Hi All,
I've been rocking the OG Pixel for a couple of years now, but the small battery is starting to get on my nerves a bit.
Looking to upgrade but just curious as to what mid-range phones people are using?
I just want a decent phone with a bigger battery, NFC, and Snapdragon CPU (decent custom rom support too).
Bonus points for fingerprint sensor on the back.
Looks like a pretty solid phone, my only gripe is the lack of a Snapdragon.
Does it feel good to use? Any overheating or anything?
No complaints at my end but only new. Amoled is awesome and cameras are acceptable to very good.
That's pretty good then, I'll have a look into these ones.
I saw the A70 is going to go on sale soon, I'll see how that stacks up against the A51.
Thanks for the suggestion!
I got the A71 for around $500 which I consider mid-level pricing. You can get it off the government or corporate site for that price.
I was on the OG Pixel as well until it's battery started failing and couldn't sustain 4 hours. Anyway, I'm currently using the Pixel 3a, which is actually on sale recently, and it hasn't skipped a beat at all and I don't feel like I'm missing anything either.
Yeah I saw that deal yesterday and was tempted to grab the XL but decided to wait until the 4a.
Although that's delayed until October now and kicking myself for not taking the plunge :(
Glad to hear it's going good though, my favorite thing about the Pixel line is always having quick updates and easy to troubleshoot stuff online.
Yeah, same sentiments here. Anyway, good luck in your search. I agonised over my decision to switch because I was still happy with my OG pixel.
TCL Plex!
Oh yeah I remember seeing that deal pop up not too long ago for that phone, how has it been going? Looked like pretty good bang for your buck.
Can't fault it. Performs like a flagship.
Only gripe I have is that it doesn't have a notification led on it. But would definitely buy it again for 250
Yeah $250 was an absolute steal for that phone! Hopefully something pops up again.
Did you ever find a proper fitting case for it?
No, still on the lookout - it sucks because I'm constantly dropping the phone due to the slippery case it came with!
Pixel 3a/3a XL all the way.
Ah yes, I remember you, trying to convince me to get the 3a XL in the deal you posted. Wish I had've listened :(
Oh lol. Hello again sire!
LG V30+ for work and Oppo Reno 5g for personal
I looked a bit at those, $400 seems like good value but it's a pretty old phone. Seems to be getting unofficial Lineage roms though.
Phone still going strong?
Yeah, it is only sipping the battery too. Wide angle camera is nice but it lakes "telephoto".
Stuck on android 9 for now though.
Just saw you added the Reno 5g to your comment now, pretty good steal at $500 last month.
I might consider the V30+, custom rom support seems to be decent
Rocking pixel 2 xl
I wish I had've gone with the 2. I got the OG when the 3 was announced so it was pretty cheap.
Still a good phone, but at least the 2 XL has a pretty good battery.
Pixel 2 XL user here, bought it 2-3 months after release? I will probably upgrade to the 4a when it eventually comes out. I assume the Oneplus 7/7+ is out of your 'midrange phone' budget? As that is probably what I would be looking at if my phone broke down today.
yeah the 7 models are a bit too expensive, was thinking under $500ish but willing to go a bit more if the phone is good.
OnePlus 6T looks pretty good though, $539 at Dick Smith (or save an extra $20 and deal with TobyDeals).
The Pixel 3a range is probably my go to if you are firm on that price point. Though I probably couldn't bring myself to buy it considering the 4a is not that far away.
Do bear in mind that my two main criteria is an OS that is close to stock and a good camera. Which generally limits what I consider! I was considering this Oppo deal a while ago but did not go ahead in the end because of Color OS.
Yeah I would like a good camera too. There are Gcam ports for most phones, but Pixel phones just take such nice photos!
OS doesn't bother me too much, I usually just run Nova launcher anyway, but I'll definitely keep an eye on 3a phones to go down in price again.
Go the Motorola G8. It's pretty much pure Android.
I was going to go for the G8 Plus, currently $350 or so, but I've always known Motorola to be pretty bad with updates/security patches.
I have this phone. It's great value. 1 major version behind, running 9.0. Monthly security updates occur though.
+1 for Motorola's value for money. TBH, I personally don't like them, but when it was the time to get a phone for wife or kids - Motorola came up on top three times.
What about updates though? I've heard Motorola don't provide many software updates.
https://www.androidcentral.com/heres-when-your-motorola-phon…
Still using my G6 Plus, been pretty happy with it but was looking at the G8 Plus deal the other day, wondering if it was much of an upgrade if I was to pass the G6 to the missus.
Just got a Pixel 3a XL $650 from Kogan. It is Great!
Was waiting for the 4a but then realised that it would be too small for me. Also >$750.
4a is gonna be $349 USD i think, which hopefully will make it around the $600 range here.
But yeah smaller phone = smaller battery too so not too hopeful it will last long :(
When I check the prices it is usually usd -> Aud + $100-$150.
The pixel 3a XL is $800 at the Google Store. I got it for $650 Kogan - international version.
Samsung S9+, new battery a la samsung, does everything I need and a decent camera. Won't get android 11 but I can live with one UI 2.1. Has everything else and seems to work with android auto better than other handsets I've tried such as realme and xiaomi.
Yeah the flagship Galaxies are very nice. I would ideally like to get at least Android 11, so might not consider the S9+ :(
Although custom rom support for it seems to be good, might still be worth checking out. Thanks!
Just thought, mines Aussie so Exynos not SD, but performs well enough for me. Prefer it to the smaller S10 series and might consider a mid range SD7xx series if Samsung do a mid ranger with a decent camera one day! (as their flagships get given small batteries like we're too weak to hold 200g phones!)
LOL yeah how dare they assume we're that weak! They should purposely but in larger batteries so we can easily do bicep curls with our phones ;)
The A series looks not bad, some of them have Snapdragons. Camera might not be the best but Gcam ports are always around which helps a lot.
@mangobango: Someone just posted ebays next flash sales. Samsung A70 has a SD, not the latest but looks a good deal at $299.
@seraphim2017: Yeah I saw the A70 deal, very tempting at that price, can't really go wrong at all!
And it also looks like it already has decent custom rom support, gonna seriously consider that one.
Oppo Reno Z. Nice phone for the price and no complaints so far.
Reno Z seems pretty good, but I'd like to avoid non-Snapdragon phones.
Glad to hear it's been going pretty good though :)
I'm using a Samsung S10 I got recently for ~$700. Immediately (and briefly) prior to that I had a Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite. Though I recognise the quality the Samsung provides, I kinda wish I'd just gotten another xiaomi.
S10e, love it
Pixel 3XL, were going for $588
Could also look at the Opp that's about the same price (reno 5g)
Xperia Z5 Compact. Getting on a bit in age (2015), can be had now for round $250. Fingerprint reader, nfc, 23MP camera, can connect to ps4 and small form factor. Probably not an upgrade, maybe entry level now?
Xiaomi Mi Note 9 Pro.
Just want to say thank you to everyone for your input, interesting to see so many people using so many different phones!
I've decided to buy the newly released Oppo A52, looks like good bang for buck.
Thanks again everyone, much appreciated :)
What's it like, can you write a quick review please?
How's the side mounted fingerprint unlock?
I got it on Saturday, so far it hasn't really missed a beat.
The phone feels pretty snappy when you turn on high performance mode (it warns you that the battery drains much quicker, but I still managed around 9 hours SOT with some light gaming/installing and setting up new apps).
Side mounted fingerprint honestly works very well. I was skeptical at first, but it's very quick and works like an absolute charm.
Screen is big and very clear. It's only an LCD, but you don't really realize it, looks very sharp.
Battery again is a huge plus, charged it to 100% 6pm Saturday night, set up some apps and played a bit of games/browsed Twitter and whatnot. Didn't need to charge again until I went to bed last night.
ColorOS 7 is fantastic, though I'm still using Nova launcher as I'm a bit more comfortable with that, but ColorOS 7 is very close to stock Android and feels very fast and fluid (had a Pixel before this so that's saying something).
Default camera app is "okay", but there's a GCam port floating around which makes the camera really shine.
All in all, for $260ish with discounts, I'm incredibly happy with it so far. If you're looking for a new phone and don't want to spend a huge amount, then I can't recommend this enough.
Also looking to upgrade sometime, have a Motorola G6 plus, has been good, but as mentioned above doesn't get many OS upgrades.
How much value should be placed on a phone being an Android One phone when evaluating value?
Android One is good as it means you'll get updates faster, but it can still be up to the phone's manufacturer anyway/can still be delayed which can be annoying.
That being said though, Android One is basically as stock as you can get without grabbing a Pixel. It's a great OS, but if you use other launchers or anything then it just depends if the phone itself ticks the right boxes for you.
I buy last gen iphones, replace the battery and flip and get most of my money back so Im always 1 gen behind… Im only out the diff in upgrading $100-300 on average a year…
Sold my bro my XR 128gb for $650 and bought an ebay XS 256gb for $715 after discounts and paid $109 at Apple yesterday for a new battery… So $174 for 2020 and Im rocking a XS
Now NOTHING wrong with the XR, but its too big (so the MAX is out by default)… Ill pass on going for an 11 and wait for a good deal to swapout to an 12 in the new year with 5G maybe…
Personally I am going Samsung A71…not bad specs and will receive security updates as opposed to the S9 which I would like to have. A71 has better camera as well. In light of everything going on at the moment I would not touch a Chineese made phone, I do not like what I am reading about their opionion about us, not very friendly and who knows what is going to happen with google relationship as well might turn into a brick.
I'm on the Nokia 8. Pretty old now. But has Snapdragon 835, shite camera compared to flagships but you didn't mention camera preference.
I got mine for about 370 18 months ago, no idea why it costs more now. Sirocco for 420 from Kogan might be a better option.
LG v30+ for $399. Proving to be a good smartphone but if wanting outstanding camera, this would not meet your needs. Otherwise pretty reasonable phone at great price.
Samsung A51