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To replace my Nexus 5. Everything's so big these days; I just want a phone, not a flat screen telly in my pocket.
Any ideas? Up to £150 ideally, £200 okay, more than that it'll have to be pretty darn perfect...
There's the Sony Xperia compacts, but the Sony UI is pretty ropey. I'd ideally like pure-ish Android, but the only people who really do that are Motorola and they're mahoosive phones.
I was looking for something and i got a Wileyfox Swift. Don't get one of those.
I don't have an answer, but if you find one I'd love to hear it as I've been looking for exactly that for years.
I've currently got a HTC One (M7), it's over 4 years old and brilliant, never put a foot wrong, but it's twice the size I'd like it to be when I've got a tablet to do the heavy lifting. At the time there was a HTC One Mini which I thought would be perfect but it turned out to be nominally smaller and half the spec.
I was looking for something and i got a Wileyfox Swift. Don't get one of those.
Phew, I was looking at them last night 🙂
2nd hand sony z3 compact / z5 compact might fit the bill. I've got the Z5 compact and it is far from perfect but the only decent small ish quality phone available at the time
also following with interest.
the sonys are fragile as all hell too.
[quote=IHN ]Phew, I was looking at them last night
Battery lasts me two days (I'm a light user) which is good, it's only 16gb but does take an SD card (plus dual SIM capability) which is a plus point, but GPS is not brilliant and camera is not great.
Motorola G4 lokos good but it's massive. Mate got one and it's far bigger than I want - I only really wanted a 4.5" screen but had to go 5" in the end based on the cost / value analysis
Will keep an eye on this thread in case you find something though
I'm tempted to buy a Xiaomi Redmi 3S (not note). Some Chinese market phones are well built and far outstrip the spec of similar priced UK market phones.
$150 from gear best, but you might need to re-flash the phone before its useable as some sellers put strange firmware on.
Check out the battery life!
If you have deeper pockets there is the Mi5 http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/xiaomi-mi5-1315657/review
Nexus 5x is the things you ask for, now a bit cheaper but maybe a little above budget. Nice and thin, decent screen and camera, plus up to date software.
Nexus 5x is the things you ask for
Yeah, maybe, but it's still 10mm longer and 5mm wider than the Nexus 5. Doesn't sound much, but it adds up.
Oneplus 3 or 3T
Agree with IHN. Had a Nexus 5 and was upgraded by work to 5x. The 5x is a nicer phone, really like the fingerprint scanner, but it is noticeably bigger. When I have to buy a personal phone I'd be tempted to go for a small dumb phone that easily slips in the pocket of my jeans and I don't have to take out if I want to sit down.
ah yes the xiaomi,. was looking at that recently
Bloke at work has got an Xperia Z3 Compact & loves it.
What is ropey about the Sony UI?
I've got an Xperia T which is coming up for 4 years old & I think the interface is pretty good - definitely better than the Samsung style of over-saturated toddler-plaything look, in my opinion.
I don't get the Sony are fragile thing either, but that's probably because my phone doesn't have the fancy glass panels on the back that the newer phones seem to have.....
It does seem to be harder to find a decent phone though, which doesn't come with a 5"+ screen.....
Some of the LG phones look pretty good, but big screens & questionable battery life would put me off.
Why 32Gb?
I was looking for something and i got a Wileyfox Swift. Don't get one of those.
Same here. It's about 6 months old and horribly slow now. GPS seems to only be connected about 50% of the time that I'm using it for google map navigation. It will manage to do navigation while also streaming music to the car via bluetooth, but only just. The music will stutter and sometimes drop out completely when the phone is working to update/rotate/zoom the map.
Even running the 'animation' of fading the screen to black when turning it off (the screen, not the phone) seems to be hard work. I'll press the button to turn the screen off and nothing will happen for 3 seconds, so I press it again. Then maybe another 5 seconds pass and it's still not done anything, so I give it a firm press, thinking I might not be pushing it properly. Then finally, a few seconds later, the screen turns off, then back on, then opens the camera because it thinks I've double tapped the power button. Then turns the screen off again. So you press the button to turn the screen back on and go through the whole thing again in reverse!
If I press the Home button it lights up the button to show I've pressed it, and then just sits there for a few seconds before showing me a blank home screen, then a few seconds later loading the icons.
Also, it drops wifi, and then reconnects a few seconds later, whenever I connect or disconnect to a bluetooth device.
Also, it buzzes whenever it connects/disconnects to a wifi source which is annoying when I walk to the back of the house and it connects to the range extender in the kitchen rather than the router. *bzzz*, then back to the front of the house and *bzzz* again.
Also, the camera's rubbish. But given how long it takes to get going the thing you were going to take a photo of will have usually gone before you can get the app open.
Also, the screen is too bright and the earpiece is way too loud.
And the battery drains faster than it charges if doing something like bluetoothing iPlayer radio to the car, or just using the screen for navigation.
Other than that, it's quite cheap.
One plus X is still available on their website
https://oneplus.net/uk/x
Why 32Gb?
'Cos that'll let me do what I want to do without having to pi$$ about with external/SD storage.
It's not a killer though, 'cos I can stick an SD card in if needs be, I'd just rather not.
Honestly just get a Moto G4, I don't think you'll get more reliable bang for buck handset. You get used to the size pretty quickly and in fact other phones piddly little screens are annoying now...i wouldn't go back.
I've had a z3 compact for nearly two years now, it's been perfect.
Not fragile and the UI works as well as anything else I've tried.
Been dropped lots, only dinged the corners, when not using a case.
Will be upgrading in Feb, I'll stick with Sony.
The new Samsung A3 (A4 I guess) should be out early next year
Sony compact is good and the camera great but I broke mine twice and failed to get it fixed...its in that "drawer"
I've got a WileyFox Spark+ and it works very well all round, it is just too big.
I am really reluctant to lug around a phablet, but don't especially wish to compromise on spec too much.
Moto G 3rd generation is only 5 inches, as is the WileyFox Swift2.
I may trawl through phonearena.com's website search function of sub 5 inch screens...
Live with an SD card and get the G4 play deal. I've the g4 plus with 4gb ram and 64gb internal and I'm seriously thinking of downsizing in the hope it'll better fit in my jeans pocket! I bought it at a bargain price but have little use for all the memory....
the sonys are fragile as all hell too.
News to me, Z5 Compact seems pretty rock solid!
There was a new A3 this year (this is typed on one). Other than the 32Gb requirement it would likely suit the OP just fine.shermer75 - Member
The new Samsung A3 (A4 I guess) should be out early next year
2nd hand Nexus 5X? My old one was a pretty good phone.
I was in the same boat. My Nexus 5 was slowly disintegrating. Couldn't find what I really wanted and ended up on a Oneplus 3 and despite the extra size, I love it.
Sony supporter here too - originally went for them because the Xperia Z was one of the only slim waterproof phones at the time - since had Z3+ and z5+, missus has the Z3 compact, and it's a tidy little phone. All been very robust - apart from the Z3+ - that got run over in a car park. It did still sort of work though.
The Z is still alive and runs our music at work. Back is smashed in, and the port covers are all hanging off, but it holds over a days worth of charge still.
Quite like the UI too, mainly because it's tunable to be very 'light' i.e. near Google standard... great cameras on all of them, but then most top end phones, including Apple, use Sony hardware for that.
Sony with Nova Launcher. Job done...
+1. Only phone that ever broken on me, also friend's has broken three times now. Only anecdotes, I know, but its enough for me never to buy another one. Nice when it worked though.the sonys are fragile as all hell too.
Just got me one of [url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182346204470?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT ]these[/url].
Ebay has some unlocked ones (which is what i've got). Seems pretty good, decent screen, (close to) vanilla android, fast charging, SD card, NFC.
Seems good to me after a few weeks use. Bought it as my Xiaomi has randomly stopped charging after 6 months
Sony UI is much improved on the Z5 and newer. You could just put the generic Google launcher on it if you don't like the Sony one and pretty much everything else is unchanged from stock Android.
Another Sony compact fan, Z3 Compact.
It has been the phone with the most issues, two were water ingress issues so just treat the waterproofness as a backup and don't dunk the phone. Broken button from a small drop. Those three were all fixed under warranty (even after I opened it all up to try and fix myself, and sent it in with a fake rear glass glued on). Pretty sure the moisture detectors under the doors dropped out during reassembly too!
Later issue is the mag connector has stopped charging, need to check if still in warranty!
I would still buy another, Sony seems to buck the Small size = budget spec approach, and the camera is great (mainly due to the dedicated camera button)
Z5 compact owner here, chosen a year ago with similar criteria to you. It's a good size, damp-proof and UI is fine. It's starting to slow down a little now, though that might be down to certain background apps.
I was really impressed with the Z3 compact that I had. It was fast - the battery lasted two days and the camera was fantastic. It was however very fragile. It's the only phone I've ever broken. It fell 18" onto a carpet and the screen smashed. Tried a professionally replaced screen but it was awful so ended up getting refunded.
I now have a Oneplus 2. It's a large phone but it is superior to the Z3 in almost every way.
Did you decide what to go for in the end? Really considering sending this thing back (hurray for Amazon's extended returns period) and spending more for something better
Sorry for the delayed reply
Did you decide what to go for in the end?
In a word, no. What I [I]want[/I] is an X5 Compact, but I can't get one on contract from EE (and I'm stuck in contract at the mo) and I'm not sure I can bring myself to pay £300 for one new.
Holy thread revival!
Last night I found a good condition used Z5 Compact for £240, so bit the bullet and bought it.
There will soon be a Nexus 5 for sale if anyone's interested...
hope you've bought strong case for it.
Are people commenting on the Wileyfox Swift or the Wileyfox Swift 2?
At £119 was tempted to the 2. Spec and size look good but clearly a real world opinion is more relevant!
for ref i swapped my z3 compact for a XZ, appart from the screen its not as good imo.
[quote=keppoch ]Are people commenting on the Wileyfox Swift or the Wileyfox Swift 2?
Mine's the original Swift - the spec suited me better than the swift 2, mainly due to smaller screen size. Still looking to see if there's anything else out there...
Interested in the Nexus 5 when you decide to sell.