Geeky OCD phone stuff.

[RED-DOG]

My phone is a Samsung Galaxy S5. It's 5 years old. I love it.

Click to see full-size image.

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Recently, I have been considering changing it for a newer model, so I've done a vast amount of research (I enjoy research) into various possible replacements.

My non-negotiable criteria are, in no particular order:

Decent spec camera with good low-light performance.
Good battery life.
3.5mm headphone jack.
Flat, i.e. not curved screen.
At least IP67.

I would also like a removable, and therefore easily replacable battery but I will do without that if I have to.


I've looked at everything and nothing ticks all the boxes (Rod's Blackview came closest)

There are two exceptions, my current phone and the Samsung Galaxy S7.

My current phone is still working perfectly, so why not keep it? Well, Samsung stopped supporting it in 2017 so it won't be getting any more security patches and although I've had no problems, I'm a bit nervous about it. That said, I have had no problems nor do I know anyone who has. I keep my apps updated and I don't click suspicious links. Am I worrying for nothing?

If I ask the question online I mostly get the obvious and safe "You should upgrade" answer along with the occasional "I'm still using my S5 with no problems" thrown in.

Why not upgrade to the still supported Galaxy s7?

Well the S7 is also an older phone (2016) and although it's still on sale, support will probably end in the next year or so.

So, does anyone know anything about the security of unsupported phones?

Don't worry, I don't expect any definitive answers.

 

[Longines]

Decent spec camera with good low-light performance.
Good battery life.
3.5mm headphone jack.
Flat, i.e. not curved screen.
At least IP67.

I would also like a removable, and therefore easily replacable battery but I will do without that if I have to.

I've looked at everything and nothing ticks all the boxes (Rod's Blackview came closest)

I love a bit of qualatative analysis.

Selection criteria of >2018, Available & Coming Soon, >12MP, 3.5mm jack, >=IP67, removable battery

https://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2018&nCamPrimMin=12&chk35mm=selected&sAvailabilities=1,2&sIPCerts=5,6&idBatRemovable=1&nOrder=1

if you remove the removable battery filter there are 37 more to choose from although I assume some of those will have curved screens. And decent spec camera is subjective city. Interested to see what you end up with Red.

[Jon MW]

As for the other point - there are very, very few attacks taking place on phones.

The theoretical risk is there but the actual risk is probably pretty small.

The figures I have found for 2018 was Kaspersky Labs (so someone who sells security software); they said the number of attacks and people affected has grown a lot.

However they gave a figure of a bit less than a million people affected.

There are an estimated 5 billion smart phone users in the world - so about 1 in 5000.

[roshambo]

I have the Galaxy Note 9 and its by far the best phone ive ever had, love the stylus too

[RED-DOG]

Decent spec camera with good low-light performance.
Good battery life.
3.5mm headphone jack.
Flat, i.e. not curved screen.
At least IP67.

I would also like a removable, and therefore easily replacable battery but I will do without that if I have to.

I've looked at everything and nothing ticks all the boxes (Rod's Blackview came closest)

I love a bit of qualatative analysis.

Selection criteria of >2018, Available & Coming Soon, >12MP, 3.5mm jack, >=IP67, removable battery

https://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2018&nCamPrimMin=12&chk35mm=selected&sAvailabilities=1,2&sIPCerts=5,6&idBatRemovable=1&nOrder=1

if you remove the removable battery filter there are 37 more to choose from although I assume some of those will have curved screens. And decent spec camera is subjective city. Interested to see what you end up with Red.

Thanks Mr Long. That's a great tool.

I got 16 results, 8 of which are Samsung with curved screens and 7 are LG's with poor low light performance.

There was one I haven't seen yet, the Oppo R15 Pro.

I will report back.





To refine your search click here.

    [Samsung Galaxy S10 5G Android smartphone. Announced Feb 2019. Features 6.7″ Dynamic AMOLED display, Exynos 9820 chipset, 4500 mAh battery, 512 GB storage, 8 GB RAM, Corning Gorilla Glass 6.]
    Samsung
    Galaxy S10 5G
    [LG V50 ThinQ 5G Android smartphone. Announced Feb 2019. Features 6.4″ P-OLED display, Snapdragon 855 chipset, 4000 mAh battery, 128 GB storage, 6 GB RAM, MIL-STD-810G compliant, Corning Gorilla Glass 5.]
    LG
    V50 ThinQ 5G
    [Samsung Galaxy S10+ Android smartphone. Announced Feb 2019. Features 6.4″ Dynamic AMOLED display, Exynos 9820 chipset, 4100 mAh battery, 1024 GB storage, 12 GB RAM, Corning Gorilla Glass 6.]
    Samsung
    Galaxy S10+
    [Samsung Galaxy S10 Android smartphone. Announced Feb 2019. Features 6.1″ Dynamic AMOLED display, Exynos 9820 chipset, 3400 mAh battery, 512 GB storage, 8 GB RAM, Corning Gorilla Glass 6.]
    Samsung
    Galaxy S10
    [Samsung Galaxy Note9 Android smartphone. Announced Aug 2018. Features 6.4″ Super AMOLED display, Exynos 9810 chipset, 4000 mAh battery, 512 GB storage, 8 GB RAM, Corning Gorilla Glass 5.]
    Samsung
    Galaxy Note9
    [LG G8 ThinQ Android smartphone. Announced Feb 2019. Features 6.1″ P-OLED display, Snapdragon 855 chipset, 3500 mAh battery, 128 GB storage, 6 GB RAM, MIL-STD-810G compliant, Corning Gorilla Glass 5.]
    LG
    G8 ThinQ
    [Samsung Galaxy S9+ Android smartphone. Announced Feb 2018. Features 6.2″ Super AMOLED display, Exynos 9810 chipset, Dual: 12 MP (f/1.5-2.4, 26mm, 1/2.55″, 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF) + 12MP primary camera, 8 MP front camera, 3500 mAh battery, 256 GB storage, 6 GB RAM, Corning Gorilla Glass 5.]
    Samsung
    Galaxy S9+
    [Samsung Galaxy S10e Android smartphone. Announced Feb 2019. Features 5.8″ Dynamic AMOLED display, Exynos 9820 chipset, 3100 mAh battery, 256 GB storage, 8 GB RAM, Corning Gorilla Glass 5.]
    Samsung
    Galaxy S10e
    [LG V40 ThinQ Android smartphone. Announced Oct 2018. Features 6.4″ P-OLED display, Snapdragon 845 chipset, 3300 mAh battery, 128 GB storage, 6 GB RAM, MIL-STD-810G compliant, Corning Gorilla Glass 5.]
    LG
    V40 ThinQ
    [Oppo R15 Pro Android smartphone. Announced Mar 2018. Features 6.28″ AMOLED display, Snapdragon 660 chipset, Dual: 16 MP (f/1.7, 25mm, 1/2.6″, 1.22µm, PDAF) + 20 MP primary camera, 20 MP front camera, 3430 mAh battery, 128 GB storage, 6 GB RAM, Corning Gorilla Glass 5.]
    Oppo
    R15 Pro
    [Samsung Galaxy S9 Android smartphone. Announced Feb 2018. Features 5.8″ Super AMOLED display, Exynos 9810 chipset, 12 MP primary camera, 8 MP front camera, 3000 mAh battery, 256 GB storage, 4 GB RAM, Corning Gorilla Glass 5.]
    Samsung
    Galaxy S9
    [Samsung Galaxy S Light Luxury Android smartphone. Announced May 2018. Features 5.8″ Super AMOLED display, Snapdragon 660 chipset, 16 MP primary camera, 8 MP front camera, 3000 mAh battery, 64 GB storage, 4 GB RAM, Corning Gorilla Glass 5.]
    Samsung
    Galaxy S Light Luxury
    [LG G7 ThinQ Android smartphone. Announced May 2018. Features 6.1″ IPS LCD display, Snapdragon 845 chipset, Dual: 16 MP (f/1.6, 1/3.1″, 1.0µm, OIS) + 16 MP primary camera, 8 MP front camera, 3000 mAh battery, 128 GB storage, 6 GB RAM, MIL-STD-810G compliant, Corning Gorilla Glass 5.]
    LG
    G7 ThinQ
    [LG V35 ThinQ Android smartphone. Announced May 2018. Features 6.0″ P-OLED display, Snapdragon 845 chipset, Dual: 16 MP (f/1.6, 1/3.1″, 1.0µm, OIS) + 16 MP primary camera, 3300 mAh battery, 128 GB storage, 6 GB RAM, MIL-STD-810G compliant, Corning Gorilla Glass 5.]
    LG
    V35 ThinQ
    [LG G7 One Android smartphone. Announced Aug 2018. Features 6.1″ IPS LCD display, Snapdragon 835 chipset, 16 MP primary camera, 8 MP front camera, 3000 mAh battery, 64 GB storage, 4 GB RAM, MIL-STD-810G compliant.]
    LG
    G7 One
    [LG V30S ThinQ Android smartphone. Announced Feb 2018. Features 6.0″ P-OLED display, Snapdragon 835 chipset, Dual: 16 MP (f/1.6, 1µm, 3-axis OIS, PDAF & laser AF) + 13 MP primary camera, 5 MP front camera, 3300 mAh battery, 256 GB storage, 6 GB RAM, MIL-STD-810G compliant, Corning Gorilla Glass 5.]
    LG
    V30S ThinQ

[RED-DOG]

As for the other point - there are very, very few attacks taking place on phones.

The theoretical risk is there but the actual risk is probably pretty small.

The figures I have found for 2018 was Kaspersky Labs (so someone who sells security software); they said the number of attacks and people affected has grown a lot.

However they gave a figure of a bit less than a million people affected.

There are an estimated 5 billion smart phone users in the world - so about 1 in 5000.

This is the kind of thing I was hoping to see.

[RED-DOG]

I have the Galaxy Note 9 and its by far the best phone ive ever had, love the stylus too

It's a fabulous phone but I can't do infinity display/curved screen.

[Doobs]

Ignore if you are going to be stubborm,  but all those red lines make you look like Theresa May.

The Samsung A40 is a lot of phone for the money and has an above average camera for £200.  I have an S8 with a worse camera and they are a lot pricier.  My daughter loves hers.

Don't chuck it in a river, and it is cheap enough that battery removal doesn't matter so much.

edit, I couldn't find the oppo R15 in the UK

[RED-DOG]

Ignore if you are going to be stubborm,  but all those red lines make you look like Theresa May.

The Samsung A40 is a lot of phone for the money and has an above average camera for £200.  I have an S8 with a worse camera and they are a lot pricier.  My daughter loves hers.

Don't chuck it in a river, and it is cheap enough that battery removal doesn't matter so much.

edit, I couldn't find the oppo R15 in the UK

No, the Oppo is French, nuf said.

Battery removal isn't a biggie, it wasn't in my non-negotiable criteria.

Does the A40 have an IP rating?

[Doobs]

Ignore if you are going to be stubborm,  but all those red lines make you look like Theresa May.

The Samsung A40 is a lot of phone for the money and has an above average camera for £200.  I have an S8 with a worse camera and they are a lot pricier.  My daughter loves hers.

Don't chuck it in a river, and it is cheap enough that battery removal doesn't matter so much.

edit, I couldn't find the oppo R15 in the UK

No, the Oppo is French, nuf said.

Battery removal isn't a biggie, it wasn't in my non-negotiable criteria.

Does the A40 have an IP rating?

No

She went from my old repaired S7 to an A40 and loves it a lot more.  If I had my time again I'd buy it over the S8.  There isn't anything I'd really want on my S8 that she doesn't have on her A40.

Suspect you can drown it 2.5 times before it gets more expensive than an S8.  And as it doesn't have the curved screen it is likely more durable and cheaper to fix.

[nirvana]

I had an S5, the longest I ever kept a phone but eventually the battery life and a few other issues made me swap.

No idea how the spec matches up to your criteria as mine are limited to being able to browse and make phone calls, but bought a Huawei P Smart for about £150 outright and I can't really find fault with it.

Camera seems pretty decent to me

[RED-DOG]

Ignore if you are going to be stubborm,  but all those red lines make you look like Theresa May.

The Samsung A40 is a lot of phone for the money and has an above average camera for £200.  I have an S8 with a worse camera and they are a lot pricier.  My daughter loves hers.

Don't chuck it in a river, and it is cheap enough that battery removal doesn't matter so much.

edit, I couldn't find the oppo R15 in the UK

No, the Oppo is French, nuf said.

Battery removal isn't a biggie, it wasn't in my non-negotiable criteria.

Does the A40 have an IP rating?

No

She went from my old repaired S7 to an A40 and loves it a lot more.  If I had my time again I'd buy it over the S8.  There isn't anything I'd really want on my S8 that she doesn't have on her A40.

Suspect you can drown it 2.5 times before it gets more expensive than an S8.  And as it doesn't have the curved screen it is likely more durable and cheaper to fix.

At least IP67 was on my non-negotiable list and preferably IP68.

I understand the 'cheap to replace argument' but I get my phone wet, (Not submerged, but outdoorsey wet & dirty) regularly and being without then setting up a new phone is a real PITA.

[RED-DOG]

I had an S5, the longest I ever kept a phone but eventually the battery life and a few other issues made me swap.

No idea how the spec matches up to your criteria as mine are limited to being able to browse and make phone calls, but bought a Huawei P Smart for about £150 outright and I can't really find fault with it.

Camera seems pretty decent to me

You could have replaced s5 the battery yourself (It's removable) for about a tenner.


Nothing wrong with the Huawei, it just doesn't fit my admittedly pernickety criteria.

[RED-DOG]

Is tikay alright? This is usually the point where he makes some smart-arse comment.

[nirvana]

I had an S5, the longest I ever kept a phone but eventually the battery life and a few other issues made me swap.

No idea how the spec matches up to your criteria as mine are limited to being able to browse and make phone calls, but bought a Huawei P Smart for about £150 outright and I can't really find fault with it.

Camera seems pretty decent to me

You could have replaced s5 the battery yourself (It's removable) for about a tenner.


Nothing wrong with the Huawei, it just doesn't fit my admittedly pernickety criteria.

Did that, never performed the same - have to say battery life on the Huawei is rather ace.