Best NZ Android phone right now that's not the S10?

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bunker

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#2204837 25-Mar-2019 19:30

Did you look at the S10e? It's got a fingerprint sensor on the side of the phone and you can swipe on it to bring down the notification shade (which was something I liked on my old Nexus 5X). The sensor on the side is potentially a bit high though so depends on your hand size.

Taubin

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#2204841 25-Mar-2019 20:04

bunker:

Did you look at the S10e? It's got a fingerprint sensor on the side of the phone and you can swipe on it to bring down the notification shade (which was something I liked on my old Nexus 5X). The sensor on the side is potentially a bit high though so depends on your hand size.

I did, I have seen quite a few reports of it attempting to find a fingerprint in people's pockets and buzzing constantly. That would drive me absolutely insane. I quite liked the hardware other than that one potential flaw. It seemed a bit more sensitive to bumps when I looked at it in the store than my N5X was.

In the end I ended up going with the normal S10, with the free google home hub. I can't wait to dig into it (I'm not pulling it out of the box until this weekend). I'm quite excited to get it set up. I've never been on high end current hardware. I found out the Exynos chip in the NZ version can be unlocked no problem. So most of my worries about the device are unfounded. The only remaining concern I have is the fingerprint sensor in the screen, but it seems to be okay if you set a couple of fingers to one print.

ZL2TOY/ZL1DMP

NikT

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#2205374 26-Mar-2019 21:59

Taubin:

In the end I ended up going with the normal S10, with the free google home hub. I can't wait to dig into it (I'm not pulling it out of the box until this weekend). I'm quite excited to get it set up. I've never been on high end current hardware. I found out the Exynos chip in the NZ version can be unlocked no problem. So most of my worries about the device are unfounded. The only remaining concern I have is the fingerprint sensor in the screen, but it seems to be okay if you set a couple of fingers to one print.

S10's a great phone, and realistically you can't go too far wrong with the top end from Samsung/Huawei/OnePlus/Xiaomi/LG. My personal picks are LG's V-series and Huawei's Mate series.

The only bit to bear in mind with bootloader unlock on Samsung devices is that while it's present, it's a one-way street - flips a Knox eFuse that permanently disables numerous features including seemingly-innocuous stuff like secret tabs/incognito mode on Samsung's (excellent) browser. Those may or may not be of value mind you.

For folks who're into rooting and ROMs, Xiaomi and OnePlus are the way to go unless you feel like importing a Pixel - which PB decided against this round for numerous reasons including QC and tremendously high prices. Word om the street is that the Pixel 3 has not done well and there's a lot of them sitting around unsold.

Product Manager @ PB Tech

Smartphones @ PB Tech | Headphones @ PB Tech

Taubin

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#2205639 27-Mar-2019 13:27

NikT:

The only bit to bear in mind with bootloader unlock on Samsung devices is that while it's present, it's a one-way street - flips a Knox eFuse that permanently disables numerous features including seemingly-innocuous stuff like secret tabs/incognito mode on Samsung's (excellent) browser. Those may or may not be of value mind you.

I've never actually used their browser (Haven't had a Samsung phone since.. uh... I had a S2 I had to think about that) but I will definitely check it out. I won't be unlocking the bootloader until it no longer receives updates. That's how I've survived with my N5 and N5x so long.

ZL2TOY/ZL1DMP

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#2210007 3-Apr-2019 10:16

Pixel or p30 Pro. But s10 still better in more ways than it is worse.

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