Ask HN: What phone should I buy?

13 points by CrippledTurtle 8 years ago | 24 comments

Hi HN, I am looking to buy an Android phone. I don't need it to be the latest greatest thing with the best camera or anything, I'm looking for a simple phone that satisfies the following requirements:

1) No bloatware

2) Will be supported for 2+ years (security updates, OS gets upgraded, etc), strong preference for 3+ years]

3) Has a headphone jack

That's about it. It seems really hard to find a phone that satisfies these requirements, or am I just looking in all the wrong places? It doesn't need to be insanely cheap, I'll spend a few hundred bucks, I just feel like I'm getting ripped off spending $800 on a premium flagship phone when I don't really need the latest greatest thing.

nik736 8 years ago |

You should look into Xiaomi. They produce high quality phones that receive regular updates, even older phones on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. They update security patches very fast and even offer the A1, which is stock Android, for around 200 bucks.

I myself own a Mi5 Pro for 1-2 years now and I still love it and I am not even thinking about upgrading, this thing is perfect even nearly 2 years in.

Also, compared to iPhones these things are simply perfect looking, no camera bump and MIUI is a mix of Android and iOS, which I learned to love coming from iOS.

madmax108 8 years ago | |

I second a recommendation for Xiaomi. Happy owner of a Redmi Note 3 for about a year and a half now. No lag, very little junk apps by default, and a UI that is actually useful (instead of good looking, but impractical UIs). Even my mom, who's very non-technical loves the straightforward nature of the UI (I ended up getting a Redmi 4 for her recently).

Plus, the developer forums are very very active, so even if you run into any issues (rooting, flashing , etc if that's yout thing), then you know you have a very supportive group of devs. Also doesn't hurt that the phones are cheaper, so the whole "what if I lose my warranty?" or "What if I drop/lose my phone?" concerns are much lesser.

It's not got the most stunning camera in the world, but having ZERO lag and a easy 1.5-2 days of charge besides all the other pros more than makes up for it!

jamesmp98 8 years ago | |

Just bought an Honor 6X for only like $200. great phone

veeti 8 years ago |

The best choices for no bloat and timely updates are Android One, Nokia and Sony devices. They have guaranteed updates for at least two years and actually provide timely security patches (so that in October you have October's security patch level instead of something from x months ago).

LineageOS is not a replacement for security updates from the manufacturer because they can't patch vulnerabilities in proprietary drivers. Custom ROM's are also often riddled with issues that you may or may not have the patience to deal with, and Safetynet attestation means that you may have trouble using some apps on a modified device.

fulafel 8 years ago | |

Does LineageOS have working OTA updates? Last I looked, I got the impression that it was a reinstall & restore affair to get security patches in.

rehemiau 8 years ago |

The mid-range processors to look at are Qualcomm 625 and 630

1. Nokia 7. The new Android-based HMD Global's Nokia is providing the fastest updates on the market. And the phones look really nice. Just came out so I think you'll have to wait for it or get a slightly less powerful (but also cheaper) Nokia 6. Or a Nokia 5. Or even a Nokia 3, if it's powerful enough. All of them should receive Android Oreo ([source](https://twitter.com/sarvikas/status/903867368052490240)]

2. Xiaomi Mi A1. Thanks to Android One project the phone should deliver both great stock system experience and fast updates. Unfortunately not available in every country.

3. Moto G5 plus. Stock Android and prettty good updates. But not as good as Nokia's.

4. Buy a cheap Xiaomi and install Lineage / other OS. The model I suggest is Redmi Note 4. I personally have a Redmi 4 Prime because it's smaller, but Note 4 has better ROM support.

nextos 8 years ago |

I'd get something that has LineageOS support [1] or, even better CopperheadOS [2].

Copperhead OS is restricted to new Nexus and Pixel devices only, sadly.

Both options are great when paired with F-Droid [3].

I'm eagerly awaiting how postmarketOS [4] develops. Still in its infancy, though. It's basically a Linux distro on top of an Android kernel, so they also need to grow an ecosystem.

If you want something with a Linux userland and quite polished, try Jolla on a Sony Xperia X [5]. Still not fully open, so I prefer the above options.

[1] https://download.lineageos.org/

[2] https://copperhead.co/android/downloads

[3] https://f-droid.org/

[4] https://postmarketos.org/

[5] https://shop.jolla.com/

moh_maya 8 years ago |

Something from the OnePlus series, which, if you are comfortable with rooting, you can install a custom ROM and keep getting updates.

Alternatively, you could perhaps buy a nexus 6P? It's on amazon.com now for about 300$.

iKlsR 8 years ago | |

I have my OnePlus One from early 2015 which is my daily driver, swapped in a new battery the other day and I'm good again. Sadly they seem to have abandoned it entirely tho, haven't seen an update or anything in over a year. Performance wise however, I don't see myself switching anytime soon.

moh_maya 8 years ago | | |

Yeah. The OnePlus update rate is lousy. But in terms of value, it's hard to beat..

But there are good roms available [1], and rooting is not all that hard. So that may be an approach you could try?

[1] https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-3

corford 8 years ago |

Moto G5 Plus (though updates might not stretch to 3 years). Here's a review: http://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/moto-g5-plus

tl;dr: stock android with no bloatware (Nougat, though should get at least the Oreo update), fast Snapdragon 625 CPU, big screen, dual-sim, decent battery, good camera and available for ~$320 (or ~$100 less for the basic G5).

I'm about to swap my ageing Moto G2 for one.

fulafel 8 years ago | |

Moto is poor with updates IME, security patch level lagging 6-10 months.

corford 8 years ago | | |

Fair point. Hopefully Lenovo will get better at this. I kind of overlook it since I don't use my phone for anything other than calls/sms, email, light web browsing (99% of the time wikipedia or hn), google maps, whatsapp, uber and taking a few photos. Rightly or wrongly I don't care too much about security since I'm not installing loads of apps and don't use the phone for much (still encrypt it though in case of physical theft).

fulafel 8 years ago |

iPhone SE ticks 1-3 and price if you can compromise on the Android requirement.

BoorishBears 8 years ago | |

I was going to say, iPhone SE or a refurb 6s/7

The upgrade requirement won’t happen with Android if you want official updates

senorsmile 8 years ago |

Moto z play or Moto z2 play. My z play just got 2017-10 patches. The mods are interesting, but mostly useful for attaching a battery mod. My phone has never died in a 24 hour period, although I did once drain the external battery and get the internal down to 30%.

ferdbold 8 years ago | |

Moto is absolutely terrible at updates. My Moto X Play that I bought in 2015 just got its update to Nougat (really?! Oreo is already out). I can also count on one hand the number of security patches this phone had in the whole time I've owned it.

Fire-Dragon-DoL 8 years ago |

I'll add one requirement to the OP request: not wider than 71mm.

My hands are small and I use my phone with one hand most of the time. I'm still on a nexus 4 (love the size), but it's getting laggy and battery suffers (i owned this phone for 4+ years)

sshine 8 years ago | |

1 year in with the Nexus 5P and it's lagging for upwards of 1-2 seconds in Maps and runs out of battery sometimes in less than a day. The screen width is nice for reading but hard for using in one hand, e.g. when using it on a bicycle. Next time I'm definitely getting a smaller, cheaper phone with less battery use. And an FM receiver.

wink 8 years ago | | |

Nexus 5X here (bought in July 2016 iirc) - got Android 8 a while ago (liked 7 better, but ok) and can only hope it continues to get updates.

Can absolutely recommend the phone, but no clue how long it will be viable.

top256 8 years ago |

I just got that a huawei p8 lite 2017. I paid it <200$ and it's pretty good. It feels like an iPhone rip off and you need to uninstall a few apps/change some settings in param. Overall I'm surprised that it's that good.

anotheryou 8 years ago |

Moto g5+

It's alright and cheap and once support runs out you can probably root and switch to cyanogenmod.

bonus: raw camera when you root (google how)

tmrmn 8 years ago |

Xiaomi or OnePlus. I'm super Happy with my OnePlus 5