yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[General Questions and Answers] micchese:
Hello. I'm looking for advice to change my current phone (Samsung Galaxy S4 i9505 32GB) with a new phone, because it is now the second time my S4 burns out (Magenta Screen of Death, after which it becomes unresponsive and hangs or reboot). I don't know if it's a hardware problem that involves only the 32GB versions, but my previous S4 had the same memory size, and suffered the same bad behavior (after many years usage).

Thanks to the developers community I was able to get out the maximum from this phone, but now I think it cannot cope anymore with the requirements, or its hardware is too weak to support the more demaning tasks the most modern OS are now requesting.

Mandatory / must have:

- Unlocked/unlockable bootloader

- Rootable!!!!

- 2G/3G/4G and at least VoLTE, as now most carriers are shutting down 3G BTS, and when you are connected to 4G and do or receive a phone call, it will switch to 2G for navigation, making the phone ununsable for internet works while multitasking during a phone call

- OTG for USB pendrive / USB mouse and keyboards handling

- NFC for reading new Identity Cards / Passports

- Minimum android version: PIE (9.0)

Not really mandatory, but much appreciated features:

- Battery life of at least 1 day of usage (i'm used to save battery on S4 to get around 3h 30m of always-on-screen, so I'm pretty thrifty on phone usage)

- Stable Bluetooth connection (on S4 with Stock OS I never had much problems, but with LOS or others, it was always a nightmare)

- Audio Jack as I still prefer cabled headphones

- Memory >= 32GB, I don't need to install many apps, and I frequently backup data so the phone remains quite free

- 5G additional signal would be good in order to keep using the phone for more years, as this is the direction the carriers are taking

- Replaceable battery, but I think it's difficult to get this as much more phones tend to be waterproof

Not appreciated features

- Fingerprints/TPM/Knox and other restrictive/invasive features, though it's hard to find a phone without these nowadays

Reading what I wrote, the easy answer was: Samsung S4, but that's because I only know deeply this model.

Any hint or suggestion from the more experienced guys like you is heartly welcome.
[General Questions and Answers] Bomber293:
Hello,

I more or less already know what phone I want because it defenetly has to be notch/hole puch free.

The xiaomi mi mix 4 would be my choise however I never bought a china only phone and I am not sure what that means for the end user, which is why I am posting here.

- How much support do these china only releases get by the community? Do they also get custom roms, gcam mods and similar things just as frequently?

- On TradingShenzhen they say that they install all google mobile services themselfs, even through the mix 4 already got them stock. I am a bit worried that they install some scetchy software or somehow edited versions of the google services. I know that I could do a factory reset or install a clean xiaomi rom yet I am worried because after all they have to make profit to survive.

They sell for a very good price (770€ + 120W EU charger) while every other site takes alot more (Aliexpress 1020 for example). Also they offer an import tax free deleviery which obviously is illegal^^

After writing this i notice that this might not be the best sub forum for my questions but afterall this decides if I'll buy the phone and I guess more people will come to ask about the mix 4.
[General Questions and Answers] Deanro:
What do you guys think of the Honor X10 Max with 7.1 inch screen?
[General Questions and Answers] Shadowthor:
I think there will be a custom rom if enough people are interested in the Xiaomi Mix 4 (which it seems is a hit so far). The motorola Edge S has custom roms and it originally was released in China only and eventually rebranded as Moto G100 and released worldwide.
[General Questions and Answers] cannotkeepup:
I was wondering is there any phone that is not preinstalled apps that can not be removed?

I want a phone for lack of a better word is custmizable.

I do not want most of the apps that are popular, and every phone or tablet I have looked at you are stuck with a lot of unremovable apps that if you are not going to use them jst take up a lot of room for nothing.
[General Questions and Answers] herbertstew:
i want a device that would be on android 9 maximum, has 2 sim card slots and is easy to unlock bootloader, flash custom rom and root. i'm looking at used sony phones and i would like to know if there's other phones that have similar specs. please don't recommend xiaomi or realme models that require a mi account to unlock bootloader.

also if you know what recent phone models that can be flashed with linux oses please tell.
[General Questions and Answers] Shadowthor:
You should be able to debloat a lot of the phones nowadays. As far as I know, most come with a standard set of google apps.

Motorola is as close to stock android and Samsung on the other end of the spectrum that adds a ton of apps (although it's been better over the years).
[General Questions and Answers] Bomber293:
The only way to get the bare minimum + alot of customisation is to load a custom rom, install the Open GApps pico version (if you want playstore, if not skip this) and root your device.

The root and custom rom allow for alot of customisation. Also the rom you choose determines how much bloatware you get.

If you get a custom rom and want to use playstore, netflix, banking apps, and some more check if it pass safetynet
[General Questions and Answers] cannotkeepup:
Thak you for the answers but it is over my head. I wish I could root but that is beyond my doings. I do not have the knowlage or understanding to even try it.

I donot even know what a custom ROM is.

I did ok with the fireTool box on my fire 10hd tablet but unless it is very simple like that I do not do well.

I tryed to jailbreak (I think you call it that) my fire stick for the tv and turned ened up doing a factory restore to get it to work again.
[General Questions and Answers] Bomber293:
@cannotkeepup depending on what phone you have there are very good and very detailed guids.

If you follow them carfully it does not matter if you understand what you are doing^^

However there always is a really small chance that you "brick" your phone (your phone will be as usefull as a brick if it happends).
[General Questions and Answers] cannotkeepup:
and that is what I would end up with. lol

I followed a video how to for my firestick and could not get it to work.

When I switched from win7 laptop to win10 it took me a month to get the printer to work and I ended up hireing someone.

I try but most of the time nd up in a worse mess than I started in.
[General Questions and Answers] Shadowthor:
Rule of thumb, never follow a video as the method maybe outdated.

But if you follow the instructions/guide posted in xda step by step, it usually leads to right outcome.

Agreed with the statement above to flash a custom rom (lineage, etc.). It will come with the bare essentials and you can decide what you want on the phone.
[General Questions and Answers] xAxB:
I have only ever used Samsung Galaxy series (S3, S5, S7), and usually buy my phones in Europe or Asia and needs the phone to work internationally.

Strictly essential features:

- Needs to be reasonably easily rootable, and come with any features to make that happen (e.g. easily unlockable bootloader etc.). This is the main reason I am looking away from Samsung phones.

- MicroSD card

Very highly desirable feature (I would put it in the absolutely needed if it didn't narrow my options too much):

- IP rating (I use my phones in very wet and cold places - I can seal it in a waterproof bag, but it would be better if I didn't have to)

- Headphone jack

- Large battery capacity

Desirable feature (that I know those are uncommon so I can sacrifice it):

- Two SIM cards slot (on top of the MicroSD.. not that hybrid stuff)

- Removable battery (yeah, a relic of the past - but one can dream)

- Affordable (not looking for flagship kind of phone)

- Screen that isn't massive (e.g. >6.1")

What I do not care about:

- Glass constructions

- Camera quality

- Flagship performance

- Generally speaking anything that isn't mentioned in the previous categories. OS wise, I am not too bothered as long as it isn't ancient.

Even if the phone ideal phone I want doesn't exist, if I'd like to know any company that make phones that at least has the "strictly essential features". If Samsung has many phones that tick quite a few of features that I value, but they aren't as root friendly as I would like.
[General Questions and Answers] Bomber293:
The Redmi Note 10 Pro checks most of the boxes:

easy to root (you have to wait 15 days after you bought it)

dedicated Micro SD

dual sim

headphone jack

IP53

Affordable - 250€

huge battery 5020mah

but screen is 6,67" and IP53 means its only lightly waterproof - rain is fine but putting it underwater is not

Since it is a china phone and got launched in the EU it will work basically everywhere.

edit:

The Oukitel WP series might also be interesting. They are special outdoor phones that should check many of your needs, and they got a battery up to 10.000 mAh. However i do not know how easy they are to root/how well they are supported by the community
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
you could check xiaomi redmi note 10 series
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
just go with pixel. these phones come debloated, as for customization, a custom launcher and an icon pack is enough.
[General Questions and Answers] ina2:
Hi everyone,

I am looking for a smartphone for basic use, so using a search engine, a chat program and a handfull of apps, being able to take somewhat-not-totally-terrible photos and making calls. I also want to keep the possibility open to use online banking apps. So I do not want to keep using very old android versions. Since I want to make use of the smartphone for a long time (8 years would be great, or until it is really not usable any more), I am therefore looking for a phone that is not hard to root and that will be well-supported by custom ROMs.

Are there properties that make a phone interesting or uninteresting for the xda community?

Other points on my wishlist:

- Price under 150€ (but 200€ are also ok if necessary)

- Large battery capacity

- Headphone jack

- 64 GB or more of storage

- Not huge would be great, but it seems like there are currently no cheap smartphones for people with small hands (my last smartphone was a Samsung Galaxy S3 mini). Since I will not be able to use the phone with only one hand anyway, I do not know if it makes a difference whether the screen diagonal is a few millimetres larger or smaller.

Smartphones that seem interesting to me (except the size, but I should probably drop that requirement) are Motorola Moto G8 Power and Nokia 5.4. Are there any red flags that I missed? Do you have any recommendations?

Thank you a lot for your help.
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
you could go with xiaomi, either the Redmi line-up or the Poco line-up.
[General Questions and Answers] xAxB:
Thanks, those definitely tick many boxes on paper! Sounds very suitable for my needs.

I actually use two phones, one rooted one unrooted, so I might actually end up with the Redmi as my rooted phone and the Oukitel unrooted for my outdoor activities! This could end being goodbye Samsung, you've been great but you've taken a path that is a little different from my needs.

I have a question about the Redmi though. First of all, could you please point me towards any guides? I had a quick look at the Note 10 Pro subforum and didn't see any guides although it was just a quick glance. And.. even though I didn't really say anything about concerns over privacy, but a quick Google led me to this and I was wondering if it should be something I should be concerned about. I have also read something about ads on Xiaomi phones.. can those things be dealt with if I root the phone with/without a custom ROM?

Thanks again!
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
is OK, do you know if this phone comes with Gapps? it's launched in 2020. for a midrange, is OK. go for it.
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
about those ads, they can be disabled effortlessly from within the stock ROM. just watch a 3 min guide on YouTube and you are done. about the privacy, în my opinion, the moment you buy yourself a smartphone, more and more people are interested in your data. using a smartphone and wishing for a safe environment for our private data is like wanting to eat cake all day and wishing to be slim.
[General Questions and Answers] Kutusov:
I think the battery on my Huawei Mate 20 Pro is going the way of the Dodo but I'm yet not decided on buying a new phone.

If I'm to upgrade my phone, my two main things are camera and battery life. Regrading cameras, what would be the best phone right now? And I mean picture magic with all the stuff the Mate 20 Pro did to a point a shoot picture and it's AI.

From googling this I come up with plenty of candidates but they are usually ranked by "best natural pictures" and that's not really what I think I'm after.

Oppo x3 Pro and Xiaomi 11 Ultra sound like good candidates, I'm not sure about the "magic" on the Galaxy s21 Ultra or Iphone 12/13, these last seem to go for realistic pictures.
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
you could also look for gcam. some gcam ports have more contrast and saturation than others. if gcam will fit the bill, then any phone is OK. battery isn't that important nowadays, 4500 is enough.
[General Questions and Answers] LBO6051:
Hi, everyone!

My phone of 3 years (Samsung Galaxy J4+) recently bricked after I accidentally dropped it into a pool, and now I have to look for a replacement.

I'm not that well informed about the smartphone tech, and I don't follow any news regarding the advancements in this industry so I would appreciate it if somebody would be willing to give me some suggestions on my next purchase. Here are my requirements:

BUDGET: €300 (I'm willing to increase this by around €50 as long as the improvements are worth it)

Things that I'm looking for in a new phone are:

Battery capacity

Durability (that is, able to last as long as possible without needing to be replaced like in 1 or 2 years)

Storage space (32GB or higher)

Resolution (720p or higher)

Size (less than 7")

RAM, CPU, GPU, etc. is not so much important to me as long as the phone has a decent chip and is not slow, so anything along the J4+ specs or better would be good enough for me.

Things that I don't care much about are:

Camera quality - Not a big camera user, and on the rare occasion where I do take a picture or record a video, I would just like that the picture/video quality does not look like garbage, otherwise I don't mind making sacrifices here

Fingerprint sensors

NFC, Infrared, Radio, etc.

Waterproofing, Dustproofing, etc. - While nice to have, it's not really something that I would be willing to pay a premium for

5G - There's no infrastructure for it in my country right now (Serbia), and besides, I don't care about that sort of thing. The only use that I need from it is when I need to enable data for the internet because I cannot find a Wi-Fi to connect to, which I believe 4G is good enough for this

My usage on the phone is pretty casual. Aside from the couple of calls I make and the texts I send, I mostly spend my time web browsing or watching YouTube videos. I don't play video games, aside from something small like Minesweeper to pass the time while I'm in a waiting room. I don't listen to music frequently, and when I do, it's mostly via speakers, so a headphone jack is optional.

Searching the net, these are the phones that I found:

Poco F3 - €305

Poco X3 Pro - €185

Samsung Galaxy A51 - €193

Samsung Galaxy A52 - €340

Samsung Galaxy A72 - €331

OnePlus Nord - €193

Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G - €222

Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro - €176

Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G - €125

Xiaomi Mi 9T - €83

Huawei P40 Lite - €115

Out of all of these, which one do you think is best? I feel like all these phones on the list fit the criteria of what I'm looking for, so I don't know if I should just go with the one that's cheapest and save money since my use case is so minimal, or go with the more expensive variants to ensure that the hardware improvement will mean better futureproofing?

Nonetheless, if you have a better suggestion from what I've found, please feel free to share it.

Thanks in forward!
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
that xiaomi mi 9t is good. in other markets is sold as redmi k20, which has an impressive collection of custom rom development on this site. so as much future proofing as you can get. now, for durability, every phone is strong enough to resist a 1 meter fall. beyond that, totally a matter of luck. not a single phone is made with the idea that is going to be dropped from the 8th floor.
[General Questions and Answers] cubancigar11:
Poco X3 Pro is what attracts me. Personally, I would have gone for OnePlus Nord but I hear it has no custom roms. Samsung is again another problematic and over-expensive vendor so a no-no for me. Huawei is winding down in support due to restrictions from USA. That leaves Poco, Redmi and Mi.

So now, I need a 3.5 jack and a good battery. I fscking hate its look, but I would anyway put a cover on it so...

EDIT: Nord actually has a lot of custom from support. But Nord 2 doesn't.
[General Questions and Answers] SultanGris:
Looking for a new phone, currently on Samsung note 9 with broken screen, previous phones have been note 4,3,2, prior to that have been Motorola and BlackBerry. Love the notes but hate the curved screens of the note 9, however the increased CPU and RAM specs of the Samsung's makes the crap curved screen acceptable but it's my least favorite feature by far. I fly UAVs with the phone so good specs are required, 256+sizes are preferred,128 minimum, SD card port preferred, headphone jack preferred.

Seems to me the choices for new phones are pretty bland and crappy compared to where we were a few years ago, their losing features instead of adding new. Somewhat interested in the new Samsung foldable but not quite ready to drop that much cash till they've perfected and improved them a little more.

Right now leaning towards a Samsung S10 plus, or possible a pixel but pixels lower hardware specs scare me for trying to fly my uav, those apps require CPU and RAM like crazy. What do you guys think? Thanks.
[General Questions and Answers] SultanGris:
Curious why you consider curved glass a plus, that is my most hated feature of any smartphone ever. I love Samsung but I absolutely hate their stupid useless curved screens, good for nothing and just screw up my typing cuz I always accidentally touch the edge, especially when using one handed which i do most of the time. Phone cases are less effective and screens get damaged way easier. I see a zero upside to a curved screen, please enlighten me to your thoughts on why you consider this a positive thing, thanks.
[General Questions and Answers] d3viou5:
Hey All, been out the loop for a while (went to the dark side for a couple of years) and so my knowledge is a little rusty. I was thinking about the one plus 8 pro but it doesn’t have twrp at the moment and the size of it scared me.

Can you suggest a flasher friendly device? Doesn’t have to be the latest and greatest spec, but I could do with:

good camera preferably with a zoom

Good gcam support

Lots of custom Rom options

Sub 6.5 in screen ideally

Fast enough to use as a solid emulation device

Your thoughts very much appreciated.
[General Questions and Answers] vgchat:
Alright, I am wanting to know what my options are for tablets that are under 9 inches. A few things I would like to note are:

*no ipads; I want a android thanks.

*price doesn't matter

*I would prefer one with an octacore processor

*I would like one with 3 or more gb of ram

So, what would you recommend? Right now I've got a galaxy tab a7 lite (32gb rom, 3gb ram), that I'm still deciding on if I want to keep.
[General Questions and Answers] Shadowthor:
You have a few options,

xiaomi mi 11 lite 5g,

Poco M3 Pro

Motorola Edge S/Moto G100

Realme GT

Not sure of the size of screens on each model, but each have their own community here on xda.
[General Questions and Answers] LBO6051:
I've noticed that the newer A52s 5G model was recently released in my country, and seeing the comparisons between it and the regular A52 5G model, I see that they're quite close with A52s being only slightly better with it's improved CPU (Snapdragon 778G vs. Snapdragon 750G), and GPU. Other than that, they're mostly the same.

Now I'm wondering, how does it compare to the Poco F3, and which one would be better value?

I'm shopping for a new phone, and I mostly care about battery life and it's longevity / future-proofing, so specs aren't so much important to me because both phones look great, and I'm pretty sure I would be pleased with both of them so I don't mind if one is weaker than the other.

Camera, Video games, Flashy display are all irrelevant to me.

The only thing that remains different is the price, in which A52s is slightly expensive (~€20) than the F3, and it does come with lower memory and storage (6/128GB vs. 8/256GB), which is something I don't mind because my use case is so minimal.

So, out of these two phones, which one would you recommend?
[General Questions and Answers] D0n Quix0te:
Hello everyone. I wanna buy S21 Ultra but its expensive at the moment, so after researching I thought why not go for the s20 ultra instead because its cheaper. It will still get updates for few years. I am a basic user, dont play games at all, but do care about display and camera. I recently used s10 and pixel 4 xl and i was blown away by the s10 display compared to pixel 4 xl. I want a great camera phone as well. But before pulling the trigger, I have few questions and would appreciate if they r answered satisfactorily;

1. Is s20 ultra (Snapdragon) worth it in 2021 over s21 ultra if you take into account the prices?

2. Is the S20 ultra way behind s21 ultra in the camera department?

Shall be grateful for the feedback.
[General Questions and Answers] Spaceboy60:
Looking for a phone with the following criteria:

6.5 inch maximum screen size

Under 190g

30 Watt minimum fast charge

microSD support

Headphone jack

90 Hz refresh rate minimum

Decent custom ROM support or likelihood of decent custom ROM in future

~ £420 max
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
Go for Samsung. it had micro sd and headphone jack, better usability in the future.
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
Oneplus Nord N10 5G
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
Go for S20 Ultra. it has a micro sd slot. as for camera, you could try comparing the cameras between Samsung. or you could get a gcam port and get the best from Samsung and pixels.
[General Questions and Answers] Spaceboy60:
Did look at that that but it seems to have had the same custom ROMs for about a year now. Tempted to go for the oneplus CE even though it hasn't got a microSD which is a bit annoying, but the 256gb model would probably be enough for as I'm only using about 110 GB combined micro SD and internal storage of my current phone.
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
there is a saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". just because there aren't any new roms does not mean the development is been abandoned. latest custom rom runs android 11. google barely had launched android 12.
[General Questions and Answers] Spaceboy60:
Was going to go for A52 5g or s20 fe myself. Seems like it's taken an age for any custom ROMs to appear though, still none for either
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
Well, the oneplus seems to be better supported. the difference between the processors is barely noticeable, the oneplus does has a tad higher fast charging speed. if you are a samsung fan, go with the s20 fe, snapdragon 865 is good.