Decisions for a smartphone

[rady]

No techno-genius here, but I'm finding more and more times that my flip phone is a real anachronism in todays world. I've been fighting this for years, but I'm now relenting and looking for a senior friendly smartphone.(if there is such a thing). Wife's sp is kinda driving me nuts with the small screen. Can't get away from apps today and this is why I'm looking.

Any ideas for makes brands ( I don't want to spend a bundle for the latest and greatest, so older models would be fine for me), as I'm not a big fan of google due to their privacy issues? But in today's world I may not have a choice between apple and android.

 

[BullGear]

Samsung, you can pick the model. They are all good. The latest and greatest is a very nice phone, but the price tag is stopping me from buying it.

 

[BufordTJustice]

Do yourself a favor...pass. Keep the flip phone...don't answer calls unless it's family or friends. Spend time together whenever you can. F**k everyone else.

 

[GrumpyOleFart]

Samsung.
Relatively user friendly.

 

[W54/XM-388]

If you are getting into the smart phone market you need to pick your religion.

If you don't want to worry about too much tech stuff and just want everything to work and are not wanting to push the envelope much, join the Apple cult and pay your regular tithes to the turtleneck cult and all will be good.

If you like a bit more hands on control and the ability to be the first beta testers for cool features that need a bit of polish, and enjoy getting your phone to do all kinds of interesting techy stuff, then join the cult of AI driven data and pay your dues to the Google cult and have fun.

If join the fruit cult, then it's easy, you pick the specific holy phone you want and use it until the cult leaders order you to upgrade.
If you join the AI data cult, then you have choices, some good, lots more a waste of time. I'd suggest Samsung models.

 

[DIBBS]

Had an I-phone, it puked now have a Samsung A-51. I don't use many apps, primarily calls, texts, and looking for good deals on the Hide in the PX. There are a couple of techy mags (PC world perhaps?) that do lots of tests on new phones. You may be able to get a screaming deal on last years model. I had problems with batter life with the I- phone and my wife currently is having the issue with hers. I believe THAT is by design after a couple years. No such issues with the samsung, but that is something that I looked for when getting a new phone.

 

[jbell]

The Samsung is a great phone, but for the money I really like the Motorola Z4.

 

[Texasflyer]

I am hard on phones. So i like to get a new one every few months. I get the mid priced tracphones from walmart. Have a samsung now, 60 bucks. Its ok. Had an lg before it was ok. If i didnt have to have it for work i wouldnt even own one.

 

[OREGUN]

Iphone. 100%. No excuses. Everything else is a distant second tier. Apple v Samsung is like AI v Savage. All the problems and supposed benefits of all the others have been solved, in a more user friendly way, by apple. Keep it simple and look at the IPhone SE.

Forget about data “privacy”, you don’t have any with either brand, and frankly, no one cares what website you’ve been looking at unless you are doing illegal things. If you aren’t a sucker or a felon, the phone will be neither your savior nor your executioner.

 

[thexman]

Get a OnePlus, they have some older model which is cheaper and also capable for normal daily tasks.

 

[W54/XM-388]

Iphone. 100%. No excuses. Everything else is a distant second tier. Apple v Samsung is like AI v Savage.

How long did it take Apple to get wireless charging??
Samsung users were enjoying it for years before Apple decided their disciples could have it.
You got pen support for your iPhone yet so you can sketch on your phone, or do you still have to pull out the big tablet to sketch?
I'm guessing the Apple phones a year or two from now will have the same zoom lenses that Samsung phones have this year?
Samsung had smart watches out for a couple years before Apple got into the game.
Samsung also had large screen phones years before Apple decided people could have them.


The flagship Samsung phones easily trade blows with the best flagship Apple phones, and often have more features, but their user interface is not as polished or simple as Apple.

Then remember that when Apple decides something like your favourite chat app can't be used because it's not "SJW moderated", you are totally SOL.
On Android, just go see if the developer has an APK, change a single setting and you can load what you want without Google's permission.

Apple is a beautifully polished cage, but it is a much tighter locked down cage than Android.

 

[wizardpc]

Android acts like its users are all developers.
Apple acts like its users are all idiots.

I was a very, VERY early adopter of smart phones. I bought an HP iPaq in 2004 for $180 and people thought it was completely insane to pay that much money for a phone.

I streamed the 2007 iPhone announcement on that phone.

After 17 years.... I'm going back to the dumbest phone I can find, for privacy reasons. I'm sick and tired of getting ads for things that people talk about while they are around me.

Unfortunately, carriers are going to VoLTE which essentially requires some level of smartphone to operate. When they turn off the 3g towers next year you'll either have a smartphone on a ham radio.

 

[Lost_Phil]

I am hard on phones. So i like to get a new one every few months. I get the mid priced tracphones from walmart. Have a samsung now, 60 bucks. Its ok. Had an lg before it was ok. If i didnt have to have it for work i wouldnt even own one.

Take a look at Phones from Kyocera, they are built to MIL-STD-810 and run Android. I used to use them when they were Sanyo. Also my buddy use them and has dropped his from the cab of Mack several times with out braking.

To the OP, I would agree with what a few have said about the difference between Apple Iphones and Android phones. If you are not very Tech savvy, I would go with an Iphone. If you think you can find your way through Android, I would go with any manufacture, as they are all cookie cutter by design.

 

[W54/XM-388]

I'm sick and tired of getting ads for things that people talk about while they are around me.

Make sure there are no Facebook applications on your phone, disable all "assistants" and lock down permissions for all your applications, don't use anything "free" unless you check it out very well first, and remove any apps you are not using. The problem will mostly vanish. Facebook is the big driver of that, pretty much all the Facebook owned applications are always listening to what goes on and using that information for advertising in a really creepy way.

 

[Tchitcherine]

What's the point of having access controls (to camera, mic, etc) if you don't use them.

 

[acudaowner]

none unless you really have to have to they all track you , they all spy on what your doing the only question is who is getting your data and do you really want to know what they plan to do with it ?

 

[Carlos Danger]

Android phone for personal use. iPhone for work. Carry them both all day. Really been considering how much I want to keep this job cause I've been seriously thinking of running the fruit phone over with my rear tire. Annoying POS.

 

[BullGear]

From what I've seen, the iPhone is for the person who just wants a phone to use. As a corporate phone it does well. An Android phone is for the average person who like to mess with their phone.

 

[rady]

Android acts like its users are all developers.
Apple acts like its users are all idiots.

I was a very, VERY early adopter of smart phones. I bought an HP iPaq in 2004 for $180 and people thought it was completely insane to pay that much money for a phone.

I streamed the 2007 iPhone announcement on that phone.

After 17 years.... I'm going back to the dumbest phone I can find, for privacy reasons. I'm sick and tired of getting ads for things that people talk about while they are around me.

Unfortunately, carriers are going to VoLTE which essentially requires some level of smartphone to operate. When they turn off the 3g towers next year you'll either have a smartphone on a ham radio.

Thanks. This is exactly what I was concerned about and why I am looking for a smartphone Wizard. So the bottom line is the flip phones will no longer be supported in the not too distant future? I never heard about Volte and it sounds very similar to what they did with hd tv. Here's an article about it:

VoLTE: How to use it and why you should care

You're likely already using VoLTE every time you make a call.

www.androidcentral.com

My thanks to all of you, but I'm feeling really old at this time. I see so many that are addicted to the smartphones, and I do mean psychologically addicted. My own opinion, but I think it is very close to a narcotic/alcohol addiction in severity. Friends that are teachers speak of the real problems that kids have with these things. If they try to take the phones away during class time, it can result in assaults on the teachers.

 

[wizardpc]

The Light Phone

Light is a radically different technology company. We design beautiful tools that respect and empower our users and our first product is The Light Phone.

www.thelightphone.com

That is the phone I was *going* to get, then they went and added a cloud management portal.

Pro tip: NEVER buy hardware that's "managed in the cloud." I've seen too many times where a company will either go under, rendering your product useless, or they'll decide their initial business model was not good and switch to a subscription model, forcing you to pay monthly for a device that you'd already paid an agreed-to price.

 

[Tchitcherine]

Here something for you Android fanboiz:

Samsung phones already protected against modem vulnerability that lets hackers listen to your calls

The Qualcomm issue affects an estimated 40% of Android phones

www.androidpolice.com

More details:

Security probe of Qualcomm MSM data services - Check Point Research

Research By: Slava Makkaveev Introduction Mobile Station Modem (MSM) is an ongoing series of a 2G/3G/4G/5G-capable system on chips (SoC) designed by Qualcomm starting in the early 1990s. MSM has always been and will be a popular target for security research because hackers want to find a way to...

research.checkpoint.com

 

[flyfisher117]

No techno-genius here, but I'm finding more and more times that my flip phone is a real anachronism in todays world. I've been fighting this for years, but I'm now relenting and looking for a senior friendly smartphone.(if there is such a thing). Wife's sp is kinda driving me nuts with the small screen. Can't get away from apps today and this is why I'm looking.

Any ideas for makes brands ( I don't want to spend a bundle for the latest and greatest, so older models would be fine for me), as I'm not a big fan of google due to their privacy issues? But in today's world I may not have a choice between apple and android.

Dont do it, with the internet at your finger tips you'll end up spending too much time on the Hide...

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

I Rock a blackberry key2, with android OS. Absolutely love my phone, but I'm a blackberry lover from way way back so... I type a lot of emails for work every day on my phone since I'm in the field all day, so the keyboard is just where it's at for me. It does all the other crap other phones do too but you don't have to use touchscreen to type, you can use the awesome keyboard. Proceed with the comments... I've heard em all before

 

[BLKWLFK9]

Keep the flip phone. It's the only thing that separates u from the phone zombies of the world. Im seriously considering going back to a flip phone

 

[bunny too]

I went with the latest Samsung flagship hoping it would work with my Labradar, is does not; but then again nothing does. Should have bought an AMP annealer instead.

 

[Darkside-Six]

iPhone. Seriously........if my mother can figure it out and have no issues using one then neither will you.
As for Google, you can change who your default search engine is in Safari to whatever you want. I have mine set to Duck Duck Go.
(safari is I your internet browser on Apple products).

 

[DownhillFromHere]

My thanks to all of you, but I'm feeling really old at this time. I see so many that are addicted to the smartphones, and I do mean psychologically addicted. My own opinion, but I think it is very close to a narcotic/alcohol addiction in severity.

In answer to your original question: Apple iPhone. If you want something "that just works," Apple's walled garden is the way to go. You walk in, the gate closes, and that's that. It's always been noteworthy to me that (in pre-pandemic days) one could walk into an Apple store and see knots of seniors being tutored by blue-shirted kids in how to use their devices.

Techies wanna tinker and Android makes that easier - makes it easier for hackers, too. My kid is deep into the tech (and is paid accordingly) and, when he begins describing why Android is a hacker's paradise, I hear Charlie Brown's teacher. Android lovers can flame me all they want, I don't give a rat's ass. I spent over 35 years twiddling bits and now I want to turn on a device and not have to worry about whether it's updating and such (if an Apple device runs, it will update. Will a 5-year-old Android device get updates? Are you Sure?).

I'm a senior too, and a relative newcomer to smartphones. They're a useful device. Come on in. Addiction? Pfft. If you got nothing better to do in your life than stare at a screen, then there is a more serious issue in play....

 

[6.5SH]

I went with the latest Samsung flagship hoping it would work with my Labradar, is does not; but then again nothing does. Should have bought an AMP annealer instead.

Try a fresh SD card (in the LabRadar) or copy your stuff off it and format it. Once it is around 100 series the connection error issue starts to happen.

 

[bunny too]

Try a fresh SD card (in the LabRadar) or copy your stuff off it and format it. Once it is around 100 series the connection error issue starts to happen.

I will try, I am at series 48 right now.
Thank you @6.5SH

 

[rady]

Dont do it, with the internet at your finger tips you'll end up spending too much time on the Hide...

Too late. Just a lot of information here that I learn from and at least here, I can be myself and not have to worry too much about being p.c. I do have some fun on other forums which treat gun owners like lepers and go into histrionics over any discussion themed in "gun."

Dont do it, with the internet at your finger tips you'll end up spending too much time on the Hide...

 

[Animal357]

There’s iPhone and there’s fake wannabees

 

[flyfisher117]

Too late. Just a lot of information here that I learn from and at least here, I can be myself and not have to worry too much about being p.c. I do have some fun on other forums which treat gun owners like lepers and go into histrionics over any discussion themed in "gun."

Frank has been talking about releasing a Snipers Hide app as well!


IMHO. Go to Best Buy, Verizon, Tmobile, Costco where ever and play with some phones and see if any click with you. Explore the phones dig down into the menus and look around. One format or another will click with your brain.

Don't get caught up in the fanboyism, doomers, or techies. I do believe Samsung or Apple will be your best options just due to support and ease of use.

I started out with Apple Products, got pissed when they stopped supporting one of my devices and switched to Samsung. Wasn't blown away by Samsung so then went to Droid. Enjoyed the Droid but the one I had was a nightmare at times trying to get it work. Went back to Samsung and have ended up staying there ever since. No reason other than I got tired of changing.

 

[whiskeytower]

I subscribe to Iphone, i feel it has better "privacy" whatever thats worth now and stupid easy to use. The polished user interface is not something to gloss over, its the most important feature. Ease of use is hands down in Iphone court. Buy an outgoing model if you think you need a "smart phone" you will not miss anything the latest and greatest is offering. my .02

 

[Rog2069]

All I’ll say is “Apple sounds a whole lot more American than Samsung”

so pick your poison - USA or Communism

 

[rady]

Apple will be out for me as they don't support software for another one of my endeavors, so I'm having to go android. I do know there are ways to get it to work with windows applications, but that just layers more complication to the equation.

I really don't plan on using it for the internet much. Screen drives me nuts, so I stick with the desktop and monitor with a prescription screen .

 

[W54/XM-388]

All I’ll say is “Apple sounds a whole lot more American than Samsung”

so pick your poison - USA or Communism

Apple is made in Communist China by workers in horrible conditions (at least until Chinese slaves become too expensive and they have to move to somewhere else to exploit.)

Samsung is made by capitalist Asians using brow beaten low paid workers.

Your purchase of Apple products probably does a lot more to enrich the Chinese Communist Party than your Samsung purchase.

But in the end you are just picking which brand of Tech Elite that hate you and your freedom and everything you stand for that you want to toss money to.
Don't think Apple doesn't hate you just as much as Google does.

 

[Animal357]

Don't think Apple doesn't hate you just as much as Google does.

This is one on the dumbest statements ever written

 

[W54/XM-388]

This is one on the dumbest statements ever written

Do you happen to have any specific details to counter my statement and prove that the Elites that run Apple like conservatives, Christians and believers in the 2nd Amendment?

As far as Google goes, you just have to watch or read from their leaked internal meetings and communications, to clearly see that they despise the above type of people.

Perhaps you'd like to expound on why, as I think you are vastly over inflating the level of stupidity, as I'm sure under "ever written" there is a huge pile of much more actually dumb stuff...

 

[Tchitcherine]

Apple is made in Communist China by workers in horrible conditions (at least until Chinese slaves become too expensive and they have to move to somewhere else to exploit.)

Samsung is made by capitalist Asians using brow beaten low paid workers.

Your purchase of Apple products probably does a lot more to enrich the Chinese Communist Party than your Samsung purchase.

But in the end you are just picking which brand of Tech Elite that hate you and your freedom and everything you stand for that you want to toss money to.
Don't think Apple doesn't hate you just as much as Google does.

- "Apple is made in China" : only partially true; yes the bulk of their manufacturing is done there. Almost everything else is in the US, with a fraction scattered around Europe and elsewhere.

- "Chinese slaves" in "horrible conditions" : some China factories are worse than others. Take an closer look at how the ones making Apple products (Foxconn, etc) stack up against the rest. A Chinese guy with a EE is doing pretty well there by local standards. As for the young people who flock to the less skilled jobs, were they better off farming rice?

- Samsung also has mobile phone manufacturing in China. In 2019 they shut down their last in-house phone factory in China, because they couldn't compete. They probably continue to outsource to other companies in China (eg. Wingtech).

- Even if assembly moves somewhere else, many components will continue to be fabricated in China. For example the Qualcom baseband chip in your Samsung phone might be one of the ones made by TSMC in China.

Ultimately, what difference does it make what phone anyone buys or uses. The companies that make them run on the labor of thousands of normal people trying to be productive, make a living, raise kids, etc. The "elites" at the top wield an enormous amount of wealth and power. Same as it ever was.