Upgrade for Note 4 on Verizon: "One Year" Phone or which flagship??

[johnnysd]

I have a Note 4. It is pretty much shot, and have to basically get a new phone now.

I had pre-ordered the Pixel 2 XL, but I am not really sold on any of the new flagship phones.

On any given day when I go to the Verizon store I might like the Pixel 2 XL one day the V30 other days, and sometimes I gravitate towards the Note 8 since I like the pen despite not using it all that much.

All of the current flagships seem to have pretty big flaws in my view:

Note 8: All glass, Awkward size with the elongated 18.5/9 display, UI seems slower, price ($100)

Pixel 2 XL: No headphone jack, no flash socket, display so so with noticeable blue tint

V30: All glass, slow updates, terrible selfie camera

Each of them have a clear strength too:

Note 8 : Pen, best display

Pixel 2 XL: Core Google experience, updates for 3 years, terrific simple camera, squeeze for assistant (surprisingly useful)

V30: No real hardware weaknesses, Quad DAC

So I sort of go round and round in a loop. There is no clear choice. I think I still lean to the Pixel because of software, blue the display and blue shift are annoying, and no headphone jack

So i may eventually choose one of these, and actually already have cases for both the Pixel 2 XL (which I still have on preorder) but really not sure of best flagship. I kinda like them all and dislike them all.

The i thought, what if I just delay my big purchase for one more year and get something then. No guarantee the choice will be easier or better

If I get a "one year" phone would look for it to be like $250 max probably less, with a good sized screen and decent automatic camera. My Note 4 camera is essentially shot too.

Thoughts on what to do? Thanks in advance for any advice

Johnny

 

[CavScout87]

I wish there was a couple replies to this as I'm in the same boat...

I'm still rocking my Note 4 as well, and have pre-ordered the XL 2 which will arrive within a week.

My Note is in surprisingly good shape, but had gotten so slow, and I'm tired of buying new batteries that never last as long as the original once did. My Note has been very rugged and the S pen, while rarely used, has been handy on occasion. (I won't honestly miss it too much.)

What's really driving me for quite some time now is to get a phone with front facing speakers. I hate the rear speaker on the Note. HATE. (I never use headphones.) I work in a factory. It's loud, even when I go outside for a smoke break. While on break, I'll check out FB or YouTube, and any videos are very frustrating to watch. My hearing is admittedly shot, but playing around trying to bounce the sound back at me has me frequently holding the phone up to my ear to hear it, and then I of course can't see the video LOL It honestly drives me nuts. In my house, incan set the phone on a table with the kickstand case and the sound will bounce off the table back towards me, and then it's perfectly fine and plenty loud.

Perfect conditions rarely exist after leaving home however and the speaker, more than almost anything else, drives me crazy.

So the big reason for picking the Pixel XL 2 is the speaker placement.

Very disappointed that the V30 had superior codecs, but only a single speaker.

Even the Note 8 had a single speaker, but the placement is better on the bottom - but I still don't relish the thought of cupping the bottom of the phone trying to direct sound towards my face.

All the publicized problems with the Pixel had me nearly reaching to cancel my pre-order, but the fact they're extending the warranty to at least cover how long I'll be making payments to Verizon, I may just keep the phone if it doesn't have any issues I can't live with out of the box.

I did see the phone in person at Verizon after I pre-ordered, and liked the build quality and ordered a 'Panda'.

Speakers and screen size are my #1 priorities, not willing to go smaller. (Although the new aspect ratio did make me pause. I'm used to my Note 4's size after all after all these years.) Prior phone was a Moto X Dev edition that I loved the user experience on. I've always had Android, and will not get an Apple out of spite LOL The only feature I would have liked to try is wireless charging and I may live to regret not having a replaceable battery.

I wish someone made a solid phone with all the features I wanted along with a monster battery. Nothing gets me thru a full day... Even the Note 4 in it's prime struggled. At least quick charging helps - when I can get to my desk long enough for a quick top off. (I have spare batteries of course. Which I never have with me when needed LOL)

Hoping someone else chimes in with some options...

 

[johnnysd]

I wish there was a couple replies to this as I'm in the same boat...

I'm still rocking my Note 4 as well, and have pre-ordered the XL 2 which will arrive within a week.

My Note is in surprisingly good shape, but had gotten so slow, and I'm tired of buying new batteries that never last as long as the original once did. My Note has been very rugged and the S pen, while rarely used, has been handy on occasion. (I won't honestly miss it too much.)

What's really driving me for quite some time now is to get a phone with front facing speakers. I hate the rear speaker on the Note. HATE. (I never use headphones.) I work in a factory. It's loud, even when I go outside for a smoke break. While on break, I'll check out FB or YouTube, and any videos are very frustrating to watch. My hearing is admittedly shot, but playing around trying to bounce the sound back at me has me frequently holding the phone up to my ear to hear it, and then I of course can't see the video LOL It honestly drives me nuts. In my house, incan set the phone on a table with the kickstand case and the sound will bounce off the table back towards me, and then it's perfectly fine and plenty loud.

Perfect conditions rarely exist after leaving home however and the speaker, more than almost anything else, drives me crazy.

So the big reason for picking the Pixel XL 2 is the speaker placement.

Very disappointed that the V30 had superior codecs, but only a single speaker.

Even the Note 8 had a single speaker, but the placement is better on the bottom - but I still don't relish the thought of cupping the bottom of the phone trying to direct sound towards my face.

All the publicized problems with the Pixel had me nearly reaching to cancel my pre-order, but the fact they're extending the warranty to at least cover how long I'll be making payments to Verizon, I may just keep the phone if it doesn't have any issues I can't live with out of the box.

I did see the phone in person at Verizon after I pre-ordered, and liked the build quality and ordered a 'Panda'.

Speakers and screen size are my priorities, not willing to go smaller. (Although the new aspect ratio did make me pause. I'm used to my Note 4's size after all after all these years.) Prior phone was a Moto X Dev edition that I loved the user experience on. I've always had Android, and will not get an Apple out of spite LOL The only feature I would have liked to try is wireless charging and I may live to regret not having a replaceable battery.

I wish someone made a solid phone with all the features I wanted along with a monster battery. Nothing gets me thru a full day... Even the Note 4 in it's prime struggled. At least quick charging helps - when I can get to my desk long enough for a quick top off. (I have spare batteries of course. Which I never have with me when needed LOL)

Hoping someone else chimes in with some options...

Yeah, I bought a new battery and decided to wait for Black Friday sales. At this point its like 3 weeks away and I have already used my Note 4 for three years I can last less than another full month. The U11+ will come out in that time and maybe that will be the answer though I doubt it. I am probably still leaning towards the Pixel 2 XL, I actually didn't mind the muted colors. One of their engineers admitted it was factory calibrated wrong. They did not mention that in the official update, but I suspect with a better factory calibration and the software update they are doing that the display will be fine. It is still likely better than the Note 4 display regardless. But I will feel a lot better about the Pixel 2 XL purchase if there is a significant discount at Black Friday like there was on the original Pixels last year. Note 8 is a no for me, same with the LG V30, though I might consider it on a big discount as well as it is the most complete hardware solution. I am sort of in this mindset though where I really just want a one year bridge to the next Pixel design and still a little unsure which way to go. Another option might be the V20 for a year as it is a lot like a modernized Note 4 and that might have a huge discount at Black Friday. But no decision until the Black Friday sales for me.

 

[CavScout87]

Yeah, I bought a new battery and decided to wait for Black Friday sales. At this point its like 3 weeks away and I have already used my Note 4 for three years I can last less than another full month. The U11+ will come out in that time and maybe that will be the answer though I doubt it. I am probably still leaning towards the Pixel 2 XL, I actually didn't mind the muted colors. One of their engineers admitted it was factory calibrated wrong. They did not mention that in the official update, but I suspect with a better factory calibration and the software update they are doing that the display will be fine. It is still likely better than the Note 4 display regardless. But I will feel a lot better about the Pixel 2 XL purchase if there is a significant discount at Black Friday like there was on the original Pixels last year. Note 8 is a no for me, same with the LG V30, though I might consider it on a big discount as well as it is the most complete hardware solution. I am sort of in this mindset though where I really just want a one year bridge to the next Pixel design and still a little unsure which way to go. Another option might be the V20 for a year as it is a lot like a modernized Note 4 and that might have a huge discount at Black Friday. But no decision until the Black Friday sales for me.

I've considered the V20 as well, but eliminated it due to the single speaker. There are hacks available online but honestly I'm not one to do any of those.

 

[drone3]

What about the HTC U11?

 

[CavScout87]

What about the HTC U11?

I've considered that, but believe it's a slightly smaller screen than my Note 4 and I do like the screen real estate.... Now if they announce the U11 Plus it may be a contender. A half inch of screen is a half inch of screen LOL