My next phone was in 2000. Even as I write that, it felt like a LOT longer than 2 years between me in Chicago and me back home. I was working with a small business doing computer and graphics work and eventually talked them into giving me a cell phone. It was a Nextel i1000 and at the time it was the high end Nextel clam-shell style phone. To me at least it looked more like a phone where most Nextel phones looked like walkie talkies. That lasted a little less than a year.
I feel like I"m forgetting a phone or two, but the next phone I remember is the Samsung Blade that I got in January of 2006. It just doesn't feel like I went 5 years without a phone. Obviously if I did have one in that time frame, it was highly forgettable. Anywho, the Blade was Samsung's answer to the Motorola Razor. It was... meh. It was expensive, made of metal, felt good in the hand and worked... but it was meh.
Next up was the Palm Centro. That was a far more useful phone, but it was in between a smart phone and a dumb phone. Following that was LG Rumor Touch, but much like the Centro it wasn't quite a real smart phone. I think I had that one for a couple years as the next phone came when I was a nurse and therefore started my track of 'real' phones. The Nokia was one I could barely afford and had done zero research about. The Nextel was one from my work and I had no choice in. The Blade was a last gasp at a folding phone and while premium, was still a dinosaur. The Centro and Rumor were both cheap phones when I wanted more, but couldn't afford them.
So 2013 gave me the Samsung Galaxy S4. This is my first personal introduction to Android as I'd played with friends' phones before, but this one was all mine. I got to learn what I liked and didn't like about Android. I quickly learned that I didn't like Samsung's version. It was FULL of bloat ware and they heavily modified Android. While using the S4 I got a tablet that had a far more basic implementation of Android and really wanted to continue on that path. I also learned that the 5 inch screen was too small for me. No, there weren't a lot of options out at the time that were larger, but I still found the smaller screen frustrating. I used the phone enough as an internet consumption device (web sites, videos, music...) that I'd have to put it aside and move to the computer or at least get out my tablet.
I briefly considered the Samsung Note 2 as it was coming out, but I figured it would have the same Samsung bloatware and changes to the OS, so in January of 2015 I went instead with Shamu. That's the code name for the Google Nexus 6 (made by Motorola). While the phone was almost universally hated, I loved it. it's huge (by the standards of the time) 5.96 inch screen was perfect for using all the time and only slightly smaller than my tablet. It could still fit in my pocket and best of all had NO bloatware or changes to the OS. This was what Google intended Android to be. This is also when I became a fan of following what Google was doing with phones and going on a more or less two year upgrade cycle.
Two years, in my opinion, is about the length of time a phone should be used. By the end of that time frame the battery is reduced to the point of being useless. So, I didn't look at other phone offerings seriously and skipped the Nexus 6P the following year. I did, however, join Googles experimental phone service called Project Fi. Fi was designed with the Nexus and later phones in mind as it had a feature that I loved... service swapping. I'm not sure what they call it exactly, but where most services like this link up to one of the major carriers (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobil), Project Fi would switch between Sprint and T-Mobil. Whoever had the strongest signal at the time. It would also always push you to a WiFi connection, if available, and let you make calls over that. So suddenly I got GREAT coverage in my house and only rarely found myself with a weak signal anywhere.
The next year Google dropped the whole Nexus system where it was obviously a phone from another manufacturer and Google just controlled the software. Instead, Google hired a company to make THEIR phone and called it the Pixel in October of 2016. I pre-ordered it and got it in November of that year. I LOVED my Pixel XL. Hardware wise it was a little step back from the Nexus 6 as it only had a 5.5 inch screen, lacked water proofing, and was VERY expensive (the Nexus line was always known for being inexpensive), but it ran incredibly fast and took the very best photos of any phone camera.
My only problem with the Pixel was memory. My Samsung had like 16 Gigs of memory and it was fine. My Nexus had 32 and was more than fine. So when I got my Pixel XL, I just stayed with that. Well... apps, pictures, videos... they all kept getting bigger and I started to have to juggle what was on my phone as I was constantly bumping up against that 32 Gig limit. When they introduced the Pixel 2 in October of 2017, I jumped on board. My Pixel 2XL with 128 Gigs of memory was super fine. Better camera, better hardware design, more memory, better battery. I let Mom use my Pixel XL and finally went on a run of two years. I skipped the Pixel 3 series as mine was running just fine, had plenty of battery life, and the 3 just wasn't a big step above the 2.
Over 2018 my battery started to really flag. It was getting lower and lower and I could barely make it a day without charging. Now, most days this wasn't a problem. In both Isabella and Nina I was connecting the phone during my commutes to work so that I could listen to podcasts. That meant I was charging the phone for an hour on each way of my daily commute. BUT when I went traveling or just out with friends, the phone wasn't cutting it.
No problem as, after all, that was part of my plan. I waited through all the phone introductions of 2019 for the last major one. The Pixel 4. I actually took the day off work so that I could watch the announcement and pre-order it. I had heard rumors that they'd have an orange version and I wanted that one as soon as possible. I was lucky to take the day as the orange one sold out in minutes and was ONLY available at launch.
The phone itself was another iterative step. It had two cameras instead of one, but the extra camera was a telephoto and not a wide angle lens. I'd rather have the wide angle, but I was doing just fine without one. It gave up all fingerprint sensors and instead had a facial unlocking system like the iPhone has had for a couple years. It also had a radar based motion sense feature that would see your hand above it and act accordingly. While their main reason for the motion sense seems to be for swapping between songs without touching the phone (lame), I liked it because it would 'wake' the phone as soon as your hand went near it and made it INCREDIBLY fast for unlocking. You see, the iPhone starts trying to see your face when you hit the screen or one of the buttons. The Pixel 4 starts looking for your face as soon as your hand gets near it. It might only be a half a second, but it feels so much faster. It also had a 90Hz refresh rate which makes the screen buttery smooth to use. Since I'd been using an iPad Pro with it's 120Hz refresh rate for around a year, I could see that difference between the Pixel 2XL and the Pixel 4XL.
But then the honeymoon was over. First, the 90Hz feature would only come on periodically. I could notice it sometime and while it didn't really get jarring or in the way, I wanted it to be 90Hz all the time. I found a hack to make it go into 90Hz mode all the time but DAMN did that ever eat up the battery. And the battery itself, well even without the 90Hz hack it was barely lasting a day. With the hack it wouldn't last a day. It barely lasted a day even while charging it for 2 hours of driving every work day. So I had to turn that back down to the 60/90Hz and limp along with the battery as is.
The more I thought about it though, the more upset I grew over the battery. Why the hell would I use a phone that might day any day I use it away from a charger? On my trip to Dallas and San Fran, the phone died on more than one occasion. On most days when I was away from the car I had to actually pay attention to the battery and usage to get what time I could out of it.
And now yesterday. Yesterday J and I went to Grand Rapids to see an exhibit at their museum (Bodies Revealed, which was amazing!). I drove us over with my phone connected to Nina and providing navigation. We parked at about 11 AM and that's when I disconnected my phone. We went through the museum where I took a few photos (none of the Bodies Revealed as those are real human bodies and that would just be disrespectful). We then went over to a great brewery and had a beer with a few more photos. Then on to another brewery with another beer and another couple photos. And finally on to a lounge for a burger, some beer, and a few more photos. I used the phone to get the two Uber rides we used and the photos and maybe pulled it out 4 times to get information. I uploaded a few photos to facebook and then checked the phone several times during the day to catch any missed messages and facebook replies.
We returned to the car right around 6 PM. That's 7 hours, starting at 100% charge, on what I would call a light day. I didn't use the phone for music at all. I took a total of 22 photos (one day in San Fran I took 55 photos and still considered that a light day!). I honestly consider my internet usage, including Facebook, as light. And when I got into my car and checked, the batter was at 60%. A little less than half! And if you consider that the phone goes into battery saving mode at 15%, that was more or less more than half the battery life in less than half of a normal day.
This will not remain sustainable for 2 years.
I know that I'm going to replace the phone before the Pixel 6. It's just a fact at this point. The real question is whether I can wait until the Pixel 5 in October of 2020, and that is just a complicated question as I've kind of painted myself in the corner.
Let's look at what I want in a phone now without just focusing on the Pixel line.
- I want great battery life
- Duh
- I want a great camera
- I've been spoiled by having the best camera phone for 4 years now. Yes, sometimes the Galaxy line is slightly better in some ways and yes, sometimes the iPhone is better in some ways, but regardless the Pixel line of phones is either best or tied for best.
- I want a premium/flagship phone
- I like the premium feel of top of the line phones. Their weight and their use of metal and glass just makes it feel like a quality product in the hand and I don't want to switch to something that feels cheap.
- I want a freaking gorgeous screen.
- 1080 resolution isn't going to cut it. 300 pixels per inch isn't going to cut it. Let's face it, you look at your phone's screen more than anything else and it's how you interact with it. It has to be fine and beautiful.\
- I want it to have a fast screen
- It's hard to step back to 60Hz when you've been on both the 90Hz and 120Hz trains!
- I want it to have at least 128 Gigs of storage
- This shouldn't be a problem as the other features I want make 128 Gigs easy to attain.
- I want it to be fast
- This is subjective but its important. I shouldn't have to wait on the phone to do what I want. This generally means having a lot of memory, little to no bloatware, and an operating system that stays up to date for the 2 years I want to use it.
- I want it to have a USB C charging port
- Realistically all phones have this now and it's important as I don't want to switch out all the cables I have. There is, however, one phone that this affects.
- I want it to work on Google Fi
- I don't want to change carriers, but I also really love the switching between Wifi, Sprint, T-Mobile, and now US Cellular.
So where does that leave me? Well here are the phones that I'm considering along with the points they meet and the ones they don't.
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- The battery on the Pro Max lasts more than a full day of heavy usage. It has a great 3 camera setup including a wide angle lens. It, along with the Pixel 4, is considered the best camera this year. It's very premium. It's screen is considered one of, if not THE, best screen on a phone today. While it starts at 64 Gigs of storage it has options with 256 Gigs and 512 Gigs. iPhones are always fast and this should remain fast over 2 years with updates directly from Apple.
- The screen on any iPhone (pro or not) is 60Hz. The iPhones still (pro or not) use the lightning cable and not USB C. It will work on Google Fi, but it's not easy and not all the features will work properly. And when I say features, I mean features of Google Fi AND features of the iPhone. It won't do carrier switching OR Wifi calling.
- OnePlus 7 Pro
- They say even with the 90Hz screen it lasts more than a full day of normal to heavy use. It has a very good screen that also clocks in at 90Hz. It come standard with 128 Gigs of storage and can come with 256. It's fast... BLAZING FAST... and gets fairly fast OS updates. It has a fast USB C charging port.
- It's camera is... well, it's meh. Not good. Barely 'Not Bad'. It's right underneath premium, although this is the most premium feeling phone OnePlus has made. It will work on Google Fi, but not do the carrier switching or the WiFi calling.
- Samsung Galaxy Note 10+
- The Note 10 Plus has the largest battery here and should last longer than the 7 Pro since it has a 60Hz screen. It has a great camera.... probably 3rd best behind the Pixel and iPhone. It's very premium. It has the best looking android screen hands down. It's fast, for now. It has plenty of storage options and starts at 128 Gigs. It has a fast USB C charging port.
- It's screen is only 60Hz. It's fast for now, but Samsung phones don't get good updates and often slow down as they have quite a bit of bloat ware. Their changes to the OS are better than when I had the Galaxy S4, but they are still there. It will work on Google Fi the same as the OnePlus 7 Pro.
Okay, so the iPhone leaves me changing cables, moving to an new OS (although one I'm used to with the use of the iPad), and more or less forces me to move from Google Fi. The OnePlus is the least premium and has the worst cameras out of the 4 phones. The Note 10 Plus is... well, it's a Samsung and bloated and doesn't have a fast screen.
None of these are perfect. I could make a case for switching to any of these three just as easily as making a case for dismissing any of these three.
I think, IF I'm going to change, I would lean to the OnePlus 7 Pro. It's only $500 where both the iPhone and the Samsung are over $1000 (just like the Pixel!). I can look at it as less than premium, but it's not like it's a cheap phone. If I want photos like I took in San Fran or this museum trip, I can always bring my Fuji mirror less camera which will get me better photos than any of these phones.
What I'd really be missing out on for the photos are those out of the blue snapshots. While mom was in the hospital my brother B and his family went out and got some good food, and I like those photos. I've taken some random snapshots of Nina that I really like and wouldn't have had my Fuji for.
I guess I have to stop there. I'd like to try an iPhone, but it has to have... HAS to have... a USB C connection, and I just don't want to jump back on the Samsung train. Now I just have to figure if I want to spend $500 for a phone to replace my $1000 phone less than 2 months after buying it.
I'll let you know. For now, I'm gonna go watch some OnePlus 7 Pro reviews.
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