The Google Pixel 4a!!! I finally had an OLED screen with better colors! Finally had 128gbs of storage. The size is perfect!!! Still use it as a car music player when there is no signal. We need more under 6 inch screen size phones!
I thought about this, and I’m not really sure. A lot of the phones I liked using are before 2015. This leaves me with two options.
The Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact:
I’m still using the XZ1C, it’s still fast for what I use it for, and does everything I need. The modem bug annoys me though, and keeps it from greatness. The battery is still really good, even after replacing it with a Chinese battery and 80% charge limit. It’s almost the perfect phone. Make it 18:9 and have modern specs with stable software and it would be awesome.
Runner up (The only other post 2015 phone I’ve used enough and is good enough to like):
I really liked the S7 (Exynos), the last semi good Samsung (until you get to S10e) Although it’s kinda slow and didn’t work well for cell in the US.
I want to love the Unihertz Atom, but sadly it just doesn’t work for me.
I got it specifically to have a phone to only call, text and message. But those are the exact things that don’t reliably function. It often didn’t receive messages or even calls unless the app was opened and in the foreground.
I factory reset it, tried activating and deactivating Unihertz’s own energy management app, tried the original versions of Signal/Threema/Dialer/Messenger as well as their FOSS forks/alternatives, tried it with and without Google Services installed…
But whenever I thought it works now, after lots of testing, it would then stop getting the notifications again after a few days, without me changing anything. So eventually I gave up.
If it had worked, it would be my favorite phone. But it didn’t. Now it’s rooted and I just play around with Android on it.
(By the way, if someone knows how to re-enter deleted IMEI numbers on a Mediatek phone from Linux to get rid of the red warning text overlay, please help!)
I can’t remember if it’s pre or post 2015, but my HTC One Mate will always be near and dear. I honestly would’ve kept using it for other things if it didn’t just stop turning on one day lol.
Everyone talking about post 2015 phones. You know which ones I thought were legendary for their time of release? LG Voyager 100000, you could watch broadcast TV on that thing. Next runner up was my first android phone, the Motorola Droid slide phone. I miss smart phones that were being creative. Now it’s all the same boring gimmicks.
lenovo B , that little slow piece of shit was the last phone i could use without my fingers getting sore because it was the perfect size and weight , i read a looot of ebooks on that thing until i lost it one day
Galaxy Note 9. It was the last fully featured phone Samsung made with a headphone jack, an S-Pen, and no display cutout. The only phones that have come out since that are even close to as fully featured are the Sony Xperia phones.
I bought one brand new a few months ago because my S7 died and I couldn’t justify dropping $1000 on an Xperia phone. It’s an EU model bought from US Amazon so I definitely overpaid, but it’s been worth it so far. Definitely holds up imo.
It’s obviously not flagship level, but it’s still a solid mid-ranger. It doesn’t get software updates anymore so officially, I’m stuck on Android 10 and an old security patch. However, I can upgrade to One UI Android 12/13, or whatever the latest AOSP is through the magic of custom ROMs if it ever starts to bother me.
Edit: The only issue I have is that the fingerprint reader isn’t as fast as I’d like it to be. I’m not sure if it’s common or just a me issue despite searching a bunch so any help would be appreciated :)
Oof $300 for a repair is rough, especially considering you can get a refurb Note 9 or 10 for less than that (US or EU at least). What are you daily driving now?
S Pen is one of those things that I didn’t think I’d use much but I keep whipping out for this or that. It’s kinda great!
They remind me of the old “S series” samsung rolled out during the start of the smart phone boom. I had an S3 with a life proof case on it. Damn thing was indestructible. When I hot this A54 I noticed the shape similarities and got another life proof case. Would Highly recommend it 🤌 I hoping to get as much life out of this phone as possible
Yooooo I also had an S3. That phone was a TANK! I dropped it on some rocks and smashed the screen once so I had to get a screen replacement but that was the worst of it (and completely understandable). Aside from that it was a fantastic phone and very durable! I had it on LineageOS Android 7 (or 6 idk) before it got stolen :(
Nexus 6p. Mine self destructed due to a damned chip flaw, but was the first phone to have a camera that literally floored me. Every thing about the phone was the epitome of “more than the sum of it’s parts”. Bought a refurb cheap just to get another 2 years despite the known flaw.
I’d say that if most of the Nexus line, but 6p was the best. Absolutely treasure my now-useless but mint Nexus One.
Pixel just haven’t quite done it for me, and that saddens me so much.
OnePlus had some great hits. I’m very fond of my Bacon, and and 7 pro. The 8pro was great too, but some of the special was… less.
With a 2015 cutoff I think my Samsung S10+ is my favorite. Its only second to the Nexus 4 which is a few years before 2015. Probably going to upgrade in the new year but going to miss that headphone jack to whatever I replace it with.
The LG V40. Its this phone that flew under so many people’s radar despite offering a lot at the time. Also just getting it was hard because it never was offically sold where I live.
Also the Huawei Mate 10 (not the Pro). Its such a cool device, again not officially sold here. Its this really neat phone from 2017 with really slim bezzels but also a big 6" 16:9 aspect ratio display (which is amazing for watching YT)
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