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I've had a Oneplus One for about 2 years and was pretty happy with it until it got saltwater in the USB port which fried the screen. Now I'm looking for a replacement. I've done a bunch of research and found a lot of interesting phones, but none that seem to jump out at me.
I do a lot of multitasking (browser with 4 tabs, texting, 2 games, Now, Keep, Facebook, Pandora, and camera would be pretty standard for me), and play some fairly heavy games such as XCOM, so I need a decently powerful machine, but I'm on somewhat of a budget.
Requirements:
Works on T-Mobile
Android OS
Good CPU (Oneplus One had Snapdragon 801)
At least 3 GB of RAM (I might consider 2 GB, but doubtful)
At least 64 GB of storage (or 32 + sd card, considering if 16 + sd card would be doable)
Decent battery life
4G LTE
About $350 (preferably less since nothing's really jumping out at me)
Available now
Highly desired, but not critical (I know I won't get all of these, but a couple would be nice):
Quick charge
Camera that can compete with an iPhone 6 in both speed and performance (it's annoying to always borrow my wife's phone for pictures)
Fingerprint scanner
Water resistant
Notification rocker switch
Decent build quality
Tap to wake (may not be necessary with fingerprint, but I miss this a ton when I use other phones)
Run 2 apps side-by-side
Not important:
Brand name / prestige (though quality matters)
Model year
Brand new (though it needs to be in good condition and fully functional)
QHD+ screen (1080p looks good enough to me and don't need the battery drain)
NFC (don't use Google Pay yet and who really uses it for anything else?)
Speaker quality
Bloatware (I'll probably root and remove anyway)
Dual rear cameras
Most other gimmicks
Some phones I'm currently considering include:
Oneplus One (but still going for $250 for 2 year old hardware?)
Oneplus Two (higher end of my price range, no quick charge, improvement seems incremental, and Three is on the the way)
G4
G Flex 2
Also:
Moto X Pure (more expensive than the Two, with the 64GB version being $450, though the 16GB + SD Card may be in consideration)
Z5 Compact (higher end of the price range)
M9 (higher end of the price range)
Nexus 6p (way over budget, but only by about $70 compared to others in this list, and it seems like an actual leap forward)
All seem like good phones, but as I said, nothing is really jumping out at me. I'd like to see the Oneplus Three, if Xiaomi gets something stateside, etc. but unfortunately I can't really wait that long.
If the 6P isn't too big for you, that should be top of your list.
Then I would rank them:
Moto X Pure
M9
Z5
G4
Thanks for the input
The 6p isn't too big, but the price kind of is. I'm looking to spend $350 or less and it's going for $500+ (~50% more than I'm looking to spend). The Moto X Pure is in a similar situation with the 64GB version starting at $450, and only the 16GB being within my targeted budget (just barely). The Z5 is also close to $500 (though the compact is more affordable).
It does look like there are several used and factory refurbished M9s on EBay for around $350 or less. Refurbished phones kind of scare me though. G4s can easily be had for that range as well, even new.
Thank you, I'll keep an eye on these. I hadn't really considered an S5 before, but it seems to have similar specs to the Oneplus One, only really falling short in RAM (and storage but it takes an sd card). It's definitely worth considering. I'm wondering if the RAM will cause an issue for me with the multitasking, but I know it was a good phone.
Thank you, I'll keep an eye on these. I hadn't really considered an S5 before, but it seems to have similar specs to the Oneplus One, only really falling short in RAM (and storage but it takes an sd card). It's definitely worth considering. I'm wondering if the RAM will cause an issue for me with the multitasking, but I know it was a good phone.
2GB is plenty. I have a Nexus 6 with 3gb and never even get to two. I multitask a lot. After all this is a phone, not a PC. I did get my Nexus 6 around Christmas time for $250 from Amazon. They are up to $350 now. I love the phone, it is big however. You have to get used to that.
Knowing the $350 is your budget I say get the Moto X Pure. Now. While it's on sale for $350. BUT I would seriously suggest adding $50 and getting the 32GB one. Choose your own colors @ MotoMaker.
Although it supports SD card, so that's not AS important.
They are selling the special edition ones for $299 if you can wrap your head around those funky backs. If you like em, cool. If not, get a non see through case. lol
2GB is plenty. I have a Nexus 6 with 3gb and never even get to two. I multitask a lot. After all this is a phone, not a PC. I did get my Nexus 6 around Christmas time for $250 from Amazon. They are up to $350 now. I love the phone, it is big however. You have to get used to that.
Even with the 3GB on the Oneplus One I run out of RAM. You can tell when you switch to an app you had open recently and it reloads rather than immediately jumping back to where you were. This is probably largely due to my running a heavy game or two at the same time as other stuff, but sadly those 5 minute intervals I get to play while waiting for something to load or during a meeting are often the only breaks I get, so I don't see the habit changing anytime soon.
And yes, I realize it's not a PC. My laptop has 16GB of RAM. Sadly, that also gets maxed out with some frequency, but that's a different story due to my job and poor web surfing habits.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peregrine
Knowing the $350 is your budget I say get the Moto X Pure. Now. While it's on sale for $350. BUT I would seriously suggest adding $50 and getting the 32GB one. Choose your own colors @ MotoMaker.
Although it supports SD card, so that's not AS important.
They are selling the special edition ones for $299 if you can wrap your head around those funky backs. If you like em, cool. If not, get a non see through case. lol
Seriously. Get this phone. You won't regret it.
I'm seriously considering the pure. However, as you said, I'd probably want at least 32 GB, which pushes it up to $400. I'm not sure if 16 would give me enough space to download and install some of the bigger apps after there's already a bunch of stuff on my phone, even after moving what I can to the SD card.
I was completely unaware of the designer phone sale though. They're hideous, but a 32 GB version for $300 (+ a cover which I'd get anyway) may just be enough to push me over the edge!
Knowing the $350 is your budget I say get the Moto X Pure. Now. While it's on sale for $350. BUT I would seriously suggest adding $50 and getting the 32GB one. Choose your own colors @ MotoMaker.
Although it supports SD card, so that's not AS important.
They are selling the special edition ones for $299 if you can wrap your head around those funky backs. If you like em, cool. If not, get a non see through case. lol
Seriously. Get this phone. You won't regret it.
Out of curiosity, what makes you recommend it over the G4 which I can get for about the same price, has very similar specs, and supposedly a better camera?
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