What phone you use as your daily driver? And, a discussion of them.

[Zach_01]

~13 years on iPhone

iPhone4S
iPhone6S
iPhoneSE (2020)
iPhone15ProMax

About 4 years/device for the first 3.
I'd like to keep the last at least 5years. So far (1 year) battery is at 98% capacity with 168 charging cycles so it looks promising.
If I do keep it 5y, it will be about 210€/year avg.

Switching to the latest every year is just a waste IMO.

 

[3valatzy]

Android 14 is an extremely poor version. It is slow and power hungry / power hog. Why aren't there any power saving features in-built inside?
Will they release updates which fix the terrible Android 14 behaviour?

 

[Peter1986C]

Recently swithed from my HMD Global Nokia G21*, to a Pixel 8a (open box deal for €300) running GrapheneOS rather smoothly.

*which I intend to keep as a music player for locally stored music, disconnected from any network once security updates dry up.

 

[Scattergrunt]

Went from a Samsung Galaxy Luna to a S20 FE as my daily driver not too long ago. My philosophy, while not unique, is that on phones, or anything related to tech in general is that "If it works, if it does everything I need it to do, if the level of performance / capability is where I want it, then its fine."

I also own a I-Phone 13 but I literally never use the thing besides as a emergency phone. I don't have anything within the apple ecosystem to justify getting a new I-phone or using said I-Phone as my daily driver, in case anyone was wondering.

 

[RUSerious]

iPhone 15 Plus. Been using iPhones since the 6s. I upgrade ~ every three years.

 

[KetoRay]

OnePlus 12, before that version 11. I'm planning to upgrade to v13.

 

[BerArtVD]

Galaxy S23 Ultra

 

[jarablue]

I used to like big phones. Now I like the smaller ones. I have an S24 regular version. I don't want a mammoth sized phone in my hand anymore.

 

[igormp]

I used to like big phones. Now I like the smaller ones. I have an S24 regular version. I don't want a mammoth sized phone in my hand anymore.

I really miss my S10e, too bad it got damaged. Had to jump for the S22 (and later my current S24) since those were the "smallest" android phones available for me :/

 

[Crazybc]

I just use a pixel 7 . I got it for a good price new and bought it and I don't game on my phone . I just use it for texting, calls and to check on the weather and to read news feeds at work.. I use more then a few apps. but I don't need a $1,000 plus phone for doing what I do so this was a good choice for me. Its been good Zero issues so far,

 

[SchumannFrequency]

realme C11 3GB (RMX2185) released 2020, July 07

I bought this smartphone for 78 eur. I can compare it to the iPhone 13 (850 eur) that my sister has.

Points where the realme C11 beats the iPhone 13.
- 5000 mAh massive battery
- 6.5" mini-drop fullscreen display (= significantly larger screen)
- microSD and dual SIM
- 3.5 mm audio jack
- price (iPhone 13 was more than 10x more expensive)

Points where the iPhone 13 beats realme C11.
- processor and GPU
- camera (but 13MP AI dual camera is still good for a 78 eur smartphone)
- software support
- RAM

Where they are similar.
- user interface (realme's user interface is one of the best Android UIs)

 

[r.h.p]

I still use a iPhone 6s . since brand new . i broke the screen and bought a alkatel AUS $ 90 dollar phone ( not really into phone and socials ) .Then i thought i might try and get it fixed $65 i year later and it fired up again ! . Geez man i had obviously and didn't realize how much faster and good looking the screen was eh ..Stoked

 

[Apocalypsee]

This is my first flagship phone after quite some time, I don't think I ever use a flagship phone before, closest thing I ever use is Xperia ZL way way back in 2013. I bought it because my old Oppo Reno7 5G screen detached from the body together with the ribbon cable. I could fix it but buying the screen alone cost a lot so I better off buy a new one. I hesitate to buy this but I better buy one very good one instead of 2-3 budget phone every few years.

Only use a couple of days but this is what I like about it:
-battery life is damn good, at my office the reception is extremely poor, I mean REALLY poor that it usually drain my old phone battery dry. On this I still have 56% when I got back home while doing pretty much the same thing (play a few games, browsing and watching videos)
-3.5mm jack sounds rather good, I know it's just a regular Snapdragon DSP but the output is very clean (they tweak the grounding from what I read). Sony really missed opportunity to put some good DAC on this. It can drive my Senn HD555 just fine.
- Textured back makes the phone very easy to hold, although it looks like plastic but I would rather have this than super glossy back that looks nice but attract fingerprint and very slippery. Ordered a case should arriving in a few days.
-There is 'game enhancer' that allows you to tweak per game basis, what I do is put them all in power saving mode. Still, it runs the game beautifully and runs cool. Having flagship SoC means this is really a beast even in this mode, game looks great too.
- FHD+ on the 6.5inch screen, people losing their mind over this but at over 300+ PPI it's alright to me. Especially the better battery life it gives.

I've yet to try playing with the camera. Maybe I test them this weekend.

 

[avidgamer121]

realme C11 3GB (RMX2185) released 2020, July 07

I bought this smartphone for 78 eur. I can compare it to the iPhone 13 (850 eur) that my sister has.

Points where the realme C11 beats the iPhone 13.
- 5000 mAh massive battery
- 6.5" mini-drop fullscreen display (= significantly larger screen)
- microSD and dual SIM
- 3.5 mm audio jack
- price (iPhone 13 was more than 10x more expensive)

Points where the iPhone 13 beats realme C11.
- processor and GPU
- camera (but 13MP AI dual camera is still good for a 78 eur smartphone)
- software support
- RAM

Where they are similar.
- user interface (realme's user interface is one of the best Android UIs)

back in those days, i bought a realme c3, specifically 1 month after it launched (mar 2020). It was an excellent phone, performance was decent for moderate gaming, was the cheapest phone with 4gb ram in Indian market for only 8k (roughly 95$). Camera was really good considering the price, ran pretty smooth while browsing and normal use, loved realme ui too, i kinda miss that on my current moto edge 50 fusion.

play a few games, browsing and watching videos

is that what you do in your office?

 

[Ruru]

Still going with the iPhone SE 2020 I bought used 13 months ago, with iOS 18.4.1. Runs hella fluid unlike older phones with their last supported iOS (ugh, iPhone 4S with iOS9 was horrible... I still have an iPad2 with iOS 9.3.5 and talk about sluggish)

 

[FoulOnWhite]

iphone 12 pro max 256gb

 

[Chrispy_]

I just traded my Pixel 8 Pro for a Pixel 8a, which would seem like a massive downgrade to many people - I've lost the 30W fast charging, the optical zoom lens, the IR sensor, some battery capacity, 4GB RAM and 128GB of storage - but I'm so happy with the downgrade.

The Pixel 8 Pro was a warehouse error, they sent me four Pixel 8 Pro instead of four Pixel 8a and didn't seem too fussed about me keeping the Pros at the 8a's price. I used one thinking I'd enjoy the flagship but over the first few weeks the sheer heft and size of it really started to piss me off. Too big to fit in most of my pockets properly and too big to one-hand comfortably.

Modern phones are too big. If you're regularly gaming or watching movies on a phone, then you obviously want the largest phone you can get your hands on, but I consider movies and gaming on a phone to be pretty awful experiences; Tiny screens ruin many movies and mobile gaming is, for the most part, a ad-infested cesspit marred by a horrible touch interface. This is just my own opinion of course but I care about the compactness and pocketability (is that even a word?) far more than gaming on a phone. I'm a gamer so I have a Steam Deck for portable gaming, and a huge majority of the population aren't gamers.

 

[theFOoL]

I'm still rocking SAMSUNG A53 5G but yes I need to upgrade lol. Still runs perfectly Fine. Back when I ran LG G4/V20

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

I just traded my Pixel 8 Pro for a Pixel 8a, which would seem like a massive downgrade to many people - I've lost the 30W fast charging, the optical zoom lens, the IR sensor, some battery capacity, 4GB RAM and 128GB of storage - but I'm so happy with the downgrade.

The Pixel 8 Pro was a warehouse error, they sent me four Pixel 8 Pro instead of four Pixel 8a and didn't seem too fussed about me keeping the Pros at the 8a's price. I used one thinking I'd enjoy the flagship but over the first few weeks the sheer heft and size of it really started to piss me off.

Modern phones are too big. If you're regularly gaming or watching movies on a phone, then you obviously want the largest phone you can get your hands on, but I consider movies and gaming on a phone to be very poor experiences that ruin either the game or the movie. This is just my opinion but I care about the compactness and pocketability (is that a word) far more than a slightly less bad gaming or movie-watching experience.

I run a P8Pro with a Spiegen Tough Armor (aka thicc) case and I have never struggled to put it in a pocket. Maybe some breast pockets on button-down shirts, but I rarely put it in there anyways.

I browse the internet and watch a fair amount of Youtube on my phone, so the big screen is nice.

 

[Hugis]

The old realme 9T has gone on music duties for my restaurant - bluetooth AAC -> Sony XG300 speaker.

Now on a Moto G54 5g (8/256) - it's had 2 Android OS updates allready ,lol started on 13 now on 15.

 

[Hyderz]

16 pro max 512gb… great phone… over priced af… I said to myself no buying phones until 2030

 

[paulwarden]

i now have a kingkong star as my daily phone as the previous phone i had a ONE plus 10 pro 5g started to crack and shatter on the back even when in a case

 

[Kovoet]

Samsung S21 which suits my needs. My wife is still on the S8 and won't change

 

[FoulOnWhite]

16 pro max 512gb… great phone… over priced af… I said to myself no buying phones until 2030

I like the size of the pro max, 12 pro max mine, and i like the better cam, with the Lidar focus thing.

 

[Lew Zealand]

Still going with the iPhone SE 2020 I bought used 13 months ago, with iOS 18.4.1. Runs hella fluid unlike older phones with their last supported iOS (ugh, iPhone 4S with iOS9 was horrible... I still have an iPad2 with iOS 9.3.5 and talk about sluggish)

I have an iPad 3 running iOS 9.3.6 and it works great. However it ground to a complete halt a few years ago, it would just lock up and could not do anything even after multiple restarts. Force wiped it a few times connected to a computer and it eventually was able to restore and it works very well now. Turns out that reinstalling the OS every decade or so helps a ton with performance! Your iPad 2 CPU is identical, the 3 just has a faster GPU to deal with the Retina screen so you should be able to restore performance if you're interested and have a free afternoon to wrestle with it.

BIG word of caution: many of your Apps/Games may no longer be available from the store as the Devs pulled them over time, so you should do a local Mac/PC backup of the iPad, including all your iOS Apps. I couldn't do this because mine was unresponsive and lost about 1/3 of my games, including ones no longer available like all 3 Infinity Blades.

Dammit!

Good luck!