Help me decide on a new phone, replacing Xperia XZ1

[Cloudy Sky]

Hi everyone

I've been using Sony Xperia XZ1 for two years and it's been giving up on me lately and so I'm looking to get an upgrade. There are so many good smartphones on the market nowadays which makes it difficult to decide. I've read a bit about different flagships but not too sure which one to get still.

Things I value in a smartphone are:

• Filming quality, both the video and audio
• Beautiful large screen to enjoy videos/films.
• audio quality in general
• Crisp operation - don't want freezes, crashes, delays, they frustrate the hell out of me
• Simplicity in the software - don't want some fancy features if they end up lagging the phone a year down the line
• Aesthetics of the handset - though most phones have good case designs so I could cover up anything ugly
• Durability - don't want cracked screens/backs on slight impact - my XZ1 is unscathed after many drops so I'm impressed with it. Hope newer phones do the same/better. Obviously I try not to drop phones but accidents happen.
  

Things I don't really care about are:

• Earphone jack
• Notch
• Mobile gaming
  

Things that I would appreciate are

• Battery life
• Water resistance/proof
  

I've thought about those phones so far:

Sony XZ3

• Familiar with Xperia series (used since Z5)
• Beautiful handset design imo and nice colours
• My headphones/speakers are all Sony
• 4GB RAM isn't an upgrade from XZ1

Pixel 3 XL

• No bloatware, stock android
• unlimited google photo storage
• heard good things about camera
• 4GB RAM
• bugs??

Samsung S10

• newest - might as well get the newest if I'm not going to buy another phone for another few years
• really cool screen
• more RAM
• I have no idea how One UI or whatever feels like - too many unnecessary features? Or are they good?
• Bit worried about the durability because of an old Samsung smartphone I had back in the days (but I'm sure things have improved)

Any suggestions?
May thanks

 

[worldspy99]

I have the Pixel 3XL and the Samsung Galaxy S10+

Based on your requirements, I would go with either one. I do think that with One UI and the 8GB RAM the S10 is a true contender from a software perspective. The Pixel 3XL does need a bit more RAM and I expect Google to rectify that with the Pixel 4.

So right now if you choose to get a S10, that would be a great buy.

 

[Cloudy Sky]

I have the Pixel 3XL and the Samsung Galaxy S10+

Based on your requirements, I would go with either one. I do think that with One UI and the 8GB RAM the S10 is a true contender from a software perspective. The Pixel 3XL does need a bit more RAM and I expect Google to rectify that with the Pixel 4.

So right now if you choose to get a S10, that would be a great buy.

Hey, thanks for your swift reply! How do you find the One UI? Do you think it's a good addition on top of the 'raw' Android or too many features that are confusing/unnecessary? Samsung phone back in the days used to have a rather ugly UI design but it's been almost 8 years since I touched a Samsung phone!!

 

[worldspy99]

Hey, thanks for your swift reply! How do you find the One UI? Do you think it's a good addition on top of the 'raw' Android or too many features that are confusing/unnecessary? Samsung phone back in the days used to have a rather ugly UI design but it's been almost 8 years since I touched a Samsung phone!!

I have been using Google phones since Nexus 4 and Samsung phones consistently since S7.
I think you will be pleasantly surprised with how good One UI is. In fact visually it's aesthetics are slightly better than Google's interpretation of Android on Pixel.

You can do a YouTube search for a lot of reviewers who are beginning to like Samsung for software and not just hardware anymore. Either device will be happy, although I do find the S10 to be a bit snappier - newer processor, more RAM and best of all superb battery life.

FWIW, I did download the Android Q Beta 2 on my Pixel 3XL yesterday night as well. So the main downside is that Android Q on the S10 will only show up about now next year whereas the Pixel will have it right from the get go.

 

[Cloudy Sky]

I have been using Google phones since Nexus 4 and Samsung phones consistently since S7.
I think you will be pleasantly surprised with how good One UI is. In fact visually it's aesthetics are slightly better than Google's interpretation of Android on Pixel.

You can do a YouTube search for a lot of reviewers who are beginning to like Samsung for software and not just hardware anymore. Either device will be happy, although I do find the S10 to be a bit snappier - newer processor, more RAM and best of all superb battery life.

FWIW, I did download the Android Q Beta 2 on my Pixel 3XL yesterday night as well. So the main downside is that Android Q on the S10 will only show up about now next year whereas the Pixel will have it right from the get go.

Hey,
After more research I settled on Galaxy S10. I'm loving it so far. Really impressed by the design improvement Samsung's had in the past 8 years. I don't even feel the need to get a third party home screen app. It even allowed me to uninstall most of the bloatwares and fully remap Bixby button so really no complaints!

 

[Morty2264]

Hey,
After more research I settled on Galaxy S10. I'm loving it so far. Really impressed by the design improvement Samsung's had in the past 8 years. I don't even feel the need to get a third party home screen app. It even allowed me to uninstall most of the bloatwares and fully remap Bixby button so really no complaints!

So glad you found a phone that you're enjoying! Now it's time to collect accessories for it! There's a thread for that! Also, what colour did you get?

 

[Cloudy Sky]

So glad you found a phone that you're enjoying! Now it's time to collect accessories for it! There's a thread for that! Also, what colour did you get?

I got the prism green! But in love with my case so the green hasn’t seen too much action

 

[Morty2264]

I got the prism green! But in love with my case so the green hasn’t seen too much action View attachment 302156

Wow, what a gorgeous case!