Good phones for Pokemon go.

[AC Question]

Looking for a phone that provides a good Pokemon go game experience that isn't going to break the bank. I'm looking for a previous generation phone like the Note 4 or Note 3 that would work best with Pokémon.

I've read different phones have issues due to high resolution screens, poor GPS, or similar hardware issues.

I'd like to see a reference list of phones that are know to work well with Pokémon go that aren't the most recent crop. Any info. would be much appreciated.

 

[fury2g]

Can't go wrong with a Note 4.

 

[tony bag o donuts]

Note 3 or 4 would work.
I have two LG G3's for the kids and they work great (except always needing to charge the batteries) but they are removable so that is a huge plus.

 

[panamamike]

Read my mind. I was taking a look at G3 wasn't sure it would work out. Had read mention that the G3 High resolution screen impacted playability and heat. Then looked at G2 and there was mention the GPS radio was poor, wasn't sure if this also affected G3.

How would you rate playability and crash incidents? Also, how long does the battery last?

Cheers,

Mike

 

[tony bag o donuts]

It heats up fast. Battery is pretty decent but takes a LONG time to charge back up. Screen is unbelievable compared to my turbo. If it had Quick charging I would be all over it. No freezes other than normal that is reported w the game in general. Definitely need a spare battery or a power bank to get through a day if Pokemon hunting. Especially when it hunts for GPS at times. But it's not the device, it's the app. Wireless charging overnight works well w a 3 coil charger vs an inexpensive 1coil one.
Solid phone for Pokémon.

 

[panamamike]

Thanks! Went ahead and picked one up. Will be looking at the extended after market batteries. I've also heard folks use a down rez app NOMone to help with battery life. Might be worth looking into if you're interested.

 

[MNicolas98]

I have the Moto g3 and it's **** xD,samsung galaxy Note (4,5,7) I think that they will be the best for play pokemon go, or OP3.

 

[MomoMilky]

My family all uses Note 4 to play Pokemon Go. Having swappable batteries is very convenient when playing

 

[kixfan]

I'd say Note 3 or 4, LG G4 or V10. I use the V10 and have no issues with Pokemon Go. My son uses my old Note 3 and also has no issues. Swappable battery would almost be a must. This game is a bit of a battery hog.

 

[ScottMGS]

No problems with our phones: Moto X Pure Edition (2015) and HTC One E8

 

[Matty]

Looking for a phone that provides a good Pokemon go game experience that isn't going to break the bank. I'm looking for a previous generation phone like the Note 4 or Note 3 that would work best with Pokémon.

I've read different phones have issues due to high resolution screens, poor GPS, or similar hardware issues.

I'd like to see a reference list of phones that are know to work well with Pokémon go that aren't the most recent crop. Any info. would be much appreciated.

Galaxy S5 should work wonderfully, (2 + Years)

One Plus 2 would also do the trick. ( 2 Years)

the NEW Blackberry DTEK50 is only $299 which has 1080p screen and a 617 processor. Easy on the pocket, good bang for buck

 

[1213 1213]

Yeah I would say note 4 is your best bet. Note 3 may be a little slow potentially.

Also consider a galaxy s6, it wouldn't be much more than a note 4, but it'll be smaller and have a lower battery life. But it'll be next generation at least, and would get android n. Note 4 won't.

 

[Morty2264]

Read my mind. I was taking a look at G3 wasn't sure it would work out. Had read mention that the G3 High resolution screen impacted playability and heat. Then looked at G2 and there was mention the GPS radio was poor, wasn't sure if this also affected G3.

How would you rate playability and crash incidents? Also, how long does the battery last?

Cheers,

Mike

Hi! I have a G3 and play Pokémon Go. Yes, you are right: the phone does suffer from a little heat from time to time while I am playing. I mostly feel it on my Power button. Sometimes the app might lag a bit on the screen, but a simple close and restart of the game works well for that. As far as the GPS, mine usually works really well while I am playing. Sometimes it may "stutter" a bit but it's only for a few seconds. But if I'm walking around and not just standing still, I find that the GPS matches perfectly with my environment.

As far as crashes, it doesn't happen to me too often. And as I've mentioned above, a simple closing of the app and opening it again fixes it. Battery isn't too bad, actually! Granted, I play for sometimes forty minutes at a time - I'm not a hardcore play-for-hours person, so I couldn't give you any kind of lengthy estimate - but yeah, some drainage is expected; but it's not as if my battery takes an enormous nosedive.

Hope this helps!

 

[Kimmo Toivanen]

Honor 7 Lite (5C variant), Alcatel Idol 3 and Lenovo 8" tablet with FHD display and Intel CPU - works with all Idol is only one with gyro, so no AR for the others.
Honor uses 2-4% battery / km, most of the time in power save position

Huawei Y3 however is a No Go

 

[panamamike]

Thanks for sharing. I've had the G3 for about a week now and it's working pretty well. The good news is the weather here in TX hasn't been too hot this month, but the phone temps have me a bit concerned. At around 76F indoors the phone is in the upper 40's C under load with Pokemon it can get to the mid 70's C. I also have a Samsung Galaxy S5 that runs a good 10 deg. C cooler than the G3.

Honestly wouldn't care that much if it wasn't for the reports of the fade to black screen. Which itself AFAIK is caused by operating the G3 at high temperatures. Looks like the fix is to undervolt/underclock the CPU to keep it running cooler. Haven't been able to do that yet since it requires root.

Mike

 

[Morty2264]

Thanks for sharing. I've had the G3 for about a week now and it's working pretty well. The good news is the weather here in TX hasn't been too hot this month, but the phone temps have me a bit concerned. At around 76F indoors the phone is in the upper 40's C under load with Pokemon it can get to the mid 70's C. I also have a Samsung Galaxy S5 that runs a good 10 deg. C cooler than the G3.

Honestly wouldn't care that much if it wasn't for the reports of the fade to black screen. Which itself AFAIK is caused by operating the G3 at high temperatures. Looks like the fix is to undervolt/underclock the CPU to keep it running cooler. Haven't been able to do that yet since it requires root.

Mike

I'm sorry that those overheating issues are happening to you! Let us know how things go!

 

[panamamike]

Phone is able to play the game, but heat does cause it to perform less than ideal, thermal throttling. I've tried the underclock approach and found it didn't help, maybe 1 degree. Next potential fix is using the copper shim, but not sure I want to go that far yet. There's the option of undervolting, but not crazy about using a non-stock rom.

 

[tony bag o donuts]

Mike I hope your not disappointed e my recommendation. My kids phones get hot overall from time to time but they are still going strong.

 

[panamamike]

I'm not, the phone is good overall. Was just a bit let down that some of the fixes I had read about didn't really work as well as advertised. Resolution reduction and under clocking.

 

[panamamike]

I finally tried the LG G3 thermal pad/paste hw fix. This fix has reduced the temperatures a good 10 degC, I'm now getting temps in line with my Samsung Galaxy.

Note: Be aware the fix may cause other problems with the phone in the future, some speculate it will shorten the life of the phone's lcd. Given the fade to black issues might occur anyway I figured I might as well take my chances.