I am an alien who has never heard of them. Please explain.
OK, not really, but the world of smartphones has totally passed me by :D. However, my current phone is as dated as it’s ancestral namesake, the airship R101, so I need to find out about them. I’m in New Zealand, so I’ll have to do my own research into plans and companies, but your opinions on the different handsets would be useful.
My current provider seems to have Iphones, Samsung galaxies and Huawei P9s, each of which has a bewildering array of identical looking submodels. So what should I be looking for? I’m willing to spend a bit to buy a phone that will last.
Features I need:
Good call quality
Good texting - I’ve noticed that some of my friends have had trouble with texts getting delayed because they’re being sent as internet data instead of sms. I presume this is something that most phones can turn off?
-Good battery life
Internet Browsing and app functionality, I don’t expect to spend a lot of time downloading videos or playing games.
Fits in pocket easily.
I realize privacy issues are a lost cause these days, but if there’s any OS or feature that is a real pain in this area, I’d like to know!
It seems like most phones these days divide into android and iOS, what are the main differences between the two?
I personally prefer android because they are cheaper (usually much cheaper) and have a microSD slot if you want extra storage for music and videos. Also the battery on an android device is easier to replace than an apple.
For me, my old phone had a 4.3" screen. My new one has a 5" screen. Larger screens are not always better. With my 4.3" screen, I could hold the phone in one hand and have enough room to put my thumb anywhere on the screen. It was a one handed device. My new 5" phone requires two hands to operate. Stuff like that are things you never consider, because the phone companies just keep pushing for bigger and bigger screens, trying to turn phones into tablets. But a smaller screen and smaller phone is easier to operate with one hand.
However both phones fit into my pocket easily. Even small tablets fit in my pocket though, like my kindle fire.
If you are worried about battery life, buy an external battery pack and keep it with you (or in your car). One issue with battery life is that phones loaded with bloatware and whatever will burn through a battery fast no matter how big it is. I’m running into this with my new phone. The battery is 50% larger, but it runs out much faster because of bloatware. I can’t figure out how to fix this issue.
I think call quality is more a matter of your provider and how much coverage you have. I’m not sure what role the phone itself plays.
If you want a phone that just works, with limited ability to customize the environment, go for an iPhone. If you want a phone with almost limitless customizability, go for an Android phone.
My first true smartphone was the DroidX, although I had a Blackberry Storm before it. After two years, I switched from the DroidX to the Samsung Galaxy Note 2. I then skipped the Note 3 and upgraded to the Note 4, which is where I am now. I have no plans to upgrade at this time, even though the Galaxy Note line is up to version 7. I am happy with the build quality of the device, the battery life, the size, and performance.
In Samsung’s infinite wisdom, they decided to eliminate the ability for end users to remove and replace the battery in their Note line, which is a deal breaker for me.
Don’t buy an LG or Samsung as they do not allow you to use the new “adopt SD memory” feature of Android!
Be sure the phone will allow you to either “adopt” the SD card memory or that it has a lot of internal memory. That is the problem. They don’t put in enough internal memory, so you need to use optional “add-on” memory". And could do so in the past. But not with the newest Android version 6.0. They switched it to “adopt the SD card” as internal memory. Well LG and Samsung decided to not allow that! (So don’t buy their products!)
if long battery life is important to you, it’s best to avoid Android. I’ve not had one which had what I’d consider even remotely acceptable battery life. Not even Google’s “flagship” Nexus 5. I generally prefer Windows Phone, but the fate of that platform is in limbo. So I’d have to recommend you go with the iPhone.
OK, so looking on the apple side of things, An SE Iphone would probably be the best choice there. (Although Wiki tells me it lacks a barometer, whatever shall I do :eek:) One issue I can think of though, I really don’t want it syncing up contacts or installing POS linking programs if I connect it to computers. So far I’ve only ever had two needs when connecting to PCs, charging the battery and transferring photos, which I far prefer copying using windows copy/paste, since most of the time they get put on work’s filing system. How much of a problem is this likely to be?
If you so choose, you need never connect an iPhone to a computer. You can download updates directly to the phone, and if you want to back it up, you can do so to iCloud.
Some years ago I moved up from an ordinary cell phone (okay, it had a camera too) to a full-blown Android (Motorola.) Weird thing is that the phone (as a phone) doesn’t “duplex” well. Only one person can talk at a time. If I’m talking, I can’t hear the other guy, and vice versa. Bad feature! Natural human conversation patterns include a lot of talking over each other, and interrupting each other. I want my phone to be as much as possible like being right there in the room with the other guy.
the iPhone SE is basically the iPhone 6 guts in a smaller body. if you prefer a smaller phone, then the SE is the way to go. if you like a bit larger screen, then look at a 6S or 7. try both.
and if you don’t install iTunes on your computers (assuming they’re running Windows) then an iPhone should show up as an MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) device which you can drag and drop photos from.
That’s good to know. Still haven’t forgiven itunes for rearranging my song library completely some years ago!
Looking at droids tonight. The only recent sub 5" my provider has is the Galaxy A3. A couple of hundred cheaper than the SE but only 16GB internal memory and battery is only 2300mAh. I also found the Xperia Z5 compact. Any others worth looking at?
Your fairly meagre requirements don’t suggest you need anything as expensive as an iphone.
You can get equivalent or better battery life and screen size with all the features you need for a quarter of the price if you go for an Android.
The cheaper end of the motorola range has done me fine for the last two years, bang a huge sd card in there (you can’t do that with an iphone) and you’ve got pretty much unlimited storage.
Sure the iphone is nice and if you are something of a power user and money is no object then it is an option but otherwise…you can save yourself a load of cash.
The Sony Xperia phones have a reputation for excellent battery life. Note that that is excellent battery life for a smartphone - you’ll still need to charge every day or so, but the Z5 will comfortably see you through a full day of moderate use.
Mine have lasted just fine. But battery life can fluctuate so much based on usage that you’re best bet is to just look up some reviews and see how long the battery lasted idle, when using GPS, when playing video, etc. Someone who uses their phone as a phone and maybe checks Twitter once in a while will have very different experiences from someone who is never off the thing, watches video, plays games, etc on it.
Depends on what your definition of ‘acceptable battery life’ is. The battery in my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 lasts about a day and a half with moderate use, eg, emails, texts, Maps and a few other apps, and a few phone calls a day.
When I go to bed at night, I typically have approximately 30% left on the battery. I usually charge my phone every night, but if I forget, I will charge it up at my desk at work the next day while there is still some juice left.
I am never concerned about making it through the day with my phone, and that, to me, is the definition of acceptable battery life.