by "Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
Published 11/08/2017 at 16:58
by "Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
Published 11/08/2017 at 16:58
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STARS: 0
When I bought my Galaxy S7 Edge a couple months ago, I somewhat lamented the fact that there was nothing else in the $350-500 price range that had the mix of features I wanted plus a cleaner-than-Samsung build of Android. Some options have emerged since then that give me
pause,
but not quite regret.
Here is my overly-exhaustive OCD review of the Galaxy S7 Edge that I updated behind the scenes several times after posting it as I discovered new quirks that I either liked or disliked, and here’s my similarly OCD review of the Moto X Pure Edition it replaced.
One of the big things that I got all hung up on during my phone search that eventually led me to the Galaxy S7 Edge was being compatible with Verizon. I was on Total Wireless which was a super cheap prepaid plan that uses Verizon’s network. But yesterday I switched to T-Mobile .
My job is in a part of town that inexplicably has crappy Verizon coverage, even though generally Verizon has the second best network here in Madison, behind U.S. Cellular. My office building has some unique cellular signal-killing properties, and when I moved offices, I stopped being able to make any calls.
Enter T-Mobile, which is the best carrier at supporting wifi calling on unlocked phones. I’m all in on the unlocked phone bandwagon. Thankfully, my unlocked Galaxy S7 Edge supports T-Mobile wifi calling . The Moto X Pure it replaced doesn’t, and actually the unlocked LG V20 that I briefly tried but returned also doesn’t. Score one for the S7E, since it let me switch to T-Mobile and use wifi calling.
BUUUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT......
There are a couple other fancy unlocked phones that have recently dropped into or soon will be in the same price ballpark as the $475 I paid for my S7E, both of which feature cleaner-than-Samsung software. Each time I found out about them, I was like, hmm, should I have gotten that instead?
First up, the Essential PH-1 .
Started by Andy Rubin, the guy who invented Android, Essential has had a rocky start. The phone when it first launched had an awful camera, and various other glitches, but Essential has done a lot of software updates and tweaks to improve the camera and performance in general. At the time I bought my S7E, the PH-1 was selling for $699, way more than I wanted to spend. But it recently dropped to $499, and actually Best Buy and Amazon have it for $449 .
The PH-1 has a fashionable bezel-“free” screen, but in the standard 16:9 aspect ratio, not 18:9 like the other phones in this style. It basically ticks every possible box for me including Verizon and T-Mobile wifi calling compatibility, but it has one glaring issue. There’s no headphone jack, and it doesn’t support aptX or any other high-quality bluetooth codec. I use aptX headphones at the gym and without aptX support, they’d sound noticeably worse with the PH-1.
The other contender is the soon-to-be released OnePlus 5T . It’s basically like the OnePlus 5 but with a tall, mini-bezel screen, and maybe some kind of better camera. It’ll be announced in another week or so.
The regular OnePlus 5 was out of stock when I was buying my S7E, and while it ticked all my boxes, it didn’t have Verizon compatibility. The same will apply for the 5T, but I’m on T-Mobile now, and probably will stay on them as long as I’m with this company, and OnePlus supports T-Mobile wifi calling. Supposedly it’ll cost the same $479 as the OnePlus 5 did.
This one is a little more interesting to me, but it still won’t work on Verizon if I were for some reason compelled to switch back, and to get it, I would have had to stick with my Moto X Pure with a dying USB port and no fingerprint reader until probably the end of November or early December.
If I really want to limit myself to phones that support both Verizon CDMA and T-Mobile wifi calling, that’s a very short list. It’s basically only iPhones, Samsung flagships, Pixels, and Motorola’s E, G & X series low- and mid-range phones.
So I still don’t think I’ve made the wrong choice per se, but who knows?
"victor" (victor)
11/08/2017 at 17:03, STARS: 0
I’m just moving to a Pixel 2 XL from an unbranded (no carrier boat) Galaxy S8+ dual sim I bought 3 months ago. When you thousands of dollars of phone services a year, it’s not good to be unhappy with your phone. You can always see what they’re selling for on ebay and use that to buy a new phone.
"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
11/08/2017 at 17:09, STARS: 0
I just want a cheap phone with some serious memory. Updates have soaked up all of my memory. Now I need something new.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/08/2017 at 17:11, STARS: 0
I’m not unhappy with the S7E, just experiencing occasional grass-is-greener moments. I’m also not even close to spending thousands of dollars on service per year.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/08/2017 at 17:14, STARS: 0
Moto G5 Plus and G5S Plus 64 GB are both $299 at the moment.
The S has a bigger 5.5" screen vs. 5.2" and a dual-camera setup that gives you some gimmicks but lower overall image quality.
If you can make do with 32 GB and a microSD slot there are plenty of other cheap options.
"victor" (victor)
11/08/2017 at 17:18, STARS: 0
Well, having 2 (you mentioned TMo and VZW) lines definitely gets you up there in costs though....
"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
11/08/2017 at 17:20, STARS: 0
Yeaaaahhhh. My last phone was so cheap it came as a discount on my bill... Verizon offered a $15 credit if you did auto pay vs buying the phone outright. Phone was only $7/month. I’ve been using a Samsung Galaxy Core Prime with 8GB for two years. Only now is it running out of memory.
I really want to be below 200. I’ve got a 32 gig SD stuffed in it now.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/08/2017 at 17:23, STARS: 0
I don’t have 2 lines, not for myself anyway. I ported my # over to T-Mobile. I’m saying if for some reason I wanted to maintain VZW compatibility in case I wanted to go back in the future, the OnePlus 5T doesn’t have it.
I started out at Total Wireless on a $100/month plan for up to 4 lines with 15 GB of data. I only had 2 lines (myself + my wife) but that was what I wanted for data cap. They upped their data caps, and I was able to switch to $60/month which got bumped up to 15 GB for up to 2 lines.
Now my wife’s on the Total Wireless single-line 5 GB $35/mo plan, and I’m on the T-Mobile $50/month 10 GB plan. So it splits the difference of where we started out and ended up with at TW.
"victor" (victor)
11/08/2017 at 17:28, STARS: 0
Makes sense.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/08/2017 at 17:30, STARS: 0
Or you could get a cheap prepaid plan, pay a couple hundred bucks for a phone, and still come out ahead of the game with how much you save on service.
"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
11/08/2017 at 17:35, STARS: 0
Even my plan is pretty cheap. I honestly am not a fan of cell phones. Two phones, lines and all that we are paying $140/month after taxes and fees.
Honestly the phone would be fine but the all the system updates and bloatware on it drag it down.
I think the thought of spending 300 on a phone drives me crazy. Just the thought of it. I miss my old flip phone.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/08/2017 at 17:38, STARS: 0
$140/month is not “pretty cheap.”
I was at $60/month on Total Wireless for their 15 GB, 2-line plan on Verizon’s network. The downside to Total Wireless is they don’t support voice over LTE so you get stuck with the old no simultaneous voice & data problem.
Now that I switched to T-Mobile’s $50/month 10 GB plan, I bumped my wife down to the Total Wireless $35/month 5 GB plan so we’re at $85/month.
There are plenty of cheap prepaid plans out there with various pros & cons but just for sake of argument let’s say you found something that works for you that’s $85/month. In a given year you’d be saving $660 vs. that $140/month you’re spending with Verizon. That more than covers a $200-300 phone.
"ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)" (adabofoppo)
11/08/2017 at 17:39, STARS: 1
I have grown to appreciate my One+ 5. Using the MS Arrow launcher and Next lock screen and Outlook for mail, it works functionally as well as my beloved Windows Phones, apart from not having the lovely Live Tiles.
The finger print sensor is lightning fast, and while I like the design of the new One+5T, I hate having the sensor on the back of the phone. I also like the hard buttons on the front next to the sensor.
The camera is really pretty good. It is at least as good as the one on my old Nokia 830 and 920. Which says a lot about how ahead of the curve Nokia was with phone camera software.
Android Auto sucks. CarPlay is far better. Otherwise I am happier about living with Android than I was with iOS. If I had been using an iPhone 6 size iPhone, I might not have switched. But the SE was just way too small to type with.
"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
11/08/2017 at 17:41, STARS: 0
How do those prepaid ones handle international calling?
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/08/2017 at 17:42, STARS: 0
Outlook for Android pissed me off because it doesn’t show attachments on calendar items. I tried out Nine which is much better but I’ve yet to pull the trigger on the $15 it costs now that the free trial expired.
I use Google Calendar and Inbox for my personal stuff, and I purposely keep work and personal separated. I only want to see my work stuff if I specifically go to look at it.
"dsigned001 - O.R.C. hunter" (dsigned001)
11/08/2017 at 18:51, STARS: 0
I’ll second to vote for OnePlus. I’ve been very happy with my op3t. Dash charging especially has been really nice.
"Monkey B" (monkeyb)
11/08/2017 at 18:59, STARS: 0
My experience with One+ wasn’t positive. The customer support is dreadful if you have an issue...which I did. Had to send it in as the camera broke within a few months. After a handful of interactions in which their insistence that a clean slate wipe would solve the issue they finally gave me a RA to have it repaired. This camera issue on the 3t was also well documented so their reluctance to immediately approve the repair was disappointing.
The hardware was impressive, and I liked Oxygen OS (essentially a slightly modified stock Android experience) but since I had to purchase another phone while it was repaired (they don’t do exchanges) I stuck with the Pixel I bought to replace it. Haven’t got around to selling it yet...part of me wanted to try it again as I liked the hardware and it’s screen is larger than the Pixel but I’ve grown to like stock android and immediate updates. I’m really curious about the Essential phone too.
"Monkey B" (monkeyb)
11/08/2017 at 19:03, STARS: 0
I’ve got a 64gb OnePlus 3t I’ll sell ya! 6gb of RAM...it’s certainly snappy with all that RAM.
"random001" (random001)
11/08/2017 at 20:13, STARS: 0
Aaaaaaaand you really should have just bought a Pixel XL off Swappa....
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/08/2017 at 21:04, STARS: 0
Nah, in this price range I want a new phone with a warranty and support.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/08/2017 at 21:20, STARS: 0
Interesting about your OnePlus experience. So far I’ve contacted Samsung support twice, by online chat.
The first was because wifi randomly would shut itself off. They had me do some combination of resetting app preferences and some other seemingly random steps but sure enough that fixed the wifi.
The second time I wanted to know before switching to T-Mobile if the unlocked version of the phone supported wifi calling. They told me specifically that the unlocked version *didn’t* support wifi calling but some folks on forums said they used it successfully so I took a flyer and switched. When I put in the T-Mobile SIM the phone reconfigured itself to enable wifi calling.
So... Not perfect, but I give them credit on the first thing.
Honestly the Essential’s lack of both a headphone jack and aptX is a deal breaker for me. My wife’s $230 Moto G5 Plus has both. Hell, my Moto Droid Razr supported aptX in 2011.
"random001" (random001)
11/08/2017 at 23:03, STARS: 0
I got a NIB XL off swappa for $500, which is the only reason i said that.
"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
11/09/2017 at 10:28, STARS: 0
tree fiddy?
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/09/2017 at 11:02, STARS: 0
I think it was you who I was talking to this about before. I wondered at the time whether buying a NIB phone on Swappa would qualify for a warranty but kinda forgot about it before I bothered to check the warranty terms.
But you reminded me, so here are the Pixel XL warranty terms :
This Limited Warranty is only valid and enforceable in locations the Phone is sold and will apply only if you purchased your Phone from Google or its authorized resellers.
...
To make a claim under the Limited Warranty, contact Google support . We’ll need your name, contact information and the IMEI number on the packaging and in the SIM tray. You will need to provide a purchase receipt.
If you didn’t buy your Pixel or Pixel XL on the Google Store, contact the retailer where you purchased it. You can always contact Google support if you have additional questions.
So it appears that for warranty purposes, buying a NIB phone from some random individual, and not Google or an authorized reseller (i.e. Verizon, Best Buy, etc.) doesn’t count.
Best price I can find for a Pixel XL 32 GB from Google or an authorized reseller is $679 from Jet.com (it’s $669 from the Google Store but they charge tax and Jet somehow doesn’t even though it’s owned by Walmart). So that’s still a couple hundred bucks more than I paid for my S7E.
And I know this is crazy but even though generally I prefer clean Android, there are several things I like about the S7E that the Pixel XL doesn’t have:
Always-on display
Hiya caller ID
UI theming
Camera extensions like animated GIFs
Scrolling screenshots
Capacitive buttons
Fingerprint sensor on the front
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
11/09/2017 at 13:44, STARS: 0
Theoretically you could sell that G7E for about $300 then use the proceeds towards the Essential or One+! :)
"Monkey B" (monkeyb)
11/09/2017 at 13:49, STARS: 0
$320 shipped to anywhere in the U.S.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/09/2017 at 14:07, STARS: 0
I’m not going to take a $175 hit on a phone I bought 2 months ago.
Besides, the Essential is a hard pass as long as it doesn’t support aptX. I use aptX headphones at the gym and I spend about 18 hours a week there. I like these headphones and don’t want to pair them with a phone that can’t give them a good bluetooth source.
OnePlus I would have to stick to only T-Mobile or AT&T. I’m on T-Mobile now but who knows how that’ll go. This year I’ve already switched from Cricket to Verizon to Total Wireless to T-Mobile because at different times I needed different things.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/09/2017 at 15:05, STARS: 0
Depends on the plan and if you’re talking about calling somewhere outside the US from the US, or making calls while you’re outside the US.