Not sure if it is like that because I’m in Korea, but on my Samsung S9 Samsung is injecting ads for their new S24 in my notifications. I’ve had the phone for 5 years and this is the first time I see ads in my phone notifications, unbelievable.
Not sure if it is like that because I’m in Korea, but on my Samsung S9 Samsung is injecting ads for their new S24 in my notifications. I’ve had the phone for 5 years and this is the first time I see ads in my phone notifications, unbelievable.
I’m desperately trying to find a new phone that isn’t a Samsung. I switched by force from LG to Samsung and even though the Samsung was 3 years newer, it was a downgrade.
It pushes so many notifications I have given up. I’m going to have to spend $1400 on a Sony just to retain my SD card slot and get rid of the bloatware.
Since starting my hunt, my garbage s20 is pushing so many s24 ads. Guess how many phones have an SD card slot and a FHD+ screen?
Nine. 4 of them are made by Sony.
Edit: I forgot to mention that my samsung phone also gave me a notification Ad for the S24. I didn’t think to screenshot it because my notifications are so aggressive that I have become brain dead to this bullshit. I can clear a wall of 15 and within 3 minutes have another wall of 10.
The fairphone 5 has an SD slot, oled FHD and replaceable battery to boot
Since Fairphone 4, they are really good mid range smartphones. Price is higher, but gotta pay for the ethics somehow.
I’m super happy with my Fairphone 3 as well (I upgraded the camera to 3+), but the newer models seem to have made major improvements indeed.
Still, for anyone who doesn’t need anything too fancy but who insist on having a headphone jack, a used Fairphone 3 is a good option. Buy a new battery for it and it’ll be good as new. :)
the entire phone pieces are replaceable 💀💀, but i also recomend
Promising tech and features, but likely wouldn’t work in my area 😔
I’d definitely recommend Sony for the features I value: battery life, MicroSD slot, and headphone jack. They’re the only manufacturer doing this with their high end phones. I’d go with the $1000 Xperia 5 V if I was looking for a flagship. It has a headphone jack, MicroSD slot, great performance, and outstanding battery life.
If you’re on a budget in the US, go with the Motorola G Stylus 5G (2023). Adequate performance, good battery life, headphone jack, MicroSD slot, lots of internal storage, 120hz FHD+ screen, for $250-$300.
Seriously appreciate the suggestions because I have to catch up on phone specs since I never care about phones until I need to upgrade.
I had a couple hours to pick my current phone and my list of complaints and serious issues with it is outrageously long. I was seriously upset when LG left the phone market, and can’t believe how overlooked and downtrodden their phones were.
For me personally, I’m all about minimal bloatware, the best screen quality, at least decent chip performance, and expandable storage.
Bloat for obvious reasons.
Screen quality due to me usually only watching TV when with my spouse and/or sailing. Otherwise I’m using my phone.
My s20 FE’s chip is ok, but it was barely a jump from my v30, and now it’s feeling slow when I use a lot of CPU intensive apps. I’ve noticed detrimental file degradation when moving large files around my phone unless I clear all app usage and even then it can still create artifacts, and take a long time.
SD slot because the service in my area is garbage and I could never count on cloud storage that will also inevitably grow as I age. Plus sailing.
The moto being an LCD is pretty much a deal breaker for me. The 5V isn’t available here. The 1V is the only thing that checks every box, but the price is exorbant, the lack of wifi calling, bad auto photo mode, questionable durability, poor software support, lack of in depth reviews, and the general mystery surrounding the Sony software and UI makes me extremely hesitant for what I intend to be at least a 5 year phone.
I’m probably going to bite the bullet and get the Sony, but I’m still just so frustrated with the phone market. I keep getting the same responses from people like: “I just pay $5 a month for 500G”.
LIKE YOU REALIZE THAT THOSE HIGH RES CAMERAS YOU PAID A PREMIUM FOR ARE GOING TO CREATE LARGER FILES RIGHT? WHEN YOU RUN OUT OF THE 500G YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY $15 FOR THE NEXT TIER, EVERY MONTH, UNTIL YOU RUN OUT OF SPACE, WHICH WILL HAPPEN FAST WHEN YOUR 1 HOUR 4K 120FPS AI EFFECTS EDITED VIDEOS OF YOUR NEWBORNS BIRTH TAKE UP 20G, AND THEN IF YOU CANT AFFORD IT THEN YOUR CHERISHED MEMORIES WILL BE HELD HOSTAGE UNTIL YOU CAN PAY THE FEE TO STORE THEM, WHERE? ON A GODDAMN MEMORY CARD.
You know how every streaming provider is jacking their prices because people are hooked on their platform? That’s what companies will be doing with your cherished memories within the next 2 years.
Sorry for the rant. I’m a little high. Appreciate the suggestions buddy!
If you want something cheaper with a great display and great performance and can stomach the lack of expandable storage, and some bloatware, go with the OnePlus 12. Once you remove it, the phone will absolutely fly.
If you are okay with a no expandable storage and worse screen (still a bright OLED) and want less bloatware and/or are on a tighter budget, go with the Motorola Edge+ (2023). It still has 512GB internal and costs just $600.
As for the cloud storage problem, I suggest you have some kind of external drives, or even a high capacity laptop or desktop. You can transfer files with a cable, and storage is quite cheap, although the price (at least for SSDs) is climbing up and will probably continue to do so this year. Currently, I have 3TB of SSDs in my laptop and a 4TB external drive for my backups, while important backups are also stored in the cloud, which take up under 100GB total.
Expandable storage is #1, great screen would just barely edge out excessive bloatware for #2.
I guess I’m just bitching at this point because I know the sony is the only one that will fit what I want. Motorola is so close to filling the space that LG left behind, it’s unfortunate they haven’t realized they are just two features short of being unique at their price point. They don’t have the ecosystem, aren’t trying to create one, so why not pack in the features everyone else ignores?
I just really wish the EU could somehow create an argument to require memory card slots. I’ve been trying my best to come up with one myself, just to put it out there in the world.
I say vote with your wallet and get the Sony if you don’t like my other suggestions. Your choice as a consumer will show that people still care about expandable storage.
Haha yeah I spent £200 on a Xiaomi something or another and it’s totally fine.
Got a Redmi Note 12 from them for €180, replaced their version of the OS (riddled with pre-installed apps) with the clean one (MIUI) and from a software usability it’s a nice as the old (old, old) One Plus from way before the enshittification trend that it replaced and, of course, it’s light-years ahead in terms of hardware.
Granted, a little technical knowhow is very usefull to install a clean OS on an Android phone (I used to make Android apps at some point in my career, so that helps).
I got a Samsung midrange with expandable storage and I’m realizing all those features the galaxy has exclusively I never used or cared for in the long term
I could stick with samsung if it wasn’t for their bloatware and their terrible push notifications. And their UI. And their terrible ecosystem that pushes more data collection. And their terrible integration with google products. And their terrible boot system that pushes updates in the middle of the night, but doesn’t fully restart the phone so your texts, calls, and alarms don’t come through.