But SW, god damn Motorola. Slow buggy mess. Crashes, freezes, battery drain. BUT, I was able to fix it with ✨a custom ROM✨

Poco X3 Pro

If you had any MIUI device, you know. Alarm clock may get ~~killed~~ optimized, ton of bugs to learn working around, built-in ads and spyware. Lots of it, based on blocked DNS logs.
HW - cheap and powerful. Average lifespan of the motherboard being whopping... 9 months. The phone ate 3 of them.

Moto G54 5G Power

Once again, great HW, SW not so much. The 3 button navigation was completely broken in high DPI and what made me return it - non-skippable updates. Just full-screen permanent update notifications. Only option: update. Nope.

Ulefone Armor 24

Few SW issues: Long-pressing dock icons while an app is open crashes "Quickstep", in turn killing navigation (both gesture and buttons...). Alarm clock gets killed most of the time even with all optimizations off.
HW, least I think I should classify it as such: The phone has a chance to negotiate (?) 12V for split-second intervals using QC 2.0 (based on my USB tester) which it doesn't expect, and throws overvoltage error. This happens with all QC-compatible chargers I tried, even the original one when used with OTG adapter.
The original one otherwise uses USB-C with PD, which works, sure. But after using it data transfer to PC via cable is broken until reboot.


I was very much a full-time phone person, but now it's too much. I got a cheap touchscreen ThinkPad and use it with KDE Plasma (wayland). I was doing basically everything on a phone before, now I instead try not to, but with everything being an app, damn.

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[–] PM_me_your_doggo 2 points 2 hours ago

Fourth year with Samsung Z3 (the flip one) It is totally awesome, the only downside is that protective foil starts to come off every year or so right in the middle. Will upgrade to Z7 next year 100%

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 hours ago

Pixel 8 pro.

Quirks : Runs GrapheneOS

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

LG V20. It's old as shit but it has tons of features that you can't get all on a new phone. IMO phone technology peaked on this one.

Just off the top of my head: Headphone jack, Replaceable battery, Small second screen you can put app shortcuts on, Hi-fi DAC, IR blaster, SD slot

[–] Cenzorrll 2 points 8 hours ago

HMD Vibe. I hate this phone. Bluetooth is terrible, cameras are all trash, it sometimes just doesn't ring when someone is calling, no NFC, no finger print. Face unlock is slower then just putting in my pattern.

I had the Nokia 8.3 5g just before it that I accidentally took swimming. It was the best phone I've ever had. No bloat, everything worked perfectly. I can't understand how they had that phone, then made this piece of trash.

[–] Presi300 2 points 9 hours ago

Chronologically...

TCL 10L. Decent phone, I liked it a lot, the software was kinda buggy but was overall pretty good... Kinda destroyed it in a gym accident.

Samsung Galaxy A12. Horrible phone, do not buy. Slow, sh!t software, crap battery life. Thank God for GSIs as they are the only things that made this phone bearable.

Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G. Best phone I've ever owned. The software sucks but it's supported by most custom roms (I use lineage). Got it for a good price 2nd hand and it's been my daily driver ever since.

[–] probably_a_robot 3 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)

Google Pixel 8

Got it recently after the battery started swelling on my Google Pixel 6 after 3 years of ownership.

I love that it's smaller than the 6, the 120Hz OLED display, the clean software, the 6 remaining years of updates, cameras are great (as were the cameras in the Pixel 6), and (relative) lack of bloatware compared to other phones I've had from Motorola and LG.

I am kind of irritated by the battery life and and how warm the phone tends to get. It was $200 cheaper than the Pixel 9 when both were on sale, but I'm wondering if I should've bit the bullet and gone for the 9.

Overall, I really like the phone for it's features and performance, but wish it had better endurance and ran cooler.

[–] dingus 5 points 12 hours ago

I agree with the one user who stated that modern phones are too goddamn big.

I've had Samsung's Z Flip5 for over a year now and I've been really enjoying it. Small form factor when folded that actually freaking fits in women's pockets. And when unfolded, I have a case with a ring that helps me hold it and reach higher up on the screen. Honestly, I would like if it was a bit smaller when opened, but it's a fun compromise.

It doesn't seem to fit in with what you want though, as it doesn't have a headphone jack and isn't going to be as durable as a regular phone. Still, it's fun and I like it!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 hours ago

Moto G Stylus 2020. No real complaints about the phone. Battery life is about 2 days. It has headphone jack and SDcard slot. I like the chop chop motion to turn on the flashlight and the twist motion to run the camera.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 hours ago

I have a Galaxy M35

It's fine, but when it's not playing something and the screen is off I can't change the volume, which is really stupid.

Sometimes I've got earphones connected and press play on them and the volume is loud, but I can't just pause and lower it, I have to: pause, grab the phone, unlock it and only then lower the volume. At least it should be a setting.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 12 hours ago

Huawei P30 Pro, decent cameras and screen, battery still going strong after 3 years, pretty happy with it!

[–] MTK 8 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Small phones pleaseeeee!

Every time I buy a new phone I'm devastated to learn that I can't get anything usable with one hand.

I need a 5.5 inch phone, anything bigger is hard to use, anything past 6 is impossible with one hand

[–] [email protected] 2 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Oh, you'd absolutely hate my phone: https://www.gsmarena.com/ulefone_armor_24-12602.php

Look at the dimensions, especially thickness and weight. Ironically though, it feels better in hand than a large thin slab. Thin phones are better smaller.

If you've seen that Energizer P28k thing, this is larger and heavier.

[–] khannie 1 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

That's some battery. How long do you get between charges?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 hours ago

I try to keep it around 20 - 80 %, that's 2 - 3 days. Fully charged, (by the way, there is more capacity beyond "100%"), 4 possibly even 5 if going to like 5%.

But I use it heavily.

Also, that flashlight at the back can actually drain it quite fast. Hell, if you have like 30% it can't keep it on full power steadily, it starts flickering a bit. It gets completely disabled <20%. Earlier if you use it in the camera app. Ideally, if you want to use it combined with the camera you'll have > 50%.

You may be able to charge your laptop from it if it supports 5V charging. It can supply 10W. To get some idea, my ThinkPad L390 yoga is currently consuming 3.73W as I am typing this.

But as I wrote, good luck charging it, though my unit may be defective. I don't have another one to compare to.

[–] MTK 5 points 17 hours ago

Pixel 4a with CalyxOS.

Support has ended while my phone is still working great and could probably last me a few more years (4 already) I get that companies can't support devices forever, but I wish they would apply their 7 year support policy retroactively because now I'm going to buy a new phone for the simple reason that mine is now insecure (no security updates for firmware)

This sucks and it's so wasteful.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 17 hours ago

Recently jumped from a Pixel 2 XL to the 9 Pro Fold. I had the 2XL for quite a while, and a few times over the years it developed this issue where it would shut off when I plugged it in to charge, unless YouTube was playing for some reason. Sometimes it would stay on if I turned it back on after it was plugged in, but not always.

I used my phone as my morning alarm, which typically meant starting a video like this before going to sleep. Generally the problem went away after a month or so, and so I just dealt with it. This last time was pretty persistent though, and got to the point where I decided to get a new phone.

Obviously I've only had the Fold for a couple months, so nothing crazy I've noticed so far. First time I've ever had a brand new flagship phone, which is neat I guess. A little pricey, but I do a lot of reading on my phone so honestly I think it's a decent investment. Doubt I can go back to reading PDFs on a non-fold, but I tend to keep phones until they're run into the ground, so by the time this one gives out there should be plenty of cheaper folds on the market.

[–] thermal_shock 3 points 17 hours ago

Samsung Galaxy S9. have replaced the battery twice, got it at launch. skipped the s8, had s5 and s7 prior. it's not rooted, user lawnchair launcher and love it. will drive it til it dies.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 22 hours ago

I've had three Google Pixels now and they've all developed problems with just freezing up or shutting down randomly. Won't be getting one again. Also, the smaller versions keep getting bigger with every iteration. What's the point? I want a small phone.

[–] JusticeForPorygon 20 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Pixel 6. Upgraded from a pixel 4a.

Where's my fucking headphone jack.

[–] kalpol 1 points 3 hours ago

Also why is the 6 so heavy

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I have an iPhone 12 Mini.

I am an IT guy, I just want a phone that works.

It is not amazing, it is not horrible, it has good cameras, it's fine.

CarPlay is awesome, the size is great, the battery is too small. The notch isn't as annoying as I first thought.

It's a fine phone.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Same here. iPhone 12 Mini, was an Android user before but this is probably the best Phone I ever had.

Android phones always had the issues with no more Android updates and getting slow with time.

Now my only problem is a battery which gets weaker every year and I don’t know what I will get next since this form factor is pretty much dead but I don’t want a bigger phone.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 19 hours ago

OnePlus 6 I got secondhand for a great price. Love the hardware (especially headphone jack). Don't love the back being made of glass (just... why???)

the main problem

IT IS TOO BIG

[–] [email protected] 7 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

Pixel 6 with Graphene OS.

It's perfect. I wouldn't swap it for anything. Graphene is a delight to use. Android as it should always have been. Regular updates, very secure, no bloat, full (optional) Play Services support, all my banking apps work.

Only downsides are:

  • Google Wallet/Pay doesn't work but I've never seen the point in mobile payments anyway.
  • No headphone jack, which I was dead against but tbh Bluetooth earbuds these days are superb and wired headphones were cumbersome.
[–] [email protected] 4 points 18 hours ago

No headphone jack, which I was dead against but tbh Bluetooth earbuds these days are superb and wired headphones were cumbersome.

I gave that a go, but nope. I did have a phone with no headphone jack, and used BT earbuds in the past. Another battery to keep charged, having to unpair them each time to use with a laptop, then re-pair them, occasional but annoying audio cuts with RFI (WiFi hotspot, microwave oven,...), very noticeable delay with FPS games (that was otherwise unnoticeable).

Just nope. Bluetooth audio is nice with a laptop, so that when I have earphones connected to it, I don't have to disconnect them to hear something from my phone, but that's about it.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 23 hours ago

Is it bad trying to set up Graphene if I already have a Pixel with data on it? What could I do to back my whole phone up prior to migration?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Pixel 6A. No headphone jack, no sd card slot, low battery life, but has grapheneos support.

[–] kalpol 2 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

Its so much heavier than the Pixel 4a, also the fingerprint sensor is worse

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 day ago

I've got a Fairphone 4. Had quite the headache, cause I had a slightly broken one. I don't want to go into detail, but I can say the support on Fairphones side is excelent, they were super friendly and helped to fix the issues as best as they could. And the nice thing is that you can repair most things yourself. But it is still a "nerdy" product. Fairphone doesn't have the best flagship with the fastes processor. But if you value something, where you own your hardware, and can repair stuff easily, you should consider it.

[–] Zak 12 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Pixel 4a. It has a headphone jack, the bootloader is easy to unlock, and it's well supported by third party developers (I run LineageOS on it).

The stock kernel doesn't support ExFAT, which is annoying. I'd prefer if it was a little smaller.

Rant: every newer phone is worse in terms of bootloader, size, or headphone jack.

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[–] AusatKeyboardPremi 3 points 20 hours ago

An iPhone 12 Pro as my daily driver. I bought it four years ago, and might get a battery replacement in the coming months to extend its lifespan until Apple stops supporting it. The phone is as reliable as the day I bought it. It just works.

As for quirks, there are plenty that appear, disappear, and reappear with each software update. I made a post about it a while back[0]. One that bothers me the most is the ability to seek a video in the native player by swiping across the screen (not just using the scrub bar), a la Apollo for Reddit's video player. This feature didn’t work in iOS 14, the OS it shipped with, or in 15. It worked in 16, which is when I discovered that the native player has this feature, but it stopped working after updating to 17.

I also use, in decreasing order of usage, a Moto G60 Fusion (with a debloated and de-Googled stock ROM), a Pixel 6A (running Graphene OS), and a Mi A2 (with Ubuntu Touch). Unlike my daily driver, these devices do not have a SIM card and serve as experiments to assess the feasibility of living without reliance on big tech. I acquired these phones from friends and family who were either discarding them or exchanging them for new ones. I also disassembled a few older Asus Zenfone and Redmi Note models that were either too outdated or bricked, to learn more about their innards and architecture.

[0] https://lemmy.world/post/7676569

[–] cmeio 12 points 1 day ago

Fairphone 4. No complaints at all

[–] AA5B 5 points 23 hours ago

I know it’s fashionable to hate Apple here, but switching from android to iPhone was the best decision Ive made. They just work. All of them. As a software guy, I spend my time making computers do stuff, so my phone needs to just work

Currently iPhone 15 Pro.

I replace every 2-4 years so I can give it to my kids another 2-4 years

  • iPhone 13 Pro
  • iPhone X
  • iPhone 6+?
  • iPhone 5?
[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 day ago (6 children)

Unless you have a philosophical/moral reason against it, try a Samsung. Can't speak for the cheaper models, but the top models (S-series and Z-series) are usually really great.

[–] thermal_shock 1 points 16 hours ago

6 years so far on my S9, was their flagship release.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 day ago (5 children)

Yeah, I do. Mocking Apple, then doing the exact same thing themselves. Also I kind of require a headphone jack and SD card slot. Even if the phone had >= 1TB, it's still great for independent storage backups. Of course, being inside the phone it shouldn't be relied on, but it did save me with the Poco X3 Pro for example. For added security, I use Termux and pipe the TAr archives to GPG.

The advantage of this is being doable basically immediately and offline at high speed, anytime.

But regardless, thanks for the recommendation. Maybe it will once be my only choice.

[–] bighatchester 2 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

Good luck with a headphone jack , any reason you couldn't just use USB c headphones ? It seems like the phones you are choosing are lesser known phones with less people using it , so less testing and more like to have issues . If you want something that is just going to work you will probably have to settle with a pixel or Samsung. My galaxy s21 lasted a few years and took a beating and kept going m

[–] [email protected] 1 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago)

Using OTG and wired headphones at once, for example with RTL-SDR.

Also my current phone (the Ulefone with charging issues) has a massive battery (85.14Wh) and is massive, which I like. For comparison, my thinkpad has a 45Wh battery.

Unfortunately, no regular brands would even think about offering a phone that's 27.5mm (1.08 inch) thick and weighs 647g (1.43lbs). In my case, a bit more, since I also put it in a case anyway.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (1 children)

I've got an A71 5g and my only bitch (it is a big bitch though) is that it's slightly different from the 4g A71 in form factor so there are no good choices for cases.

I will never buy a phone that doesn't support an application like SoundAssistant that let's you completely silence certain applications and force audio multiplexing. If I can't forcefully silence applications that I don't want making sounds I live in misery.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 17 hours ago

Oh yeah, something like Good Lock should be mandatory for any phone.

Regarding form factor, is it just different dimensions, or do the cameras etc. have a different position as well? You could try 3D printing if the former and just resize it a bit. Or you can search for a case specifically for your phone. Like here.

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[–] wjrii 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I have an iPhone. It's pretty recent, but definitely not the most recent. No, I don't know exactly what model it is. It's an utterly boring glass brick that lets me find out stuff and say stuff and take pictures. It set itself up from my last iPhone like a clone emerging from a vat, and someday it will be fated to transfer its lifeforce to its brother-self-son. Such is the way of the iPhone.

It's... fine. I got a red one.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

I have a Pixel 8.

It's quirk is that every now and then, I have to manually force Pixel Launcher to close or I can't minimize/switch apps. Basically since getting the phone, and going to their support pages/forums it's a super common issue that's existed since launch. And the fuckers won't fix it.

And also the AI assistant thing, despite being turned off completely, still sometimes activates randomly as if you said "hey google." Sometimes in the middle of the night in completely dead silence.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

pixel 8 running graphene

pretty decent

fingerprint sensor is mid as hell, but cameras and screen are super nice

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Pixel 8 Pro. I take issue with the buttons all being on the right side, which makes combination presses difficult. The cameras are positioned in such a way that it's difficult to keep stable while not covering them. Gestures are less good than iOS, but it's literally 2024, and digital buttons should die. I do not like the under-screen fingerprint reader. Rear was so much better on my OnePlus 5T, and that was probably my best unlocking experience.

No headphone jack (surprisingly not new).

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 23 hours ago

Samsung Galaxy A02s. This thing feels like it isn't that old, but damn sure operates like it's old. Thing lags like a slug to where I've had performance lag in keyboard interfaces to even recording audio clips on Discord. It's battery life is shitting the bed, even at 100%, it is down to 94% immediately even when it's not used.

Samsung Galaxy A32-5G. This is my primary and I like it, still does fine and was worthy to slap an Otterbox protection case on it. Does what I need it to do and is reliable, it's roughly 3 years old.

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