Which Mobile Phone?

[STEVE G]

^I have younger colleagues who kindly try to keep me in the same decade!

[buksida]

Yep, I also need a headphone jack for plugging the phone into an amp and playing music when Bluetooth speakers won't cut it. Other essentials that are being phased out are a dedicated microSD card slot which the higher end models don't have.

There was very little difference between the one I ordered and the 10k plus models (and we don't have 5G where I live anyway), so not enough to justify the extra 30%. The equivalent Samsungs were also substantially pricier so I've given up on them as you're paying a premium for the name, not the hardware.

All MV had was shiny shops with the top models, so not the best place to shop for a new device, online wins again!

[STEVE G]

I survived on cheap mobiles for years but recently life has got more complicated and now I need these security apps to achieve anything in Europe.
I've got one to OK online credit card transactions, one to put electronic signatures on government documents and another to access work stuff.
Basically they'll only work on systems where they recognise the security updates, so you need Apple, Samsung, Microsoft or any other of the mainstream brands sold in Europe, they won't work on cheaper Chinese brands.
I went for a Samsung A54 as it had five years of free updates because these apps also stop working if you don't do that.

[buksida]

The Chinese brands (some of which are not so cheap anymore) run on the same operating systems with the same updates - Android. So its more likely to be the blocking or restriction of Chinese products by the EU or specific companies than a general software restriction. Most banking, security, ID, and authentication apps work perfectly on a modern Xiaomi, Oppo, Huawei, or Vivo phones (which have very similar hardware to their US and Korean counterparts.)

[barrys]

The biggest problem I've had is not being able to use Google Pay when I'm in Spain, for example, apparently because my phone purchased here (Redmi Note 11) doesn't have NFC capability !?

[buksida]

NFC is a hardware component that needs a Secure Element Identifier (SEID) chip, so its down to the spec of the phone, not where it was bought. The better (more expensive) phones, such as the Redmi Note Pro versions or the POCO phones have it.

[VincentD]

Slightly off topic. These days when shopping for a mobile phone, I find most the the mid range models will have the necessary capability re bandwidth, usable frequencies, battery capacity, GPS capability on more than one system and for me, that 3.5" headphone jack.
However, depending on what brand you get, many are not compatible with connected devices that require a dedicated app on the phone to be utilised to their full potential.
My house air cleaner won't work without one, the air filter in the car has limited capability without the app, and my smart watch isn't so smart without the companion app. All these clutter my phone and many need to connect to some server that no one really knows where it is.
And so many of them come with bloatware from the manufacturer so much so that if you don't register the phone with them, you don't get full capability either.
I'm still surviving with my 2018 Samsung, the newer ones are just too big and overhyped.
I keep my music on an MP4 player that I plug into my car stereo aux port. I have a dedicated camera for when I want decent pictures. My old 12Mp Sony camera takes much better pictures than the 30Mp one on the phone..
Right. Rant over.

[buksida]

Right, the bloatware is a problem on all phones. The forced app usage is designed to force and lock users into their own ecosystem and stifle competitors, a practice pioneered by Apple (which has made billions in profit out of doing so and is now being sued for it).

I deleted or disabled most of the shite that came with the Xiaomi as I never use it and don't want to be locked into their ecosystem (same applies to Samsung, Sony, M$, whatever).

[usual suspect]

Agreed..As soon as your phone is working on the Android system..You know it's gonna be pre-loaded with crap..You find yourself (within hours/minutes) of booting up that new phone being prompted to 'ACCEPT' to never ending array of apps etc!
I've done same as Buksi did on his Xiaomi, & got rid of as many as poss!
(For Xmas I got given a quite expensive health/smart watch from my dear mother..I refuse to use it because fresh out of the box, & booted up it's 1st command was for me to accept that the company will has access to all my phone's data etc!...That watch has sat in it's box since Dec 25th).

[STEVE G]

I was just in an electronic shop in Luxembourg and I hadn't realised just how pricey these things can be.
The most expensive works out at over 75,000bt!

[buksida]

Yeah, Appleheads are nutters ... some idiots will actually pay that ... or get themselves into debt to have the 'latest and greatest' from their beloved tech megacorp!

[Dannie Boy]

It’s not just Apple, Samsung sell phones equally expensive.


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[hhinner]

We were in a doughnut shop yesterday and the shop assistant's husband/boyfriend, a Lineman rider, was also there. He'd just bought a brand new folding screen phone and was busy applying the screen protectors on the outside.

Too expensive for me, I thought. How could they afford it? Or, why?

I didn't see what brand it was but I don't think there are any cheap ones. Or are there?

[buksida]

Too expensive for me, I thought. How could they afford it? Or, why?

They can't, its on tick like everything else here.

It’s not just Apple, Samsung sell phones equally expensive.

True, I saw a 40k Xiaomi in MV also. Its just Apple people seem to be particularly fanatical/obsessive ...

[Dannie Boy]

Although I’ve been hooked onto Apple products, I’m definitely not obsessive - last year I bought the IPhone 13 because it had come down in price and Curry’s in the UK were offering a special deal at the time - it still wasn’t cheap but compared to some of the iPhone 15’s, almost half their price.