Flagship Smartphone Alternatives

13

Comments

  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,451
    mr_goo said:

    kingstongraham said:

    I've got a moto g7 power for myself. Weak camera, weak wifi, GREAT battery life, £140. Just bought a galaxy s10e for Mrs KG for a lot more, mostly because it isn't insanely huge like every other phone wants to be.

    The thing with phones now is that you actively want them to behave the same as each other, but you pay more for it to do the same things somewhat better. Though why anyone would pay £700 for a phone that can't go a day without charging (like the pixel 4) is beyond me.

    I've got G7 Power too. It's a phone. Makes calls. Does Email. WhatsApp etc. Plays movies. Takes reasonable photos. And all for under £150. What's not to like?
    The only thing I don't like is the wifi is not dual band. Means that (for me anyway because I haven't found a way to fix it) when I have bluetooth on, the wifi is appalling.

    If I was buying a phone now for about the same price and didn't mind it being big, I'd definitely consider that Redmi Note 9. Huge battery and decent specs.
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,851
    I've just ordered a Nokia 2.2.

    I'll let you know how I get on.
    My old bullet proof Nokia that I had for 4 years plus was dropped, bashed, swam and still went on and on but didn't survive anti-freeze/summer coolant exposure.
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • diplodicus
    diplodicus Posts: 732
    What are people's thoughts on Samsung A40? Seems cheap enough at around £200 and supposedly as good as an S8
  • surrey_commuter
    surrey_commuter Posts: 18,867
    diplodicus said:

    What are people's thoughts on Samsung A40? Seems cheap enough at around £200 and supposedly as good as an S8

    My A5 is three years old and still going strong.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,451
    diplodicus said:

    What are people's thoughts on Samsung A40? Seems cheap enough at around £200 and supposedly as good as an S8

    That was one of my last two possibles when we went for the s10e. Decent specs, reasonable size of phone for a 5.9 inch screen. For £200 looks about the best non-massive phone.
  • diplodicus
    diplodicus Posts: 732
    Good to know :smile:
  • briantrumpet
    briantrumpet Posts: 21,669
    edited June 2020
    ballysmate said:

    Pross said:

    ballysmate said:

    bompington said:

    ballysmate said:

    Serious question for the phone geeks. What is the real world benefit of capability of a 500 quid phone and one costing a quarter of that?

    I'm amused the way your post implies you think £500 is an expensive phone...
    :D
    As they say. YMMV

    500 smackers would be an outrageous price for me to pay to get a phone that covers my needs and yes I know there are models out there costing twice that.
    I was genuinely interested to learn what I was missing out on. Not much by the looks of it. :)

    I suspect most people don't even realise they're paying for the phone or think they're only paying up to £150 for the handset as they don't associate the contract as being mainly a hire purchase agreement on the phone.

    For me speed, a good camera, quality display and good connection are the important factors and I'm not bothered about brand image although I do have doubts over the quality and support with lesser known brands (possibly unfounded). I would be sticking with Huawei and had thought their issues with Google were resolved but it seems that's not the case so now I'll be looking elsewhere which suggests Trump has achieved what he wanted and taken the competition off Apple!
    Bought a Huawei Y7 last year. Just sent for one for the missus, delivered tomorrow. £120 and does more than I need plus excellent battery life.

    I'm still on my Moto 2nd Generation quoted up-thread, was £125 about 5 years ago. Big advantage for me is its dual SIM, but camera's good enough, does email & internet, and works decently as mobile hotspot.

    In any case, anything more fiddly or text-heavy, I prefer to do on a laptop at home, and I could afford quite a decent laptop for the difference between my Moto and some of the better phones. I can't quite see the point of getting a phone that will do everything a laptop does easily, unless your work really does need you to do that sort of work out 'in the field'.

    I suspect that many people get sucked into that marketing thing of telling you that you need every function under the sun, when all they really need it for if some photos, texts, a bit of browsing and emails. It's like the people who buy dishwashers with 20 different wash programmes who then only use two.
    https://www.facebook.com/unanglaisendiois
  • morstar
    morstar Posts: 6,190
    briantrumpet said:

    ballysmate said:

    Pross said:

    ballysmate said:

    bompington said:

    ballysmate said:

    Serious question for the phone geeks. What is the real world benefit of capability of a 500 quid phone and one costing a quarter of that?

    I'm amused the way your post implies you think £500 is an expensive phone...
    :D
    As they say. YMMV

    500 smackers would be an outrageous price for me to pay to get a phone that covers my needs and yes I know there are models out there costing twice that.
    I was genuinely interested to learn what I was missing out on. Not much by the looks of it. :)

    I suspect most people don't even realise they're paying for the phone or think they're only paying up to £150 for the handset as they don't associate the contract as being mainly a hire purchase agreement on the phone.

    For me speed, a good camera, quality display and good connection are the important factors and I'm not bothered about brand image although I do have doubts over the quality and support with lesser known brands (possibly unfounded). I would be sticking with Huawei and had thought their issues with Google were resolved but it seems that's not the case so now I'll be looking elsewhere which suggests Trump has achieved what he wanted and taken the competition off Apple!
    Bought a Huawei Y7 last year. Just sent for one for the missus, delivered tomorrow. £120 and does more than I need plus excellent battery life.

    I'm still on my Moto 2nd Generation quoted up-thread, was £125 about 5 years ago. Big advantage for me is its dual SIM, but camera's good enough, does email & internet, and works decently as mobile hotspot.

    In any case, anything more fiddly or text-heavy, I prefer to do on a laptop at home, and I could afford quite a decent laptop for the difference between my Moto and some of the better phones. I can't quite see the point of getting a phone that will do everything a laptop does easily, unless your work really does need you to do that sort of work out 'in the field'.

    I suspect that many people get sucked into that marketing thing of telling you that you need every function under the sun, when all they really need it for if some photos, texts, a bit of browsing and emails. It's like the people who buy dishwashers with 20 different wash programmes who then only use two.
    There’s more than 1 dishwasher cycle?

    Oh!
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,851
    My OH only has 1 speed.
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • ballysmate
    ballysmate Posts: 16,017
    pinno said:

    My OH only has 1 speed.

    Misogynist!!

    :D:D
  • briantrumpet
    briantrumpet Posts: 21,669
    morstar said:

    briantrumpet said:

    ballysmate said:

    Pross said:

    ballysmate said:

    bompington said:

    ballysmate said:

    Serious question for the phone geeks. What is the real world benefit of capability of a 500 quid phone and one costing a quarter of that?

    I'm amused the way your post implies you think £500 is an expensive phone...
    :D
    As they say. YMMV

    500 smackers would be an outrageous price for me to pay to get a phone that covers my needs and yes I know there are models out there costing twice that.
    I was genuinely interested to learn what I was missing out on. Not much by the looks of it. :)

    I suspect most people don't even realise they're paying for the phone or think they're only paying up to £150 for the handset as they don't associate the contract as being mainly a hire purchase agreement on the phone.

    For me speed, a good camera, quality display and good connection are the important factors and I'm not bothered about brand image although I do have doubts over the quality and support with lesser known brands (possibly unfounded). I would be sticking with Huawei and had thought their issues with Google were resolved but it seems that's not the case so now I'll be looking elsewhere which suggests Trump has achieved what he wanted and taken the competition off Apple!
    Bought a Huawei Y7 last year. Just sent for one for the missus, delivered tomorrow. £120 and does more than I need plus excellent battery life.

    I'm still on my Moto 2nd Generation quoted up-thread, was £125 about 5 years ago. Big advantage for me is its dual SIM, but camera's good enough, does email & internet, and works decently as mobile hotspot.

    In any case, anything more fiddly or text-heavy, I prefer to do on a laptop at home, and I could afford quite a decent laptop for the difference between my Moto and some of the better phones. I can't quite see the point of getting a phone that will do everything a laptop does easily, unless your work really does need you to do that sort of work out 'in the field'.

    I suspect that many people get sucked into that marketing thing of telling you that you need every function under the sun, when all they really need it for if some photos, texts, a bit of browsing and emails. It's like the people who buy dishwashers with 20 different wash programmes who then only use two.
    There’s more than 1 dishwasher cycle?

    Oh!

    One for the afternoon tea service, and one for the baked-on-with-Araldite dinner plates and muesli bowls.
    https://www.facebook.com/unanglaisendiois
  • super_davo
    super_davo Posts: 1,251
    kingstongraham said:

    diplodicus said:

    What are people's thoughts on Samsung A40? Seems cheap enough at around £200 and supposedly as good as an S8

    That was one of my last two possibles when we went for the s10e. Decent specs, reasonable size of phone for a 5.9 inch screen. For £200 looks about the best non-massive phone.
    I just have been given one for my new work mobile.
    Lovely screen, takes up the entire body giving a very small form factor (definitely best point). Fast charging a nice touch.
    Camera nothing to write home about. Feels a little plastic compared with some.
    Not sure I would pay £200 for it myself but very happy as my work phone.
    Samsung A series are all pretty good value really, their way of competing with the cheaper Chinese brands.
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,851
    ballysmate said:

    pinno said:

    My OH only has 1 speed.

    Misogynist!!

    :D:D
    I wash up too!
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 44,039
    Having done a bit more research I'm going to stick with Huawei and go for the P30 Pro as it has access to all the Google apps as a pre-ban model and it has been relaunched as the P30 Pro New Edition that has allowed Huawei to get around the ban whilst having a slight upgrade (should do away with the risk of them ending support). Not in budget for this thread though as it's £700 as a handset only.
  • ballysmate
    ballysmate Posts: 16,017
    Pross said:

    Having done a bit more research I'm going to stick with Huawei and go for the P30 Pro as it has access to all the Google apps as a pre-ban model and it has been relaunched as the P30 Pro New Edition that has allowed Huawei to get around the ban whilst having a slight upgrade (should do away with the risk of them ending support). Not in budget for this thread though as it's £700 as a handset only.

    'Kinhell !!
    Will it do Pinno's washing up? Should do.
  • shortfall
    shortfall Posts: 3,288
    Pross said:

    Having done a bit more research I'm going to stick with Huawei and go for the P30 Pro as it has access to all the Google apps as a pre-ban model and it has been relaunched as the P30 Pro New Edition that has allowed Huawei to get around the ban whilst having a slight upgrade (should do away with the risk of them ending support). Not in budget for this thread though as it's £700 as a handset only.

    It's a fantastic phone for sure but the original (older) version can be had for £510 on Amazon and it doesn't seem to give up much to the New edition. It's on my list but I'm strongly inclined to go for the Redimi 9s or Pro mentioned upthread which isn't quite in the same league but still has amazing specs and all for £200.
  • shortfall
    shortfall Posts: 3,288
    And right on cue Oneplus announce the Nord which is supposedly a return to it's roots of flagship performance on a budget. No official specs or price yet but rumoured to be £400 in the UK. This might get my vote if the reviews are good as I've had 2 Oneplus phones and been highly delighted with them.
  • focuszing723
    focuszing723 Posts: 8,314
    Meh, China.
  • shortfall
    shortfall Posts: 3,288
    focuszing723 said:

    Meh, China.

    I think there's another thread for your China Tourettes.
  • spatt77
    spatt77 Posts: 324
    Pross said:

    Having done a bit more research I'm going to stick with Huawei and go for the P30 Pro as it has access to all the Google apps as a pre-ban model and it has been relaunched as the P30 Pro New Edition that has allowed Huawei to get around the ban whilst having a slight upgrade (should do away with the risk of them ending support). Not in budget for this thread though as it's £700 as a handset only.

    I nearly bought one of these, looks a great phone but ended up getting a Oneplus 7 pro, just waiting for delivery! looks good though! but not exactly budget!
  • focuszing723
    focuszing723 Posts: 8,314
    shortfall said:

    focuszing723 said:

    Meh, China.

    I think there's another thread for your China Tourettes.
    Don't push too far your dreams! That's all I'm sayin, six months and it will be old hat.
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,851
    FWIW, my £65 (ex display) Nokia 2.2 with Android one is pretty good vfm..
    [What's the point? The OP has long gone].
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 44,039
    pinno said:

    FWIW, my £65 (ex display) Nokia 2.2 with Android one is pretty good vfm..
    [What's the point? The OP has long gone].

    Eh? The OP posted a few hours ago.
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,851
    Pross said:

    pinno said:

    FWIW, my £65 (ex display) Nokia 2.2 with Android one is pretty good vfm..
    [What's the point? The OP has long gone].

    Eh? The OP posted a few hours ago.
    Well, I can be forgiven.
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,851
    edited July 2020
    It was Shortfall, farq me.
    Have you made up your mind yet Shortfall? Or, put differently, has this thread helped?!
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • focuszing723
    focuszing723 Posts: 8,314
    Ha, lol. The perils of jumping on a thread.
  • shortfall
    shortfall Posts: 3,288
    pinno said:

    It was Shortfall, farq me.
    Have you made up your mind yet Shortfall? Or, put differently, has this thread helped?!

    Nearly. It's going to be a P30 Pro for £478 at Wow Camera or the Oneplus Nord for £400 subject to positive reviews.
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,851
    £478 is a nice set of hoops. It's probably a £1200 set of hoops second hand.
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • shortfall
    shortfall Posts: 3,288
    Yeah but I've got all the wheels I need and I do need a new phone.
  • shortfall
    shortfall Posts: 3,288
    edited July 2020
    Update. I ordered the Oneplus Nord today. I got the £379 version. It's less than I paid for my Oneplus 5t just under 3 years ago and has far higher specs. I've been very happy with both my One plus devices, so brand loyalty and a reasonable price swayed me away from the cheaper offerings from Xiaomi et al.

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