What are the best Android phones (without breaking the bank)

[anders_nor]

GPs on the samsung S10 and up are finally working fast eniough to be usable.

 

[Dwight]

I was talked out of the Moto G Power, for the LG K92. Got it 2 weeks ago. So far so good. Suppose to have a longer battery. It does have a better camera. I do miss the Moto shake for flash light though. I'm fairly cheap with phones.

 

[Tony S]

Following. So far I think only @Sibhusky has quantified battery life. What are we actually talking?

(I have an S7. Like every smart phone I've ever had, its charge lasts well under 12 hours under realistic usage. Under heavy usage - e.g. running Strava - it's more like six hours. I want to be able to just use the phone all day without having constantly to be turning things on and off, manually stopping apps, turning off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, etc., just to eek out an hour here or there.)

 

[scott43]

So for my Moto G7 Power I NEED to recharge under normal use every 2 days or so. If my kid gets ahold of it, once a day.

 

[cantunamunch]

Following. So far I think only @Sibhusky has quantified battery life. What are we actually talking?

I have a 3600mAh OnePlus and it completely depends on cell phone signal strength unless it's in airplane mode. Running Strava on the phone in non-airplane mode is a sub-4 hour affair anywhere cell signal is bad. Signal is bad-to-unavailable pretty much throughout VT, WV and in most of the parks in NY and MD. Herself's 3000 mAh LG is unusable in 2 hours or less. Herself's work iPhone is just as bad.

That's what the Garmins are for.

In *good* signal areas the key to long battery life is disabling the background apps. The biggest culprits on our phones are the freemail apps like gmail. Oh, and if you want battery life, don't ever, ever install FB or Google Hangouts. With background apps off, good cell signal, Strava and music/video apps streaming to earphones, 3600 mAh lasts ~10 hours even with heavy camera use.

 

[Decreed_It]

Galaxy S8+ here - Verizon - has been great, I'm on my 3rd one of these via warranty replacement. This one is getting wonky like they all do with age. Following.

I've had a Pixel in the past and really liked it. Also agree $1000 is stupid nuts for a phone. 5-700 range cash (don't like the monthly charge) unlocked and I'm interested.

 

[Doug Briggs]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I will keep posting my progress and decisions, but wanted to be sure you all knew your posts were greatly helpful. Keep them coming.

I'm really liking the looks of the Moto G Power (2021). At this point I'm doing a bit of a test to see what is really wonky with my current Moto Z2. Whether it is running Strava on it, the combination of Strava and photos or just photos? It seems that when both Strava and the camera are used, it goes wonky. So yesterday my Moto was Strava and my old S4 was photos. Today my Moto will be photos and the S4 Strava.

I don't want to run two devices all the time so I'm still trying to debug the Moto, sort of. With the prices of Moto G series phones, I am much closer to a new phone and retiring the Z2 to music player.

 

[Plai]

Following. So far I think only @Sibhusky has quantified battery life.

I get 2.5 days of Pixel 3 phone life with light use. Typically I charge every other day of "normal" use: email, txt msg, and reading this site. IIRC Was on the charging every other day schedule when using SkiTracks. I've had the phone almost 3 years now, and maybe have lost .25 days of battery life.

 

[cantunamunch]

I get 2.5 days of Pixel 3 phone life with light use. Typically I charge every other day of "normal" use: email, txt msg, and reading this site. IIRC Was on the charging every other day schedule when using SkiTracks. I've had the phone almost 3 years now, and maybe have lost .25 days of battery life.

Yeh, that is what my light usage looks like too.

 

[Rudi Riet]

At this point I'm doing a bit of a test to see what is really wonky with my current Moto Z2. Whether it is running Strava on it, the combination of Strava and photos or just photos? It seems that when both Strava and the camera are used, it goes wonky. So yesterday my Moto was Strava and my old S4 was photos. Today my Moto will be photos and the S4 Strava.

A thought: the Moto (and certainly the S4) is likely running an older version of Android. There's a good chance that the upgrades that Strava has done to their app and back end don't place nicely with the older OS running on the phone.

The one big perk of the Pixel series is that they come with a stock build of Android without all the carrier and manufacturer cruft apps, and they also are guaranteed to get upcoming releases of Android for the next few iterations. It took Samsung years to guarantee full version Android updates on its phones (the S8 is the oldest that's covered by this and still it's running an outdated OS due to time cutoffs). The Pixel, being Google's own phone, is purpose built to run stock Android and support it well.

Just a thought. Loving this discussion as well. Even though I'm in the iOS ecosystem I try to keep tabs on Android developments.

And I'm with @cantunamunch: if you're going to GPS track things on the regular, a purpose built device is far better suited to this task. I've been really happy with my Garmin fēnix 5 for recording ski outings (as well as bike outings where I don't have my Edge 520 charged and ready). Its tracking is far more accurate than the Ski Tracks and Strava apps on a phone and its battery usage is custom tailored to activity tracking. I normally get 6-7 days on a charge with a couple days of activity tracking. If not tracking, a charge lasts for 14-15 days.

 

[scott43]

My buddy was asking about Moto vs Pixel and I directed him to Pixel. It's a solid phone and he was coming off Apple, which are also solid phones. Moto for me is big battery and decent performance for half the price. So if you're price conscious, Moto makes good sense. Like I personally can't justify the extra money. Priorities. But Pixel, and the benefits as Rudi and others point out, of having a native Google device makes for a better all around experience.

 

[PinnacleJim]

Motorola is known for running pretty clean versions of Android. Both the 2020 and 2021 versions of the G Power are running Android 10 currently and will get one upgrade to Android 11. The Pixel 4a has a better chipset, better camera, better screen, but the G Power will blow it away on battery life. Bigger battery and lower demands from processor and screen means more time between charges.

 

[ZeeJM]

My current daily driver is OnePlus 8T + 5G on T-Mobile. My previous was a Samsung S8. The OnePlus battery life is good; I used it all season on the hill running Ski Tracks and tunes to my helmet bluetooth and had no cold-related drain issues. Some people gripe about the cameras but I find they're acceptable for a non-flagship device. The device is relatively bloatware-free and I enjoy some of the OnePlus UI features.

 

[Tony S]

I get 2.5 days of Pixel 3 phone life with light use. Typically I charge every other day of "normal" use: email, txt msg, and reading this site. IIRC Was on the charging every other day schedule when using SkiTracks. I've had the phone almost 3 years now, and maybe have lost .25 days of battery life.

That's kind of amazing. I've never had a phone that would go more than about 18 hours on a charge, even with no Strava usage.

 

[Rudi Riet]

The one big reservation for OnePlus, especially for those doing outdoor action sports, is the lack of IP water resistance. Their phones are formidable, their specific blend of Android is fairly cruft free, their cameras are lovely. But that lack of water and dust resistance is a deal breaker for me if I'm looking for a phone.

I ski in the Mid Atlantic. It rains a fair amount, even in the peak of winter. A phone without any water resistance is a non-starter for me. And in the summer my phone comes with me in my bike jersey. I sweat a ton. I also ride in the rain.

And yes, I use a case on my phones, though more for impact protection than water and dust resistance. The cases that provide water and dust resistance (e.g. OtterBox and Lifeproof) tend to make phones fairly bulky. While that's not a problem for me, for some that's a deal breaker.

 

[François Pugh]

That's kind of amazing. I've never had a phone that would go more than about 18 hours on a charge, even with no Strava usage.

That's just the police surveillance software running down your phone battery.

 

[Plai]

That's kind of amazing. I've never had a phone that would go more than about 18 hours on a charge, even with no Strava usage.

My memory with SkiTracks may be off. I certainly agree that Strava is a battery hog. That said, I remember being slightly disappointed with the Pixel's only over 2 day charge. I was getting over 3 with the Sony Xperia phones. But, then Sony discontinued the 5.x" models.

 

[cantunamunch]

The one big reservation for OnePlus, especially for those doing outdoor action sports, is the lack of IP water resistance. Their phones are formidable, their specific blend of Android is fairly cruft free, their cameras are lovely. But that lack of water and dust resistance is a deal breaker for me if I'm looking for a phone.

I ski in the Mid Atlantic. It rains a fair amount, even in the peak of winter. A phone without any water resistance is a non-starter for me. And in the summer my phone comes with my in my bike jersey. I sweat a ton. I also ride in the rain.

Never had a water problem with my OnePlus, honestly. Heat and glass, yes (it's why I'm on the third one) but water no.

 

[x10003q]

I am on year 2.5 on my Samsung note 9. The battery easily lasts all day skiing (usually 30-50% battery left) with tracking apps and photos/video, mostly skiing VT. The camera is excellent. The rest of my family has iphone X/11 and the cameras are not as good as my Samsung. Here is a good list of Samsung products/reviews:

Best Samsung phones 2023

Here are the best Samsung phones based on our testing

www.tomsguide.com

The A52 is a pretty good midrange phone. This is my 2nd Samsung - I also have a Note 4 that still works. I went for the note series because of the bigger battery and screen.

 

[djetok]

I am getting a little fed up with my Moto Z phone. It could be app incompatibility but I'm not anxious to play the reset and reinstall game at this point. An add for a Samsung Galaxy S21+ Plus for about $750 (25% off) caught my eye. I have very much enjoyed my previous Samsung and would be ready for another. So my budget is flexible but I find it a bit of a stretch to pay more than $750. Really $500 but I'm being realistic.

My priorities are:

1. long battery life
2. must behave in the cold (this is a skiing site after all)
3. excellent camera
4. work well with Strava (reliable and accurate GPS)
5. must work with Verizon

What are your favorite current phones and why? Only one caveat. I'm only interested in Android.

samsung s8 active
waterproof ish (IP68) / dust/ and shock proof with no case
4000 Mah battery

I remove the bloatware on all my phones. I have a s20 now and probably going back to the s8 active. I loved that phone, it was smaller and did not need a case.