Mobile phone OS poll

[Reprise]

Recently found that the battery in my Galaxy 8 seemed to be degrading.

'No big deal', I thought... I'll just get a replacement. Then I found the procedure to replace it. I can do it, but it's very involved -- to the point where I'm saying to myself... maybe I should just get another phone; I've had this one about 18mos.

Normally, I'll hold onto a phone until software makes the CPU obsolete / slow. That's longer than 18 months, and my phone is still 'fine', other than the battery.

Now, I always say I'm not a member of the Apple church, or a follower of St Steven of Cupertino. And I realize that with the current 'slim' / 'waterproof' phones, that an Apple replacement may be no better (and may be worse) with respect to 'user replaceable battery'. But I'm also thinking about Apple being potentially (?) less intrusive, privacy-wise, than Google.

I don't know how true / accurate that is; I've been pretty solidly in the non-Apple camp for awhile now, and I'm a couple of years removed from following the market / tech as closely as I used to for work, etc.

My carrier does offer both, so I can switch phones w/o dropping my carrier (who has served me well, and I take advantage of an 'old geezer' discount, so I'll prolly stick with them.) If I switch, I know I'm looking at a fairly tedious migration, perhaps repurchasing some apps, etc.

Note - I'm NOT looking to turn this into a 'Chevy vs Ford'-type thread. Just looking for a high-level count of what you have, and will you keep it. This poll will close one week from today (2/26 -ish)

If you've switched in the past, feel free to post about how it worked out for you. Thanks.

 

[Blckshdw]

I tend to run my phones into the ground before upgrading. I currently have a Samsung Note 9, which I picked up a month after they were released. I upgraded from a Note 2. I definitely got my money's worth, it got to the point that many of the apps were laggy, and the CPU had trouble keeping up, even after some factory resets.

I ran some apple products back in the day. Couple of iPods first, 2nd generation iPhone after that. They were cool, really my only major gripe was I didn't like iTunes. Before that I had a Windows phone... Went to Android after the iPhone and have been satisfied, this phone is my 3rd phone since then.

 

[Mounce]

See I always felt that apple would be more of the one to watch everything you do compared to Google or what have you. My practice is to deny every access request unless you know the app and trust it. Same goes for any of the 'smart' systems. Keep it old school. I don't even run the factory keyboard, I've been using SwiftKey over the years for customized color scheme and great swype to text interface, oh, and the fact that I don't want Google to see first hand anything and everything that I type lol. Usually roll with location services off. I just don't want any service following me period, of course you can't help Google ads and all that though seeing what you search for.

But yeah, I'm an android guy, all I've ever had. All of the newer phones have user - non - serviceable batteries, but I see way fewer cracked Android screens than Apple and way fewer charging port failures if that matters. I'm loving the LG lineup these last few upgrades I've had. LG g5, LG g6 as a warranty replacement after a screen failure, and now LG v30. Back facing fingerprint scanner/lock/unlock button is super convenient and natural compared to changing your grip to reach for a side facing lock button IMO so don't knock them for that immediately lol.

 

[Mooseman]

I had a Windows phone way back in 2010 and then went with an iPhone 4. I got pissed that they locked down the Bluetooth and would not work with Elm 327 adapters so went with a Samsung Galaxy something and haven't looked back. Just last Sept I got a godfather deal from my provider and got a Google Pixel 3a. Battery life is excellent, takes amazing pics and works great. Only minor beef I have with it is Bluetooth can be a bit finicky.

Before that, I had an Acer Liquid Zest Plus. It's a lesser known brand for phones but I had done a bunch of research on it and it had good reviews for great battery life and good features. It was still working fine and still have it as a backup. It's not a popular name brand but it worked very well for me, even Bluetooth.

Don't look at just the big name brands. Google's phones have always been good. Just don't go with the CCC junk and you'll be fine. Check reviews.

 

[Reprise]

@Mounce - yeah, I'm much like you - careful with the access grants, etc., etc.
If you're wanting to throw Google off your scent, try out DuckDuckGo - it's in the Play Store, and they block Google, don't track anything themselves (per the owner, on Quora), and I believe they block ads, too. I just downloaded it today and started using it. You can run it alongside other browsers and don't have to make it a 'default', either.

I still need to evaluate search results, to see if they suffer, vs. the big kahuna.

Don't look at just the big name brands. Google's phones have always been good. Just don't go with the CCC junk and you'll be fine. Check reviews.

Oh, yeah. I do tend to stick with Samsung (although this latest battery thing is a real cluster, as far as replacing it.) But I don't have to have latest / greatest (I got the S8 when the 9's (?) came out... I know it was at least one model behind... and was light years ahead of my old, tired S5, which replaced an S3. So I hang onto them awhile, too (especially when I can easily replace the battery)

CCC - I absolutely will not purchase anything with a MIC CPU / chipset (e.g.; Huawei, etc.) Same for using MIC software (like the social one they're advertising on TV now, as a competitor to FB (?) -- I forget the name, and don't need the software, anyway.)

I just logged onto my carrier and checked out what I was 'eligible' for on an early upgrade. There are some possibilities (although it looks like I won't have the last 5mos of my current phone installment 'forgiven'. No worries, either way.


BTW... early poll results... everyone who responded (six so far) said 'Android forever'. Interesting!

 

[Matt]

I'm an Android guy because I like how open it it. I switched from Samsung last year to Google Pixel and couldn't be happier. There's no bloatware from the manufacturer or the carrier and the camera is one of the best on the market.

 

[Maverick6587]

I started with Android with I think it was called the Optimus or something. All of my friends had Apple devices and told me I should switch. I bought an iPhone 4s and had it for about a week and a half. I ended up selling it on craigslist in that second week. I could not stand how locked down the software was.

The biggest deciding factor was not having the ability to use Swype type, like Mounce said. Tapping each individual letter was the deal breaker. I think iPhones allow swiping for keyboards now.

There used to be a speed battle between the phones and that's why I stayed with Android. With the speed of all of the devices now, I don't think it really matters anymore. I have the Pixel 4 now and couldn't be happier. The ability to do pretty much anything I could think of with my phone without the OS blocking me is what will keep me on Android.

Oh wait! I totally forgot, I do have one Pixel complaint. The Pixel, I think is the only Android device that does not allow HDMI out via USB C. It's locked out in the software. The phone is capable of this feature via it's hardware but, Google locked it. It's an option in almost all other Android phones, jut not the Pixel phones.

 

[Sparky]

I just upgraded from my old S7 to an S10e. The battery in the S7 was weakening but still plenty usable for 3 years old (would usually make it through the day fine still) but the hardware was getting obsolete. And, well, i had crushed the back of the phone by accident while mov9ng a filing cabinet... oops.

I ponder the whole Google thing, but even with location "on" looking at the Google timeline it is sometimes laughable how woefully inaccurate it can be sometimes. It told me I was driving for 4 hours to go 15 miles to work the one time and thought I got there at like midnight or something 🤔

I will never switch to Apple because I hate how locked out they are. My wife used to have an iphone and she had some photos on icloud due to local storage limitations, and trying to even get our own data off of ioud is a giant pain. It should not be so hard but there is literally no "download all" button. Infuriating. And itunes as mentioned sucks. Always has. Forget it, not doing it.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

I use a phone quite simplistically and just "upgraded" to an Iphone 6s plus. It still calls and texts like any other phone. It plays youtube and lets me pitter around on the book of faces. It has a nice camera that i use for work. But basically it is like any other phone. I really only have apple for the facetime thing with the kids. Wife got an iphone and I held on to my android for a couple years after, then when i needed a phone I switched and really noticed no difference except the screen for apple was smaller at the time.

I really do not have many apps on my phone and try not to. I do hate how google follows me around and seems to want to input stuff everywhere. I do not see anything remotely like it from apple. But I do not use itunes at all and have no cloud that i know of.