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My Huawei is dying and I haven't really looked at mobile phones in an age so the current crop of phones are a bit of a mystery to me. I am pretty set on Android and would like something with good battery life. Quite tempted by the Pixel 6 but I thought I would ask you lot as I suspect the singletrackhivemind likely has some insights.
Any advice all please?
Save some money and get a Pixel 4a? Very pleased with mine.
I've had a pixel 5 fir a year and it's great. My wife has a 4a which is good but has a noticeably worse battery.
I'd get a pixel 6 if shopping now.
https://www.expertreviews.co.uk/mobile-phones/1413426/xiaomi-redmi-note-10-pro-review
I have one of these, battery life is great, generally only charge it every second night.
Cameras are decent, has a headphone jack, takes an SD card. Much faster than the Moto g6 it replaced and the Xiaomi extras on Android are barely noticeable. £220
Really happy with the Pixel 5.
I've got a Pixel 6, really good phone! Moved from a galaxy S8, so not owned many of the recent android phones but I've tried a few that my friends have had.
Pixel 6 camera is ace, really quick to navigate, great screen and speakers and battery life is two days between charges.
Depends how much you want to spend but Poco X3 Pro looks good if on a budget. I've got the older Poco X3 NFC and the battery lasts 48 hours. Previous Huawei phone had to be charged once a day, as a point of reference.
Don't disregard a Samsung because they used to be full of bloat and have horrible skins. They've learnt their lesson and the "A range" are decent performers as well as the S range-toppers.
Also, if you like your Huawei but also want the Google Play store & apps then check out the new Honor phones. Honor and Huawei are now legally separated so as before the handsets are very similar/identical but the Honor phones have the Google app store!
Thanks all - johnny, didn't know that about Honor. Gonna go look at what costs what now.
Just recently bought a Pixel 6. I've been waiting for a new compact Android to appear but gave up. The Pixel 6 is ace though.
Poco F3 worth looking at too. Massive spec for the money (what I have after a Poco F1).
Take a look at hukd and see what floats your boat.
T'other half just got the latest Moto G (a 9 something I think, was £170.) She's pleased with it, 3 day battery and charges in 12 minutes.
Pixel 4a. Happy with mine. Just don't see the point in paying huge amounts for a phone.
I've been happy with my Ulefone x7 for over a year now. They do non rugged versions too. Just seems to work and has minimal bloat ware.
I was waiting for the Samsung A72 to be released as it looked like a very good phone for the money but then found a brand new sim free S20 FE 5G for under £300 & its been superb.
Son is very happy with his Oppo Reno 4. I'm happy so far with my Oneplus Nord.
There's a 6a on it's way...
A52 S. 🙂
There’s a 6a on it’s way…
alledgedly, maybe. Possible CAD renders... of course there is, they increment every series 🙂
Anyway, I'm historically a pixel fan and I sent my 6 back after a week for a number of reasons. A lot of reviews rave around specs and don't really mention day to day use. I've also tried a few phones recently since my other halfs Pixel 2 died and I gave her my 4a I'm looking for my next phone to keep for a few years.
* Build quality - the screen and back actually feel like they are made of cheap flexible plastic. They give a horrible 'hollow' sound when tapped and both flex when pressed. The side buttons also rattle around and feel a bit cheap clicky for me. The 3A XL feels more solid as the screen and back don't flex and feel more solid and also the power/volume buttons don't rattle in the same way.
* Shape/ergonomics - the corners are very tight radiused and the back doesn't have any taper towards the sides. Compared with the 3A XL, 4a, 4a 5g, 5a, 4XL, 4 etc... the ergonomics are a step backwards. the corner of the phone doesn't sit into the palm of your hand very well so a/ is uncomfortable and b/ the top of the phone is effectively further away from your fingers so you're shuffling the phone up and down quite a bit. The slipperyness of the phone makes this feel even worse. It's also a bit heavy and that weight is biased towards the top to make it feel even more like it's going to fall out of your hand.
* Camera - it's only slightly better in the grand scheme than any of the previous pixels. Pixels have always been great for me for taking pics of kids indoors - they somehow manage to capture moving kids in low light better than just about anything. They also maintain skins tones and detail much better than others (looking at you Samsung). Better than most, not that much better than other pixels.
* Android 12 - whilst it's more refined in menus/settings, the quick settings and notifications pull downs now look childish. I'm not 5, I can deal with small buttons (actually, so can my 5 year old). I hope Samsung and OnePlus etc... maintain their existing design philosophy on these when they release a12.
* screen - actually quite dim by default, and no amount of nudging the slider in auto brightness would make it learn to be a bit brighter for me. It also has a yellow cast, a little like the 'eye comfort' is on a little. Also get mult-coloured banding/rainbow effect as soon as you look at the screen not directly on. It's also actually quite narrow for the width of the phone. Pixel 3a Xl screen was better IME, and OnePlus 8T screen is different world.
* finger print reader. Sometimes it's ace, other times it's unusable. frustrating.
* earpiece speaker - great when using them handsfree etc... but against your ear as an actual phone the speaker was strangely 'buzzy' on mine. unpleasant to make calls on!
* charge speed - s l o w. Well, fast to 50% ish then so so slow after that. Assume it's to maintain long term battery health but crumbs it's slow to charge.
So yeah, Pixel 6 had great potential but it just missed the usability/comfort remit.
I'd go for an older pixel if camera is important ('as new' google warranty replacements on ebay are a good source), or a OnePlus 8T if you appreciate phone ergonomics, fantastically solid build and a super fast and smooth interface and actually quite nice customisaton away from googles take on pixel android (and actually in most lighting the camera is very good and actually does better than a pixel sometimes, but low light kids is not its strong point). 8T is currently £350 on amazon. Great price for what you're getting.
A 4a is good for camera and if you want new with warranty the current £250 currys/carphonewarehouse deals are great. However, build quality went backwards from the 3a XL (you can twist the phone, it creaks, and my other half's has cracks in the phone body despite living in a mahoosive case. Nice size though and great ergonomics would only be a little better with some taper in the back towards the edges.
Samsung's cameras go for slightly over-the-top colours and saturation which some people like, but their skin tone detailing is horrible and I find pixels give a much more 'true to life' recording. On my work s20 fe I find the camera app so laggy when taking pics that I'm not sure if it's taken a pic or not. A pixel (and 8T) is so fast in use of the camera and *always* captures the moment. S20 fe audio quality for both loud speakers and earpiece on phone calls is on another level to anything else I've tried.
I’ve been waiting for a new compact Android...
This. Does anyone make an Android phone that's about equivalent size to the small form iPhones? And with a decent camera.
This. Does anyone make an Android phone that’s about equivalent size to the small form iPhones? And with a decent camera.
pixel 4a is one you can buy right now for £250.
Yeah, that seems about the best compromise, but it's still 12mm ish larger in width and height than the 12 mini. I'd like something about that size.
Save some money and get a Pixel 4a? Very pleased with mine.
Save even more money and get a 3a. That's what I've got, it's fine.
Another Pixel fan here. It's solid, plain Android, decent camera, excellent battery life - and just works! Bit large of course, but no more so than the average of the current crop of smartphones
I bought a Poco F3 recently. Only real issue is the size - it is large. However for me it is excellent, good screen, good battery and not too much bloatware.
That pixel on sale at the moment, is it the 4g one or 5g? I was looking recently and couldn't find 5g ones on sale
I have a fairphone on its way, it was about £500 which is a lot but I'm hopeful, and the smug value can't be underestimated 🙂 will post a review when it gets here early December