Back in 2015, I invested in a lumia 950. The specs were amazing, especially for the time- liquid cooling, 20mp camera, retina scanner, etc. Once I started using it, however, the mirage of perfection quickly faded. The (huge) battery drained quickly, I frequently found the phone heating up after light use, the random crashing/ software bugs that became prevalent, dropped calls, and the app gap were especially problematic. Regardless, I endured, as any loyal MS fan would. My false hope and misguided notions of splendid things to come prolonged my suffering under the W10 mobile platform. I had also dropped nearly $300 on the phone and at least $60 on accessories, which was not smart and encouraged me to stay with the forsaken thing. Needless to say, I was quite invested. Then, after a series of metaphorical slaps to the face, MS decides to kill the phone. They even have the audacity to shut down current MS programs with paid subscriptions (Groove music, anyone?) and list the Razor phone, an Android-based phone, on their official website. I was devastated. After my years of loyalty to this company, holding out for MS phones to finally reach their full potential as I knew they would, they turned around and exclaimed "Oh hey! All of you who have stuck with us since W7 mobile, go f*** yourselves. We got a new line of ANDROID based hardware! Have fun with your garbage hardware that wont be receiving any more necessary updates to fix the bugs that are wreaking havoc with your devices! Oh, and buy more stuff!" Ugh. Just ugh. Seriously considering LEAVING this platform. I despise Android (READ: security nightmare) and don't want to buy into the Apple mindset. I'm looking for suggestions on a good phone to replace my current 950 ( N O more MS phones for me). Any help is greatly appreciated.
pkcable
VR Expert
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What are you looking to spend? Or do you plan to go with carrier financing? Are you trying to get anything that looks and feels anything like Windows 10? If so Android is your best bet and a custom ROM. I'm sure there is one that makes the phone look like Windows 10. HTC is known to make root & ROM friendly phones. It's going to be WAY different, BUT you might want to consider the BlackBerry Mobile Motion which is coming out soon (or the KEYone if you want a keyboard), they sort of having a tile effect with running apps. Are you in the US? Looking for a good value phone? How about the Moto E4 /w offers for 99 dollars! ...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071YC3G5...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUwpUvbUpU3719752
What are you looking to spend? Or do you plan to go with carrier financing? Are you trying to get anything that looks and feels anything like Windows 10? If so Android is your best bet and a custom ROM. I'm sure there is one that makes the phone look like Windows 10. HTC is known to make root & ROM friendly phones. It's going to be WAY different, BUT you might want to consider the BlackBerry Mobile Motion which is coming out soon (or the KEYone if you want a keyboard), they sort of having a tile effect with running apps. Are you in the US? Looking for a good value phone? How about the Moto E4 /w offers for 99 dollars! ...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071YC3G5...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUwpUvbUpU3719752
xandros9
Active member
I think a slight mental change is needed to really get into figuring out whats best here.
Android has a reputation as a security nightmare but as long as you get security updates in a regular fashion you'll be okay, and you can get that from some manufacturers. (even if it may not be monthly - some do that though)
Apple may have a sort of conformity feel but their iOS devices do what they do well. You don't need to buy into Apple's ecosystem wholesale. They do work best with Macs and whatnot, but plenty use iPhones with that being their only piece of Apple gear like me. (with the exception of an old Macbook to see for myself how well they work together and how macOS works.)
As mentioned, I would figure out what you're looking for.
Google Pixel phones are the gold-standard for pure Android update speed but they do have their own pros/cons.
Samsung Galaxy S_ and Note series phones are generally the best hardware you can get of their generation but often come with a load of extra features and apps that both add value/functionality and bog down the phone. So subjective, but they're the top dog here.
LG finds itself playing second-fiddle to Samsung and is just shaking off some manufacturing issues but can be a good value. (see: G6, V30) The Lancer Evo to Samsung's Subaru WRX.
Motorola has some cool high-end phones but they shine in the lower end of the market if you're looking to spend only a couple benjamins on a competent phone.
Apple is the gold standard in update frequency and support length (~5 years of OS updates vs. Android's 2-years of OS updates + one more of security) They do the job, work best with other Apple gadgets and are a safe, typically more conservative, if initially pricey choice.
Android has a reputation as a security nightmare but as long as you get security updates in a regular fashion you'll be okay, and you can get that from some manufacturers. (even if it may not be monthly - some do that though)
Apple may have a sort of conformity feel but their iOS devices do what they do well. You don't need to buy into Apple's ecosystem wholesale. They do work best with Macs and whatnot, but plenty use iPhones with that being their only piece of Apple gear like me. (with the exception of an old Macbook to see for myself how well they work together and how macOS works.)
As mentioned, I would figure out what you're looking for.
Google Pixel phones are the gold-standard for pure Android update speed but they do have their own pros/cons.
Samsung Galaxy S_ and Note series phones are generally the best hardware you can get of their generation but often come with a load of extra features and apps that both add value/functionality and bog down the phone. So subjective, but they're the top dog here.
LG finds itself playing second-fiddle to Samsung and is just shaking off some manufacturing issues but can be a good value. (see: G6, V30) The Lancer Evo to Samsung's Subaru WRX.
Motorola has some cool high-end phones but they shine in the lower end of the market if you're looking to spend only a couple benjamins on a competent phone.
Apple is the gold standard in update frequency and support length (~5 years of OS updates vs. Android's 2-years of OS updates + one more of security) They do the job, work best with other Apple gadgets and are a safe, typically more conservative, if initially pricey choice.
This is exactly how I feel. I'm looking to jump to Android mostly because I am looking for the following features that my 950 had. Here is what I am looking for:
Any ideas/help you all have would be greatly appreciated.
- Qi wireless charging. I have spent a small fortune in Qi chargers. I get that it seems like the trend is to just have phones with massive batteries, but I prefer to plop my phone down whenever and wherever to keep it topped off
- Fingerprint scanner on front. The one thing I wished the L950 had was this. Face unlock was decent, but my face had to be too close. I don't like the ones on the back as they all invite you to smudge your finger across the camera, amongst other issues.
- I would like a removable battery, mainly for the reason that it allowed me to hide my metallic plate for my dashboard magnet mount behind the battery cover, without interrupting the Qi wireless ability ... OK OK, the car is the ONE place I use the a cable to charge my phone. If anyone knows a way around this without a removable battery I would like to know!
- Sounds hypocritical from the guy who just said he had wireless chargers everywhere, but I would prefer USB-C to micro-USB. Micro-USB are the worst connectors, the reversibility of USB-C is huge.
Any ideas/help you all have would be greatly appreciated.
xandros9
Active member
Qi wireless charging - the iPhone 8, 8+, X have it. In Android land, it varies a bit. I believe the LG G6 US model has it as well as Samsung's S6 and newer with it being optional on the S5.
It's a Moto Mod option on the Moto Z series phones.
The Moto Z series and iPhone's except the X have fingerprint scanners on the front, most are on the back otherwise I believe.
Removable batteries have gone the way of the dodo for the most part. I believe the LG G5 and V20 are the last high-end phones to feature it. Not sure if they have Qi.
USB-C is fairly commonplace in high-end Androids now so its probably not a problem.
ski200345
New member
You should look into getting the note8 smartphone. It packs everything you want into the best looking and usable phone there is . You can watch great videos and everything on there. It is a bit expensive compared to some models so i would suggest you do a swappa imei check right when you get the phone to verify its not backlisted.
This phone has the wireless charging. Fast charging as well and has the best accesories you can buy for note8.
This phone has the wireless charging. Fast charging as well and has the best accesories you can buy for note8.
All reasons why the Lumia 950/950XL were actually pretty well designed phones. If Microsoft had put forward facing fingerprint scanners on them they would have been PERFECT. While my Lumia 950 still works, I do want to kind of get ahead on Android and feel it out so that if/when my Lumia 950 dies I can have an idea of how I will deal with having an Android phone. I think I ended up deciding on going for the Motorola G5 Plus. Costco has them for $169 thru Monday. If I end up going all in probably will end up with the Moto Z with the Qi mod. Anyone know if they make a case to go over the phone AND Qi mod?
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