Fucking Cell Phones

[Thad]

A bit annoyed to learn the Fairphone 4 doesn't have a headphone jack. If it were anybody else that'd be a deal-breaker, but given all the other advantages the FP has it's still a "well, I'll think about it" kind of situation.

[Lady]

I finally upgraded updated from the Galaxy S10e (of which I've bought a total of 3, I think?) To the s23, which is what passes for a small Android phone these days...

[Mongrel]

I finally upgraded updated from the Galaxy S10e (of which I've bought a total of 3, I think?) To the s23, which is what passes for a small Android phone these days...

Can it double as a flotation device?

[Thad]

Delighted to learn that I don't need to replace the USB-C port on my phone, it was just full of gunk that a blast of compressed air failed to dislodge.

Having gotten that taken care of, I decided it was time to back up my data and run a major-version update.

`adb backup` still works for now, but gave me a warning that it's deprecated and will be removed in a future version; apparently the currently-accepted method of backup is to copy your entire system to Google Cloud, which obviously I am not going to do. Can anybody suggest another means of backing up my app data? Ideally without having to fuck around with downloading things from the Play Store, though if that's what I have to do I can try getting Aurora Store to work again.

[sei]

It's bullshit that OnePlus makes you fill in a fucking form to unlock your phone's bootloader, even after you've dealt with your carrier's for the OEM unlock. The form can also says: "If your applications are successful, we will notify you by mail. This process may take 1-2 weeks."

Ick.

[Mothra]

I dropped my OnePlus 3 on the cement after 7 loyal years of service, shattering it. I loved that phone.

In looking for a replacement, I saw that the new OnePluses are v. expensive, and the owners of the company have changed hands a few times since 2016.

My biggest annoyance with the OnePlus 3 was that it was, well, big, and unfortunately every non-iPhone phone now is fucking gigantic and I hate this trend and I hate YOU, Mongrel, on an unrelated note, due to your insane quantity of posts in every thread. I don't know why anyone would want a giant-ass cell phone in their pocket!

I started looking at small android phones:

Code: Select all

+--------------------+------+--------+
| Phone              | Size | Price  |
+--------------------+------+--------+
| Xperia 5 III       | 6.1" | 699.99 |
+--------------------+------+--------+
| Samsung Galaxy S23 | 6.1" | 749.99 |
+--------------------+------+--------+
| Pixel 7a           | 6.1" | 499.99 |
+--------------------+------+--------+
| ASUS Zenfone 9     | 5.9" | 689.00 |
+--------------------+------+--------+
| Pixel 4a           | 5.8" | 379.99 |
+--------------------+------+--------+

The Pixel 7a was honestly the correct decision from a purely cost and functionality perspective.

That said, I love weird phones, so I went with the ASUS Zenfone 9, since I liked the look of it and wanted to try an ASUS phone.

So far, I do like it a lot. It's a great size, it's got a good feel (both in the UI and the back having a weird fabric-like thing that looks good as it weathers), the camera's good, and it's got a bunch of random features like slow-charging at night to preserve battery life.

More money than I wanted to spend through, but, I'm happy with it.

Size is perfect, too. Actually feels good to have a phone in my pocket again.

[beatbandito]

It's me, I'm the one that wants a 7" screen.

[Thad]

The Pixel 7a was honestly the correct decision from a purely cost and functionality perspective.

AIUI the 6a goes for $350 now. I've got a 3a and have been happy with the Pixel line since it was still the Nexus line.

If I were buying a phone this year, there's a pretty good chance I'd go with the 6a or 7a, though the Fairphone 4 remains a serious consideration.

But now that my 3a's USB port is working correctly again, I doubt I'll be buying another phone this year. I've owned 3 smartphones ever (4 including the OnePlus One that I bought on eBay without realizing it wouldn't work on my network and then just dicked around with Ubuntu on), and tend to keep them until bits start falling off and/or my cell provider drops support for them.

(I don't recommend keeping a phone past the point it stops receiving security updates, but if you've got an unlocked bootloader and are willing to install an unofficial firmware like LineageOS, you can continue to get updates well past the point where the manufacturer stops providing them. The Pixel 3a stopped getting official updates a year ago, but the latest LineageOS update for it was released yesterday.)

[Mongrel]

Mothra just givin me a casual drive-by, lol. Why you gotta do me dirty like that my dude. :(

[Lady]

Now you're starting to make me second guess my decision, mothra.

[Mothra]

Now you're starting to make me second guess my decision, mothra.

I'm starting to find some downsides, mainly due to this being an ASUS thing.

• On three separate occasions now, when driving, the phone has just gone black. You cannot wake it up. It is also still on. When it first happened, I was driving in an unfamiliar area, and now had no way to get the phone back to normal, and can to consult a map like a caveman. Ultimately, I looked up the physical key combination to do a reset, which fixes it when it happens. Not a great issue!

• There is no way to wake up the phone from the front. You must use the physical fingerprint-reader button the side. This means, when driving, I have to undock the phone, press the button, then re-dock the phone, to wake it up. That is a pain in the dick (or vagieane).

• Glass on the camera on the back has already broken, due to it protruding out from the phone quite a bit, so it's always the first thing to hit when you place it on a table. I took out the glass shards with a tweezer, ordered a replacement, and it's been fine since then, but it was annoying.

• The cost of this phone is currently $689.00, which is a ton of money in my book.

Those aside, though, I do like it a lot, mainly due to the size and the ease of use.

[Mothra]

I also have to note again that my OnePlus 3 lasted 7 years, an unheard of span of life for a phone these days, and that speaks very well to the quality of their product.

[Z%rø]

I bought a Pixel 7a Pro to replace my ZFold3. I'm happy with the upgrade. My only complaint is this curved screen edge bullshit that seems to be the standard now - screen protector and case dealing with that is very annoying.

[Grath]

I also have to note again that my OnePlus 3 lasted 7 years, an unheard of span of life for a phone these days, and that speaks very well to the quality of their product.

My understanding is that modern OnePlus has been enshittified, going from low cost/high quality to high cost/middling at best quality; I saw some recommendations of the OnePlus Nord N30/N300 as cheap phones to play second Pokemon Go accounts on.

I've been a fan of Pixels, but they're Google with the upsides (solid software, prompt security updates) and downsides (hardware from a software company, things might get the "an update on..." early death, Google having more-direct access to your information) that come with them. (Also, I initially bought Pixels because Google gave us employee discounts on 'em, but I still like mine even though I don't work there anymore.)

I would recommend staying away from the Pixel Fold, just because first-gen foldable on top of Google's reputation for hardware is scary, but it's also very expensive so I kinda doubt people would go for that anyways?

I finally upgraded updated from the Galaxy S10e (of which I've bought a total of 3, I think?) To the s23, which is what passes for a small Android phone these days...

Samsung is pretty solid on phones from what I hear, particularly the S8 and on (I had an ancient Galaxy S6 or something like that and it was kinda meh, but I haven't tried a modern Samsung.)

[Thad]

I've been a fan of Pixels, but they're Google with the upsides (solid software, prompt security updates) and downsides (hardware from a software company, things might get the "an update on..." early death, Google having more-direct access to your information) that come with them. (Also, I initially bought Pixels because Google gave us employee discounts on 'em, but I still like mine even though I don't work there anymore.)

On the plus side, AFAIK they've consistently let you unlock your bootloader so you don't have to run official Android.

Samsung is pretty solid on phones from what I hear, particularly the S8 and on (I had an ancient Galaxy S6 or something like that and it was kinda meh, but I haven't tried a modern Samsung.)

I really like Samsung's hardware.

I do not care for their software. I can't speak to the latest phones but whatever one my wife has, they had the bright idea to hide the three icons across the bottom and flip their order from stock Android. As a frontend developer myself, I feel that if I did something like that and it caused strangers to walk up to me and knee me in the groin, I would have to admit that I deserved it.

[sei]

The Pixel 7a was honestly the correct decision from a purely cost and functionality perspective.

AIUI the 6a goes for $350 now. I've got a 3a and have been happy with the Pixel line since it was still the Nexus line.

If I were buying a phone this year, there's a pretty good chance I'd go with the 6a or 7a, though the Fairphone 4 remains a serious consideration.

But now that my 3a's USB port is working correctly again, I doubt I'll be buying another phone this year. I've owned 3 smartphones ever (4 including the OnePlus One that I bought on eBay without realizing it wouldn't work on my network and then just dicked around with Ubuntu on), and tend to keep them until bits start falling off and/or my cell provider drops support for them.

(I don't recommend keeping a phone past the point it stops receiving security updates, but if you've got an unlocked bootloader and are willing to install an unofficial firmware like LineageOS, you can continue to get updates well past the point where the manufacturer stops providing them. The Pixel 3a stopped getting official updates a year ago, but the latest LineageOS update for it was released yesterday.)

Regarding this, if anyone's unlocking a T-Mobile OnePlus phone: after you get T-Mobile to OEM unlock your phone, when you want to unlock the bootloader just skip using https://www.oneplus.com/us/unlock_token and just contact OnePlus via chat or email. The form at the URL I linked can take over two weeks with no response.

[Thad]

Is there an app I can use to fuck with SMS spammers?

There's this one persistent-ass motherfucker who won't leave me alone and keeps sending me identical texts from different numbers. It's gotten to the point where I would very much like to waste his time and do whatever small part I can to make this venture less profitable for him.

Failing that, anybody know a good, ideally FOSS, SMS app with some spam filters on it? Bayesian would be great but even a simple "block messages containing the phrase" function would do fine since it's the same fucking message every time.

[Yoji]

My phone is in pretty rough shape, and the battery might be getting spicy. I should buy another one, but I really hate shopping for them. May as well gripe/beg here since Reddit is such a letdown.

Everyone in my house was using a Galaxy S8 Active before those started going bad. We're all a little clumsy and/or dealing with children, so we need something that can withstand being dropped. I'm also looking for something refurbished to help with the price and because that feels like the more ethical choice; the greenest phone is the one that's already built etc.

Lexi got an XCover Pro 6, which does the job but is huge and expensive (over 6in tall and bought for about $350).

I thought about a Motorola Defy 2, but people say it was a poor performer a few years ago.

The AGM H6 seems to get good marks in everything but sheer performance, but that's not what I'm looking for. The prices I see on eBay look about right, too. I just worry that it's a model I've never heard of, and I suspect that's the same for a lot of people who actually know phones.

The Nokia XR20 also seems to get high marks, but seems to cost more in general.

[Thad]

I've been using a Google Pixel for years and I'm pretty happy with it. Mine's a 3a (don't buy one of those, they're not supported anymore and I keep mine updated by using a CFW); the latest equivalent would be a 7a. I got my 3a for $245 used on eBay back in 2020, and the only (non-planned obsolescence) issues I've had with it were the charging port getting too gunked up to charge (just needed a cleaning) and the Otterbox case starting to break apart (just a couple weeks ago, more than four years after I bought the phone, which already had the case when I got it).

I can't speak directly to the 7a but based on reviews it's still a pretty solid, reasonably-priced midrange phone.

Also, there's probably an 8a on the way, but it hasn't been announced so I wouldn't count on it being available within the timeframe you need a new phone.

[Grath]

Yeah, I've been getting the flagship versions of the Pixels because I have more money than sense and I've been pretty happy. Google's been pushing AI bullshit but I haven't seen too much getting pushed on the phones besides like... some photo/video editing tools, where you have to intentionally trigger the AI bullshit. (Also the cheap phones tend to have cheaper processors which means they don't have the power to run AI bullshit on device and there's less they can push when it's cloud-based AI bullshit.)