Looking for the most "vanilla" phone next month.

[slobkabob]

My contract is up next month with AT&T. I currently own an S4 and will be looking to upgrade.

I'm looking for suggestions on a new phone that contains the least amount of carrier bloatware. I have a friend that mentioned the Google Nexus 6 at one point, but I am not sure if it has succumbed to bloatware since.

Does an Android phone like this exist? Or are they all ridden with bloatware? I am reluctant to root a brand new phone so I was hoping there's something out there that's as close to Android "vanilla" as possible.

An added plus would be a battery that's removable/replaceable.

 

[cpaight]

A Nexus phone purchased from Google Play and not from a carrier is what you're looking for.

 

[mstrblueskys]

As long as you buy the phone from the Google play store, you're fine. The Nexus 6 won't have bloat. It's as plain as they come.

 

[slobkabob]

Ahhhhhhh I see!

Does the Google Play store sell brands other than Nexus? And I'm assuming they'd sell them for full price?

 

[Crashdamage]

A Nexus 6 from T-Mobile is bloatware-free.

As for other phones available from Google Play and running vanilla Android, unfortunately right now you're out of luck. There used to be several models called Pure Edition running vanilla Android in the Play store, but they've been discontinued.

Next best thing is probably a Moto X which is a nice phone and runs a very slightly modified version of Android and is bloatware-free.

Android since v1.0. Linux user since 2001.

 

[hallux]

Ahhhhhhh I see!

Does the Google Play store sell brands other than Nexus? And I'm assuming they'd sell them for full price?

Google only sells Nexus phones and tablets anymore, the Google Play Edition program has ended. Yes, you're paying full price when you buy from Google, they have no connection to the carriers to allow for on-contract subsidy of the phones.

If you want a near-stock experience and minimal additional apps, look at the Moto X.

 

[LeoRex]

Right.. Carrier-sourced Nexus 6's do come with a bit of carrierware, but its light and variable. On T-Mobile, it is mostly just the My TMobile app, which I don't consider bloatware to be honest (it gives you direct access your account, usage, etc). As for the other carriers, it amounts to only a couple of apps that don't weigh things down at all.

Another bonus... Nexus 6's are cross carrier compatible, no matter where they came from (at least in the US). The only tricky bits is that Verizon is being a bit of a whiny baby when it comes to activating Nexus 6's not obtained through them... but that's because Verizon.... not because of the phone.

 

[Crashdamage]

Re: Looking for the most "vanilla" phone next month.

My wife's Nexus 6 came direct from T-Mobile. It didn't have My T-Mobile or any other special apps installed. It was identical to one from Google in every way except it came out of the box with a T-Mobile SIM already loaded.

It is a bit different from a Google Play unit now because its been updated with the T-Mobile specific LMY47M build of 5.1 to prep the phone for LTE Band 12 and an upcoming update to add WiFi calling.

Android since v1.0. Linux user since 2001.