yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[General Questions and Answers] zyxx:
I've been happy with a Huawei Y5 II but, unfortunately, Huawei stopped providing unlock codes and it is a vendor-locked device so I'm not sure I could even root it to get a custom ROM. I'm not sure that there are custom ROMs for this device, but rooting I could at least free up some space. As it is I'm always dancing around with space cleaning tools and moving apps (that allow it) to external SD card.

So I'm considering a new device. Maybe one of the following:

Samsung S21 5G

Oppo Find X3 Lite

Google Pixel 5 5G

My main question is: which of these brands is more root-/unlock-/custom-ROM-friendly?

I'm future-proofing, so i'm looking for devices with 5G, eSIM and real GNSS. Also,

the more battery-efficiency the better

while any device has a minimum 128GB of storage and most will say that's enough (so I could do without a card slot or USB OTG), I don't trust Android to stop hogging that space for system-specific cruft that I can't delete, so preferably with a card slot (but if it's easy to root at least I can delete whichever vendor- and Google-crap comes included)

preferably a reasonable form-factor, I don't want to walk around with a rearview mirror

I don't care about:

fancy screen resolution: I don' watch videos on my phone

camera quality: all of them more than suffice for the occasional selfie

the latest and greatest GPU: I don't game on my phone

I do care about privacy and security, so barring a Nokia 3210 I'll quickly consider rooting the phone once the warranty expires. Maybe I'll replace the stock OS with GrapheneOS, LineageOS, CalyxOS or somesuch.

Are the Pine Phone, Volla Phone or similar stable enough as daily drivers?
[General Questions and Answers] Shadowthor:
Do you have a budget or as long as it has those features you are ok with any phone? If you are thinking of flashing custom roms, don't consider Samsung as its a bit more challenging nowadays.
[General Questions and Answers] Shadowthor:
Since you like Xiaomi, maybe consider the Xiaomi 11 5G model. It would be a little bit future proof depending if it supports the 5G bands in your country.
[General Questions and Answers] zyxx:
I'd prefer the 400€ mark but I assume for the requirements 700€ is more realistic. More than that and it starts sounding overpriced. Noted on Samsung, thanks.
[General Questions and Answers] RootNightmareX:
Wow man thats way over my budget and i would newer buy a flagship at his launch :)
[General Questions and Answers] RootNightmareX:
I want a new phone. Please help me with opinions :)

- Poco F2 PRO (almost identical to my 9t pro but with updates, it still has a jack and pop up camera which are a big +) -

- Poco F3 (I don't really like the camera hole, the fact that it looks cheap and has plastic plus I understood that it would have a camera under poco f2, what I like instead is the screen and cpu sd870 and it is perfectly praised and publicized)

- Oneplus 8 / 8T (seems to be the most premium, big + for oxygenos, as aspects against it is the camera hole and other details I don't really know about it ...)

- Xiaomi MI 10, it looks ok as specs but I don't know many details about it either
[General Questions and Answers] Shadowthor:
Just go with the Oneplus 8 or 8T, you can't go wrong with that.
[General Questions and Answers] kenang83:
ipad mini or nexus 7??

at my country Malaysia selling ipad mini 16gb RM999 and nexus 7 16gb RM899 not so much different the price so which one your prefer i buy? i am headache :confused:.....pls help...

dear all xda expert member pls help.............
[General Questions and Answers] obiwanek:
i wonder if i should get ZTE Grand X IN or HTC Desire X? i need phone mainly for gaming, internet browsing and music listening. please help ;_)
[General Questions and Answers] MrSalue:
I Just sold my Xperia GO becaues i really hated it

i am thinking of buying Lumia 820 what do you guys think ? i do have a xperia mini pro

should i go with lumia 820 or not ?
[General Questions and Answers] Runner2k:
Motorola motoactv

Hello everybody,

Would you buy a motoactv today?

I am aware of battery issues, no waterproof, lack of support, etc..

I normally use my Android phone + Endomondo but I've always liked the MotoACTV solution. (Smaller than a cellphone, Watch, Android, MP3 player, GPS built-in, Bluetooth, HRM ANT+ ready...)

Is it possible to use endomondo on rooted motoactv? Bugs? I really like endomondo and that could be the reason to root this brilliant device.

Thank you for any response

Best regards
[General Questions and Answers] nestorian:
EZIO phones

has anyone used the EZIO korean phones on ebay? they seem pretty beefy with hardware, i havent found any reviews on any of the models.

i would test it myself but i dont have $260 to spend on something that might be terrible.

Example: http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-EZIO-S9...0956800530?pt=Cell_Phones&hash=item27cdd1c212

also how well do they work state side specifically with straight talk?
[General Questions and Answers] giffy89:
thanks for sharing !!
[General Questions and Answers] Frosty.13.:
I can say that I had this phone for about two weeks now and using heavily as I work in a phone shop so l'm forever showing customers features, games etc.

Even dropped it a couple of times and so far so good. Haven't experienced any of the issues people have pointed out.
[General Questions and Answers] BostonEngineering:
Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini or Samsung Galaxy S Advance?
[General Questions and Answers] vj_dustin:
Mini. S Advance is good too but some complain about bad network on it :?

Sent.... just sent!!
[General Questions and Answers] er.dilmeet:
How is Sony Xperia Ion?

HTC One X or SE Ion? In terms of Future Software Updates and general use.
[General Questions and Answers] mfsr98:
Why not the S3 or Nexus 4 (this will surely get updates) ?
[General Questions and Answers] BostonEngineering:
Same thoughts here, but I am just really considering being money-wise. The Mini costs too much for what it has got to offer, while the S Advance has lower price with a few pros compared to the Mini. I am really confused ._.
[General Questions and Answers] vj_dustin:
I'm in the exact same position. so i'll tell you IMHO, Mini does fall along GS2, so S Advance is a correct choice in this range. Else if you dont hate LG, Try LG Optimus L9 as well.
[General Questions and Answers] technomooney:
Best UNLOCKED phone under $700 to last >= 2 years

im looking for a phone i can keep for at least 2 years... so my ideal phone needs to be highest quality and i need to be able to root it! :fingers-crossed:

i also want it to have compatibility with as many providers as possable!

if you have suggestions plz let me know!

Thanks in advance!

:highfive: :good:

PS

just so you know i have a 16GB Samsung Galaxy S II GT-I9100 international with a 32GB class 10 microSD card. :)
[General Questions and Answers] brewy:
Im wanting a mid ranged mobile that's better than a galaxy ace, i was thinking of an htc but they seem to complicated for me

Sent from my GT-S5830
[General Questions and Answers] khiddabe:
Threads Merging

I hope not! haha
[General Questions and Answers] nik00:
Thanks! I want a Samsung Mini S3 too!
[General Questions and Answers] BostonEngineering:
But what if I chose the Mini? I am not sure whether that front camera advantage of S Advance would hurt me, if I chose the Mini.

P.S., does the S Advance come with white color? I never saw an actual unit with white color.
[General Questions and Answers] vj_dustin:
Excluding HTC's, Try Xperia U (If memory is not an issue), Xperia J, Samsung Galaxy S Duos, S Advance too. If by mid range you can go above INR20000 then xperia P, Nexus 4 and Optimus L9 are alsoan option. Look through.

Nexus 4, if memory and handle with care isn't an issue.

Note 2 if large screen is fine by you.

Else GS3 or Xperia Ion.

Haven't seen a white ever. Also if you have the budget spend once for better year ahead. And in that case consider Nexus 4 as well. It'll be similarly priced to GS3 Mini. But like me if you are on a very thin budget, already shot up from say INR12000 to INR 20000, then S Advance is a winner in that bracket.

People would say LG Optimus L9 too, but I'm not an LG fan admirer.

Sent.... just sent!!
[General Questions and Answers] BostonEngineering:
Samsung Galaxy SIII Mini it is, LOL :D
[General Questions and Answers] FatedToFall:
Hi guys. I'm wanting to know something: what is a good, relatively current phone that still has an SD card slot and a microphone jack?

I am currently using a Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus. I love it, it's probably the best Android device I've ever used, but the battery is draining from 100 percent to 80 within a couple of hours now just doing normal tasks, and I have a strong feeling that the battery just isn't going to last much longer. I am planning on replacing the battery whenever that happens, but I have never been good at taking things apart and putting them back together, especially things with small component parts (I have bad myopia and my hands shake). So, I need to have a backup plan in case i screw it up.

I should get this out of the way first: I am never, ever going to use a smartphone without both a micro SD card slot and a headphone jack. Cloud storage, in my own opinion, is a complete joke as well as a swindle, since you have to continously keep paying for the service or they delete your stuff, and there's no privacy involved. I realize that not everyone agrees with me on that, but no matter what everyone else thinks I will just never feel comfortable doing it except in very sparing amounts (such as storing an mp3 or wallpaper on a service like gdrive). As for the headphone jack, the price of wireless earbuds can be exorbitant, and its just not worth the price to me. Add in the fact that the removal of SD slots and headphone jacks blatantly seem designed by phone manufacturers to strong-arm consumers into signing up for cloud storage services and high priced wireless earbuds, and the whole issue has left a bad taste in my mouth regarding phone manufacturers, and it has also made me cynically look at companies that I once enjoyed the products of, such as Samsung, in a negative light.

So, with that out of the way, I will be in the market for an updated replacement for my S9 Plus soon. I'm not one to buy the newest flagship phones, since money is an issue and I don't need to have the newest version of Android, but I would like to get a phone that will stay relevant (even if its not cutting edge) for at least 2 or 3 years before it becomes totally outdated and obsolete, plus I need the aforementioned SD card slot and headphone jack. Could someone please give me some examples of a good phone to buy thst matches those specifications? Thank you in advance to all who cam help.

As an aside, I am a total and complete newbie to rooting and phone hacking, but when I do get the replacement phone and everything on the D9 Plus gets moved over to it, I am looking forward to installing LegacyOS on the S9 Plus. I just hope that I don't brick it, since this phone has been awesome :)
[General Questions and Answers] blackhawk:
Just replace the battery before it fails and maybe damages or destroys the device.

Between Android 10 and especially 11 the Android OS has gone south.

Samsung is spewing out of bad hardware this year. Two dropped balls.

I have a Note 10+ 512gb still running on Pie, fast and very stable even after over a year on it's current load. The phone has held up extremely well with zero issues. Replaced the battery about 3 months ago... no big deal.

I'm seriously considering getting a 2nd one.

The Note 20U is nice but it comes loaded with Q and the price hasn't dropped much.

I like it's spen's enhances speed but the 10+ is just a more stable platform I think. Display issues have plagued the variable frequency displays and there's been a lot of issues with the 5G implementation. Not sure the 20U is free of those. It's camera hump is awkward and the 10+ grabs great images with none of the hype features.

You can grab a Note 10+ 512 Snapdragon for half the price of a 20U.
[General Questions and Answers] FatedToFall:
Thank you very much for the advice. I'm dreading it because my hands are so shaky, but I guess I'm going to have to replace that battery sooner or later, no getting around it...

I've actually never owned a Note before. I'm kind of a luddite when it comes to phones, I've been using PCs since the early nineties but I had a flip phone for the longest time. It was the early 2010s before I got my first Android device, and it was a tablet; I had a few of those when I got my first real phone which was the Galaxy S7. My S9 plus is the first one I ever really fell in love with. Sorry for the life story ;) Anyway, how would you compare Notes to Galaxy S phones as far as the user experience goes? Is there anything that I would be really unfamiliar with?

Thanks again for replying, I've got my phone in my hands all day but I've never rooted or hacked a phone or anything like that. So I'm a beginner to this scene.
[General Questions and Answers] blackhawk:
You're welcome.

I haven't rooted. The stock 10+ runs well after some heavy reconfiguration and a package Disabler.

I loath the S series because of the rounded display corners, it was hate at first sight. The 10+'s display is drop dead gorgeous. Colors and gamma are spot on.

You want an SD card slot. Class V30 cards run well and are relatively cheap. The 1tb ones are now going for under $200.

So using the SD card as your data drive... you now have a 1.5tb dual drive computer in your hand.

I keep everything I need for a reload and all critical data on the SD card, which is backed up redundantly to hdds.

Only the OS, apps and temporary folders go on the internal memory.

Pie has no CPU cycle wasting scoped storage and supports trusted overlay apps. It allows more permissions for trusted 3rd party apps like Karma Firewall so it's fully functional. The security hype with Q and 11 is just that. In over a year and a half I never had to do a forced reload due to malware. Pie is still my preferred Android version.
[General Questions and Answers] ramandeepsingh01:
What's your opinion on Oppo and Vivo devices? Do you think something like Oppo Reno 6 5G would serve your purpose? Even Mediatek chipsets are custom ROM friendly these days.
[General Questions and Answers] RootNightmareX:
Why do you say that ? For me it is the last option atm, camera is the worst from the others, design is bad and battery is not the best
[General Questions and Answers] Shadowthor:
Reliable updates. I'm not sure if the phone has support for it, but maybe look into gcam mod. It might help.

I'm waiting for my Motorola Edge S to arrive to see how that is. I'll keep you posted if its a better option.
[General Questions and Answers] blackhawk:
Updates are way overrated. They can and do break phones.

If your OS is fast, stable and fulfilling its mission, let it be.

My Note 10+ running on Pie hasn't been updated in over 1.5 years. The current OS load is over a year old, still fast and stable with minimal maintenance. No malware forced reloads in 7 years of using Androids all running on either Kitkat and more recently Pie, Android's best OS in my opinion.

Security is not an issue unless you do something stupid. No update will protect you from that...
[General Questions and Answers] Shadowthor:
Any software updates has the potential to break phones or introduce new bugs but it doesn't mean that all of them will. Sometimes software updates are needed due to serious bugs/holes in the OS. It also depends on the manufacturer that is delivering the updates as well.

The philosophy of don't update unless its broken is part of the reason why certain exploits continue to exist even though they have been fixed with an update.

Anyways, software updates are something that is part of the buying process. If you want a phone with no updates, basically get Motorola. One year support and that's it.
[General Questions and Answers] blackhawk:
If you have a firmware issue the update* will fix, go for it.

Work arounds solve most issues though. Many of my apps are also running on their factory loads rather than updated versions, deliberately.

In the case of Q and up, CPU sucking scope storage just sucks. Pie has a few exploits but in practice they're not an issue. This Pie load has been to web hell and back... still uncompromised. A malware forced reload would be far easier than a downgrade to 10 or 11🤣

Dogs jump through hoops, I don't.

No saving dumb bunnies... even a fully updated Pixel can't.

*OTA updates are killers; you have zero control over the download. More than one bricked phone from them.
[General Questions and Answers] Shadowthor:
Well any phone can technically be forced an update whether you like it or not from a telecom.

To get back on the topic on hand, go with the phone that fits your budget and the features you want and if updates are important go for a manufacturer that updates their OS and security updates on time. If you are a person that doesn't care about updates you can go Blackhawk's route as well.
[General Questions and Answers] blackhawk:
Not true. You can package block the update apk.

You can also ask the carrier to disable OTA updates on their end.

I've done it both ways.
[General Questions and Answers] ankitgupta01:
Some of the Oppo and Vivo smartphones are good, not all. Of course good Mediatek chipsets are also needed when they have open source architecture.
[General Questions and Answers] Feenix0:
[deleted by poster]
[General Questions and Answers] zyxx:
With the Oppo Reno 6 5G or the Vivo V21 5G, V21e 5G and X50e I'd lose some future-proofing by not having eSIM.

Hadn't heard of Vivo.

However, neither of these 4 devices is easy to find in my region (i.e. at most just one random online store I wouldn't trust my money to).

However, if I drop eSIM as a requirement, the scope broadens considerably:

Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G

Asus Zenfone 7

Oppo Find X3 Lite

Honor 30 Pro

Honor 30 Pro+

ZTE Axon 11 5G

Sony Xperia 5 II

LG V60 ThinQ 5G

Only the first 3 are readily available in my region.
[General Questions and Answers] tinpanalley:
ignore..
[General Questions and Answers] RootNightmareX:
Guys would you chose a POCO F2 PRO over a Poco F3?

If yes, why ?

I really want to buy one of those and F2 PRO seems more appealing to me, considering i'm not that much into the refresh rate "war".
[General Questions and Answers] ramandeepsingh01:
Personally, I would prefer Poco F3 GT at the current period. Getting Dimensity 1200 chipset is sensible over Snapdragon 865. Nord 2 is also a good option.
[General Questions and Answers] RootNightmareX:
It’s not even in my country and im not really into mtk cpus...
[General Questions and Answers] pathedits:
I've had my S21 Ultra for two weeks and am very smitten with it. Already far on its way to being the greatest phone I've ever owned. It's incredible
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
if you don't intend to use custom roms, mediatek cpu s are quite good. had mine for almost two years now, can't complain at all. (g90t)
[General Questions and Answers] blackhawk:
There are numerous display failure issues popping up on this forum about it.

I hope your experience stays good.

No SD card slot makes using it harder...
[General Questions and Answers] zyxx:
What if I want to flash a custom ROM after the warranty? Which phones would be friendlier?
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
can't speak for other mediatek phones. mine, (xiaomi note 8 pro) has around 15+ custom roms available. even if, at launch, people were quite pessimistic about custom rom development.
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
My advice would be not to buy phones based on custom roms availability. Google has taken quite a crack at custom roms in recents years, becoming harder and harder to pass safetynet and to access Google play apps and Google play services. also, Netflix or banking apps tend to stop working once you unlock the bootloader. so you would be given up a lot of apps, in your quest for privacy/ better performance /better battery life. smartphones have come a long way, most stock configurations are quite good nowadays for the average user. also old android versions are good as well. got a Huawei tablet, android oreo, still works good and fulfills everything I decide to do.
[General Questions and Answers] zyxx:
I have a Huawei that has served me well for the last few years. Unfortunately it's carrier-locked and the manufacturer no longer provides bootloader-unlock codes (they claim security, I say forced obsolescence). The OS provider also doesn't care to upgrade it to the latest OS.

My device has a removable battery, no new phone now has a removable battery (same reason as above).

My device has external storage, nowadays some new devices do, some don't. You can argue my meagre 1GiB of RAM and 8GB of storage pale in comparison to the low end new phones, and you'd be right, but I enjoy the extra system space I get with external storage. Alas, the internal storage space is owned by Google, not me, and the phone is constantly running out of space. I move as many apps to the sdcard as I can, but not all of them allow it and a big chunk of storage is taken up by the system, somehow. And I can't root my device so I can't delete crap like carrier- and Google-apks I don't want.

I recently reset from factory, reinstalled some apps, moved the ones I could to external storage - it's back to being constantly out of space -- the funny twist being that when it does, allegedly, run out of space it shows a pop-up: when it does, it cuts the network connection, be it mobile or wifi, and it shows this pop-up about every 30s.

Yes, even the low end new smartphones are great in terms of hardware, but if I buy one I don't really own it, I'm limited by proprietary hardware (kind of expected but if you compare to a PC things are way more standardized) and, even worse, vendor-locked to the OS I'll have a hard time replacing, in part because of restrictive hardware.

I'd be buying a device I don't actually own, it's ridiculous. I'd like to be able to brick the freakin' thing should I so desire. If that were to void the warranty so be it. Phones should be 100% unlockable at least once the warrranty is over.

So yes, new phones have more oomph than the freaking moon landing equipment but I'd rather bet on a vendor/model that I can keep using in the long run, by flashing a new ROM if I want to.

Sorry for the long rant, I jut very much dislike built-in obsolescence and it's only ever been increasing lately and I feel powerless about it.

So how's Xiaomi in terms or ROMs? Or some other vendor? 'Cos it's getting harder and harder to use "my" Android 5.1 Huawei.
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
fun fact, I was in the same boat you are right now a couple years ago. I had a allview p6 quad, a good mid-range phone when it launched, totally unsupported by anyone. had to totally disable Google play and its services and rely on apkpure for my apps and updates, bought me another year of usage before I give in and bought something else.

second phone was a samsung s6. this one was damn popular when it launched and it still is. quite inexpensive nowadays, you can upgrade the battery and there are a plethora of custom roms, from android 6 to Android 11.

xiaomi is still one of the good vendors out there. they are still sending smartphones to developers before launch, in order to create a custom rom community for that device. in Europe at least, they come with Google contacts and dialer (my favorite), like the pixel. plus their mid range smartphones are priced quite ok, bought mine for 200€. of course, in order to lower the price that much, the phone is filled with ads and pre-installed apps. but everything can be uninstalled or disabled. I would rather take a 10 min tutorial on how to disable everything than spend 500€ on a different device with the same specs.
[General Questions and Answers] ankitgupta01:
Agree to that. And Mediatek 5G chipsets have unveiled the resource codes so having custom ROMs is not difficult, I have a Poco F3 GT.
[General Questions and Answers] ankitgupta01:
High time to resist smartphones based on chipset reputation because there is not difference between Mediatek, SD or Exynos.