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Ask Slashdot: What's the Best Unlocked Smartphone? (slashdot.org)
Slashdot reader datavirtue writes:
I've tried a lot of phones for extended periods of time. Some of these have included the Samsung S4, S5, S8+, Note 4, S7, iPhone 5, and Huawei Honor 8. I have stayed away from Apple... My favorite phone was the Nokia 920 Windows phone for its fluid performance and simplicity and hardware camera button, but that phone is long gone.
When searching for an unlocked phone after leaving my current job I ordered a Huawei Honor 8 which refused to join a network, and a iPhone 7 which was DOA. This led to my reluctant purchase of a Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra when the Microcenter sales team couldn't find the last Google Pixel they had in stock. Had no idea I was in for such a treat. The Sony Xperia phone experience is well refined and a joy to use.
Are there any other unlocked phones that you know of under $500 that run this good?
Share your own opinions and experiences in the comments. What's the best unlocked smartphone?
When searching for an unlocked phone after leaving my current job I ordered a Huawei Honor 8 which refused to join a network, and a iPhone 7 which was DOA. This led to my reluctant purchase of a Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra when the Microcenter sales team couldn't find the last Google Pixel they had in stock. Had no idea I was in for such a treat. The Sony Xperia phone experience is well refined and a joy to use.
Are there any other unlocked phones that you know of under $500 that run this good?
Share your own opinions and experiences in the comments. What's the best unlocked smartphone?
Any phone under $50.00
Plain vanilla Android phone, good update policy with no pre-installed crapware. The camera being passable but not great is about the only weak point.
No, no kidding. You can get a used iPhone 7 for below that price. Battery? Get the battery changed this year, it's still cheap from an Apple store.
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
My wife enjoys it. Seems pretty good so far. She likes the Moto Mods.
Android P, SD 835.
The company's future is a bit unknown at this point, but I've been curious to take a look at the Essential Phone -- a pure android experience, unlocked, runs on most networks, and while not the highest of specs it seems reasonably good.
Highly reputable company with skilled engineers, they deliver Android One phones without any crap and 3 years of guaranteed updates, primarily for western markets, so they're serious about their phones working on all networks.
Android 8.1... very happy with it
I vote Pixel2 for the hardware, but I put an [unofficial] build of LineageOS on it immediately.
Had no idea I was in for such a treat. The Sony Xperia phone experience is well refined and a joy to use.
slashvertisement in the guise of a question?
The Lenovo P2 is simply the best. One of the longest lasting batteries on the market and large display. I highly recommend this smartphone which can be purchased for less than $350 on Amazon, Ebay or AliExpress.
SD 820, many 8.1 oreo roms to choose from.
Any phone that you can get with regular monthly OS updates or you can install LineageOS on
when someone asks me to look for a phone i tell them to
1) use GSMArena's phone finder (or whatever their prefer) to search for a phone
2) check the phone they find against the list of devices that LineageOS supports https://download.lineageos.org...
Currently i'm using a Moto E 2015 LTE phone (surnia), but my next phone won't be a Moto - when they launched this model they promised it would have regular OS updates without having to install alternate OSs but then they fucked us and even discontinued all support for the phone. They sold it with a 2 year warranty but dumped its support 6 months after they launched it.
root@127.0.0.1
One of the things i loathe on modern smart phones is the manufacturer's custom UI and the pre-Insalled garbage on them.
This is, why I usually recommend Android One phones (all current Nokia or Xiaomi Mi), or phones with an experience as close to AOSP as possible, like Motorola or Oneplus
Sony builds nice handsets, with a horrible UI, but they offer their Open Devices program with detailed instructions on how to build AOSP and how to install it
Indeed I feel the Sony phones these days are underappreciated. They are very good. Great build quality good camera. Specs are fine as well. Sony also is very developer friendly better yet they actively support it. For instance you can install a decently supported alternate operating system like Sailfish X on several Xperia devices. This is a very sleek and fast OS which is also easier on you battery. When hardware breaks there is enough easily available spare parts. Before I forget, if you buy the Sailfish X for about $50 froem Jolla it will include the alien Dalvik which enables you to use regular Android apps. Anyway it is also a good choice for privacy and security minded individuals.
Get a 6 month old Sony Xperia. With their twice-per-year update schedule, the prior 700+ flagship gets to ~500 in roughly this timeframe.
Close to stock, good battery life, a lot of (useful) features, and a serious company behind.
Does the question mean unlocked firmware/bootloader so that one can easily flash LineageOS (possibly rebuilt)or does it just mean a locked proprietary firmware where SIM card of any operator can be used?
Windows Phone. Nerf Said. What rock have you been under since that epoch?
I recently purchased a Nokia 2 from Amazon [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075FLG6MV]. It's a generic android phone, unlocked, and with an unlocked bootloader. It cost $100 bucks. I'm not in love with it, but, it supports 2 sim cards at the same time, which is really cool, and I'm sure I'll find some use for eventually. ;)
If it doesn't run Lineage, then it's going to have a horribly out of date and branded Android. Read the supported devices wiki.
Unlocked, open, runs Android, Lineage, Sailfish,...
Unlocked can mean:
1) Unlocked to a carrier
2) Unlocked boot loader
3) Both
Having and unlocked boot loader is really nice if you want to run LineageOS or similar system.
Just works.
Fran
:):):)
1st 1st Poster of the new Millennium!
I forgot that this site eats less-than symbols. The above should've read "Apple is also pretty much your only choice if you want a less-than 5" display without compromising horribly on the camera and CPU. Even Sony's latest so-called compact phone has fallen victim to the "bigger is better" design mentality."
---
DRM is like antifreeze, to the MPAA/RIAA it's sweet, to the consumers it's poison.
I live in India now and every phone here is unlocked. So not sure what you mean by what's the best unlocked phone. Basically if you're asking what's the best phone, then this is my opinion. I've been long time user of iPhones but ever since they went on the path of $1000 phones, I moved to OnePlus. Am very happy. Super fast charging and great speed overall. Here the market is now flooded with sub-$200 phones which are mostly good, difference being clean OS vs default apps, photo quality and battery life. Almost every phone is dual SIM.
The Moto X4 sold by Google for the Project Fi is fantastic. You can get it for around $250. Bootloader is unlocked and the phone can be used in any carrier.
Something in the 1st world, my dear.
I've found that there's no appreciable difference between the Moto G5/G6 than the Pixel, with the sole exeption being the screen and camera. The screen, doesn't matter a whole lot, the OLED is a nice bump up, but the camera, you cannot fix or overlook a camera if your phone is your main camera.
I freaking hate paying more than I have to for a phone, I would just carry an old Moto G4 to do facebook and whatsapp, but the camera on it is garbage. The camera on the Pixel however is top notch, every photo comes out absolutely perfect every time. It's magic. If your memories don't matter to you then yeah, get a cheap phone, but if they do, don't skimp the extra $200 for a good camera on your phone.
moox. for a new generation.
I have a One plus 3T and I am very happy about it. Good battery life, regular updates, no bloatware. I don't know about the newer One plusses tho, they seem a bit.. too big, too premium.
Also my mom has a Xiaomi, she is also very happy with it. Whether the Chinese or the NSA read everything, who cares.
https://puri.sm/shop/librem-5/
Best Option. It's pre-order, so you'll have to wait a bit, but the wait is probably worth it.
You're welcome.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
I thought that wasn't a thing any more. Don't tell me people still fall for that subsidized phone scam.
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
"Good user experience" is very subjective, and very "how I use the phone!" specific.
Not everyone is looking for the same thing in a phone.
For instance, a recent purchase I made from ebay is a modified Motorola Photon Q.
Normally, this phone is incapable of accepting a SIM card, and is locked to Sprint. However, a simple hardware mod removes the baked on SIM module, and attaches a push-push sim card slot instead.
After that, and enabling carrier unlocking, it will accept any sim, even international.
Why bother? It is the most modern phone with a slide-out keyboard. If you use your phone for more than just making calls (you would be surprised how useful being able to jam on an SSH session while on the go can be) then this kind of mod is damn handy, and not being stuck 6 years in the past as far as android is concerned (Did I mention this bad-boy supports LineageOS? :P) and having a fairly decent hardware package along with that swanky keyboard is fan fucking tastic--- If you are into that kind of thing..
If all you want is to poke at facebook, post photos to instagram, or do all that social media shit-- you will want a more mainstream phone.
So, again-- what EXACTLY are you looking for in a phone?
Why get hung up on your phone's camera? Buy a camera if you want a camera.
I hate phones, but love cameras. I own cameras. And some p.o.s. thing a phone company gave me that makes phone calls.
A phone, I have with me all the time. A nice camera I only carry when I know I'm deliberately going to take photos of an outing or event, etc. Unfortunately, some of the best photo opportunities pop up unexpectedly. No I'm not going to carry a huge DSLR everywhere I go just in case. As such, having a really quite good camera on my mobile is extremely beneficial!
Xiaomi make nice phones at high quality. I cut out the middle man and buy direct from China
If you buy your phone cash, without going through your carrier, it should be unlocked.
There are some caveats. For example some Samsung phones require you to activate your phone with a SIM card from the country you bought it from, and only then, it is usable worldwide. Also you need to check that the frequencies your phone supports match the one your country use.
Now if you are talking about bootloader unlock, for installing custom ROMs, I suggest you take a look at xda-developers.com. A lot of flagship phones are, as long as you bought the off carrier, but you still need to check. You may also lose some functionality, like Android Pay or Samsung Knox, and the warranty policies differ.
My Samsung S6 was $500 and it works great. As always: Fuck Apple
I'm playing with the idea of buying a new phone and found this when I was checking phones out online about a week ago.
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/b...
Tom's has been around forever and as far as I know is still pretty reputable in regards to its recommendations.
I ignore Anonymous Coward posts. If you want to discuss something, that's awesome. Log in.
Used V30's in great condition can be had for well under 500. Headphone jack, works with sd card, fits in a proper goddamn case. The main flaw is that the screen is absolutely disgraceful when dim and showing contiguous colors. It's blotchy and has so many gridlines it looks like a spreadsheet. Literally the worst oled screen I've ever seen. Other major flaw is that security updates will likely be abandoned sooner rather than later. Also they're apparently too stupid to know people might want a flashlight widget.
"...the DSLR is so much better there is just no comparison"
"Most of what makes a good photo isn't the camera, it's the photographer."
I used to agree with the first statement, and went through multiple DSLRs over the years, but frankly, the best phone cameras today (i.e. Pixel 2XL, iPhone X, Galaxy S9+) can take some pretty AMAZING photos. Seriously. In direct comparisons any of those three can just about beat my previous DSLR under a variety of conditions (not just in bright light), and even my latest DSLR is no longer "so much better that there's just no comparison." The phone can actually hold its own pretty well, from an output perspective.
On PC or tablet screen sized images I can't reliably tell which is which from studying the photos, nor say for sure which image is actually "better."
Of course for flexibility, glass, and pixel-peeping performance a DSLR is still ahead, but we're rapidly approaching a point where pixel-peeping is becoming essentially irrelevant, and convenience outweighs flexibility for the VAST majority of amateur photographers. You can even shoot RAW with Lightroom CC on mobile, or a variety of other apps.
Actually, I had a seventh phone that was supposed to be a smartphone, but I beg to differ. Some kind of Microsoft OS, though I count myself fortunate to have forgotten the details now. About 10 or 15 years ago?
My own experiences with Huawei have been quite good, and my primary phone right now is a rather low-end and unlocked Huawei. Perhaps my expectations are too low, but the p10 lite seems to be doing everything I want and doing them well enough. Slightly complicated in that it's a limited data plan and I use a lot of WiFI, but still quite serviceable. Too soon to rate it #1?
Second best would be an older Huawei, also a low-end model, but locked. Some of my satisfaction may have been due to the carrier, but they got bought out because of their quality service.
Almost forgot the unlocked FreeTel, but I don't think that's an option now. Company was bought out by Rakuten. Medium low specs, but still quite good and currently my secondary phone, mostly for VoIP and PDA stuff. Only WiFi data now. Main annoyance is that it sometimes wants a reboot when the network has changed.
Close fourth was a Samsung Galaxy. Much higher specs and I used a few of the fancier capabilities, though not that much when I think back on it now. Locked and the real reason I rate it down here is probably the low quality of the services from that carrier. I endured them for 4 years that time around... Fool me twice, shame on me, and it was probably my third or fourth shame going back decades. It's just so hard to avoid the biggest carrier?
I'd put the presumably locked HTC as fifth and a big step down, but maybe some of that was due to my lack of experience? It was my first actual smartphone and I'm pert' shure I didn't know what I was doing.
Dead last goes to an unlocked ASUS which was a painful experience in many ways from the very beginning. It's still sitting unopened in the box they shipped it back in after the second round of repairs.
Anecdotal evidence, but I'm usually willing to share notes...
Freedom = (Meaningful - Coerced) Choice != (Speech | Beer^2), and sad sock puppets' bad mods avail them naught.
The Xperia series is hands down the best on the market. It's a complete mystery to me why they're not more popular.
Motorola V120 flip phone. It has a helicopter game but most of the tracking software don't exist on this phone.
20 days of battery if you don't game.
Why do you need a smart phone?
I use my smart phone to:
- Call people in the address book on the device
- Avoid logging into social media or use it for browsing because tracking/privacy
- Maps are neat
- Alarm Clock
4/4 of these things I don't need a smart phone for. Why do you need a smartphone?
I've had mine now for 6 months and it just works very well, it's dual sim, designed for world market.
The only bad thing I have to say about it is that it won't do wifi calling and VoLTE in the UK due to not having UK firmware available.
It's one of the few phones that bluetooth just works. Samsungs just fall over with bluetooth.
People seem to complain about the screen but I have had no problems with mine, the dual camera works great for wide angle shots. It has inductive charging and USB-C fast charge form 10% to full in about 1hour 30.
Audio is very good and it seems to find a usable signal where other phones don't.
Ebay has them from $300 to $600.
I have one and love it. Basically this is "the last good Android phone ever made" from a features perspective. Every other Android phone since is just a cheap attempt to copy the iPhone.
What do you consider qualities of the best phone? What do you need it to be able to do? Hardware-wise phones have become pretty similar. It's just the manufactures who would like us to believe differently so they can use numbers to confuse our evaluation/purchasing process.
It also depends on where you live. In the EU, most countries offer an easy way to remove SIM lock so any phone can become unlocked. You may still end up being bound in a contract but hey, technically your phone will be unlocked.
You may also consider another type of unlocking - rooting. Although most phones these days can be easily rooted, there are some which still resist the process or which hackers consider not worth their time or attention.
For me - a person who doesn't use social media or Google software and who writes his own apps - any phone with a 6" screen and decent battery life will do.
>"What's the best unlocked smartphone?"
You will have to define what you mean by "best"? Cheapest? Fastest? Most features? Best built? Let's try for cheapest with the maximum features...
My last phone was a $350 Nexus 5. I used it for something like 4 YEARS (replacing the battery once). Didn't regret it a bit. But it is kinda irrelevant now, so...
Now I have a Lenovo/Motorola Moto G5 Plus that I bought in November for $170 at Costco and does almost everything I could want. It is much faster than the Nexus 5, not overly large, yet not stupid thin, has decent battery life, nice screen, is totally unlocked, works on all carriers, has no crapware, the cameras work great (but doesn't try to compete with my professional Sony), has decent sound and functionality, has a real headset jack I can plug into anything, a freaky fast fingerprint sensor on the FRONT where it is easily accessed, and has SD card support so I can have all my music and photos with me. Popped in the T-Mobile SIM card, my SD, added a magnetic USB charger and a gel case, logged in and pulled in the rest of my stuff, loaded Nova Launcher and I was in business! I wish it had an easily serviceable battery and better updates (like to the next version of Android, which was implied but still not delivered), but for $170, I consider it a MAJOR win even if it lasts me only 2 years (it has already been 9 months).
I told all my friends and family about it, and before they sold out a few months later, mot of them grabbed one and like it a lot. Why anyone would want to buy a $1000 phone, especially every couple of years, is totally beyond my comprehension, unless it is just some stupid fashion statement and they have way more dollars than sense.
I ordered Xiaomi mi 8 from a chinese website for 361$. specs: SD845, 64GB/6GB RAM, dxomark 99, 6.2 inches SAMOLED with HDR10.
...disabled features. I have an unlocked S7, and for some reason the unlocked model does not have "WiFi Calling".
The phone co. branded versions of the S7 do, and I'm sure the unlocked phone has the capability but it is not enabled or accessible for some reason.
Location is kind of important here. Assume USA right?
Honor 6/7/8 is missing common American 4g bands. But Honor 10 has them and meets your criteria.
Moto G6 is a great phone and the best bang for your buck that I've seen. The $200 - $300 price range seems to be the sweet spot where you can get an awesome Android phone that is neither too cheap nor too expensive. You won't get all the high end features but you won't be frustrated with low performance either. There will always be people that want to spend more or less, but 95% of users would probably be perfectly happy. I bought mine earlier this summer and find the size, storage, display, battery life, camera, and overall experience just right.
I miss being able to hold a phone in one hand and type. I have nexus 4 that I keep updated still. It's not my daily diver because it's underpowered for my current work but it's great when I just need a map and something to stream audio. If I could design a dram phone it'd be a similar size, modern processor, 16G+ storage (I don't keep much) and 3G+ RAM with a headphone jack. That's it. I don't care about screens or cameras (I remove them and leave them with my collection of tinfoil hats, where possible) or of the other frills. Unfortunately for me, I'm not in a target market. Everyone seems to want to give their phone biometric data and keep Bluetooth and NFC running and take selfies so they can face swap with tennis shoes and.... GET OFF MY LAWN!
Reading / replying right now on a Nokia 920. They are 20-30 bucks on eBay.
I will not claim it "the best" but I have an Honor 8 and had no problems with it being able to join a network.
When it comes time to replace it, from what I know now, I'll be giving OnePlus serious consideration at the very least.
I don't subscribe to RMS's GNUtopian vision.
Apple iPHone SE - from T Mobile, In august 2017 I paid $350 - same specs as newest iPhone but the screen is not as big - totally worth it (it fits in my pocket, the big phone does not) Yes, technically it is locked but after 30 days they will unlock it.
Costco sells the Samsung Galaxy A5 new for well under $500. Nice OLED phone that is unlocked.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro is amazing for the price
https://m.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_...
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Great phone. Unlocked bootloader - you can root and flash to your heart's content. No band 13 though, so you'd have trouble with verizon if you are in the US market.
> My favorite phone was the Nokia 920 Windows phone for its fluid performance and simplicity and hardware camera button, but that phone is long gone.
What does "long gone" mean?
I'm still rockin' my Lumia 640. The few apps I use are more than adequate, and it's still regularly updated[*], despite what MS publicly claims
[*] https://support.microsoft.com/en-ca/help/4316692 is exactly 2 months old today
Over the last several years, I've opted for a refurbished Samsung S4, then S5, and put LineageOS on them. The results on these have been outstanding, and I paid less than $150 in either case.
For my job, the new parent company demanded a bunch of crap that I was not willing to put up with. And since I travel a lot for work anyways, I picked up a second phone just for work.
I read the reviews over at the Wirecutter and picked up a Moto G6 unlocked from a local BestBuy. While here in the states I run SIM card free, but when I travel I pop in a SIM card and go.
As far as usability goes, it's okay. I think Google does need to really polish their stuff to Apple's level, but that's my opinion.
III.IIVIVIXIIVIVIIIVVIIIIXVIIIXIIIIIIIIVIIIIVVIII
Would you like to listen to a music band while we converse about our skate contraptions?
Smartphones are more and more a trap and a cancer. Don't get one at all, get cheap basic phone that's good at being a phone and never mind the rest of it. You'll save money on the phone, you'll save money on the wireless plan, and you'll maybe save your life by not being distracted by the thing when you're driving or even walking for that matter.
So your iphone 7 was DOA and that's your reason for not using an iphone7? Was it used or something, as that's almost unheard of and of all the phones out there the iphone is the easiest to get service on (especially if you live near a major city).
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
My favorite phone was the HTC OneMAX.
Its only drawback was that it required a daily charging. Miss that and you were screwed.
"I believe in Karma. That means I can do bad things to people all day long and I assume they deserve it." : Dogbert
Both are about $125, are fast enough for day to day use, have removable battery and upgradable storage.
I don't mind paying more than $500 for a good phone, but in recent years I've been appalled at the awful quality of high-end smartphones. I had to return an HTC One because it had a broken mic that apparently couldn't be fixed in the three times they claimed to have fixed it. My Samsung Galaxy's orientation is broken, regularly does completely random stuff, and it's full of bloatware I can't remove. Connectivity is poor. I really love Fairphone, but my Fairphone 2 does automatic reboots way too often (and no high-end smartphone has been immune to this).
Maybe the best smartphone I've ever owned was the Motorola Milestone I bought after my iPhone 3G was stolen. It had a period where it occasionally called random people, didn't receive software updates and had an encrypted bootloader that prevented me from updating it, but at least it felt like I had the best device available at the time. The iPhone I had before that had poor connectivity and is of course limited by Apple.
I don't understand why €600 can't get me a reliable, crap-free smartphone.
Blackberry. I picked one up last year (the Priv model) for around $250. It runs pure Android without any carrier crap added to it. As a bonus, it is a very secure phone. It comes bundled with several BB apps and my favorite is BB Hub. It's sort of like a communications unified inbox. You can uninstall the BB apps if you don't want to use them. The best part is that you get access to the entire Google Play Store. It will run any Android app.
For fans of it, there is a physical keyboard. Honestly I never really type with it but it does come with a lot of clever shortcuts. The screen is good (1920 resolution) and the camera is pretty good. Not as good as the iPhone camera but at 1/4 the price I can live with it. Battery isn't stellar but I can get through most of the day without looking for a recharge.
These days the only place you can buy a BB is either Best Buy or Amazon. For the money, it's a good phone.
Anything that doesn't come with pile of shit 'Beats Audio' headphones or speakers.
I mean seriously, I can get the same effect walking around with a plastic bucket on my head.
Lg G5
Moto G5 Plus
Moto X4
For inexpensive, reasonably fast phones, I used to have Motorola G5 Plus, until I dropped it in water (and never recovered). Then I bought a Moto X4 - (waterproof). Any of the phones in this category run Android and get updated quite readily.
If you can find LG G5, it is a good one too. I loved mine and used it for two years and I still have it as a work/desk phone.
However, if I had money, I would buy something that has a very good camera. I am well-versed in Android programming and so I would stick to Android-phones. However, if I had to suggest something for my family or extended family, I would suggest Apple iPhone 7 or 8 models. If I knew how to write iPhone apps, I would stick to Apple phones. I do not like the data sharing that comes along with Android and Google Apps. I trust Apple and Microsoft more than Google.
Non android and non iphone?
Since you're on a US focused Web site, maybe spend two seconds googling locked phones, or read the other comments, instead of sounding like an intentionally obtuse moron.
Unlocked is nice, but also the phone as to be able to work with all of the networks in your country. How many unlocked phones work only on ATT and not Verizon? Way too many. I keep seeing phones that I want only to find out they won't work on Verizon. I wouldn't mind a Blackberry or (forgot the North-Euro's company name) phone. Look good and a good price. Unlocked won't cut it if you still can't use it.
...talk like a god damned faggot.
...like a god damned faggot. Even walk like one.
Get one used for $500.
You're staying away from Apple for reasons other than searching for the best.
Works underwater (has a dedicated underwater camera mode) is obviously waterproof with the covers closed (power and headphone ports) has wired and wireless charging, MIL-SPEC components, is a tank with the simple addition of a regular screen protector, and runs everything I need (and it will run games, though I don't use it for that.)
Updated versions are $400 and loaded with hardware.
Best smartphone I've ever had.
If you all day battery life with a fairly speedy phone, it's the Moto z3. It comes with a battery mod that snaps onto the back that brings battery capacity from the average 3,000mah to 5,000 mah, while still being thin enough to hold easily, use 1 handed, and slip in and out of your pocket easily. (Assuming your hands are big enough for other large phones as well).
If you mean unlocked BOOTLOADER, as in, I can install custom ROMs, than Sony is the one to beat. Just be careful of the specific model you select.
If by uunlocked you mean "I can stick a SIMcard from any opearator and the thing will work", then a Nokia 6 or higher is the best Android for that job.
Onorable mention for the MotoZ with Shatershield + MotoMods.
*** Suerte a todos y Feliz dia!
Best at what?
My Moto E4 that I got for $100 last year does everything that I want it to (maps, email, music, texts, photos), quite well.
I'm pretty enthusiastic about OnePlus. It's close to AOSP, with the changes being genuine enhancements (added interfaces and options to manage battery usage and data usage). The OTA update procedure supports rooted phones (though you'll need to root again afterwards). Some button customizations are possible without root. The "cheap" plastic screen protector that comes with the OnePlus 5 is better than any I've seen: is seems to be oleophobic and optically fairly clear, with much less friction than expected.
A cat can't teach a dog to bark.
It sounds like you thoroughly fucking deserve to get stuck with some shitty pre-hacked AynRandRoid handset!
Available right now? Samsung Galaxy S5. It's water resistant, has a replaceable battery, has wireless charging (not natively, but Samsung make a replacement back cover with the reception coils built in), is made of plastic (so it's got good radio properties and won't break when it hits the ground), has good LineageOS support (so guaranteed updates) and is available pretty cheaply because of its age. We hit peak Samsung four years ago; it's all been downhill from there.
Just don't be an idiot and buy one from a network operator (seriously, why do people even do that?).
Future use? Probably the Librem 5 (https://puri.sm/shop/librem-5/) which will have far less restrictions on what you can do with it.
Check oit Xiaomi (overall value for money) and Oppo (camera focused brand)
Xiaomi A1 and A2 are stock google.
Otherwise their phone range uses their MiUi which is quite good. These are the guys few can beat in terms of spec/price. Xiaomi is the 4th largest phone manufacturer, behind apple samsung and lenovo(i think).
Ive been using this..
For $159 you can get a Nokia 3.1 running pure Android (Oreo) with zero bloatware. It's part of the "Android One" program. The only real downside is that Nokia removed the NFC chip from the US model and it doesn't have any biometric authentication. At that price don't expect flagship performance either.
For $100 more you can get the Nokia 6.1 which includes NFC and a fingerprint reader.
Both phones have a beautiful design accented with metal. They are sleek and can take great daylight pictures. Their nighttime picture taking ability is poor though.
-==- Buy a Mac and leave me alone!
...this guy never tried a Motorola or Xiaomi?
I am using Motorolas for 4 years in a row. I hate wasting money on fashion hardware that does things like any other phone.
I got a little pissed with Motorola after Lenovo acquired. The fast update policy is long gone due to this crap company called Lenovo.
I simply hate overdoed Samsung with their custom bullshits that cause a lot of overhead on Android, not to mention that stupid "infinite" screen that allows everybody to see what your are doing in the phone.
My next phone will definitely be a good Xiaomi.
Definitely check out the Xiaomi Mi A1
Probably not the best, my choice is One+ 5T. It is sold not locked, can do 2 SIMS, has Qualcom 835, 6 GB memory & more. Perhaps most importantly, LineageOS is available for it. I feel more secure not having google apps in my phones.
Later One+ phones lack metal frames and plastic backs. Last price I know of was $499 some months ago.
I used to have the One Plus 3 and 2 years later I purchased the OnePlus 6 and gave the 3 to my kid. I love this phone. Best battery ever. I will never, ever own another Moto. They are cheap and every single one of them has died on me. Motorola wouldn't replace the broken glass on one that was still under warranty EVEN IF I PAID for it. They returned it unrepaired without even giving me the courtesy of an email or phone call. They never get another penny of my money, ever.
One Plus.
The current crop of android phones from Motorolla are great and very good value for money. Now that Samsung's are POS due to their Andoid UI usability 'enhancements' I prefer Moto's by a mile.