yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[General Questions and Answers] jaed.43725:
Lots of phones fit that. Have you looked at the FairPhone? USB-C is a big spread. Do you want 3.0, 3.1, 3.2? Does it need to do video out?

The 2x SIM thing will really help you narrow it down though. Is an e-SIM OK?

Everything is fast charging now as that is really more of a feature of the wattage USB-C can push and receive.

Cameras are all about the same now. I know I dont really take pics or video so for me I could have stopped at 12MB, LOL. But for some that is a big deal.

The ease of root is one of the biggest factors you have here. I do not have that answer. But find the hardware you want, then look at the rooting thread for each of those and see what the steps entail and read to see if anyone is having issues with it.
[General Questions and Answers] Snakeforhire:
While still being sort of annoying with their 7-day wait period (and mandating you link your "Mi account" to it as a prerequisite) before you can unlock your bootloader as well as their MIUI overlay (you either like it or hate it, there is rarely an average reaction to it), in spite of these drawbacks they seem to be one of the most "3rd-party developer" friendly.

Or the least "developer-averse", that works too.. ^^

But, provided your device is popular enough and as long as you aren't afraid of unlocking the BL of your phone and rooting it, you end up (a few months after the device's launch date that is) having a nice choice of custom ROMs, AOSP or MIUI-based.

My daily driver and favorite is Xiaomi.EU : you get the best of what MIUI offers, minus the bloatware.

PS : my two devices (one for "production use" and one for "testing&development") are POCO phones (a subsidiary of Xiaomi which focuses on the mid-range markets) : my daily driver is a F5, and my test phone is a X3Pro. 😃

Counting those two, I am totalling 4 Xiaomi devices, starting Aug. '21 to now. 🙂
[General Questions and Answers] Snakeforhire:
"Awesome"? WindowsPhone getting a foothold in the mobile OS market ?? 😳😲😯😮

Need I remind you that WindowsPhone was a closed-source OS, just a tiny tad less hermetic to external development than Apple's IOS?

I thank God that this scourge ended up being an abysmal failure and a brutal -and very public- humiliation for Micro$oft !! May it rot in Development Hell for tha aeons to come ! (can I get a amen-uh? 😄)
[General Questions and Answers] jaed.43725:
Awesome indeed because it gives choice to people. And you never know what could come out of it. Sure it was closed then, but you never know if it would have opened up, or if someone would have made a Ubuntu for it or anything.

What do you think about the rest of the OSs that I named?
[General Questions and Answers] jparks29:
I'm looking for a new (used) device and was hoping someone could possibly point me in the right direction and/or give me some insight.

I'm unashamedly pro-Samsung. I've been running Samsung flagship devices for over a decade.. However, I'm open to options.

Usage case - T-mobile just gave me a 'free' line.... but it's BYOD - no financing. I currently have an S21 and Pixel 6 on my account. Both have been decent. This 'free' line will be used as a backup hotspot, so 5G is important, and I'd like it to have a relatively decent processor. Preferably Snapdragon 888 or newer. I run an android app that tunnels data through a router, and makes it appear as if it's coming from the phone, TTL mangling, among other things. It should work on any Qualcomm based device.

I also want the device to be for games. So a larger screen would be preferable.

So far, I've found 2 devices that seem to fit the bill. the S21, and the OnePlus 9. Both are sitting around the $250 price point, and since this won't be a daily driver, I'd like to use the opportunity to experiment a bit, so the S21, despite it being my everyday phone for almost 2 years now, is actually lower on the preferred list.

It can't be so obscure or awkward that I can't get a rugged case for it. I run cases similar to OtterBox Defender on ALL my phones, and the rugged case option is a must.

Are there any other devices with similar capability, in same price range ($200-250) that I might be overlooking?
[General Questions and Answers] EthanG01:
Hi everyone,

I’m looking for a new Android phone preferably one that is priced around $449 or £350 maximum. I’m hoping to find a phone that has latest SOC or one that’s a generation or two behind if that cuts cost?

I’ve had a bad experience with Samsung phones as their software is terrible very glitchy in my experience. I’ve been looking at the Pixel 7a phone as I previously owned a pixel 5a which was very good at the time currently now using an iPhone 13 Pro Max.

As far as specs hoping to have decent Bluetooth for wireless headphones, 1080P screen, 5000Mah Battery (If possible) and finally a phone that has close to stock Android experience or the bootloader can be unlocked and a decent ROM like Lineage OS can be flashed?

Any recommendations of phones I’d really appreciate it!

My friend has said he thinks I should get the Moto x40 imported from China to the U.K and flash global Rom but I am not too sure at the moment if it’s a good idea.
[General Questions and Answers] jaed.43725:
You can buy a used Pixel 6 for that much, and possibly a Pixel 7. OnePlus might have something as well. And there is also the NothingPhone and FairPhone also
[General Questions and Answers] skeet5:
I have a OnePlus 5T, and while i've been happy with it for the last 5-6 years, it's starting to glitch out and pack up. So, now i'm in the market for a new phone and i'm looking for suggestions.

I'm currently between the OnePlus 11, Asus Zenfone 10 (whenever it comes States-side), and Pixel 7 Pro, if people have thoughts on these or other good options I haven't run across.

I like OnePlus's lack of bloatware and the fact that i could easily change the Launcher/UI. Also the fact that i went years only having to charge it for 20-30 min every 2-4 days was great.

Personally, i'd like more memory and RAM since i've got a music collection that's about 200-GB plus podcasts and the like. I've noticed that expandable memory is hard to come by with phones these days and the ones i've found don't seem like great options. The Sony phones, for example, seem a bit too expensive and i'm not sure they're worth it.
[General Questions and Answers] SigmundDroid:
Then you should a get a decent phone with card slot and not join the bunch of jerks like here:

https://community.oneplus.com/thread/737018

:giggle: Sorry, couldn't resist to mock those self proclaimed geeks (it's not like such feature would hurt them).

Besides, making a slot mandatory also makes the search for a replacement much easier.
[General Questions and Answers] mikek753:
Pls. recommend me replacement for op7pro

I need :

1. video output via USB Type-C

2. unlocked bootloader for easy root

3. root
[General Questions and Answers] that_android_htc_fan:
thinking to get a old device, like a S3 or LG Optimus.
[General Questions and Answers] tamilgeek:
What is the best mobile phone available in India under a budget of 15,000 Indian rupees that meets the following criteria:

=> Allows to flash custom ROMs like LineageOS. (Optional)

=> Atleast it must Allows easy removal of preloaded apps (de-bloat feature). (Main Requirement)

=> Offers good performance and reliability.

I am specifically looking for a phone that provides the flexibility to install custom ROMs and remove preloaded apps. Your recommendations and insights would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!"
[General Questions and Answers] 181jenkins:
Really Cant Decide Between The Samsung S23 Ultra And The Pixel 7 Pro

Hey guys so , i get a upgrade soon.... i and iv had Samsung/pixel phones before, the last 3 years iv had the S21 Ultra, and before that a pixel. i love both brands. but im having a tuff time picking this time around.

ill be using it mostly for pictures, and i want a long battery life. i do watch content, but apart from that i dont really game, but i could do now and again, i have a steam deck so thats pretty much covered. whats your guys opinions?, i.e what would you choose? and why?

thanks XDA Fam,
[General Questions and Answers] Dafelleant:
I'd recommend you to wait for Pixel 8 Pro release and then decide which one you want more.
[General Questions and Answers] Umeaboy:
I'm looking to purchase the Pinephone Pro.

Open sourced all the way and free from bloatware.
[General Questions and Answers] mrrocketdog:
there is a group on "telegram" that has some good info if interested on reading the ups and downs. js
[General Questions and Answers] espionage724:
I have a OnePlus 6 currently, and it's a size that borders on being awkward to hold at times. I picked up a generic 7-inch tablet and realized I particularly like this form factor and want it as a 4G LTE VoLTE phone! It also has to have active official LineageOS support. I vaguely recall having a Samsung cellular tablet but it didn't directly allow calls because it was a tablet or something?

I'm looking for a cellular (calls and texts) 7-inch tablet with official LineageOS support.
[General Questions and Answers] espionage724:
Go for it!

I tried that with a Lenovo T500 laptop and ASUS KCMA-D8 desktop a little while back with Libreboot and blobs stripped. It was neat being able to do that!

I need a cheap mobile to run certain apps, and it seems way more affordable to just go for a cheap unlock and dev-friendly Android and run without Gapps, vs the price of a phone that can run Linux and Waydroid at decent performance.

I chose a OnePlus 6 a little while back because it has official LineageOS support, is cheap, great performance, and has 8GB of RAM. I run LineageOS for microG mainly for Pokemon GO, but apparently the extra location implementations can also be useful for contributing to Mozilla and OCID. What really sold me was that it could run native Windows 10 and 11 ARM versions, and it has good support with Ubuntu Touch.

It also has double the RAM and is half the price of Pinephone Pro :p
[General Questions and Answers] rawrdroid:
So I previously had a Moto G4 and a 2020 G Stylus. The UI, simplicity, and the multi-day battery were great but the cameras were not. G Stylus had a decent megapixel count but I guess lacked good software to refine it the way a Pixel or an Iphone do, at least at the time.

I picked up a 6 Pro for a trip and the camera is fantastic but everything else is terrible.

Curved glass screens are awful, not being able to power off easily if I disable assistant because the button stops functioning if I do, needing a second UI to remove the Google bar, it's overly large and top heavy with bad balance, 5g is so unreliable and creates battery drain reconnecting constantly, and so on.

I could go grapheneOS which was the plan to fix some buy the poor balance, battery, and curved glass would still be there.

Tl;Dr Is there a modest phone with a good camera that isn't Apple, Google, or Samsung and their attached awful baggage.
[General Questions and Answers] .quos:
Hi. For the past few years I've been using Mi A2 Lite (with Syberia OS) and I guess I'm mostly satisfied with it so I'm not necessarily looking for a big upgrade. I want something cheap but obviously I'd like the best bang for my buck. Performance is the top priority (although I don't care much about gaming). I simply want my everyday multitasking to be as smooth and snappy as possible, for as long as possible. However, I have no idea how much processing power that actually requires.

Should I simply look for the best chipset or maybe sacrifice some processing power in favor of OLED screen, 5G, or some other stuff? I feel like I can do without the "fancy stuff" but I also have no experience with it and I'm not sure what I'll need in the future.

Right now I'm considering Poco X3 Pro, Realme 9 Pro and Mi 10 Lite 5G, but I'm open to other propositions. Any advice is appreciated.
[General Questions and Answers] jamesbuckwas:
I'm trying to find a phone with at least two future Android upgrades (preferably more), a headphone jack, and a microSD card slot. I've only found the Sony Xperia 10 V to meet this criteria, and possibly the Samsung A52. However, if I were to give up the headphone jack, I could get the Samsung A54 instead, with a much longer support lifetime.

I want to know how easy or difficult I can expect the A52 and A54 to be to root. I've heard Sony phones are not too difficult to root, but as someone who is a complete beginner to rooting, perhaps it would be difficult for me. But if that's not the case, and the Samsung phones are difficult to root, I may go for the Sony phone instead.
[General Questions and Answers] kdm6389:
Best phone to buy is "dont buy a phone" or "Nokia 110 4G". You can save lot of good time
[General Questions and Answers] jamesbuckwas:
Well I do need a new phone, and the Nokia wouldn't really work for me, so I'm still gonna ask about rooting the A52s/A54 phones instead.
[General Questions and Answers] .quos:
It might be a bit trickier but you still only need to follow the instructions (I'm not a Samsung user myself, mind you). For example: A52s, A54. Just make sure to read them all before starting, as well as all the stuff around them, so to speak, to avoid any surprises along the way.

Btw, you don't have to rely on the manufacturer to get system upgrades (if you didn't know), you might want to check out some custom ROMs.
[General Questions and Answers] jamesbuckwas:
I understand that you can root and install a custom ROM on a phone to extend the lifespan of the phone. I'm just wondering how difficult it is on the A52s and A54, as I've heard from friends that Samsung phones are a pain in the butt to either root or find custom ROMs for. But I will take a look at the posts you shared, thank you for doing so.
[General Questions and Answers] bmwdroid:
They sometimes really are.

That's why I buy them only after one year being released and a close search in XDA for root possibillties and dev support.

Some will never can never be rooted when locked by providers.

My old S4 mini as example has recently got A11 and my S5 is on A13 (both custom).
[General Questions and Answers] Avatar2:
Hi,

I am located in Canada and I am looking for a very affordable (aka cheap) smartphone. I am replacing a 10-year-old LG so I don't need any fancy features. My price range is under $200 CAD but the lower the better. My preference would be for a privacy-suited or deGoogled phone, but the PureOS phones (for example) are well over $1,200 USD so unattainable for me.

I was looking at the MaxWest Nitro 55e ( https://maxwesttelecom.com/nitro-55e/ ) which I can get for just over $100 CAD. This phone has Android 11 GO edition. Best of all it comes with a charger, which most phones do not these days apparently, and an SD card slot. So something like this would be great. Any other suggestions welcome.

I plan on using the phone for several years, so 5G capability (if affordable) would be great too. (the 55e above says it connects to LTE 2/4/5/12/17/66, WCDMA 850/1700/1900 - are any of these 5G?)

My other question is: how easy is it to change the operating system on something like this? I guess there wouldn't be any custom deGoogled or alternative OS ROMs for a cheap unknown phone brand?
[General Questions and Answers] Avatar2:
OK well I found a plan that comes with a free Samsung Galaxy A14 5G, thoughts?

Are there any alternative ROMs for this phone to help make it more private?
[General Questions and Answers] arsfr:
there are no roms for the a14 5g, and if you are in the united states you cannot root those models (for example a136u or a136u1) but you can root a136w if you are in canada. there is only magisk (root), kernels, and twrp for this phone (you can also install GSIs but there is no VoLTE).
[General Questions and Answers] Avatar2:
That is very helpful. I didn't know that some phones could be rooted and some couldn't!

Please bear with me as I am new to the world of smartphones and have no knowledge. So if I want to modify the OS or built in apps, I need to buy a phone that can be "rooted" is this correct? And you are saying the Galaxy A14 cannot be rooted? So I should get A13 instead? Would a Motorola phone like the Moto G Stylus or other 5G model be a better choice if I want to make changes?
[General Questions and Answers] surpriserose:
consider rugged smartphones from Blackview, Doogee, Oukitel, Ulefone, or Umidigi. Even Nokia smartphones are durable.
[General Questions and Answers] arsfr:
Samsung Phones from the United States cannot be rooted, but if you are in another country you're good. The ones from the United States can only be rooted by a exploit or crossflashing to the W (canadian model). Any other brand should work. I recommend MetroPCS as they allow bootloader unlock requests and they have really good signal and voice quality.

I wish you the best of luck on you're phone hunt.

and yes, the Moto G Stylus is definetly a way better option than the A14 5G/4G, as it has 11 roms, unlike there being 0 for the A14 5G. There are some for the A14 4G, but those are locked in telegram and are like 2-3 roms for only one ui and aosp.
[General Questions and Answers] Common001:
I am looking to replace my 4 years old Redmi with a phone under 400€.

I am looking for a phone with at least decent hardware, I don't plan on gaming a lot and heavy usage, mostly basic stuff for daily driving. Videos, browsing mostly. I would prefer a good screen and a decent battery, something that doesn't heat for no reason.

When it comes to software, I plan on flashing a custom ROM like lineage OS, I want to take some control back over the privacy of my phone. Right now I use vanilla MIUI on my old phone because I never had the autorization to unlock the bootloader and flash another ROM.

I want to eventually degoogle the phone to the most that I can handle and have more control over the data that I send to google and others. i had in mind Lineage, but also CalyxOS.

It seems that the phones with the most custom ROM support are the pixel phones. Problem is that they seem to have hardware issues with battery and network reception. In unsupported countries you don't even have 5G.

And they seem weak when it comes to specs. So they seem a little expensive for what they offer hardware-wise.

Pixel 6a doesn't seem to be powerful enough. 7a is too expensive.

I also thought of the Nothing Phone 1, the OnePlus phones are too expensive for some reason even the olders models, and I am not paying 500€ for an OP 9.

The NP1 seems to have decent hardware, and a good stock OS, but the problem is I am not sure about custom Rom support, I don't know if the phone is popular enough for the devs. It doesn't have a stable lineage OS

I wouldn't mind a good OP at a good price, but it seems they are losing a lot of steam since OP7.

Ans lastly, the Poco f5, good hardware for the price. It even has a 3.5 jack.

Problem is MIUI, the whole bootloader thing.

And right now there is no LineageOS.

The F4 is cheaper but no official lineage, I don't think it is as popular as the F3, it seems like a transition between F3 and F5.

No one cares about F2 and F4.

F3 is too old and more expensive than F5 somehow.

Are there better options ? Which one would have good performance but also enough customization so i can degoogle my phone and experiment with that ? I also don't want issues abroad and too many bugs.

I am open to other propositions.
[General Questions and Answers] arsfr:
For the nothing phone 1 there are many stable custom roms, the one i found the most stable is the pixsysOS with only slo mo not working without the nothing camera. (https://xdaforums.com/t/pixysos-v6-3-1official-for-nothing-phone-1-android-13-qpr3-stable.4511025/)
[General Questions and Answers] eried1:
Xiaomi Poco F5 seem well-balanced. Any owners on XDA with input?
[General Questions and Answers] Common001:
I would only use Lineage or calyxOS to degoogle

Would a used Pixel 7a be worth at 200-300€ ? Or a OP 9Pro ?

which one between the two ? The OP9 seems kinda old
[General Questions and Answers] beepME:
Hello,

Looking to replace my current 4 years old Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro. Few phones has caught my attention. I'd just point out few cons I read about mentioned;

Vivo X80 Pro - can buy used for 550€

a) battery management bugged, can lose 5% in 10 minutes while in pocket (may be fixed already)

b) overheating (often)

c) loses 120Hz refresh rate in games

Oppo Find X5 Pro - used for 500€

a) poor camera zoom, only 2x

b) it's OS could use some polishing, not suitable to everyone

c) sound lacks dynamism and drive

Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra - used for 430€

a) overheating

b) heavy

c) already 2 years old

Which one of these would you recommend for me? Or which others would you add to my pickings?

Thank you
[General Questions and Answers] rah606:
Deleted.
[General Questions and Answers] Avatar2:
I have a Pixel 6a currently and I have been doing research on Samsung. The only thing I can comment on is that the Pixel 6a is smaller than any current Samsung phone (72 mm wide). Mine came with Android 13 and I believe 2 or 3 guaranteed future releases of Android version updates. Can't comment much on the Samsung model, other than it's probably huge :) Neither come with chargers.
[General Questions and Answers] dxad:
I have bad short term memory, and after a conversation with friends where we plan an activity, I like to review the recording and write it to my calendar. Similarly, when someone gives me directions, I may forget something, so I go back to the recording to listen to it. And even for the more classical usage, when a business promises me something on the phone, but doesn't give it to me, I like to use the recording as proof.

I have a Samsung Galaxy Xcover 5 ( https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_xcover_5-10718.php ) and I used to love it.

A removable battery, so on long trips I can replace the battery with spares that I take with me.

A rectangular screen without an annoying notch.

A headphone port

5.3" screen fits in my small hands (barely)

Somewhat waterproof

Unfortunately, it "updated" me to an android that no longer supports phone recording. I used to use ACR ( https://nllapps.com/apps/acr/ ) to record calls. That no longer works. Since my phone doesn't support alternative ROMs rooting, I suspect I will have to get a new phone.

Can you recommend me something with similar characteristics as above. I am willing to compromise on ANYTHING with the exception of call recording.

PS. Where I live, call recording is completely legal, but I do tend to tell people that I am recording, to be polite.
[General Questions and Answers] Anwar Shah:
I have 80,000 Pakistani rupees, which mobile should I buy?
[General Questions and Answers] arsfr:
Best Mobiles Under 80000 in Pakistan

Best mobiles under 80000 in Pakistan by Nokia, TCL, Apple iPhone, OnePlus, Tecno, BlackBerry, Lenovo, OPPO, vivo, Google, LG, Xiaomi, Meizu, and Samsung.

pricetoday.com.pk

Try checking here. There is really good phones even under almost 300 dollars (or 80k pkr)
[General Questions and Answers] Falc7x:
Hello Team..

My wife needs a new cell phone she is right now with Samsung Note 8, however no samsung for her.

and no Iphone Please. neither.

What will be a great cell for watch videos and browsing . Good image ..

What would you suggest?? I appreciated your input in this to make my decision.

All the Best !!!
[General Questions and Answers] Avatar2:
It looks like they just replaced it with a new app. will the new app work?

ACR Phone - Apps on Google Play

Privacy respecting phone dialer app with SIP and call recording support

play.google.com