New phone recommendation please

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Tusk

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#296353 10-Jun-2022 12:45

Need a little help please. Currently have a poco f1 running Pixel experience and like having a clean non-customised OS. However work is getting in the way of phone play time, e.g. multiple tokens, which means I don't feel comfortable updating the ROM incase I lose work connectivity.

Now in the good old days I'd check some reviews on gsmarena and pick something with good specs at an affordable price point, which is how I ended up with the poco, but from reading other threads here it looks like a lot of phone vendors don't allow connectivity in NZ...

Ideally I'd like to buy a Pixel... What options do I have without buying Samsung bloatware or Chinese dodgy OS wifi everything?

Thank you in advance.

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#2924682 10-Jun-2022 12:48

I have a Pixel 4a, but I would seriously consider buying locally next time. WiFi calling and good 4G / 5G compatibility is easier buying locally. Samsung isn't as bloated as it used to be, there's also Oppo.

scuwp

3885 posts

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#2924751 10-Jun-2022 14:36

When's the last time you looked at Samsung? One UI is a pretty sweet operating system. Buy local and you won't get much bloat.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

Tusk

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2924754 10-Jun-2022 14:42

I don't know anything about Oppo... Anything like Xiaomi? Where even the flashlight seems to want access your wifi connection...

To flesh out my hopes and dreams...

Something that isn't too big - nothing larger than the poco f1

NFC

No apple or Samsung

jonathan18

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#2924787 10-Jun-2022 15:39

To repeat the earlier post - when did you last look at a Samsung?! I promised myself never to own another Samsung while they continued to produce slow bloated phones, but that's not been the case for a number of years (I've had my S10+ for well over 2.5 years and don't feel any urgency to upgrade). Something like the S21 FE may well meet your needs.

Also, while you may not have heard of Oppo, that's probably not enough of a reason to reject the brand!

SpartanVXL

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#2924801 10-Jun-2022 15:49

Oppo i believe is a sister brand to Oneplus. Same company? Not sure, but still based in CN.

Nokia possibly? I’m haven’t kept up to date on their latest releases.

If it’s for work maybe just get a separate device?

Tusk

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2924820 10-Jun-2022 16:04

SpartanVXL: Oppo i believe is a sister brand to Oneplus. Same company? Not sure, but still based in CN.

Nokia possibly? I’m haven’t kept up to date on their latest releases.

If it’s for work maybe just get a separate device?

Wasn't rejecting Oppo - was just saying I didn't know anything about them or their handsets. I'll take a look. The Nord 2 5g (Not CE) looks nice - do Oppo have an equivalent?

My son has a Samsung - not impressed sorry.

Tusk

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2926136 13-Jun-2022 16:05

Perhaps a list of phones that are known to work on 5g/VOLTE in NZ etc that aren't the standard telco offerings would be a good idea?

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cshwone

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#2926166 13-Jun-2022 18:38

jonathan18:

To repeat the earlier post - when did you last look at a Samsung?! I promised myself never to own another Samsung while they continued to produce slow bloated phones, but that's not been the case for a number of years (I've had my S10+ for well over 2.5 years and don't feel any urgency to upgrade). Something like the S21 FE may well meet your needs.

Also, while you may not have heard of Oppo, that's probably not enough of a reason to reject the brand!

To re-iterate a couple of posts Samsung are very solid phones these days with a good interface. The A53 is worth a look. As a family we have various A5x phones and been very happy with them.

And you would get change back from $1000 even with 5g

openmedia

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#2926273 13-Jun-2022 23:46

scuwp: When's the last time you looked at Samsung? One UI is a pretty sweet operating system. Buy local and you won't get much bloat.

I'd consider all the Samsung apps I can't remove bloat.

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.

openmedia

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#2926274 13-Jun-2022 23:48

SpartanVXL: Oppo i believe is a sister brand to Oneplus. Same company? Not sure, but still based in CN.

Nokia possibly? I’m haven’t kept up to date on their latest releases.

If it’s for work maybe just get a separate device?

Current phone is Nokia and I'd probably use them again. Wife has had two of their phones.

The G21 is excellent value and I'm hoping we see a X51 or G51 this year as part of their refresh.

"almost" no bloat and a good OS update policy

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.

Tusk

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2936025 29-Jun-2022 15:45

FWIW - bought a Samsung A52s.

The good - nice hardware, bright screen and updates appear to be timely

The bad - bloated with s/w you can't remove. Samsung calendar, messages, keyboard clock etc suck necessitating the install of duplicates. Battery drains fast during use.

fe31nz

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#2936276 29-Jun-2022 23:16

Tusk:

The bad - bloated with s/w you can't remove. Samsung calendar, messages, keyboard clock etc suck necessitating the install of duplicates. Battery drains fast during use.

If you are willing to root it, almost all the bloatware can be completely removed. On my Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) I have the Titanium Backup root app that, along with proper backups, has a menu that lets you delete anything. You can back it up first, so that if anything goes wrong after deleting it, you can just restore it again, or delete the backup when you are happy there are no problems.

With Samsung phones, fast battery drain days occasionally happen, especially when there are a lot of new apps. Usually, after a day or two and without you doing anything, the battery drain goes away.