Anything better than the Motorola Moto G8 (2020) at around $350?

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al8565

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#272510 28-Jun-2020 18:49

Hi,

Looking to update my phone, the Motorola Moto G8 (2020) is currently at the top of list mainly due to the Snapdragon 665 processor and bloatware free Android 10. Any other phones I should be considering under $400? Seem to read good and bad things about all phones, but Android one appeals. And personally avoidning Huawei incase they lose google store access.

Thanks.

timmmay

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#2514117 28-Jun-2020 19:54

I have the Moto G8 plus. It's a good phone for $500 or so - haven't tried the non-plus version. Main things I would like in a phone are a bit faster and camera starting / responding faster.

It's hard to go past the Moto G series for good value and a solid phone. Don't buy Xiaomi, particularly one with an in-screen fingerprint reader, they're terrible.

stuartmac

66 posts

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#2514165 28-Jun-2020 22:29

I can recommend Xiaomi - solid as phones. My Android One is now two and a half years old - has had two OS updates and is still receiving monthly security updates. No battery degradation. If it died tomorrow I would have no complaints.

timmmay

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#2514166 28-Jun-2020 22:33

I had an xiaomi 9T I disliked so much I sold it at a $200 or more loss. Put a rear fingerprint sensor and Android One on it and it would have been awesome.

qwerty123

147 posts

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#2514517 29-Jun-2020 15:20

Mi A3 if you can find it in NZ, it seems out of stock everywhere. Mi A3 has the same SoC, but better cameras and faster storage (UFS vs eMMC), also it's Android One. You can look at the comparison on gsmarena. The only drawback is in-screen fingerprint sensor.

timmmay

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#2514533 29-Jun-2020 15:51

qwerty123:

Mi A3 if you can find it in NZ, it seems out of stock everywhere. Mi A3 has the same SoC, but better cameras and faster storage (UFS vs eMMC), also it's Android One. You can look at the comparison on gsmarena. The only drawback is in-screen fingerprint sensor.

It's a pretty huge drawback, because it's REALLY terrible fingerprint sensor. At least Smart Lock with Android One reduces the need to use it.

In MIUI Xiaomi disable smart lock so you have to use the fingerprint sensor constantly. At least Android One avoids that problem.

qwerty123

147 posts

Master Geek

#2514628 29-Jun-2020 16:35

timmmay:
qwerty123:

Mi A3 if you can find it in NZ, it seems out of stock everywhere. Mi A3 has the same SoC, but better cameras and faster storage (UFS vs eMMC), also it's Android One. You can look at the comparison on gsmarena. The only drawback is in-screen fingerprint sensor.

It's a pretty huge drawback, because it's REALLY terrible fingerprint sensor. Plus Xiaomi disable smart lock so you have to use it constantly. Mix of bad hardware and bad software = bad.

Smartlock is not disabled for Xiaomi Android One phones, you're talking about MIUI, right?
My only complaint about the fingerprint sensor is its speed. It's slow.

timmmay

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#2514634 29-Jun-2020 16:43

Ah yes, Android One it should be fine, MIUI it is.

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farcus

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#2514648 29-Jun-2020 17:11

one of the downsides of Xiaomi's android one phones is the lack of NFC.
Does the G8 have NFC?
If so - that's a good advantage to have . . . . but if not - I'd go with the Mi A3 instead (and it's a little cheaper at pbtech right now).

SomeoneSomewhere

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#2514650 29-Jun-2020 17:13

I had pretty good luck with the fingerprint sensor on the Mi 9 Lite with the stock firmware. Aftermarket is a fair bit worse though.

Stock firmware is full of rubbish like needing to accept privacy policies to open the clock app though...

If you're looking for root though, it's nowhere near as friendly as the net seems to say. There's a week mandatory wait to unlock the bootloader, which requires signing up for a Mi account through mobile data, and it's really easy to accidentally do the wrong type of reset and force yourself to go through it again.

timmmay

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#2514691 29-Jun-2020 18:07

G8 plus has NFC, I don't think the standard G8 does. I never use NFC.

AJ24

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#2516252 2-Jul-2020 15:38

Why do you want to change phone?

I'm using motorola g8 plus. Better camera than g8 and has NFC. I use NFC very often for mobile payment.

openmedia

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#2516279 2-Jul-2020 15:57

I'd really love to see some $3-400 devices with NFC and wireless charging.

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

farcus

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#2516306 2-Jul-2020 16:44

openmedia:

I'd really love to see some $3-400 devices with NFC and wireless charging.

ahhhhh . . . the days of the good old Nexus 5.
That phone was awesome for its price

TeaLeaf

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#2519025 8-Jul-2020 10:17

Id say the Redmi Noye 9s (pro) is much better.

Much better screen, significantly better camera and lenses, 8n processor vs 11n, WAY better, NFC support. Significantly better battery at 5000mah in real world on low to mid use (moat users) 3 day run time is possible, which leads to much faster charging with 18w fast charge vs 10w overnight charge. What I also like is the side mounted thumb print reader. Much better UX design than index on the back or awfully slow thumbs on the under screen which all companies are slow at, using index speeds it up significantly but why bother when you have a non gimmick side unlock.

Here is the comparison. https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=10051&idPhone2=10147