Which (Older Flagship?) Phone to Buy?

RubenM on 25/02/2018 - 12:11
Last edited 25/02/2018 - 13:01 by 1 other user

My Xiaomi mi5 has started to randomly die, requiring me to disconnect the battery and wait a while before it will work again.

So I’m after a new (probably second hand phone) and hopefully looking to spend $500 or less. There are a few requirements and a few wants:

Requirements:

Between 5” and 5.5”
Android
NFC
Physical capacitive buttons
Decent processor (not too sure about MTK)
3gb or ram or more
32gb rom or more
Custom roms available
USB C
Reliable!
Decent camera

Wants:

IR blaster
Waterproof
Optical image stabilisation
Good reception
Good battery life

Mobile

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 25/02/2018 - 12:14

    iPhone 10. Apple can't count.

    • kipps on 25/02/2018 - 19:36
      +2

      You really aren’t funny.

      • [Deactivated] on 25/02/2018 - 21:08

        I'm not trying to be funny, I'm dissing apple. What's wrong with being unfunny?

        • [Deactivated] on 25/02/2018 - 23:19

          don't let them take your dreams away, you are funny.

  • [Deactivated] on 25/02/2018 - 12:19
    +1

    iPhone 3GS

  • RubenM on 25/02/2018 - 12:45
    +7

    Thank you both for those extremely helpful suggestions.

    • [Deactivated] on 25/02/2018 - 12:51
      +8

      You're Welcome. Don't forget to upvote.

      • [Deactivated] on 25/02/2018 - 13:32
        +3

        we have the best suggestions

        • [Deactivated] on 25/02/2018 - 13:53
          +2

          Totally agree.

      • theHMASfriendship on 25/02/2018 - 15:02
        +3

        Like and subscribe

      • gimli on 25/02/2018 - 21:12

        lol. you guys should be banned from posting in the same thread together.
        Its too much to handle. :P

  • belongsinforums on 25/02/2018 - 12:49
    +2

    htc 10. bloody great camera

    • RubenM on 25/02/2018 - 13:01

      Thanks, I'll have a look at it.

    • theHMASfriendship on 25/02/2018 - 15:02

      Seconded

    • pennypincher98 on 25/02/2018 - 16:28

      Thirded.

    • AMelbournian on 01/03/2018 - 15:54

      Fourthed.
      I pretty much had the same set of requirements, and is coming from an Mi5s as well (still works like a charm). Took a risk and ordered one through eBay from an HK seller (feedback > 99%). Let's see how it goes.

  • bohn on 25/02/2018 - 12:59
    +2

    Pixel?

    • RubenM on 25/02/2018 - 13:01

      Seems like a great phone. No buttons though.

      • bohn on 25/02/2018 - 13:14

        Perhaps you can adjust to it :)

      • John Kimble on 25/02/2018 - 14:05

        It has 3 buttons. I'm looking at them on mine right now.

        • RubenM on 25/02/2018 - 15:21

          Designated capacitive buttons (home, back, whatever the other one is)? I didn't think it had those.

        • John Kimble on 25/02/2018 - 16:44
          +1

          @spludgey: OIC. Nope, none of those.

  • Godric on 25/02/2018 - 13:33
    +2

    S8

    • [Deactivated] on 25/02/2018 - 13:34
      +1

      +1

    • RubenM on 25/02/2018 - 15:22

      I thought they were a bit pricier? Maybe once the S9 is available.

  • MathNerd on 25/02/2018 - 13:57
    +6

    Does it need to have a notification LED?

    • [Deactivated] on 25/02/2018 - 15:02
      -2

      No, OP doesn't deserve one.

    • RubenM on 25/02/2018 - 15:22

      Not necessarily, but I'd prefer one. What did you have in mind?

  • elib on 25/02/2018 - 15:44

    Purchased second hand OnePlus 5 128gb storage for $550 back in December. Best decision ever. So much phone for not too much money. You'll have to check Gumtree for a good deal.

  • Kangal on 25/02/2018 - 16:21

    Spludgey, forget what all these people are recommending from the overpriced ($500) grey-market OnePlus 5t to the above your budget ($800) latest Galaxy/iPhone.
    Get yourself a used Samsung Galaxy S7.

    It's just as fast as the S8, has roughly the same battery life, has the same screen, and very comparable cameras.
    Basically, the S8 is the S7 in a rounder, shinier, housing.
    So its still a great device, very competitive and relevant today… and very discounted new ($400), and especially used (<$300).
    Much better value than the OnePlus 3/5t, ZTE Axon 7, LG G6.

    The bad things about it is the S7 is still has the dreaded TouchWizz skin…. has a weaksauce mono loudspeaker…. its screen is rounded which means you can't put on Glass Screen protectors… and don't expect much software support (Android 8.0 Oreo is slated to release around April 2018, and after that, there's another maybe 9 months of extremely hit-and-miss security updates).

    The S6 is decent in terms of processor, but its definitely a little worse in terms of speed and OS. Storage is lacking. The camera is noticeably worse. It lacks waterproofing. And has little to no software and hardware support in 2018.
    So skip the S6, skip the S8, and settle for the S7 for value.

    • RubenM on 25/02/2018 - 16:41

      No USB c though, really annoying. I find it so much better than micro USB.

    • ChillBro on 25/02/2018 - 16:52

      I have an s7 edge and I wouldn't recommend it solely because of the battery depreciation. I've lost 20% of the max capacity in just under 2 years.

      Supposedly the s8 and later use new battery tech which retains 95% of its original capacity even after 2 years so I'd say go for that instead.

  • boxall on 26/02/2018 - 07:39
    +1

    Lg g6 without a doubt. Love mine.

  • grizzle on 26/02/2018 - 08:49
    +1

    Nokia 8 is another option that ticks most of your requirements. One of the increasingly rare phones with dedicated buttons.
    Can be had for under $500 as a grey import.
    Not waterproof, no IR blaster, but recent and near stock Android if those things matter.

  • HeWhoKnows on 26/02/2018 - 09:25

    I think you could sort this out yourself. Your specs are rather specific. But my 2 bobs worth is the 2017 Samsung A5 around $450. But DWI have it on special right now for $369
    https://www.dwidigitalcameras.com.au/samsung-galaxy-a5-a520f…

    It has great reviews which suggest it does away with the need to buy Samsung's S7
    http://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/samsung-galaxy-a5

  • RubenM on 26/02/2018 - 12:36

    Thanks everyone (well almost everyone) for your comments and suggestions. I ended up buying a second hand Nokia 8, which I hadn't considered previously, so I glad I asked!

    • ozbjunkie on 24/04/2018 - 01:04

      Are you still loving your Nokia 8? I'm considering getting one.

    • RubenM on 24/04/2018 - 07:18

      Might just be my phone, but I posted this on whirlpool yesterday.

      spludgey Forum Regular
      reply edit herring short code
      posted Yesterday at 12:52 pm (edited)
      I’m thinking of trying to return my phone (1012) for a refund. It might be little bit difficult as I bought it second hand, but do have the invoice.
      The issues are:
      • The amount of lag is just crazy, especially when trying to open the camera
      • Camera quality is very lacklustre
      • The phone heats up significantly when the screen is at full brightness and the GPS is on. Once it became too hot to touch. I thought that especially given the fact there’s a heatpipe, this shouldn’t be the case
      • Apps (including the system UI) crash pretty frequently.
      • No status LED, what were they thinking? (I know this one is not a fault with my unit, but a definite design flaw)
      • NFC doesn’t work well, even now that I’ve figured out how to hold the phone. Doesn’t work at Aldi for example, where I believe my Xiaomi mi5 worked previously.

      Hopefully HN will give me a full refund, then I’d just have to decide what phone to get to replace this one with.

  • sydsm on 26/02/2018 - 13:14

    LG - best phone I ever had (until Bootloop) - still the BEST phone (hate my samsung s8).

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