[Buying advice]Budget 450-500USD, need waterproofing, wireless charging, rooting (A MUST!), and custom rom support. Been out of the phone loop.

[dj-electric]

If you need to browse without ads just use Brave or something. Your requests for the infinity gauntlet of phones for 500$ is a tough one

 

[dgianstefani]

Galaxy S9.

 

[remixedcat]

If you need to browse without ads just use Brave or something. Your requests for the infinity gauntlet of phones for 500$ is a tough one

Ads drain battery baaad. I need more than just browser blocking

 

[er557]

some ads enable certain apps to work, including web pages, it usually is not an intrusion, certainly not a battery drain in today's technology

 

[Deleted member 67555]

Don't most carriers give you hotspot now?
I think they all limit or throttle videos over the network.
I don't bother with root anymore...
Truth be told I got a $100 discount for having Amazon apps preinstalled on my phone...it was easy to disable all of them.
I think you just search on Amazon for Android phones with Alexa.. I paid $179 for a moto G6 with Alexa


Anyways here is literally the best phone in your price range

Amazon.com: Razer Phone 2 (New): Unlocked Gaming Smartphone – 120Hz QHD Display – Snapdragon 845 – Wireless Charging – Chroma – 8GB RAM - 64GB - Mirror Black Finish: Gateway

Buy Razer Phone 2 (New): Unlocked Gaming Smartphone - 120Hz QHD Display - Snapdragon 845 - Wireless Charging - Chroma - 8GB RAM - 64GB - Mirror Black Finish: Cell Phones & Accessories - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[Gasaraki]

But even Samsung and Apple have warranty disclaimers that if the phone is water damaged it will not be covered by warranty. So why the need for an IP rating and the need for such? Pay extra money for an IP rating just to be out of a phone that has water damage because it went for a swim however brief or long. I understand it is Linus's Blanket to have and IP rating but no warranty covering the IP is lazy. That means they paid for a rating that they are not willing to stand behind. At least with my Moose Lights if they fail because of water, I can send them back for new ones under warranty.

Because water resistant IP ratings prevent water damage? It's not like water resistances in phons is for them, it's for the end users.

 

[remixedcat]

The Razer phone looks good so far

 

[moproblems99]

The Razer phone looks good so far

I don't see any IP ratings and hopefully it is better than their PC products but overall looks like a decent phone.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I don't bother with root anymore...

That is a mistake..

Anyways here is literally the best phone in your price range

Amazon.com: Razer Phone 2 (New): Unlocked Gaming Smartphone – 120Hz QHD Display – Snapdragon 845 – Wireless Charging – Chroma – 8GB RAM - 64GB - Mirror Black Finish: Gateway

Buy Razer Phone 2 (New): Unlocked Gaming Smartphone - 120Hz QHD Display - Snapdragon 845 - Wireless Charging - Chroma - 8GB RAM - 64GB - Mirror Black Finish: Cell Phones & Accessories - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

This is not..

 

[Papahyooie]

The best thing you will ever get in that price range is the Pixel 3a. Someone said on page 1 that it didn't have root... it's a google phone. Of course it has root, as long as you buy it direct from google. Unlocked bootloader is about 3 taps away, run a root script, done. It can't get easier.

 

[lexluthermiester]

The best thing you will ever get in that price range is the Pixel 3a.

That is not a good phone. No microsd for starters...

 

[R-T-B]

That is a mistake..

Meh. Custom firmware support is more important to me than root too. It's part of why I like moto phones... many of them are bootloader unlockable and they list which ones openly. You can thereby use Project Treble to load whatever you want, really.

That is not a good phone. No microsd for starters...

I have always hated that about pixels. If it weren't for that they'd be pretty decent though.

 

[Papahyooie]

That is not a good phone. No microsd for starters...

"That is not a good phone" is objectively false. Fair point about the micro SD card. Also, not in the OP's requirements, so irrelevant.

 

[lexluthermiester]

"That is not a good phone" is objectively false. Fair point about the micro SD card. Also, not in the OP's requirements, so irrelevant.

Not really. Not the only complaint, it also does not have a great battery nor great battery life. The Pixel 3a XL would be a MUCH better phone because of the larger battery(22%) if not for the lack of microsd.

Google Pixel 3a - Full phone specifications

www.gsmarena.com

Google Pixel 3a XL - Full phone specifications

www.gsmarena.com

My latest personal fav is the Blackberry Key2

BlackBerry KEY2 LE - Full phone specifications

www.gsmarena.com

But if the OP doesn't want to the physical keyboard the Evolve X is excellent as well;

BlackBerry Evolve X - Full phone specifications

www.gsmarena.com

This one has the Qualcomm SDM660 Snapdragon 660 SOC and with a 4000mah battery will last all day long with heavy use. EDIT; This one is confirmed water resistant.

EDIT;
Was looking for something else on Gearbest and found this;

https://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_009343162472.html

Xiaomi is actually one of the few very respectable Chinese brands. Worth a look. I know you said the company was not under consideration, but they've come a long way recently..

 

[Papahyooie]

Not really. Not the only complaint, it also does not have a great battery nor great battery life. The Pixel 3a XL would be a MUCH better phone because of the larger battery(22%) if not for the lack of microsd.

"Does not have great [insert whatever feature]" compared to what? An 800-1000 USD phone? You do have to take market segment into account. The truth is, while the Pixel 3a does lack some features, it's punching against 800 dollar phones, not the 400 dollar phones in its price range. It ticks all the boxes the OP wants except waterproofing, which can be fixed with a case. And it is ENORMOUSLY more capable phone than anything in that price range with a waterproof certification rating.

Pixel 3a's battery lasts longer than a day of full use. I don't think anything past that could be considered a benefit for normal use, and the OP didn't mention abnormally large battery as a requirement. The Pixel 3a has a faster processor and gpu than either of the blackberries. And once again, the OP did not mention a concern for an SD card slot. You're hawking a phone you like without addressing the OP's concerns. He didn't mention SD card slot as a requirement, so why would you compromise other aspects of what makes a phone good, for an SD card slot? You're more worried about hawking your favorite phone than the subject of the thread.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Pixel 3a's battery lasts longer than a day of full use.

Rubbish. One of my employee's has one and the thing barely gets him through lunchtime.

the OP didn't mention abnormally large battery as a requirement.

No, but just because it wasn't stated doesn't mean it's not worthy of serious consideration.

And once again, the OP did not mention a concern for an SD card slot.

See above. And both Blackberry models are water resistant. Hell even the Priv was water resistant. No phone is water "proof", I don't care what the certifications say..

You're more worried about hawking your favorite phone than the subject of the thread.

No, I'm recommending good phones with good to great specs & features at a reasonable price point that meet the one major requirement the OP stated, Qualcomm SOC. @remixedcat didn't state that it had to be the fastest SOC made, just has to be Qualcomm. Condition met. As for the rest of the mentioned desired features, the Evolve X has wireless charging, is unlocked and can be rooted.

 

[SoNic67]

I am using an S10 right now, unlocked version. Since the S7, I feel that I don't need to fudge anymore with unlocking the bootloader... Did that on Moto and Asus and I was disappointed.
Apps that I don't need? Disabled.
Ad blocker? For browsers, checked. For apps? In house I use the PiHole as DNS server that takes care of that.
Thethering? Works. Sometimes you need to check with your cell provider TOS, if not allowed (for free) they might catch you and terminate the service. Just go on a different provider, that has better TOS.
Also, Samsung Pay can work with magnetic POS too, not only NFC ones. That's a big plus to me... swing the face of the cashier at Walmart when he says "phone pay doesn't work" and I reply " Your iPhone doesn't, Samsung does" is priceless.

IMO, if I like an app, I pay for the pro version, without ads.
Also, I use as much as possible wired WiFi at my house, I don't abuse the cell provider terms and conditions.

 

[Papahyooie]

Rubbish. One of my employee's has one and the thing barely gets him through lunchtime.

No, but just because it wasn't stated doesn't mean it's not worthy of serious consideration.

See above. And both Blackberry models are water resistant. Hell even the Priv was water resistant. No phone is water "proof", I don't care what the certifications say..

No, I'm recommending good phones with good to great specs & features at a reasonable price point that meet the one major requirement the OP stated, Qualcomm SOC. @remixedcat didn't state that it had to be the fastest SOC made, just has to be Qualcomm. Condition met. As for the rest of the mentioned desired features, the Evolve X has wireless charging, is unlocked and can be rooted.

1. Anecdotal. Tell your employee to stop installing crapware games with popup ads that drain the battery. Everyone else in the world so far disagrees with you.
2. True, but you can't have everything in a $400 package.
3. They're water resistant, ok. They're also slow as hell by comparison. Buying a mid-2017 SoC in 2019 is just stupid. My recommendation would be to pick the thing that CAN'T be fixed by an accessory, rather than compromise speed and power in exchange for water resistance, that can be fixed with a simple case. If the OP is adamant against using a water resistant case, then I suppose your recommendation might be the best he/she can do. But my opinion stands: it's ridiculous to sacrifice speed for water resistance.


(EDIT: moreover, @OP, you're coming from a Nexus 6. I assume you love your Nexus 6 because, who doesn't ever?... The Pixel line is as close as you'll come to the Nexus line. It's a more than worthy successor, coming from a Pixel 3 owner.)

 

[bug]

Ads drain battery baaad. I need more than just browser blocking

No they don't. Scripts do. Use AdBlocker and NoScript and surf like there's no tomorrow. You can even let AdBlock's unobtrusive ads on.

 

[lexluthermiester]

1. Anecdotal. Tell your employee to stop installing crapware games with popup ads that drain the battery. Everyone else in the world so far disagrees with you.

Yeah, cause that's what going on. While you're at it, can I get tomorrows Power-Ball numbers from you?

2. True, but you can't have everything in a $400 package.

What was that a response to? TPU's reply system is excellent, learn how to use it.

They're also slow as hell by comparison.

There's your "Anecdotal" statement. Performance is relative. However, while the Snapdragon 636 might be a bit on the mid-range side, the 660 and 675 both are easily in the upper tier range. None of them will have any issues running today's range of apps & features and all of them are energy efficient.

But my opinion stands: it's ridiculous to sacrifice speed for water resistance.

Your opinion, and not a very good one. If the OP works in or will use the device in an environment which is subject to frequent water exposure, water resistance is an important feature which can not be understated.

You're making assumptions and making very little in the way of useful suggestions.

 

[Papahyooie]

Your opinion, and not a very good one.

Considering I have experience developing custom roms for Android, I'd fancy my opinion on what phones are good for it or not holds some weight. You're not obliged to agree, sure. I don't expect you to. But at least be civil. I expressed my recommendation, you expressed yours. I, however, did not directly quote you and attack your opinion. How's about we stick to answering the question in the thread, and stop the back and forth chit chat, eh? The OP will decide what's important to him. Have a good day.

 

[remixedcat]

I need the water resistance and it needs to be more than splashproof. my hand eye coordination is getting worse due to my disability, so I need it to be tough.. I've seen so many cases fail hard.

If the phone has 128GB storage I won't need an SD card as bad.

I do want more RAM than my 3GB on my Nexus 6. Stuff bloats after a while.

headphone jack I can actually live without in leiu of water proofing and getting more RAM.


but rooting is very important. can't go changing carriers all the time. need this phone to be avalible all times due to doctors calling a lot. changing carriers and wating for ports takes forever. need the hotspot for emergencies. I'm normally within wifi range when I go around town but for longer car rides I need it.

No they don't. Scripts do. Use AdBlocker and NoScript and surf like there's no tomorrow. You can even let AdBlock's unobtrusive ads on.

a lot of ads pull gps and that drains battery

 

[SoNic67]

"Need the hotspot for emergency". Huh? Like 911 emergency? Hotspot is used only when you use the phone to give Internet to a laptop or tablet.

My experience: I am on TotalWireless, running on Verizon's network. Hotspot works on S7, S9, S10 unlocked or Verizon firmwares. VoLTE is working too (absolutely needed on Verizon because they will shut down CDMA this December).

Rooting added only problems to my other phones.

 

[remixedcat]

I need to sometimes use a laptop or tablet over LTE and I don't want it to tattle lol.

 

[R-T-B]

I need to sometimes use a laptop or tablet over LTE and I don't want it to tattle lol.

Most carriers include tethering free now. There's no real way to stop it from counting against your data though.