Help me pick a new phone plz.

KarsusTG

2[H]4U
Joined
Aug 27, 2010
Messages
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Apparently my phone is no longer going to be supported by AT&T at the end of Next month and I will need a newer phone to continue receiving service. Since I don't follow phones I thought I would come here and ask.

My current phone is a CAT S61 and really liked it. It still does everything I need to do, and it's the first phone I had over a year without breaking it outside of my old Kyocera Dura flip phone. That being said, I no longer work in an industrial environment and I have tools that replaced most of the functionality I was getting from it anyway.

I mostly put phones in the same category as tablets. It's a cool gadget, but it doesn't give me any functionality I don't already have on my laptop and redundant gadgets tend to sit on shelves/desks.. My phone spends most of its life on my desk or night stand except when I am doing yard work or running errands. If I go back to commuting in September, it will stream audible / waze to my car stereo for about 1.5 hours a day and that will mostly be it.

My entire list of requirements:

It must have bt for my bt headphones and car.
It must be able to run audible, waze, myfitnesspal.
It must be able to run the Cisco Duo app which means it has have updates to keep within one generation of the current OS version I believe.
It must be able to create a temporary hot spot for when I am traveling.
I live in a cell phone black hole (generally my phone bounces between 'no-service' and 1 bar at home) so a phone with a good built in antenna is a huge plus.
Thou shalt not recommend apple.

That is pretty much it.. I don't use my phone for anything else. It's incredibly rare for me to use a web browser on a phone and I still don't understand why people do. I send about 10 text messages a year. I promised my family I would get better about carrying the phone on me so a smaller phone would help facilitate that. A good camera would be nice, but it really isn't important to me.

I want the newest version of a phone I can get so I don't have to worry about this again for a few years. Budget is about $1k for this. What do you guys think I should get?
 
I am looking for a much cheaper Android phone as I am replacing a flip phone that my father was using because I want to keep the same phone number. A terrible experience that I had with AT&T that I want to share in case you buy a phone, don't like it and want to return it. If you buy a phone from AT&T website, you cannot return it in store, regardless of what the rep tells you online, the store will not take them back. You will need to mail it back using the return label, and you have 14 days starting from the date that they mail it out to you to return it. If you buy a phone from store, you can only return the phone to the same store with a $55 restocking fee. The rules are very strict and the fees cannot be waived.

I prefer iPhone but since I already have one, I am going to try an Android. Good luck with your new phone search!
 
Sounds like any phone will give you what you need. You just need to find the cheapest one that will stay updated long enough. You really are hampering yourself not considering the iPhone when it comes to OS support/updates, even more so if you don’t care about cutting edge hardware features. That or just find some cheap older Android models you can upgrade as often as it no longer receives OS updates. Or you spend the money on a new model iPhone which will give you a minimum of 4-5 years of OS updates. I’m just not aware of any Android phone that will keep running for that long when it comes to the factory supported software. The hardware will last, but generally once you’re at the 2-3 year mark you aren’t getting anything beyond security updates. The point here is that money spent won’t give you a long lasting software platform up to a certain point, so spending $1k won’t give you a longer lasting phone than a $400 one.
 
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If you plan on keeping your phone for years, or buying an older cheaper phone, then the iPhone is pretty much the only option. They get updates for 4+ years I believe.

The second phone would then be the Google Pixel, they get official updates for 3 years. A Pixel 2 XL would be a great option, I'm sure those can be found fairly cheap today. Or heck, you can find brand new Pixel 4 XL's for like $599 or so I believe.

https://www.techradar.com/deals/google-pixel-4-deals-xl-deals
 
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Apparently my phone is no longer going to be supported by AT&T at the end of Next month and I will need a newer phone to continue receiving service. Since I don't follow phones I thought I would come here and ask.

My current phone is a CAT S61 and really liked it. It still does everything I need to do, and it's the first phone I had over a year without breaking it outside of my old Kyocera Dura flip phone. That being said, I no longer work in an industrial environment and I have tools that replaced most of the functionality I was getting from it anyway.

I mostly put phones in the same category as tablets. It's a cool gadget, but it doesn't give me any functionality I don't already have on my laptop and redundant gadgets tend to sit on shelves/desks.. My phone spends most of its life on my desk or night stand except when I am doing yard work or running errands. If I go back to commuting in September, it will stream audible / waze to my car stereo for about 1.5 hours a day and that will mostly be it.

My entire list of requirements:

It must have bt for my bt headphones and car.
It must be able to run audible, waze, myfitnesspal.
It must be able to run the Cisco Duo app which means it has have updates to keep within one generation of the current OS version I believe.
It must be able to create a temporary hot spot for when I am traveling.
I live in a cell phone black hole (generally my phone bounces between 'no-service' and 1 bar at home) so a phone with a good built in antenna is a huge plus.
Thou shalt not recommend apple.

That is pretty much it.. I don't use my phone for anything else. It's incredibly rare for me to use a web browser on a phone and I still don't understand why people do. I send about 10 text messages a year. I promised my family I would get better about carrying the phone on me so a smaller phone would help facilitate that. A good camera would be nice, but it really isn't important to me.

I want the newest version of a phone I can get so I don't have to worry about this again for a few years. Budget is about $1k for this. What do you guys think I should get?

I'm thinking either the standard OnePlus 8 (you really don't need the Pro) or a Google Pixel, likely a 4 XL if you can get a good price on it (or else wait until the budget 4a).

Software support is the key. Buying many new Android phones will get you a couple of years of major OS updates, but OnePlus and Google will be better about delivering those updates in a consistent and relatively timely fashion. I'm just envisioning an awkward moment with a Samsung phone where you can't use Cisco Duo for a few months because Samsung often takes around half a year to push the latest version of Android to its devices.
 
Is this situation why you're looking to upgrade?

https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/22/21334221/att-customer-upgrade-email-3g-shutdown-2022

If so you've got some time.

But yeah, literally any current med to high end smart phone will do what you want. Hell even the cheap ones will but you want something to last. Usually people who aren't into phones I recommend Apple but you mentioned not being interested.

Ya, the only difference is the email I got said my region was changing over in September. It's not so much as I dislike apple that much, I do have a mac mini and ipad mini I use for development and I really do like apple in some respects. I had a hand me down iPhone 4 for a few months, but I left it in the car and the Texas heat killed it. It's the almost complete lack of control over my device that really bothers me. Not that android is perfect, but it is considerably better.


I'm thinking either the standard OnePlus 8 (you really don't need the Pro) or a Google Pixel, likely a 4 XL if you can get a good price on it (or else wait until the budget 4a).

Software support is the key. Buying many new Android phones will get you a couple of years of major OS updates, but OnePlus and Google will be better about delivering those updates in a consistent and relatively timely fashion. I'm just envisioning an awkward moment with a Samsung phone where you can't use Cisco Duo for a few months because Samsung often takes around half a year to push the latest version of Android to its devices.

These were my thoughts too. I know guys that just rave over their OnePlus, but they are much more media-centric. I don't know anyone that has a Google Pixel, but they have great reviews. I was looking at a note 10 because I use the every loving crap out of the pen on my surface pro, but it's a good point about Samsung, they are notorious for slow updates.

Sounds like any phone will give you what you need. You just need to find the cheapest one that will stay updated long enough. You really are hampering yourself not considering the iPhone when it comes to OS support/updates, even more so if you don’t care about cutting edge hardware features. That or just find some cheap older Android models you can upgrade as often as it no longer receives OS updates. Or you spend the money on a new model iPhone which will give you a minimum of 4-5 years of OS updates. I’m just not aware of any Android phone that will keep running for that long when it comes to the factory supported software. The hardware will last, but generally once you’re at the 2-3 year mark you aren’t getting anything beyond security updates. The point here is that money spent won’t give you a long lasting software platform up to a certain point, so spending $1k won’t give you a longer lasting phone than a $400 one.

Ya, I hate that about the phone industry. I don't know how they get away with it. 3 years is a really short period of time for what you get out of these devices.
 
If you plan on keeping your phone for years, or buying an older cheaper phone, then the iPhone is pretty much the only option. They get updates for 4+ years I believe.

The second phone would then be the Google Pixel, they get official updates for 3 years. A Pixel 2 XL would be a great option, I'm sure those can be found fairly cheap today. Or heck, you can find brand new Pixel 4 XL's for like $599 or so I believe.

https://www.techradar.com/deals/google-pixel-4-deals-xl-deals
The trend is getting longer each year as well. iOS 14 will still support the 6S which would equate to 6 years of support. Battery would likely die before that, but still, you aren't getting that from any Android device.
 
A year of the Pixel 4's update window has already been burned at this point. I'd look forward to the 4a or 5. Latest leak says August 3 release date for the 4a but who knows. Google's timeline for their phones have been fubar the entire year.
https://www.tomsguide.com/uk/news/g...d-and-its-dangerously-close-to-galaxy-note-20
Ya, I have been looking at them. Pixel 4 seems the most logical. I really wanted a OnePlus 8 but AT&T said they do not support that phone and I could put a chip in it to make calls, but I would be stuck with the lower level LTE, lower priority on the network, no wifi calling, and no 5g in the future. The LG V60 is supposed to have the best antenna of any smart phone right now, which could be a plus since I live in a black hole.


The trend is getting longer each year as well. iOS 14 will still support the 6S which would equate to 6 years of support. Battery would likely die before that, but still, you aren't getting that from any Android device.

This is true. It doesn't bother you that they install all that crap in the background and you are forbidden from removing it (facebook and such)? Not only can you not remove it, but you cannot even remove it from the home screen either. The best you can do is create a folder to dump them into so you don't see them, but they periodically put them back on your home screen anyway. It's really repulsive to me. Even Microsoft lets you uninstall candy crush...
 
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This is true. It doesn't bother you that they install all that crap in the background and you are forbidden from removing it (facebook and such)? Not only can you not remove it, but you cannot even remove it from the home screen either. The best you can do is create a folder to dump them into so you don't see them, but they periodically put them back on your home screen anyway. It's really repulsive to me. Even Microsoft lets you uninstall candy crush...

Are you talking about Android? Been a OnePlus diehard since the OP3T and it's essentially stock Android. You can uninstall anything you want. Then again I buy the retail unlocked versions.
 
Ya, I have been looking at them. Pixel 4 seems the most logical. I really wanted a OnePlus 8 but AT&T said they do not support that phone and I could put a chip in it to make calls, but I would be stuck with the lower level LTE, lower priority on the network, no wifi calling, and no 5g in the future. The LG V60 is supposed to have the best antenna of any smart phone right now, which could be a plus since I live in a black hole.




This is true. It doesn't bother you that they install all that crap in the background and you are forbidden from removing it (facebook and such)? Not only can you not remove it, but you cannot even remove it from the home screen either. The best you can do is create a folder to dump them into so you don't see them, but they periodically put them back on your home screen anyway. It's really repulsive to me. Even Microsoft lets you uninstall candy crush...

Not sure what you’re talking about here if you’re referring to iOS. You’ve been able to uninstall all apps from iOS for a few versions now which means the icon is also removed from the home screen.

So if you don’t want the built in mail app, for example, you can remove it now. Only two apps you can’t remove are settings and the App Store.
 
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