I’m cross posting my own here, I hope it’s allowed. Maybe it will reach someone who has a similar problem.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/14292422
Hello!
So I’ve been using my trusty old OnePlus 5T until now, without any problems. I always followed the phone market for replacement but I simply didn’t see a phone that would fit me, so I just kept repairing and using the current one.
Recently, after 7 years, the glue inside the screen assembly started to loosen up, which caused a little gap between the OLED panel and touch panel. Moisture got in there, and the OLED panel started oxidizing, leaving a nice purple patch on the side of the screen, that is slowly growing as the panel is powered on. It was my fault ignoring the gap for so long, but here we are.
Regarding my new phone, I have a few “constraints” and preferences that I want to stick to, even they sound stupid or unreasonable. (This is why I simply didn’t bother buying another one yet)
MUST:
- Be Android
- Not be Samsung - had some before, don’t want to go back
- Have headphone jack - yes, this will narrow the selection quite a bit
- Have OLED screen - anything OLED, doesn’t matter which kind
- Be similar size or smaller than OnePlus 5T - the ~160mm x ~70mm is sort of optimal for me.
- Be under 200g, preferable under 180g
- Dual SIM (2 physical cards)
- Something released recently (2022-24), so it still has some support, accessories sold, has more chance to use it for another 7 years.
- NFC
- Be customizable: unlockable bootlooder, option for different ROMs, basically community support…
Preferable stuff:
- Some reasonable camera. I don’t use it often, so definitely don’t need some Pixel level stuff.
- High refresh rate screen - I don’t game on my phone, but general stuff looks nicer
- No under screen fingerprint sensor - Not a big deal, but I know that it’s easy to fuck up the software side and calibration, so it can become a pain in the ass.
- Wifi 6 or greater - “ac” Wifi is enough in the current 5T, so not a big deal just future proofing
- IP rating - I take care of my phones but still, it would be nice to not worry about moisture or dropping it in wet stuff.
- Expandable storage - Again, no big deal. I don’t use the camera often, so I don’t even fill up my current 128GB OnePlus. I usually backup and delete stuff from my phone yearly.
- Extra programmable function button - Not a deal breaker again, but I got used to OnePlus alert slider and I would program a similar button to the same functionality (switching between normal, do not disturb and mute).
Of course it should have a reasonable price too, but I’m willing to pay for a phone that I will use for a long time.
So after all my unreasonable requirements and wishlist, GSM Arena’s phone finder comes up with 3 different phones that look interesting:
- Asus Zenfone 10 https://www.gsmarena.com/asus_zenfone_10-12380.php
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro https://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_redmi_note_13_pro-12581.php
- OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G https://www.gsmarena.com/oneplus_nord_ce_2_5g-11269.php
1. The Zenfone
The Asus Zenfone series was my original choice as next device, I’ve been following the series for a few years, and I like the phones. Zenfones were unlockable by getting a device specific key from Asus’s servers and using that in fastboot mode. As far as I know, this was done by Asus’s unlocker app.
However, about a year ago, Asus decided to close this endpoint on the server, and removed the unlocker app from their website. This caused not only new Zenfones but older ones couldn’t get unlocked anymore either. You can google this drama if you’re interested, or just look at the threads on XDA Forums for Zenfone 10, Zenfone 9 or Zenfone 8. Right now, people are just waiting for someone to do something. Things are happening as I write this.
Besides all of this, Zenfone 10 is basically the perfect phone for me. People say that the software is also a plain Android with optimizations and you can turn off Asus features if you don’t like them. This is pretty much the same with OnePlus, and I liked using OxygenOS. But this unlocking bootloader drama is feels bad. Especially that Asus only provides 2 years of software support. I would be happier knowing that I can reflash my phone if I don’t like something.
2. The Xiaomi
Never had a Xiaomi before, but all my family and friends had one once in their life. I like the general quality and feature set of the phones and this looks nice just looking at the spec list.
The problem with this phone is it doesn’t even have a forum section on XDA, so I don’t know how active the community is behind it.
Second, slightly bigger problem: I don’t like Xiaomi’s OS. never liked the UI layout and custom functionality. I would 100% wipe the original OS from it and go with something else. But of course I don’t know if that option is available with this phone.
3. The OnePlus
Nothing particularly bad with this one. I understand that this series is now OnePlus’s budget series, so I won’t get the fancy Snapdragons and it’s the oldest from the all. I think it still looks OKish, community is active, OnePlus allows unlocking so no concerns there.
It doesn’t have an alert slider like other OnePlus phones do. Meh, no big deal, but still wanted to mention it.
My biggest “first world problem” with this phone is it having a MediaTek CPU. I used phones with MediaTek CPUs before, they are OK in performance but so hard to work with… Every chip is different, with different drivers, random links for random shitty software, the partition map in a text file that you need specifically for you device to flash it… If you’ve tinkered with a MediaTek phone before, you know what I’m talking about.
4. Bonus: Nothing Phone
Yes, I know Nothing Phone doesn’t have a headphone jack. But it’s also kind of like the Zenfone, and I like the LED array on the back. My 5T still has the RGB notification LED and I would prefer something similar. Plus the phone has a community behind it. I also know about the Nothing drama with their messaging app. I don’t really care. I would not have used it anyway. And as I said, if I don’t like their software, I’ll just flash another one.
So, what do you think? Should I give up my headphone jack rule and cry whenever I need to use the adapter with my headphones? What if that little worthless shit breaks? What if I want to charge? I know very well why the headphone jack isn’t there on phones nowadays, and I try not to support that direction or products that do this, trying to “vote with my wallet”…
Or should I give up my freedom of choice and let Asus decide when my phone stops to work? Or wait to see what happens at the end of April with the “Asus’s statement regarding this issue”? Maybe wait for someone who may or may not find a method for unlocking Zenfones which may or may not get patched by Asus? Is the Zenfone series popular enough that the community can solve this issue? Maybe, maybe not…
Or stay with OnePlus, dive back into the MediaTek world with an already old phone?
Or go Xiaomi and pray for it to not be crap in the long term?
Or fuck it and go Pixel and flash one of the many ROMs out there and cry about the headphone jack?
Thank you for reading this far.
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Uh oh… :)
But seriously… I’d go with the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G.
For you, it’s stuff like the headphone jack.
For ME, it’s having a card slot for more memory. This one has it, the other two do not.
I don’t see a reason to pay a premium price for fewer features.
Like Pavlov’s dog, I hovered over that image waiting for the alt text to appear.
“I am never going out to buy an air conditioner with my sysadmin again.”
Consider your privacy, a Pixel with GrapheneOS is vastly suggested.
And you can kind of dual sim if you use esim along with physical sim.
Or fuck it and go Pixel and flash one of the many ROMs out there and cry about the headphone jack?
I’d say this option is your best bet, Google has long supported unlocking your bootloader since even before the Pixel reboot when they were known as nexus devices.
Personally, if you’re open to also tossing your weight requirement, the Pixel Fold has been fantastic. A rare solid Google First-gen product. Iirc Google actually sells the inner screen as a first-party part (Probably the biggest issue I foresee getting it to 7 years). It’s got waterproofing, but dust otoh… you’re not a construction worker, are you? LMAO
I’m using the PF right now, and it’s kinda like getting a dual monitor setup for the first time, once you use it on a daily basis you won’t be able to go back. I think the PF2 is releasing this summer if they’re able to stay on track and you can wait
Other than that, Pixel 7a I believe is still being sold if you’re looking for a budget device, or the Pixel 8 Pro for top tier
ETA: it doesn’t have a second physical SIM, but all Pixels iirc (I know the PF does for sure) supports 1 physical and 1 eSIM simultaneously
Do you know if the Pixel Fold handle GrapheneOS okay? I have the surface Duo 2 right now, and was looking for a replacement, but really have grown to love the dual screen. So this could be my answer if the foldability doesn’t interfere with a new OS!
I don’t have personal experience with GrapheneOS, but it looks like the PF is well supported so you should be fine.
That being said, you may want to wait until this fall for the (currently rumored) launch date of the PF2 (Now known as the Pixel 9 Pro Fold apparently lol) if for nothing else but to grab a PF1 on a good deal
June 2028 is the pf’s eol. I would second the other commenter on waiting it out for the pf2
Nice, thank you for the heads up!
The newer Sony Xperias sound like a good fit for you. I haven’t used one myself, but they’re pretty decent from what I can gather.
Also it seems as if Sony is the only phone manufacturer shipping flagships with headphone jacks and SD card slots.
On another note, I highly recommend the GSMarena Phone Finder for getting a general selection of phones that have the features you care about.
seconded on the xperia line, i have the 5 III and love it. small but lots of screen available with the tall aspect ratio
Also been rocking Xperia for the last few years and I have no reason to ever look further. Amazing phones :)
I would strongly consider just crying about the headphone jack. Like you I’m really annoyed that most phones got rid of it, but take a look at how many more options you have on gsmarena phone finder if you ditch it.
My main use case for it was sharing my wired noise cancelling headphones between my work PC and phone for zoom calls. But I ended up getting a nice pair of Bluetooth headphones recently and so haven’t used it in a long time. I’m sure it’ll still annoy me on occasion living without it, but if it’s only a few times a year I can live with that for all the options it opens up for new phones.
I was rather annoyed about losing the headphone jack but now I don’t have one I honestly don’t miss it.
You can get a decent midrange set of wireless headphones for £30ish, the sound quality is indistinguishable from wired and I no longer have wires tying themselves in to bird’s nests or getting caught in things. I have an over ear pair and the battery lasts for ages.
Inb4, if you’re a audio engineer you can probably tell the difference but to an average listener the experience is the same, a lot of people like to kid themselves that the difference in sound quality is really noticeable
You would be better off with a dongle. I have one which supports hi-res audio and has plenty of power to drive my over ear audionerd headphones. Phone jacks and DACs can’t ever match that.
Dual SIM (2 physical cards)
With the dawn of eSIM, I’m not sure if Dual physical-SIM is very useful.
Last time I went on a trip, I just downloaded an eSIM + kept my physical SIM slot.
Here’s how I do this (for phones and any complex technology acquisition):
- Make a spreadsheet with a column for each phone.
- Each row has a different attribute, price, screen size, OS version, warranty, Bluetooth version, etc.
- I put my current phone in column 2.(Column 1 contains labels) I freeze row 1 and column 1 to make life easier when entering data.
- Keep adding phones and specs until you’ve exhausted the ones you care about.
- Compare phone in column 3 with column 4.
- Of those two phones, and only those two, which one would you get?
- Hide the column for the phone you would not get
- Compare the winner with the phone in the next column, and only those two.
- Rinse and repeat until you have two phones left, your current phone and the winner.
- Congratulations, go buy a phone.
Thank you everyone and thank you for the links! Based on all info, I decided to wait for Asus’s statement until the end of April. I hope my current phone will survive until then. In case of no good news, I will try to find a OnePlus Nord CE2 somewhere, or may go with a good used one. If that doesn’t work out either, then maybe an Xperia. Or Nothing 2. Or Pixel… We’ll see.
Have you considered the Sony flagships? They fit all your criteria except maybe the bootloader bit
The Sony Xperia 1 iii, 1iv, and 1 v should meet all of OP’s requirements except size, and should have most of the bonus features too. Last year I was able to find a used xperia 1 iii for under $500USD. Sony allows bootloader unlocking so I put LineageOS with microg on it, rooted with magisk, and my phone does any thing I want (as long as that thing doesn’t require Google Play Services).
deleted by creator
Sorry to tell you but that phone doesn’t exist.
Typing this on a Zenfone 10.
The good thing is that this phone don’t really have bad querks like ZF8&9, and the 2 years update only means not getting new android features, Zenfone still works perfectly fine a long time after the 2 year mark.
And yes, Asus has been quite an A** hole in the whole bootloader situation, but putting that aside there are still plenty of ways to tinker a phone without root(Fdroid, adb, launcher, netguard, etc…).
I would say If custom ROMs are too important for you, get a Pixel, they are just that good with it.
But if you are willing to look past that, Zenfones are great.
I used an LG G3 for around 5 years, and I was in a similar situation to yours when it started dying (but with a slightly different set of features I wanted).
I ended up buying a Xiaomi phone (Mi 9T Pro), but the community support for it wasn’t even close to the LG and I constantly tinkered with the system to keep some stuff working on custom ROMs (mostly MicroG issues, might be fine with Google Play Services).
Now I use a Pixel 7a. It fit all my requirements except for having a headphone jack, but after getting some AirPods Pro for free, which were much more convenient than using my IEMs (I fairly quickly stopped using them with my phone), I dropped that requirement. I’m assuming the community will support this phone for a while, but since you said you don’t mind spending more the Pixel 8 series has more than six years of official support left.
The 3 phones you linked from gsmarena vary A LOT in price. First you need to establish your budget. Zenfone 10 is basically last year’s flagship, though IMO the screen is too small to be usable for me.
The xiaomi redmi note 13 pro is one of the best value for money phones but it has a “value” soc(system on a chip), which is fine for most every day use but it isnt anywhere near current flagship levels of performance(less performance headroom for future apps). Xiaomi’s sub-brand “poco” has phones that offer insane soc but you are sacrificing some other niceties(cameras, etc). Poco f6(and f6 pro) are about to come out.
IMO Oneplus usually aint worth it. It is basically rebranded oppo phones, you might as well get a xiaomi. Budget oneplus phones offer mediocre value with slow soc. However, oneplus flagships from previous years can often be find on sale, in which case they might be worth it. Sony old flagships also can be found at steep discount.
Nothing phones are pretty but their value is low, especially in terms of performance.
IMO, if you dont mind buying a chinese android phone, with 2-3 years of support, xiaomi is usually the best option. Redmi note 13 pro is a good choice, poco x6 and especially x6 pro and upcoming poco f6/f6 pro are also great(if you really care about performance). I dont think i would recommend an expensive xiaomi phone because you can basically get a samsung flagship at that price.
I think the 7 year support offered to google and samsung current flagships is very important. Xiaomi phones reach end of life after 2 or 3 years. Which means that if there is a security hole discovered later on, they will remain unpatched. Considering the amount of banking and stuff people do with their phones nowadays, this point deserves consideration.
So while i have absolute confidence in the performance of xiaomi phones like poco x6 pro or poco f5(and newer) for the long term, the software support landscape has changed a lot this year. And the old norm of 2-3 years software support might not be cutting it anymore.
Also xiaomi has xda forum
https://xdaforums.com/c/xiaomi.12005/
PS Be careful with the snapdragon names. Poco f5 has snapdragon 7+ gen2, while poco x6 has snapdragon 7s gen2. The performance difference between these 2 almost identically named socs is immense. The upcoming snapdragon 8s gen3 is also nothing like snapdragon 8 gen3, it is basically an overclocked 7+ gen 3. Which is still amazing but not 8 gen3 amazing. The “s” stands for “slow”.
Thank you for reading this far.
Your welcome
I would stick with newer 5T.
Why?
You where fine with it, the phone clicked with you; you know your way around it. so why not.
FAIRPHONE 5
