Android

• I'm using the Pixel 7.

• I'm happy with it. Best qualities are the camera and the worst is charge time.

• I've been using Xiaomi devices, main label as well as Pocophone and Redmi labels. Worst was their data hoarding which I blocked with a pi-hole and vpn always on. Best is their hardware and price. Was great fully charing a 5000+ mAh battery within 30 minutes.

• When it breaks or when there's a good deal and I have the current phone for over a year.

• I still have a huami watch but don't use it anymore. Nothing else.

• No apple golden cage shit for me hehe. Windows 11 on my desktop and have a home server with unRAID on it. So both windows and Linux I guess.

Thanks for this initiative.

• Current phone is Poco F2 Pro

• I'm okay with it. Performance is nice but there is a lot of bloatware. Battery could last longer but I guess everyone wants more battery am I right? The price per hardware was very good, don't regret buying it.

• I had One Plus 3T, Nexus 5, Samsung Galaxy S2... I'm sure I'm forgetting one. Best one was probably the One Plus 3T, back then the One Plus prices were so nice. Sad.

• I try spend an average of 100 euros a year on smartphones. I bought my phone for 400 euros, must last at least 4 years. Never in a rush to swap, I only do it when the battery no longer lasts me a full day.

• No other Android devices. I constantly try to come up with use cases to justify buying a smart watch but honestly I just can't an actual good use to justify constantly having to charge it.

• I have a 10 year old MacBook that is on its last legs. Battery time is pretty miserable right now. Other than that I just use Windows. I dabbled with a couple of Linux distros but I'm just not into it. I like Windows.

S22+. Got an insane deal on a like new refurbished model, so it seemed like a no-brainer.

It's a phone. Most nondescript phone I've ever used. Nothing about it is amazing, but no major complaints. Even the battery is fine for me, despite a lot of people complaining about poor battery life on the S22 series.

I have an S20 FE. Literally my perfect phone, and I have no plans to change it any time soon!

Motorola Edge 30 Pro (aka Motorola Edge+ 2022 for the North Americans here), which I got back in early November last year. I did research for a while before buying it (and got it with a huge discount) and I'm mostly happy with my purchase, it's a nice phone with a clean near-stock Android experience (although I've since changed launcher to Kvæsitso) and it's extremely fast, although I must say I'm not a heavy smartphone user.

Worst things are that the Android 13 update took nearly three months long than planned to come (and here in Italy apparently we were among the first to get the update) and Motorola is not that fast with security updates; while the only really annoying thing is that sometimes it stops the internet connection usually after giving the command to download/update apps, whether from the Play Store or from F-Droid; the connection somehow is still there as it's enough to cancel and tell do download/update again and everything works.

This is my first Android phone: my first smartphone was a Nokia X6 running Symbian which I got in 2011 and then I used iPhones for a decade (while having been a Mac user all the time), first an iPhone 5C in 2013 and then an 8 Plus which I got in 2018. Clearly the newest was the best of the bunch as it was a quite major upgrade from the 5C, which in turn came when Symbian was an abandoned OS; the last two phones both lasted me just short of five years, and I changed back in November mainly because I could hand it down (refurbished) to my mom, otherwise I would have waited perhaps another year.

This time I decided to leave iOS for good as I was increasingly unsatisfied and worried with Apple's walled garden ecosystem - for the same reason I had already left macOS for Linux back in 2020 (never had any other Apple products nor subscriptions except for a few iPods over the years) - and even after the novelty has worn off I vastly prefer Android. Right now I have this Android phone and my laptop I'm writing from, which only runs Linux, specifically EndeavourOS, although my old 2009 iMac still works - thanks to a SSD swap back in '17, although it hasn't gotten newer updates since High Sierra - and I tinker with it from time to time. At work I use Windows 10... but that's not my choice.

What phone are you using?

OnePlus 9 Pro 5G, I've got a fold coming in 2 weeks though.

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

Yeah I like it, no drawbacks I can think of.

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

OnePlus One was the best phone I've ever had. Mainly for the dev environment.

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.

Android TV and a Mobvoi TicWatch 5. This watch has crazy battery life for a full android wear 3 watch.

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

Nah I only have phones and watches, but I do like the new MacBooks.

Pixel 6a

Nothing Phone 1.

For a mid-range phone, it's fantastic. Really would recommend it.

Sony Xperia 1 III. I updated every 2 years until last year when I bought this one at a severe discount. Got fed up with Chinese phones and their severe lackluster software. Also into cameras so this one was a right fit. Has many issues but I like it. Been doing this since my iPhone 4 and I don't miss Apple at all. I love the openness of android and the ability to tinker.

Also have the Sony earbuds which I much prefer over the Galaxy Buds Live I used to own (came for free when I bought the S21 for the missus). Apart from that, only an android tablet (S7+).

What phone are you using?

I'm using a Samsung Galaxy Fold 4. My phone service provider upgraded it from a Fold 3 because the plastic screen protector on the inside screen was peeling off from the center.

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

Yes, I'm happy with this phone, or else I wouldn't be using it. I love that it's a small phone, and when I want a device with a bigger screen, I can just open it up.

The worst part of this phone has already happened: the screen protector (or something) separated from the screen. I changed my phone to an iPhone when I went to a trip with snow, but I somehow still got problems with the screen using the phone in a tropical place. I don't know if it's because the screen has thin glass, or something else, but folding phones aren't as durable as their slab counterparts.

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

I had several Samsung Galaxy phones, starting from the S1 to every other phone (I think S3, S5, S6 Edge, Note 8, S10+, Fold 3, Fold 4, S23+, Asus Zenfone 9 and Google Pixel 6. The latter four phones are the ones I currently switch between when I feel like it, but my main phone is the Fold 4.

How often do you upgrade to a new phone?

I try to upgrade my phone every two years, but the pandemic changed something in me and I recently went on a phone purchasing spree (hence the recent phones with the same SoC in a generation).

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

I have a Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 (as my bed tablet) and Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra as my main Youtube viewer/laptop.

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

I have a 2019 Apple Macbook Pro 16" laptop, a 13" 2015 Macbook Air with an upgraded 1TB of storage, and an iPhone 13 Pro Max with 1TB of storage.

For my desktop computer, gaming laptop and a 2-in-1 laptop, I use Windows 10. I've been using Windows OSes since the 3.1 days, so I guess I'm used to how the Windows OS works.

I try to dip my toes in every ecosystem there is, since I'm a geek, but I don't like Apple's locked down ecosystem. There's days I'll swap my SIM card to my iPhone to see what Apple is doing nowadays, but the last time I did that was earlier this year.

• 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

Pixel 7 Pro w/GrapheneOS. Being able to control what my phone is sending or not sending + the battery life gain from everything not phoning home is amazing.

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.

Im on my Pixel 6 with calyxOS, which is really great. I really like the fact that i can use android without a google account.

Pocophone f1 and I have a xiaomi note 8 as a backup ; because I tend to drop my phone due to carelessness (¯ ¯٥) i have had my screens change twice this year.

LG v60.

I'm still headphones gang, may be the last phone of its time tho

S10. It's older, bought refurbished, but probably technically the "best" phone I ever had and it's all I really need tbh.

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.

Pixel 6a. Was using pixel 4 before I washed it with my trouser, best phone I have owned. I miss headphone jack. I don't have any Apple products other than a iPad.

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.

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).

Just made the change to a Pixel 6a from my really old Samsung Galaxy.

My only requirement was about size. I wanted something "smaller", first I thought about going with a newer Samsung from their mid-range 'A' category, but after seeing how big those things were, I decided to look outside the Samsung ecosystem.

I discovered GrapheneOS and as an open-source enthusiast, I really liked the idea. The professionalism of the dev team and the bloat free aspect of the OS made me get a Pixel.

The size is not that bad, but I wish it would be a bit smaller. So far I'm really liking it. I love the camera of this thing (even without GCam). The physical button placement was a bit weird for me at first, but I've gotten used to it.

I usually abuse my phones till they die, so I was looking for something that would last and I really think that I will be able to go for 5 years with this phone without an issue.

What phone are you using?

Galaxy S23 Ultra.

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

Absolutely love it. It's only the second Galaxy model to be sold with the Snapdragon chip in 🇦🇺 Australia, after the S22. I had an S21 Ultra (Exynos) and decided to wait for the S23, because of the rumours that the cameras would be improved.

Glad I waited, and also very glad to have an included stylus, because I'm a photographer and designer, so the stylus is bloody useful!

I honestly can't think of an downsides to this phone, I'm so damn satisfied with it.

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

As noted above, I had the S21 Ultra previously. I actually bought a Pixel 7 Pro when it was released, but after about a month I decided that while it was a great phone with some clever new features, I still preferred my S21 Ultra — so I sold the Pixel 7 Pro and went back to my Samsung!

Other previous phones, let me think... First modern smartphone was the iPhone 3G, followed by iPhone 4, iPhone 5S, HTC Desire, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Sony XPeria V, LG Nexus 5X, Google Pixel, Google Pixel 2, iPhone 11 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S10, iPhone 13 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, S23 Ultra.

Not sure if that order is exactly right... haha.

How often do you upgrade to a new phone?

Usually every year, to be honest, which obviously isn't super responsible either financially or in terms of e-waste, but it really is my number one addiction. 😂

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

Galaxy Watch 4, Pixel Watch, Galaxy Tab S4 (now my son's), Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (now my daughter's), and a Galaxy Tab S8.

Oh, and the Chromecast with Google TV.

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

I have an iPad Pro A12X (pre-M1, annoyingly) for drawing with Procreate, and I still have my iPhone 13 Pro — mostly just for shooting videos for work, since phone gimbals integrate better with iOS than they do with Android (or maybe just Samsung). I also have a work-supplied MacBook Pro 14" M1 Max.

Lastly, I also have a pair of AirPods Pro that I bought for my iPhone but now mostly only use with my Macbook, and a pair of Beats Fit Pro that I absolutely love using with my S23 Ultra. I was tempted by the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, but I really prefer buds with winglets for a more secure fit.

• S23 Ultra
• Best is everything, worst is size.
• Xiaomi and Samsung. I can't compare since they were at completely different price brackets.
• Usually every 3 years.
• Watch, buds.
• Windows but i miss linux

I have a Pixel 4a because I refuse to spend more than $200 on a phone. The battery is starting to not last very long so either I am going to replace the battery or get a Pixel 6a for $200. I'd really prefer to not need a new phone because I like the headphone jack.

Sorry for the my previous post, I hit 'publish' instead of exiting preview, lol.

What phone are you using?

Samsung Galaxy A11, Android 12/One Ui Core 4.1. I bought it in November 2020, amid a problem with not accessing Whatsapp and communicating with my schoolmates.

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

Yeah. I don't know how to say exactly about the best and worst things about it, I'll just say that at least it's satisfying me.

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

Samsung Galaxy J2 Prime and Motorola G6 Play. About the first one, it had terrible storage: 16GB, which was small even back then and it was one of the reasons I switched phones. About the second one, it lasted a few years, but as I used it a lot, it ended up with the battery becoming addicted and it stopped working during the pandemic. I still kept it, waiting for some repair, but then I had to give it to another relative.

How often do you upgrade to a new phone?

I use it until it is very old or with some defect. Yes, I know it's kind of weird to do that, but the wages here don't help much in the exchange for a decent phone.

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

None.

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

I have a tablet (Galaxy Tab A, 2019 version. Android 11), two cell phones that belonged to my parents (Galaxy J7 Prime and Galaxy A10, the latter being with the screen broken) and a notebook with Windows 10 that I also bought in 2020 (Samsung Essentials E20). Yes, I'm technically kind of a Samsung fan.

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 💀

Currently using a Nokia 7.2

Best qualities:

• Cheap
• Has a heaphone jack
• Does smartphone things
• Fell like 5 times from more than a meter of height into a stone floor and is somehow still fine (more luck than skill probably)

Worst qualities:

• Not the fastest
• No more updates :(
• Randomly turns off about once every month at night while charging, which forced me to buy a backup alarm

Before this I was using a Moto G5 plus, which was a bit of a quirky phone. Before that I used my Nexus 5, which ultimately started suffering the power button issues. My Nexus 5 is still a backup phone that I use sometimes, and every time I touch it I wish that they'd release a new Nexus 5 just like the old one but with with newer hardware specs and a better battery. I love how light and small it is, I still love the screen, and I love how it looks.

From this you can probably gather that I don't upgrade phones too often. I also don't have any other Android devices. I did at one point dabble a bit into Android development and made a few silly apps, but that's many years ago at this point.

For my PC's I usually use Linux where I can, and Window$ for gaming and music production (because sadly that's the only way to make these things work reliably).

I'm using a Pixel 7 pro right now, coming from a Pixel 6 before this and OnePlus products before that. Prior to this phone my OnePlus 7 pro was my favorite phone ever and is a very close second to my current pixel. My least favorite phone was my Samsung Galaxy 7 edge, I hated that piece of garbage, it lasted less than year before the cpu was glacially slow.

I refuse to use any apple products, use windows on my work PC and my gaming PC, but use Linux on everything else (and will probably put my gaming PC on Linux soon as well).

I do admit that the Apple watch is a nice bit of tech, but I use a Garmin Fenix 6s pro since I mainly need a watch for tracking my running and cycling.

Galaxy Fold 4. Would have immediately recommended it but this past weekend the inside screen protector cracked down the middle. I need to contact Samsung and see how big of a hassle this is to get it replaced. I've only had the phone like 6 months, this really shouldn't be this fragile

Hey y'all, first post for me here ^^ Currently I am using a Galaxy S23. I really love that this phone is an awesome allrounder with quite a nice size for today's standards, that doesn't really have many weaknesses. Coming from an S10e (Snappy version from Hong Kong) I miss the microSD slot though and the size was better but my battery gave up so I needed a new phone (no, replacing the battery is not an option imo since IP rating and end of support). What I really hate on phones nowadays are that close-up shots of objects like documents are horrific compared to earlier phones but the world needs bigger sensors and that seems to be a drawback, I get it. To anyone with the same issue: Just use 2x zoom and your closeup should look a bit better at least. My best phone was definitely the S10e with the Snappy 855 - only drawback was that the battery was a bit small but it was manageable for me. Except for a 90hz panel and telephoto lens, it had quite everything that you could wish for. I only use a pair of earbuds (Comfobuds 2) with my S23 and I only use Windows 11 on my PCs (still think that Windows 7 was the best OS but here we are). Apple isn't really an option for me when it comes to smartphones since the customizablity and the whole eco system doesn't work out for me but I wouldn't say it is a bad system. It has its advantages and disadvantages like any other tech product out there. Have to admit though, their Macbook Airs are mighty impressive. If you have that much patience and read till this point, thank you for reading. Also have a wonderful day and stay safe =)

What phone are you using? Pixel 4A

Are you happy with it? What are its best and worst qualities? Very happy with it. It's still very quick - never felt a slowdown, it, was and still is cheap to buy, has a good enough camera, good enough battery life, love the back mounted finger print scanner, and is a good size.

Only real downside is it's at the tail end of google's security update support.

Which phones have you had previously? Which were the best and worst of the lot? Smart phones only - Moto X, nexus 4, nexus 6, essential phone, pixel 4a. Liked all of them, but I think moto x I liked the least & essential phone I liked the most.

How often do you upgrade to a new phone? When my previous one is broken or the OS gets too slow.

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

Do you also use any Apple products, or are you Android all the way? (And/or Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc.) No apple products. I won't pay premium prices and I'm pretty set on the Google eco system for better or for worse. Have a few windows OS computers either that I built or use for work.