Been an Android user for years from 2010 to 2021 with my last being a a Galaxy S9. It was a fantastic phone but the battery life was mediocre when I first got it to charging twice a day towards the end of two years. So I migrated to iPhone and things have been mostly good, but it’s just a bit boring. Simple things like having to take a lightening cable for phone and a usb c cable for iPad when previously it was just any old usb c charger to charge everything.
Now unfortunately I’m limited to EE great signal but pricy and the iPhone 14 pro is ridiculously priced £85 per month but the Google Pixel 7/7 pro is catching my eye
Coming in at £60 a month
Never had a pixel and have heard lots of great things but also some bad like over heating or dodgy fingerprint scanner.
Or do I pick up a Galaxy S22 Ultra.
I've got an S22 Ultra and I really like it. Should be some deals about, as the S23 is being released right about now. I can get a good 36hrs out of a charge if I'm not hammering the screen time
Are you buying on contract or could you get a sim-only and shop around?
Either way, I've got an S21 Ultra and it's brilliant. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend it, or the current equivalent.
I looked at sim only but for iPhone I’d save £1 a month once I added Apple Music price onto total instead of plan and included extras.
So iPhone pro models out sim only.
No S22U left unless you go good as new plan
And Samsung is obviously prepping for incoming S23’s as no stock.
Only really interested in Apple, Samsung and Google phones.
FWIW I have a Pixel 6 and I'm really happy with it. Considered upgrading to the 7 (especially as there were trade-ins) but I'll likely hang on to it for another couple of years now.
No S22U left unless you go good as new plan
And Samsung is obviously prepping for incoming S23’s as no stock.
Samsung have stock on their website.
Buy direct, interest free @ £32/month and go sim only with EE. That's how I go with phones - cheaper than a contract usually
Just an idea, and one that worked for me, separate the phone from the airtime contract.
My last phone, to get the device I wanted the network providers with decent coverage was after 45+ / month (or less if they stitched me into 36 months)
Shopped around for a sim only deal, current contract is eight quid for 10gb data and unlimited everything else.
Then picked up my phone of choice direct from Apple, taking their 24month interest free, total cost coming in at a tenner a month less than the cheapest bundle contract.
Worth a look.
(Edit, I just looked, iPhone 14 pro 128gb is 45/month from Apple. 15gb ee payg is 15/month. Plus net mobile use ee network and have a contract at 10/month)
Or do I pick up a Galaxy S22 Ultra.
I have S22 Ultra which I like apart from the camera shutter speed lag. This is only a problem if you want to take a tonnes of photos quickly, but if it just still life it is not too much of a problem. I think the shutter speed is even slower than my old Note 9.
I will check out S23 Ultra when it is released especially the camera shutter speed.
Other than the above it's very good.
I've seen people commenting about shutter lag (not to be confused with shutter speed) - I don't seem to have that problem
I have to use EE because of where we live, but I never go direct to them first at contract renewal as they are very very expensive
Go look what you can get as a new customer with 3rd party companies on EE and then go back to EE. They always match or there abouts for me.
what iPhone are you using ? I’m now sim only with EE on iPhone 11. I’m waiting for a better zoom lense to come out before I switch again. No point changing phones if it works
I have to use EE because of where we live, but I never go direct to them first at contract renewal as they are very very expensive
Go look what you can get as a new customer with 3rd party companies on EE and then go back to EE. They always match or there abouts for me.
what iPhone are you using ? I’m now sim only with EE on iPhone 11. I’m waiting for a better zoom lense to come out before I switch again. No point changing phones if it works
Do you mean the likes of PlusNet etc... that piggy back off EE? If so just be mindful of what is on offer as e.g. PlusNet doesn't offer wifi calling, but if you're just using them as a stick to whip EE themselves down then all good.
I’ve seen people commenting about shutter lag (not to be confused with shutter speed) – I don’t seem to have that problem
I've got an S20 FE (work phone) and have had an S22 as a personal phone and now on Pixel 7 pro as a personal phone. The samsungs both suffer shutter lag issues - the frustration is it's random - sometimes barely noticeable, sometimes it actually takes the pic when I'm putting the phone back in my pocket. I thought the android 13 update had fixed it on the S20 FE but alas no, it still does it though possibly a little better.
The Pixel on the other hand, bang - takes the pic when you expect, almost before it's that quick. Great for pics of the kids etc... This is true of the Pixel 4a I had and 6a I tried - it's not unique to the high-end ones.
As an allrounder Pixel phones are hard to beat IMO. I don't do gaming but all the day to day features and useability is great plus unique google features are nice - live translation on device, speech to text on device, google lens native to the camera app etc...
Also nice useability things like if you're a google photos app user then you go straight to google photos from the camera app rather than having to come out and open google photos like you have to on a Samsung. (I know you can go straight to Samsung gallery but I prefer using google photos for image editing).
Just got a Pixel 6 this month, it's awesome and reviews suggest the 7 only has marginal improvements - so perhaps the 6 could be a cheaper option.
I've always bought my handset and got a Sim-only deal, but it worked out slightly cheaper to get this for £21/month over 2 years (on Voda).
I've got a Pixel 6 pro which is great apart from camara glitches which cause the phone to either freez or increasingly shut down all together, it's getting worse and becoming unusable.
The other slight issue I have with it is it's very slow to charge, which is only really an issue when bikepacking/ touring when a quick charge in a campsite toilet or cafe would be useful.
I'm considering a oppo find x5 pro.
Anyone have an opinion on them?
Not that it helps but I'm very pleased with my Pixel [6] - 14 months in now.
About the S22U shutter speed lag I’ve definitely noticed that. 256gb and 12gb ram version of my wife’s. It takes fantastic photos but does lag. Was taking picture of wife and step daughter holding my phone and hers, they smiled initially when I pressed both shutter buttons. My iPhone 12 Pro captured said smile then the S22U missed it.
Hoping to see what the S23 series is like in a weeks time and prices. But it’s looking like sim only deal from EE and buying phone direct from either Apple, Samsung or Google.
I'm in a similar situation and looking at the same set of phones. The only thing holding me back from a Pixel 7 Pro are the reports of the camera glass shattering for no apparent reason and Google not repairing them. I believe it could be caused by coming in from the cold to a warm room as the camera has a very thin layer of glass covering it to help the optics.
I looked at the S22 Ultra but plumped for the Oppo X5 Find Pro. Outstanding phone and the fast charging is unreal. Phone on 10% when I wake up. Pop it on charge, get the coffee brewing, drink said coffee, get dressed and phone is at 100%. And it comes with the charger you need to achieve this in the box.
Screen is excellent, cameras are generally excellent (although it does not have the optical zoom range of the S22 but the night time mode is like magic) and the ceramic back is just lovely to look at and hold.
Overall very happy with it...
Now unfortunately I’m limited to EE
Plusnet use EE's network to provide both call signal (3G/2G) and 4G data signal.
I pay £6.85/mo for a Sim-only deal.
Do you mean the likes of PlusNet etc… that piggy back off EE? If so just be mindful of what is on offer as e.g. PlusNet doesn’t offer wifi calling, but if you’re just using them as a stick to whip EE themselves down then all good.
Sorry no I meant just go somewhere like mobilephonesdirect.co.uk etc and see what the best deal they are offering on EE
Agreed where we live Wifi Calling essential. My parents who live down the road for us had PlusNet and then moved to EE for that reason + weirdly never appeared to have great signal with Plusnet
The only thing holding me back from a Pixel 7 Pro are the reports of the camera glass shattering for no apparent reason
Same. I've been hovering over the buy button for a few days
Sorry no I meant just go somewhere like mobilephonesdirect.co.uk etc and see what the best deal they are offering on EE
You can only get EE direct from EE - they do not sell through third party suppliers.
The only thing holding me back from a Pixel 7 Pro are the reports of the camera glass shattering for no apparent reason and Google not repairing them.
I would take the shattering thing with a very big pinch of salt. In the grand scheme of things hardly any devices have been affected and media/phone 'news' websites get a bit overly frothy when they can report some new issue [EDIT - let alone phone forums/discussions]. If you search any phone and an arbitary "fault" you'll find plenty of moans online.
I pay for SIM only and just buy a phone every 3 years or so.
Just switched from sky mobile sim to EE this week as they wanted £9 for 6gb per month.
Renewed my BT broadband for £23 per month and added two EE sims for £9 for 20gb each per month. Got the reduced broadband rate as i got two sims added so it's worth checking with broadband provider to see what they can offer.
You can only get EE direct from EE – they do not sell through third party suppliers.
Ah dam, they still did last time I renewed 🙁
I don’t think it’s really a massive issue the camera lens issuses. I’ve dropped my iPhone and previous Samsung phones down flights of stairs and never cracked a lens. Up until last week I’ve been using motorbikes to commute daily in freezing cold weather with the phone in my jacket pocket and then coming into a house that resembles a Greek beach in August at 12 million Celsius and not had any issues.
So the Pixel 7 pro should be fine.
My only issues about the 7 pro is some people say the finger print reader can be buggy if you don’t get the correct screen protector. To be honest I’ve never had a in screen finger print reader. My S9 was one on the back of the phone and then IPhone with Face ID which mostly works flawlessly but does have days of having to enter a PIN code, which to be honest doesn’t bother me.
Wife had no major software issues with her Pixel 2xl apart from the battery refused to charge towards the end of contract, she just got a replacement device through insurance.
Samsung only issues I’ve had is moisture in charging port on my S9 once or twice.
iPhones no issue apart from just being a bit boring when it comes to customising the Home Screen and the odd reload of app (The weather channel app) sometimes freezes and needs a restart.
I've got a Pixel 7 and it is great. My wife, an avid Apple user, is seriously considering getting a Pixel when her contract ends.
I know I am not helping the OP but I got a Redmi Note 10 Pro at £180 last week. Absolutely gob smacked how good/fast it is. I don't see the value of spending more. 120hz Oled 6.7 screen, 6gb, 128gb, 5100 battery at 33w, dual sim plus sd card.
Something that may help your decision is that Argos have trade in deals on the Google phones, an extra £100 on top of a trade in price until the end of Jan.
I am in a similar situation but am on Sim only, i have an S10 - £85 trade in plus the extra £100 essentially makes the 6a about £250 and the 7 around the £400 mark, potentially an interest free credit card and pay monthly??
Just had a look on BT on sim only as suggested above as I’m on BT fibre which has been excellent.
£13.20 for a 100gb Sim, I use on average 50-60gb a month as the WiFi at work is a bit tosh. And then on holiday I use about 80-90gb.
So £13.20 minus 20% NHS discount is £10.20 a month, absolute bargain! Can get a iPhone 14 pro max with that sim only deal! Or wait for the S23U.
nickfrog
Free MemberI know I am not helping the OP but I got a Redmi Note 10 Pro at £180 last week. Absolutely gob smacked how good/fast it is. I don’t see the value of spending more. 120hz Oled 6.7 screen, 6gb, 128gb, 5100 battery at 33w, dual sim plus sd card.
I've owned Xiaomi phones and they were good so am not slagging them off, but you should be aware of this:
I don't know if they are still doing it but just be aware when choosing what apps (browsers, keyboard etc) you use
I've had a Pixel 7 now for a couple of months and I'm happy with it. I picked it over the Pro as the Pro felt a bit too big for my pocket and I didn't want another phone with a curved edge screen. There seems to be a good level of witchcraft going on when I take photos, the phone does a good job of making photos look better. I've used the magic eraser more than I was expecting to, I'm not sure if that's unique to Pixel phones or not. I've been using some of the quick phrases, again I'm not sure if that's unique to these phones or not. I would say I don't have a very high success rate of unlocking the phone with my thumb, I'm not sure if I just didn't do a good job of setting this up or if its the phone.
@multi21, there's a lot of geeky stuff in that report.
In layman's terms are you still being spied on if you use chrome or just the Xiaomi browser and are your bank accounts safe?
zippykona
Full Member@multi21, there’s a lot of geeky stuff in that report.
In layman’s terms are you still being spied on if you use chrome or just the Xiaomi browser and are your bank accounts safe?
Last I had read it was just the browser and other Xiaomi supplied apps including the menu system, home screen, etc. Xiaomi's excuse was that it was for 'quality control' etc.
I'd personally switch the browser to Chrome/Firefox and the keyboard to Google GBoard as a minimum.
It is theoretically possible for them to monitor absolutely anything including secure (SSL) connections if they really really wanted to, but it would be far, far, less development effort for them to just monitor using their own apps, than to try and monitor third party ones.
Thanks, we are using G board already. Didn't know there were different types!
Ordered a Pixel 7 pro 256gb. Comes tomorrow so see how it goes.
Any recommendations for screen protectors? Case wise it will be Spigen Ultra Hybrid
@marcg868 How is your phone? Im looking at possible new phones and the Pixel is a possibility...there is too much choice out there now
Do you mean the likes of PlusNet etc… that piggy back off EE? If so just be mindful of what is on offer as e.g. PlusNet doesn’t offer wifi calling, but if you’re just using them as a stick to whip EE themselves down then all good.
I've been a Plusnet (and Metronet before that) broadband user for years. I've just swapped from EE to Plusnet for a SIM only deal at £8/month (specula deal for existing customers). OK they don't do webcall which I've probably used twice or 5G which I've never used so far and doubt I'll miss. I'm contemplating a £300 refurbished iPhone 12 mini which whilst not bang up to date will be a big step up from my 5S (yep, old 5S). To be honest the only reason for upgrading is that many app upgrades are no longer supported on the iOS version I have. I'm not exactly a power user and expect my next phone to last years and the 5S will do nicely for Mrs. S. who has even lower requirements than I do.
With hindsight since I keep a phone years I would probably always be better off with SIM only, even from new.
Rocco- phones Great so far. Was easy enough transfer from iOS to Android again. But I’ve always kept google Apps for making the transition easy for photos etc.
Battery life pretty good, I suppose it Will improve after a week or two.
Camera very good, colour is like my old iPhone and much more natural than wife’s S22u that’s makes purple look navy!
Video isn’t as good as an iPhone but I very rarely take videos anyway so not fussed.
Ui is very very snappy helped by the 120hz screen.
Music quality through headphones or speakers isn’t quite as good as old 12 pro.
Not a fan of curved screen though but never was on my S9.
Just need to find a screen protector and lens protector now.
I'm still enjoying my pixel 4. The first one developed a fault and I got it replaced under warranty so I've had 2 over 3 1/2 years. I keep thinking about moving up to a 7 but the 4 is still pretty good.
I'm stil on a pixel 4a, lol, it does everything very well and I won't get rid of it until the battery is FUBAR.
Proabaly an 8a or 9a by the time it's dead... it's been through a few screen protectors, 4 i think so far and I have 2 spares (well worth buying), and its on it's second wallet style case.
Ordered a 1Tb S23 Ultra on Weds as they offered me this for the same price as the base 256gb version. Went for the green one. Upgrading a 3 year old s20+ which got dropped last week and now the screen and back are... Kit form.
Should arrive Monday. Now shopping for a wireless charger, case, screen protector and lens protectors. Spigen is my go-to brand.
Looked at the Pixel 7 Pro but I hated the power button position above the volume keys. Felt unnatural to me.
Looked at the Pixel 7 Pro but I hated the power button position above the volume keys. Felt unnatural to me.
Love my pixel but the number of times I've meant to turn the volume up but turned the screen off...
Just moved to an S22 Ultra after years and years of company iPhones. It has taken a little bit of getting used to but love the screen and the camera quality. Seems to charge faster than the iPhone and the battery life is better but bear in mind I am not comparing it to top of the range iphones. I got it from a 'Like New' site with around £500 off the RRP and happy with it.
Well my s23 ultra arrived on Friday. Long story but initially lost parcel so they sent a replacement.
The delivery guy just left it in the doorstep. No signature.
Spent Friday evening setting it up then realised there's two dead pixels which flash intermittent bright green. So I'm trying to organise another replacement.
But so far it feels a great phone. The moon zoom is spectacular. Battery life seems good too. Shame I've git to start all over when the non broken one arrives.
I ended up not managing the 14 days with the Pixel 7 pro and ended up giving it back to EE and got the S23U. Didn’t rate the battery life on the Pixel 7 pro was worse than my 2 year old iPhone 12 Pro.
The S23U though, absolute monster of a phone, had it a week now and consistently get 8-9 hours screen on time and it easily lasts 26-28 hours in total 100-18%
S23 Ultra here - usually go for the last model, but got a decent deal. Moved from a S20 FE. Battery life is much imroved,and the optical zoom is brilliant. MrsF has the S22 Ultra.
The battery on the S22 and S23 ultras is impressive. At least 36 hours, possibly more. My S20 was about 24 hours.
Love the S Pen.
How many "moon" shots have you taken so far?
Uh-mazing.
How many “moon” shots have you taken so far?
Sureley the office photocopier is the obvious choice for moon shots. The right tool for the right job and all that.
Haven’t taken many moon shots yet as the weathers been tosh. Roll on real Spring not, the slight warmth before another icy blast Spring. Gonna come in useful for videos at Manchester Airport plane spotting as I got tired of carrying a DSLR around.
