Pixel 3 owners: what's your next phone?

[KPMcClave]

The door is still open for the Pixel 5, but I'm not very confident it will move me. I was happy to see the latest rumor has the battery at 4,000 mAh and not previously rumored 3,080. I like that the fingerprint reader is back, too.

I keep wandering over to the Note 20 (not Ultra) 5G. Never had a Note before (S7 Edge has been my only modern Samsung). Not interested in the Ultra version. I'd prefer not to have a plastic back, but it isn't a deal breaker. I don't care about the camera array. Any modern setup is going to give me acceptable photos for the times I use the phone camera. I use my DSLR for most stuff. Something about the Note attracts me.

Most criticisms look at it from the top down: it's "a hobbled Note." Anyone have an opinion looking at it the other way, as an upgrade from the Pixel 3 XL?

 

[eric002]

The door is still open for the Pixel 5, but I'm not very confident it will move me. I was happy to see the latest rumor has the battery at 4,000 mAh and not previously rumored 3,080. I like that the fingerprint reader is back, too.

I keep wandering over to the Note 20 (not Ultra) 5G. Never had a Note before (S7 Edge has been my only modern Samsung). Not interested in the Ultra version. I'd prefer not to have a plastic back, but it isn't a deal breaker. I don't care about the camera array. Any modern setup is going to give me acceptable photos for the times I use the phone camera. I use my DSLR for most stuff. Something about the Note attracts me.

Way to many rumors going on right now about the newest Pixel phones and the people that are writing the articles are writing about the Pixel 4a5g and the Pixel 5 at the same time . Read one today where it said the Pixel 5 will have a plastic body. I hope that isn't true. I'm Hoping they meant the Pixel4a5g. If it is I'll be looking at a different phone.

it was absolutely correct! That's why I am not trying to assume or jump the gun on what the Pixel 5 will actually look like! Well I'll see you in a month or so when Google officially debuts it. we can all try to speculate and go on link images, but we don't actually know what it's going to look like. Google's hoping we do this. We shall see what happens... I still love my Pixel 3 XL no matter what...

 

[Coop61]

Googles hoping we do what? Sorry Eric ya lost me on that one. With the cost of phones these days even a 600 dollar phone can be made from premium materials. This is why I won't buy a phone made with plastic covers they feel and look cheap to me. Just my opinion . Not sure but I had a Samsung I think it was the S5 of S7 that had a plastic back cover and it felt cheap. Drove me crazy. I did find a nice Carbon Fiber case for it though.

 

[eric002]

Googles hoping we do what? Sorry Eric ya lost me on that one. With the cost of phones these days even a 600 dollar phone can be made from premium materials. This is why I won't buy a phone made with plastic covers they feel and look cheap to me. Just my opinion . Not sure but I had a Samsung I think it was the S5 of S7 that had a plastic back cover and it felt cheap. Drove me crazy. I did find a nice Carbon Fiber case for it though.

Oh I'm sorry, Google's hoping we jumped the gun and strum up excitement on the forums for the Pixel 5s. Lol.

 

[popartist]

I've been waiting for 5G phones to drop since I'm in an area where it would be beneficial so I'm likely going to upgrade to the Pixel 5, as long as Google doesn't screw up the RMA I just did on my Pixel 3 (which is out of warranty so I am glad they did it, but am holding my breath that it's problem-free).

 

[eric002]

I wish you the best of luck! I'm waiting for 5G myself, but in my area in 5G mm wavelength won't be available for quite some time.

 

[Coop61]

Hopefully I'm not considered to much of a traitor. I decided to go with Samsung S20 plus. Hopefully I'll like it . Should be here tomorrow afternoon. I wanted to go for the Pixel 5 until I started reading about it. It wouldn't be that much of an upgrade over my 3xl. The 3XL will be my backup phone.

 

[mrpackerguy]

Let us know about the Samsung. I'm completely done with Google

 

[YankInDaSouth]

I have the Pixel 3 and went to the Note 10+ a few months back. I absolutely loved my Pixel 3 and had a hard time finding the right device to upgrade to (this is actually my second go round with the Note 10+). I now absolutely love the Note 10+ as well! I sometimes find myself missing the Pixel experience and switch over to the Pixel 3. But much to my surprise I cannot last more than a couple of days on the Pixel 3 as I find myself missing a lot of pthe Note 10+ features (and it's battery life!). Besides indoors pics of my dogs which usually look much better shot with the Pixel, I prefer everything else the Note 10+ offers over the Pixel 3.

Was thinking about grabbing a Pixel 5 or 4a, but honestly not sure if I will. While the Pixel experience is great I really like what Samsung has done with One UI. (I'm sure this opinion of mine may (and likey will) change over time as that seems to be my trend LOL But for now I think I will be content with the Note 10+ for while).

 

[KPMcClave]

Was thinking about grabbing a Pixel 5 or 4a, but honestly not sure if I will. While the Pixel experience is great I really like what Samsung has done with One UI. (I'm sure this opinion of mine may (and likey will) change over time as that seems to be my trend LOL But for now I think I will be content with the Note 10+ for while).

I'm really considering the Note 20 5G (non-Ultra) to replace my 3 XL. I've never used a Note before, and the only modern Samsung phone I've used is the S7 Edge, which broke records for length of use by me.

Regardless of the S Pen, I like a lot about the Note 20 5G. Obviously not the price, but as I look around at my options I keep landing on that phone.

Are you a big S Pen user, YankInDaSouth? If you are, forgetting price, how would you like the Note 10+ if it had no S Pen?

Obviously I could get an S20 or wait for the next gen, but I like that the Note 20 5G has a flat screen. I'm also trying to keep the size somewhat reasonable.

I'm not definitley skipping the Pixel 5, pending official specs, but I'm not very hopeful.

 

[YankInDaSouth]

I'm really considering the Note 20 5G (non-Ultra) to replace my 3 XL. I've never used a Note before, and the only modern Samsung phone I've used is the S7 Edge, which broke records for length of use by me.

Regardless of the S Pen, I like a lot about the Note 20 5G. Obviously not the price, but as I look around at my options I keep landing on that phone.

Are you a big S Pen user, YankInDaSouth? If you are, forgetting price, how would you like the Note 10+ if it had no S Pen?

Obviously I could get an S20 or wait for the next gen, but I like that the Note 20 5G has a flat screen. I'm also trying to keep the size somewhat reasonable.

I'm not definitley skipping the Pixel 5, pending official specs, but I'm not very hopeful.

I'm really considering the Note 20 5G (non-Ultra) to replace my 3 XL. I've never used a Note before, and the only modern Samsung phone I've used is the S7 Edge, which broke records for length of use by me.

Regardless of the S Pen, I like a lot about the Note 20 5G. Obviously not the price, but as I look around at my options I keep landing on that phone.

Are you a big S Pen user, YankInDaSouth? If you are, forgetting price, how would you like the Note 10+ if it had no S Pen?

Obviously I could get an S20 or wait for the next gen, but I like that the Note 20 5G has a flat screen. I'm also trying to keep the size somewhat reasonable.

I'm not definitley skipping the Pixel 5, pending official specs, but I'm not very hopeful.

I'm not a big S Pen user at all. I'll use it occasionally to extract text from apps or areas where I cannot copy and to mark up pictures. Other than that I almost never use it ... So, I can safely say that, for me personally, even if the Note 10+ had no S Pen I'd still be a huge fan.

I hear you on the flat screen of the Note 20 ... I really dislike curved screens! I find it even more annoying on the occasions I do use the S Pen. Very often I have to make several attempts to select my desired area because the S Pen keeps sliding off the edge. I just wish Samsung didn't "cripple" the smaller/flat screen variants so much.

 

[Kizzy Catwoman]

I have the Pixel 3 and went to the Note 10+ a few months back. I absolutely loved my Pixel 3 and had a hard time finding the right device to upgrade to (this is actually my second go round with the Note 10+). I now absolutely love the Note 10+ as well! I sometimes find myself missing the Pixel experience and switch over to the Pixel 3. But much to my surprise I cannot last more than a couple of days on the Pixel 3 as I find myself missing a lot of pthe Note 10+ features (and it's battery life!). Besides indoors pics of my dogs which usually look much better shot with the Pixel, I prefer everything else the Note 10+ offers over the Pixel 3.

Was thinking about grabbing a Pixel 5 or 4a, but honestly not sure if I will. While the Pixel experience is great I really like what Samsung has done with One UI. (I'm sure this opinion of mine may (and likey will) change over time as that seems to be my trend LOL But for now I think I will be content with the Note 10+ for while).

I went from the 4xl to an S10+ and I don't regret it for a second. I gave my 4xl to my husband and I am so happy with my Samsung. I hated the Note 4 experience. Touching was clunky and awkward to use. But OneUI is wonderful. I love all the extras and all the updates keeps making my phone even better.

 

[KPMcClave]

I'm not a big S Pen user at all. I'll use it occasionally to extract text from apps or areas where I cannot copy and to mark up pictures. Other than that I almost never use it ... So, I can safely say that, for me personally, even if the Note 10+ had no S Pen I'd still be a huge fan.

I hear you on the flat screen of the Note 20 ... I really dislike curved screens! I find it even more annoying on the occasions I do use the S Pen. Very often I have to make several attempts to select my desired area because the S Pen keeps sliding off the edge. I just wish Samsung didn't "cripple" the smaller/flat screen variants so much.

Thanks for the feedback! Because I haven't used a Note before, and haven't ever thought I was missing those features, I'm not sure I will use the S Pen a lot. We'll see, maybe.

While I certainly wouldn't complain about the specs matching up better with the smaller Note 20 5G, I'm also not coming from a place of history with the line. So, I don't really consider it a "crippled" Note 20 Ultra, but a new phone that ticks a bunch of boxes for me.

Hopefully, the announcement of the Pixel 5 will surprise in good ways. At the very least, hopefully it will leave me more certain about whether it's for me or not.

 

[RickInHouston]

From a Pixel 3 to OnePlus 7T (I never take selfies), so might as well utilize the full screen, right?

 

[KPMcClave]

I'm now leaning more toward the Galaxy S20 FE than the Note 20. It seems very Note-like, just without an S Pen. I'll do a side by side comparison once the FE is officially unveiled.

 

[Jeremy8000]

After a chat with they guy at my local Costco's wireless section yesterday, I'm no longer debating whether to upgrade from my 3 XL. Only questioning to which phone I should go. Aside from the fact that my battery is degraded to only 35% of its original capacity in 20 months (it now lives on a charger when I'm at work, in the car, and at home overnight), he pulled up a speed test on his S20 5G and clocked nearly 200Mbps, a pretty impressive improvement over my 3 XL's best local performance of 55.2Mbps (and average of 20-25Mbps (both phones running same test on T-Mobile).

Seems like, at least for T-Mobile users, it will be important to get a phone that supports "standalone" 5G. Will have to figure out which (hopefully some) Pixels/Samsungs support that, along with 600/mid-band/mm-wave (though I don't anticipate my market seeing any of the latter that would be impactful before I replace this next phone).

 

[KPMcClave]

I'm on Verizon. They want to "upgrade" my plan to one with 5G every time I'm window shopping handsets. Where I live, that would be like them just stealing my money at this point.

 

[KPMcClave]

I'm now leaning more toward the Galaxy S20 FE than the Note 20. It seems very Note-like, just without an S Pen. I'll do a side by side comparison once the FE is officially unveiled.

Talking to myself. Certainly a sign of madness.

I keep going back anf forth between the S20 FE and Pixel 5 now. I could get an S20+ for an additional $300 off (plus my 3 XL trade in and 100 device dollars). That would bring it down to around $650, but even though it's a much more expensive phone, the $90 difference in what It would cost me for the S20 FE isn't worth it as I look at the specs of the phones (and consider things like size and that the FE has a flat screen). The Note 20 5G I'd been considering is way off the table with the difference in price now, too.

At least while the Verizon variant of the S20 FE is on sale for $699 (goes up to $750), it appears the FE and Pixel 5 will be the same price for me.

I like the idea of trying something new (though I have used the S7 Edge in the past...and how I know I don't want a curved screen).

I don't like the idea of missing the software experience on the Pixels. Primarily the immediate OS updates and the ability to participate in betas (Verizon users can't participate in Samsung betas).

Does Samsung's One UI change the appearance of Google dark mode? I use dark mode 24/7 on any app that has it, and have "override force dark" set in Developer options for apps that don't. I assume all that is still possible on a Samsung. It appears a lot of stuff is actually black and not dark in the One UI (that's a good thing...I just don't want things I have dark now to be white).

Am I going to miss a physical fingerprint reader for the in-screen Samsung option?

 

[Jeremy8000]

At least while the Verizon variant of the S20 FE is on sale for $699 (goes up to $750), it appears the FE and Pixel 5 will be the same price for me.

Strange that the Verizon version retails for $50 more than the unlocked... Is it actually somehow different other than perhaps having some pre-installed VZ apps? If not, it's worth noting that Amazon and BB are both currently taking orders for the S20 FE unlocked version for $599.

I'm in the same boat as you, looking at the S20FE, Pixel 5..... and the Pixel 4A5G.

 

[cbreze]

Strange that the Verizon version retails for $50 more than the unlocked... Is it actually somehow different other than perhaps having some pre-installed VZ apps? If not, it's worth noting that Amazon and BB are both currently taking orders for the S20 FE unlocked version for $599.

I'm in the same boat as you, looking at the S20FE, Pixel 5..... and the Pixel 4A5G.

I think it is some rip off $50 activation fee. I never buy anything from Verizon anymore, always unlocked direct