Looking for my brother's next phone

[Cardono]

Hello guys
So my brother has a birthday coming up and since his current lg g2 is dying on him, we would like to buy him a new device.
He doesn't have much he requires. He's not playing games and barely goes online for web browsing. Just a lot of taking photos, whatsapp and music.

- A decent to good camera: he loves taking photos, whether it's with the phone or with one of the house's cameras. I think the video quality is less of an issue.
- No serious known problems: his g2 had throughout its tenure problems with the gps, something which is very important to him. that's why it's important to him to be aware of any known issues ahead of time.

I might add a few points that I think will benefit him:
- Not small - his hands are kinda big, so I think he will benefit from a big screen. this is not a must though.
- Enough internal memory or an sd slot - with the photos he will take and lots of music, this might be important. 32gb is the bare minimum.
- Price - Not really interested in buying the most pricey stuff such as v20, pixel, etc. Prices tend to get much higher here in Israel.
- Durability - my brother is not the most cautious man, so if a phone is known to be more durable then that's a plus.

And lastly, some possibilities I've compiled:
- Galaxy s6: a little bit on the older side, cheaper and has a smaller battery than the rest. Still should have a good camera.
- Lg v10: oh man when this phone came out I fell in love with it immediately. It should have a great camera, green screen, and very durable. my problem with it is the bootloop issue which is very worrying.
- Nexus 6p: my favorite so far seeing as I love my Nexus 5. Should have good camera, good speakers, good performance and updates for at least the next year? even if he won't get Android 8, still a good one.
- One Plus 3: Very good specs, not as good camera as the nexus and a tad more expensive.
- Galaxy s7: the most pricey of the bunch but should also have the best camera. i'm still not sure if this and OP3 will not be too expensive.
Also considered: Xiaomi mi5, LeEco le max 2, Huwaei P9. Couldn't figure too much about them though in compared to the others.

Sorry for the long post, would appreciate any help

 

[Tim1954]

The S7 is the top pick there except for the durability aspect. Given that it's glass, front and back... Perhaps a tough case to put it in...

 

[MDMcAtee]

Hello guys
So my brother has a birthday coming up and since his current lg g2 is dying on him, we would like to buy him a new device.
He doesn't have much he requires. He's not playing games and barely goes online for web browsing. Just a lot of taking photos, whatsapp and music.

- A decent to good camera: he loves taking photos, whether it's with the phone or with one of the house's cameras. I think the video quality is less of an issue.
- No serious known problems: his g2 had throughout its tenure problems with the gps, something which is very important to him. that's why it's important to him to be aware of any known issues ahead of time.

I might add a few points that I think will benefit him:
- Not small - his hands are kinda big, so I think he will benefit from a big screen. this is not a must though.
- Enough internal memory or an sd slot - with the photos he will take and lots of music, this might be important. 32gb is the bare minimum.
- Price - Not really interested in buying the most pricey stuff such as v20, pixel, etc. Prices tend to get much higher here in Israel.
- Durability - my brother is not the most cautious man, so if a phone is known to be more durable then that's a plus.

And lastly, some possibilities I've compiled:
- Galaxy s6: a little bit on the older side, cheaper and has a smaller battery than the rest. Still should have a good camera.
- Lg v10: oh man when this phone came out I fell in love with it immediately. It should have a great camera, green screen, and very durable. my problem with it is the bootloop issue which is very worrying.
- Nexus 6p: my favorite so far seeing as I love my Nexus 5. Should have good camera, good speakers, good performance and updates for at least the next year? even if he won't get Android 8, still a good one.
- One Plus 3: Very good specs, not as good camera as the nexus and a tad more expensive.
- Galaxy s7: the most pricey of the bunch but should also have the best camera. i'm still not sure if this and OP3 will not be too expensive.
Also considered: Xiaomi mi5, LeEco le max 2, Huwaei P9. Couldn't figure too much about them though in compared to the others.

Sorry for the long post, would appreciate any help

I've had the first 3 of your phones listed, and am currently on the Nexus 6p. I've got the 64 gig version which I got on the first week in September this year, and it was built 8-6-2016.

I think that your brother will love it to be honest. It is certainly large enough for large hands, but yet easy enough to use for smaller handed people to use...

It's not a rugged phone, and to be honest the vast majority of phones aren't, even the so called ones, however this can be mitigated by using a good case and a tempered glass screen protector.

You can get some excellent deals on them right now BTW....and you can even get a 128 gig version if you want to.

This phone to me is your best option and is capable of doing so many things now and with future updates as well.

Even though he doesn't sound like a power user, he could well become one given the opportunity to work with it enough.

The connectivity of the phone is outstanding compared to every phone I have had giving perfect call quality, WiFi and Bluetooth. It seems that the latest builds of these have proven this way as opposed to the earlier builds, so go for a new one not used.

The v10 is a more ruggedly built phone and although I never had any bootloop issues on mine many people have. They do have great cameras and great DACs in them but here's the catch... Using either is a huge battery drain and to get great results with the camera you need to know how to use the manual mode, and the sound of the speakers is extremely weak without headphones on it.

Right now the 6p is the most up-to-date phone software wise you can get him until the pixels ship and all the other ones aren't. I can tell you that from my experiences this last Nexus is the best you can get him

 

[Morty2264]

Hi! As I was reading your post, I was thinking about recommending a Samsung Galaxy device, as their cameras are top-notch. If you'd like the 6 for your brother, that is a great choice! In my personal opinion, Samsung phones and Nexus devices are two manufacturer lines that have really good iterations, even if you pick up one that's a year or two behind (look at the Nexus 5 - it was one of the best yet underrated Nexus phones out there!). The S6 is a decent size, but if your brother has big hands and likes to snap good quality photos, the 6P, as you've said, is another really good option. Also, it's stock Android so your brother will get a really good experience. Also, the Nexus line is one of the first to receive support and updates.

If I had to give you a recommendation on a phone based on my own [biased] opinion, I would say your safest bet is to go Samsung. I love Nexus for sure, but Google will apparently stop supporting the 6P about a year from now (ie, with regular updates). I did some research on this a few weeks ago, so maybe my facts aren't entirely straight or I mixed up dates, but I'd research that before making a choice. But you can totally use a phone after that point and be fine; and if your brother isn't into having the latest download of Android, then that's totally cool. I have a friend who uses his Nexus 5 still and it works fine, despite not getting the latest updates.

 

[Cardono]

Thank you very much for your answers.
It does seem my line of thinking was correct.

Would love to hear more opinions and maybe recommendations for good cases on said recommendations

 

[B. Diddy]

I've been hearing good thing about the Moto G4 Plus as well, which is pretty inexpensive.

 

[MDMcAtee]

Seido commuter.. or the Seido Surface line is excellent. I've used them a lot and love how good they work. I've dropped mine off a 6' ladder and out of the truck a few times without incident to the phone..

 

[Morty2264]

Thank you very much for your answers.
It does seem my line of thinking was correct.

Would love to hear more opinions and maybe recommendations for good cases on said recommendations

If your brother tends to drop his phones more often or is a bit rougher on them, then I'd suggest getting an Otterbox case for his new device. They come in a range of colours and some are more "bulkier" than others. Otterbox also has a lifetime warranty on their products, so if the case miraculously cracks or if it develops minor wear and tear over time, you can replace it for me, as far as I know.

Also, I would absolutely recommend a screen protector for the phone - I believe Otterbox has screen-protector-and-case combos that fit together over your phone.

 

[apeksha_p]

Moto G4 sounds like a good fit!

 

[skibnik]

If your brother likes larger screens then the ASUS Zenfone 3 ultra may fit his needs it aslo has a very good camera as well.

ASUS ZenFone 3 preview: High-end, mid-range and just plain enormous | Android Central

 

[muckrakerX]

If he liked the G2, he'll love the V10 or V20.

 

[Ry]

What's the budget?

 

[Cardono]

I'd buy the V10 but bootloop is frightening to be honest.
The budget is hard to say since I live in Israel and the prices are different. I'd say around the ballpark of the nexus

 

[nahoku]

Since no one brought it up, be sure to consider that you cannot install an external SD card into a Galaxy S6. If your brother is going to take a lot of photos, and you still want the S6, be sure to get at least the 64Gb model.

 

[B. Diddy]

If your brother is going to take a lot of photos, and you still want the S6, be sure to get at least the 64Gb model.

Or make sure your brother is cool with automatically backing up all photos to Google Photos. This makes the need for local photo storage less important.