So I am getting a new phone(No Iphone recs)

[Sinner_sb]

Like the title says I am getting a new phone because I am nearly 1 year with the same company and it allows me to get a better model.

Sadly I know jack shit about phones and what is good or not. So I decided to ask around and see if any of you guys know about it and can help me to understand and figure out which one is better.

I hate Iphones and have no desire to get one, so my options are android only. I find Iphones too limiting as they have no native media player, no reader app for documents for offline reading, exclusive port and no ability to expand its memory, because of this and more, my own experiences with them including recent ones, I hate them and have no wish for them.

My options are Samsung galaxy A23 5G, S22 and S22 ultra, then Google Pixel 7 and 7pro.

I mostly use my phone to play games so I needs to be able to handle that, I also plan on possibly using it for emulation so it needs to be able to handle those as well. I want good general performance with a focus on gaming.

So if you know which one is best and why it is better than the others please let me know.

 

[Biigoh]

To be honest, the S22 and Pixel 7 are pretty good options and it comes down to what you would do with the phone.

 

[Beetlebrox]

I find Iphones too limiting as they have no native media player, no reader app for documents for offline reading

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I find this comment odd because the iPhone definitely does have both a native media player and a app for documents, and even if it for some reason you got an iPhone without those apps already out it, the Apple app store famously says there is an app for that, so you can just download an app from the app store, just like on Android.

 

[f0Ri5]

samsung A series are good, affordable phones. imo, there is very little reason to go for the more expensive galaxy models.

Here is the a73

 

[Sinner_sb]

Thank you all for the replies.

To be honest, the S22 and Pixel 7 are pretty good options and it comes down to what you would do with the phone.

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I mentioned in my post that my main use outside using it for making and receiving calls would be gaming. The reviews that I saw on youtube for the pixel 7 said that they weren't exactly good on that area, on the other hand if you want a good camera on your phone that is where it shines.

The s22 was mentioned to hold decently well when playing more demanding games and the camera wasn't as good as the pixel 7.

I find this comment odd because the iPhone definitely does have both a native media player and a app for documents, and even if it for some reason you got an iPhone without those apps already out it, the Apple app store famously says there is an app for that, so you can just download an app from the app store, just like on Android.

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Maybe more modern models have native music apps, but I wouldn't know since I don't really use Iphones and when I am forced to operate them for either my mother or grandmother I find the interface terrible. Also my mother only uses spotfy and youtube so that is another way that I wouldn't know of any apps native or not that play music on it. When I tried the iphone 6 or 8 it had no text/doc reader and I dont recall if the app store had them either.

I also mentioned that I don't like the entire "must use proprietary brand stuff only" that the apple products have. I don't want to have to dish at the very least 10 bucks or more for a charging cable or considerably more for a power brick, headphones and such. The lack of a headphone jack is also a issue for me, needing to use the charging port for it is a pain as you have to sacrifice charging or listening to music with a wired headset because of it.

A lot of people that I know that back in Brazil, my homecountry, were android users and didn't like Iphones much changed tunes here in Japan because it is much safer as there are no phone theft here and they often have either high data packages or unlimited phone data packages and are always connected to the internet, so they claim that they get the best that it offers all the time because without full time internet access the iphone isn't good.

Before moving to Japan I wasn't always connected to the internet or had a massive data package, a much smaller data package worked well for me. When I used my phone for reading or music it was with offline stuff so I didn't consume much. The SD card option was another thing that made me like android phones over Iphones.

Long story short, I don't like Iphones, I respect that they try and often are trendsetters, but I find their lack of third party support too limiting.

samsung A series are good, affordable phones. imo, there is very little reason to go for the more expensive galaxy models.

Here is the a73

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I saw reviews for the A23 5g and the phone did impress given its semi-budget option niche. Sure not the best phone to play the more demanding games at their highest settings, but it did run those in the medium settings well. I will keep an eye for the 73 when I go to the store this weekend as I mentioned on my initial post the options that were on my radar were those there and since then I narrowed things a bit by removing the google phones.

Currently I am weighting more on the a23 because the s22 is really fucking expensive, as in nearly my entire liquid monthly pay expensive, the s22 ultra is not even currently in stock in the store nearest to me and I don't really know if they have the s23 available here in Japan or if it is they aren't available outside larger cities like Tokyo and it will take ages to filter out to smaller towns. I also might wait another month or so to try and see if I can get a better fidelity deal if I cross 12 months with the provider.

However I admit that I might consider the s22 ultra or just the s22 even being quite expensive as a "treat" for myself, it depends on how much or how little it will be charged monthly on my bill for it, and if I believe to be worth the extra cost. Because I might just go for the a235g and later buy a ps5.

 

[Beetlebrox]

The thing is that the iPhone is an evolution of the iPod, which was a music player, so the iPhone has always had a native musics app from before it was even an iPhone.

 

[Arc-on-Fire]

Here:
Be aware of carrier variants with locked bootloaders.
https://www.gsmarena.com/search.php3?
https://www.kimovil.com/en/compare-smartphones
https://phonedb.net/index.php?m=device&s=query
https://www.xda-developers.com/ (everything for ROOTING and Custom ROM related)

Look for the specs that you're looking for and find the devices that best match your description. (Tip: look for a phone that doesn't have a locked bootloader in case you want to flash a better ROM then the stock one you have for better performance or privacy.)
Now... if you have some money and want nothing but hard performance on gaming, then buy an ASUS ROG 6 Pro because it's probably the best gaming phone on the market right now. In my personal opinion, get the Google Pixel 7 (Pro). Reason why I say that is because Samsung phones are usually bloated as hell and they lock their bootloader, naturally this effects performance more than you think: I own a Galaxy A70 and emulate games on it, and even after de-bloating it, it still runs like ass after a few hours and often suffers from bugs and random crashes. As for the Pixel 7 (Pro)... really, it's better to de-google the bloody thing than de-bloating it. It improves your performance substantially, and better yet! Ensures your privacy. Install CalyxOS or GrapheneOS.

By the way, if your curious on the software side of things, then give me a PM. I'll give you a link to a repository where you can check out a curated list of open-source applications and resources.

http://www.gsmarena.com
http://www.phonearena.com
https://www.notebookcheck.net
(Sites for phone reviews)

Bootloader unlock tutorial btw

 

[Sinner_sb]

The thing is that the iPhone is an evolution of the iPod, which was a music player, so the iPhone has always had a native musics app from before it was even an iPhone.

Click to shrink...

I do remember having to download a converter to turn MP3 into whatever exclusive file type Apple used at the time that I first tried an Iphone. Maybe the changed and stopped with that in later models but I don't see it, like I said my mother is now an avid Iphone user and she doesnt use anything but spotfy and youtube for music.

Here:
Be aware of carrier variants with locked bootloaders.
https://www.gsmarena.com/search.php3?
https://www.kimovil.com/en/compare-smartphones
https://phonedb.net/index.php?m=device&s=query
https://www.xda-developers.com/ (everything for ROOTING and Custom ROM related)

Look for the specs that you're looking for and find the devices that best match your description. (Tip: look for a phone that doesn't have a locked bootloader in case you want to flash a better ROM then the stock one you have for better performance or privacy.)
Now... if you have some money and want nothing but hard performance on gaming, then buy an ASUS ROG 6 Pro because it's probably the best gaming phone on the market right now. In my personal opinion, get the Google Pixel 7 (Pro). Reason why I say that is because Samsung phones are usually bloated as hell and they lock their bootloader, naturally this effects performance more than you think: I own a Galaxy A70 and emulate games on it, and even after de-bloating it, it still runs like ass after a few hours and often suffers from bugs and random crashes. As for the Pixel 7 (Pro)... really, it's better to de-google the bloody thing than de-bloating it. It improves your performance substantially, and better yet! Ensures your privacy. Install CalyxOS or GrapheneOS.

By the way, if your curious on the software side of things, then give me a PM. I'll give you a link to a repository where you can check out a curated list of open-source applications and resources.

http://www.gsmarena.com
http://www.phonearena.com
https://www.notebookcheck.net
(Sites for phone reviews)

Bootloader unlock tutorial btw

Click to shrink...

Thanks for the through reply

Sadly most of what you said went over my head. I am not that tech savvy. I also limited as I live in Japan and my plan is getting a phone via my provider and like every provider out there they add those stupid brand apps that you can't uninstall. So that makes me unsure if I would be able to install a different OS on it, specially as they are likely only selling locked phones that only work for their chips. Any sort of software alteration that isn't an official update is likely going to void my warranty, the Japanese can be very anal and stupid about things and this kind of thing feels like the sort of shit that they wouldn't allow to be done.

I don't really have money to spare and make a huge purchase in one go. This new phone's price would be spread over my bill over a stretch of months in order to pay it, likely bloating the price a fair margin too.

Which of the sites linked has the most non tech person friendly reviews?

 

[Arc-on-Fire]

Thanks for the through reply

Click to shrink...

No problem.

Sadly most of what you said went over my head. I am not that tech savvy.

Click to shrink...

That's alright, up until a few months ago I was just like you. Really, it's easy to learn. It's mostly just osmosis half of the time and asking what that specific setting does and looking it up.

I also limited as I live in Japan and my plan is getting a phone via my provider and like every provider out there they add those stupid brand apps that you can't uninstall.

Click to shrink...

So... you don't have enough money to straight up buy a phone from a store right? So you're getting one from your provider and paying for it as time goes on. Okay. Now as for those annoying brand apps. Use this. In short: it deletes those junk apps and de-bloats you phone, increasing performance and privacy (in case you can't flash a new OS like GrapheneOS or CalyxOS). As for the provider... look them up, see if they a setting from appearing called "OEM Unlock" (it's in the developer settings of your phone) if they do, talk to them. Tell them that you want OEM unlock to remain "enabled". It's key for when you want to access your bootloader. But if you're getting a Google Pixel 7 Pro, I think won't have a locked bootloader by disabling the OEM Unlock feature because Pixel phones are well known for having OEM unlock enabled and their bootloader unlocked. But then again, I don't know anything about Japanese mobile providers so you're going to have to check that out yourself.

So that makes me unsure if I would be able to install a different OS on it, specially as they are likely only selling locked phones that only work for their chips. Any sort of software alteration that isn't an official update is likely going to void my warranty, the Japanese can be very anal and stupid about things and this kind of thing feels like the sort of shit that they wouldn't allow to be done.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I forgot to mention this but unlocking the bootloader and flashing (installing) a new ROM (Operating System) voids your warranty automatically. Honestly, I think it's a fair-trade for increased performance and privacy. Really you shouldn't care about the warranty, when buy that phone... you own it. It's not the provider's phone, it's not the public's phone, it's your phone and your phone only. That means you can, and this is also a responsibility, maintain that phone, repair that phone, and most importantly: modify that phone. It doesn't matter what the provider, company, or whoever the hell else says — that phone, once you purchase and acquire it, is for all definitions, your property.

I don't really have money to spare and make a huge purchase in one go. This new phone's price would be spread over my bill over a stretch of months in order to pay it, likely bloating the price a fair margin too.

Click to shrink...

In all honesty man... save up, budget wisely and save up. It's better to have the freedom to purchase what you are specifically looking for and be done with it right then and there, rather than being forced through the anxiety and annoyance of monthly payment quotas. It shouldn't be that bad, just save up for a week or two.

Which of the sites linked has the most non tech person friendly reviews?

Click to shrink...

If you're talking about how you navigate through some of those sites, this one I linked earlier works fine you don't have to screw around with filters, keywords or anything like that. Just search up the name of the phone you're interested in. Now if your talking about "non tech person friendly reviews" as reviews that don't contain "jargon" like camera sensors, GPU cores, battery thermal performance and stuff like that. Well... it's impossible: when you're reviewing a piece of technology you're naturally going to want to see every part that makes it up.

 

[Sinner_sb]

I did watch a few reviews on gmsarena for the models that I listed and a few more including pixel 7, they weren't through in showcasing gaming performance. I dont mean showing "useless" stuff like FPS and battery drain, but giving names of games and saying what of the more demanding games it can run or if those demanding games ran well and smoothly on them.

A few reviews that I saw in youtube not related to review sites mention using the "Genshin test" because the game is very demanding even more on its higher graphic settings. So knowing that the phones can run COD or GI smoothly and without burning through the battery in barely one hour of gameplay while doing so would be good. It is kind like building a gaming PC you build it to run this one demanding game and you know that it can run anything equivalent and below.

The phone modding thing is not just losing warranty. Japanese law can be stupid and they might consider changing the OS illegal, or it might not even work with the chip if you do manage to do so. Modding games is kind of illegal here even if you don't sell the mods. Even if changing the OS doesnt lock me out of the SIM, it might land me in jail even if I own the phone. The company might even try to sue me for breech of contract, because I can see them putting something on the TOS about not altering the phone that way.

I will write down a few questions to ask when I visit the store tomorrow, including if there are issues if I decide to try and mod the phone's system.

I am not really looking for the most extreme FPS or reaction times, or the edge on competitive play. I do admit being interested on the privacy benefits, but as long the phone out of the box performs well and run games like FGO, Arknights, Nikke, emulates 3DS and maybe other handheld and older consoles smoothly and with no issues I am happy with it.

 

[Sinner_sb]

Okay I went for my scheduled visit to the provider and got some more details on pricing and stuff, as well other options.

The price range goes from 37k yen for a galaxy a235g to a massive 135k for a pixel 7pro, i didnt bother writing down the s22 ultra but is par 7 pro. Given the very limited options there and how I am just shy under 1 year in the company I can't get this time limited 17k discount on the s22. Considering all that and how I was already inclined to wait some more I decided not to get a phone there today.

However I did ask about my options with phones that I buy unlocked, the lady told me that the chip is unlocked so it should work. So in theory I can buy a phone somewhere else and install my SIM if it is compatible with the phone, if not I will require the provider to issue me a new one for a fee.

So I will look for the suggested models here and see if I can get them in a decent not break the bank price. It will likely come after I save for a ps5, but I might consider getting a purpose gaming phone, maybe the best model of a couple years back or so.