Reminds me of the olden days of r/Android where threads like this were a blast!

What phone are you using?

Following in the footsteps of Captain2Phones, I am simultaneously using a Google Pixel 6a and a OnePlus 7 Pro.

Are you happy with it? What are its best and worst qualities?

Pixel 6a is the best phone I’ve ever used, including flagship iPhones. I love the camera bar design and the whole look of the phone’s rear while I don’t particularly like the chunky bezels and the hole punch. I have been spoilt by the fantastic uninterrupted curved display (yes, you read it right. I like curved screens) of the OnePlus 7 Pro. It’s smooth and the cameras are great. I love the animations and the overall look of Material You. It’s a really good phone.

As for the OnePlus 7 Pro, it was the best phone I had ever used until they ruined it all with their subpar software updates which made the phone literally a chore to use. I still use it and like it, but the experience it heavily marred by the atrocious software experience of the new OS which is nothing like OxygenOS.

Which phones have you had previously? Which were the best and worst of the lot?

Have had flagship iPhones for several years until I got the OnePlus 7 Pro. The Pixel has to be the best phone, a shitter Micromax that I had a decade ago has to be the worst.

How often do you upgrade to a new phone?

Every 2/3 years.

What other Android ecosystem devices do you have? Watches, headphones/earbuds, etc.

Not a big fan of smartwatches. Well, a big fan of the smartwatch tech, but not a big fan of wearing one over a traditional watch. Have several fitness bands made by Android OEMs (though none of them run Android) and several true-wireless earphones and headphones by Anker and Soundpeats that I use with my Android devices as well as my Windows devices.

Do you also use any Apple products, or are you Android all the way? (And/or Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc.)

Not at the moment. But my next computer will be an MX Macbook Pro.

• Motorola G30
• very happy! battery life (2.5 days) and weight (prolly due to the big battery)
• a string of Motorolas (I like the fact that it has the purest of the Androids)
• as soon as it shows it is ageing (around 2 years)
• none
• ChromeOS on 2 chromebooks: Lenovo Flex5 and HP 11a na0120nr

edit: typo

S20 Fe 5g, with SD865, 8GB RAM and 256GB Storage

What phone are you using?

I have a Pixel 7, Obsidian Color

Are you happy with it? What are its best and worst qualities?

I love the phone. Its my first non low-end android, and I can’t see myself going back to an iPhone. I love the assortment of emulators available for Android, and the pixel 7 main camera is very good. The selfie camera could use some work, but picture taking is not what I got this phone for anyway.

Which phones have you had previously? Which were the best and worst of the lot?

My previous phones were an iPhone 11 and an iPhone 5C before that. I have a Moto G pure (low end android) for a little bit, although it was more of a secondary phone instead of something to switch to, as it is very sluggish to use. The iPhone 11 was a good phone, the selfie camera is still better than my current pixel phone. I definitely craved the feeling of freedom I got from my Motorola though, despite its shortcomings. So I went ahead and got my pixel.

How often do you upgrade to a new phone? Very rarely, I might be upgrading more often now though due to pixels having shorter security update Windows than iPhones.

What other Android ecosystem devices do you have? Watches, headphones/earbuds, etc.

None at the moment, although I am planning on getting Pixel buds.

Do you also use any Apple products, or are you Android all the way? (And/or Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc.)

For now I am android all the way. I have a Lenovo Thinkpad with Windows 11 on it, I have tried to switch to Linux but my laptops display needs fractional scaling as the dimensions of the screen are different from the resolution. So until fractional scaling gets better on nvidia cards I’ll have to stay with Windows.

Dang I wrote a lot 💀

I’ve got the Galaxy S22 standard and I like it quite a bit. I’ve used the Galaxy series primarily since 2012 and my most recent was the S20. It was definitely an upgrade in terms of camera quality, which is one of the main reason I got it. I can take so many more pictures now, but never do. So that says a lot about me :)

I usually go 2-5 years between phones, so this one was quicker than some I’ve held onto. I don’t have any other Android devices and have only once before owned a Macbook Pro (2015 Core 2 Duo, I believe).

I am typing this on my Pixel 7 (recommend me a Lemmy app please :D )

I had a 4a before this, I liked the finger print reader way better on the 4a but other than that my 7 is better, its the best and most expensive phone i’ve ever owned.

Before the 4a I had some random Honor and Huawei phones and I used to upgrade phones almost yearly which I felt was kinda depressing so I figured I should “invest” in a phone I could use for ~3 years.

The only Apple product i’ve had was some kind of iPod that I asked my uncle to copy cd’s onto, it was kinda cool i guess.

Galaxy S10e. I love the small size of it and the fact that it still has a microSD slot and headphone jack. Its starting to show its age when it comes to battery life and the USB C port not working as good.

I like the Samsung android software with the customization that you get with Good Lock so I will probably stick with Samsung flagship for my next phone. The biggest thing I dislike with Samsung is the amount of bloatware they ship, the out of box experience is terrible and I usually have to spend a day researching what apps to disable with adb to get the phone usable. I will probably upgrade to an S23 next year. I usually buy my phones used when the model has been out for about a year. At a year old its still new enough to have plenty of support left, but its no longer the current model so it sells for less. Its a better value IMO then buying a new mid range phone, especially as there isn’t as much advancement year to year in hardware these days. A year old flagship will have better cameras than a new mid range phone typically.

Asus ZenFone 8.

I love it, it’s a nice bit of kit, and the few gimmicks it has are useful: scheduled charging for better battery life, digital well being stuff to stop me being glued to my phone.

Battery would be a problem for a super power user, but lasts me all day with commuting, reading the web etc. Camera is not on a par with flagships but I rarely take pictures.

Prior to this I had a Huawei until the battery died on me. I upgrade when I have to, I hate consumer upgrade cycles.

I have zero android ecosystem products.

I’m Android/Linux all the way unless work force me to use a Mac, which happens periodically, as part of the great cycle of life.

Currently, I’m using a Motorola moto g100 and I’m happy with it. Good battery life, nice big screen, much improved performance compared to my last phone. Best phone I’ve ever owned. The main inconvenience is the location of the fingerprint sensor: I’d have preferred if it was on the front of the device somehow (definitely not on the back – I often have it lying flat on the table).

I also dislike the fact it can only remember five fingerprints while I have 10 fingers. Who thought that was a good idea? :þ

Previously I had a Moto G5+ and a Moto G. I guess you could say I enjoyed the quality and relative lack of bloatware of these Motorola phones, while being more affordable than some of the alternatives I was considering at the time I bought them.

Going further back, I had a HTC Desire Z (with a slide-out physical keyboard). I picked it as my first smartphone because I was hesitant to get rid of physical keys, but as it turned out I hardly ever used them. Looking back, this one was clearly the worst value for the money.

Since I switched to smart phones I’ve been upgrading every 3 or 4 years.

Before the smart phone era, I had an Alcatel device (can’t remember the exact model). I used that tiny near-indestructable thing for over a decade, only charging it about once a week. It was mostly an “in case of emergency” though, not nearly as heavily used as later phones, because it wasn’t really usable as a miniature pocket-computer (like smart phones are). Still, I was pretty happy with it at the time: the only reason I got rid of it was because the ‘0’ button broke, and in my country all phone numbers start with 0.

I also have an LG G Watch (Wear OS). A relative worked at Google when these were handed out to employees but didn’t actually want it, so I got it as a gift. It’s pretty old now: I’ve replaced the bands a few times and it won’t charge past 70%, but it still mostly works and the battery still lasts all day. I’m not sure if I’ll get another smart watch if and when this one finally breaks, though.

No Apple products, and my laptop runs Linux Mint. These days, I only use Windows at work or when helping relatives with tech problems (sigh).

Pixel 7 Pro, Android 14 Beta. It’s sooooo broken. Pixel Launcher doesn’t work, so the app switcher won’t open. Crashes constantly. Debated buying something else.

I use the Pixel 7 Pro

I love it. The cameras are unparalleled, the software is excellent, and the experience is pure. Battery life isn’t nearly as bad as people say, but it could be better.

Last few phones: iPhone 5c, Galaxy S5, Nexus 6P, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 5, Pixel 6 Pro

Worst was the 6P, because it bricked itself (though I got a few hundred dollars back in the class action lawsuit), but it was excellent aside from that. iPhone got a dead pixel within a month, but they replaced it, Galaxy was sturdy but software was awful. Best was Pixel 2 XL, I still use it as a backup sometimes.

I get a new phone every year if the trade-in deals are good.

I have the Pixel Watch and Pixel Buds. I mainly use the Sony XMs though for headphones.

I have a 14" MacBook Pro M1 Pro. Got it for the insane battery life, but I’m mostly a Windows/Linux user still.I have an iPad, it isn’t bad, but I miss the affordable Android tablets of old (Nexus 7 rocked). I don’t have any desire to move to iOS.

Google Pixel 6. I upgraded from an iPhone 8 a year ago. I love how open the os is, letting me do a bunch more then what’s on the app store.

For headphones I have Soundcore Q30. They’re decent Bluetooth headphones, that were pretty cheap when I bought them.

I use Windows with WSL. I tried switching to Linux for over a month, but I had too many issues with Windows only apps.

I also love usb-c. Almost all my devices can charge using the same cords. The only exceptions are my laptop with a 200W brick, and my diabetes pump. Nothing I can do about those.

What phone are you using?

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

Are you happy with it? What are its best and worst qualities?

Best is screen. Worst is battery. 3-4.5 hours of SoT. Also, it stutters all the damn time. I know most people using it will say it doesn’t, but for me most animations stutter. Every 3rd time I open the Edge panel, and about a third of the times I interact with the device.

Which phones have you had previously? Which were the best and worst of the lot?

Galaxy Wonder, Galaxy S4, Galaxy S7, Galaxy Note 9 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. Galaxy Wonder was pretty bad at the time, and has not stood the test of time. It quickly became unusable. Galaxy S7 was pretty solid but nothing special.

How often do you upgrade to a new phone?

2-3 years.

What other Android ecosystem devices do you have? Watches, headphones/earbuds, etc.

I have the Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds which got the infamous battery drain due to a software update one month after warranty ended and I can’t wait to replace them. They don’t last over 5 minutes on one charge. If it wasn’t for the battery drain, I would keep using them for a very long time. Superior noise cancellation and sound quality.

Do you also use any Apple products, or are you Android all the way? (And/or Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc.)

I have an ancient iPad that is unusable at this point, and an Apple TV that I received for free many years ago. Very recently, I started using Android TV almost exclusively. The only feature I really miss is AirPlay.

Current daily driver is a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. Pretty happy with its compact size when folded, and it serves as a mini-tablet of sorts when unfolded. It’s also the first phone I’ve owned that I’ve not needed to worry about running out of juice midway throughout the day. Though I find its quite hard to find a suitable table stand for it, especially if using it unfolded.

My Android journey began in January 2014 with a Sony Xperia Z1, upgraded from an iPhone 4S with a busted home button. It was a pretty great introduction to the Android world with Sony’s near-stock interface (when compared with the dark days of T**chwiz bloatware and whatnot) and lasted until January 2016 when I upgraded to a Sony Xperia Z5 Premium. The lack of an SD card slot of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 made me hold my nose and get the Z5P despite its Snapdragon 810 SoC, and I endured its abysmal 3.5 hour SOT until 20 months later I upgraded to a red Sony Xperia XZ Premium. This was a really good looking phone and its SD835 SoC was definitely a far cry from the 810 with 5.5 to 6 hours SOT. 28 months of use later and the XZP unfortunately started lagging, which prompted me to try out Samsung. The Note 10+ impressed me with its nearly bezelless screen and s-pen, but the Exynos 9825 SoC was pretty meh at battery life. So another 28 months later and I’ve upgraded to the SD 8+ Gen 1 Fold 4.

I use a Pixel 5 with MicroG Lineage OS. I like it quite a bit: it’s fast, has good battery life, and thanks to Lineage OS, it doesn’t spy on me (as much). I do miss having an SD card slot and headphone jack, but those are hard to find anywhere these days, unfortunately.

I don’t have a specific upgrade schedule: I upgrade phones when the need arises. My last phone (Nexus 6) was showing its age: it was slow, the battery struggled to hold a charge, and the USB port was worn out. Switching to Lineage OS and a wireless charger helped with these problems somewhat, but it was still time for an upgrade. My phone before that (Droid Razr M) was stuck in a boot loop, so had to upgrade that, as well.

I have an iPad 3 sitting around somewhere, but otherwise, not much of an Apple person. I try to use Linux whenever possible (I know Android isn’t a traditional GNU/Linux system, but with Lineage OS and Termux, it’s close enough for me).