New smartphones

[Cowabunga]

I will soon be in the market for two new phones. One for a friend to update her ancient Android, which will be another medium size, medium price Android. But what or which?

And my old Apple 4S loses its wi-fi functionality more regularly these days, requiring thermal shock treatment to get it to work. Dunking it in a plastic bag of near boiling water, followed by a few hours in the deep freeze used to sort it for a couple of months. However these days it needs doing every week to ten days and it is obviously on the way out.
With this in mind she may be about to inherit my perfectly good and eighteen month old [replaced by new by Apple back then due to battery fault] 5S, which should do her well for another four or five years. But what do I get?

I have in mind the Samsung S3 for my friend. It seems like a good phone with good camera for about £250. Are there better alternatives for that price or less?

As for iPhone, I would like the iPhone X, but like doesn't get. It is a ridiculous price and if I used its camera and other features fully, the 256GB storage would make sense. Either version at £1000+ is however out of the question. Its just ridiculous.
The sensible answer is the iPhone SE, which is a revised version of my 5S with double the storage, but I do fancy a change after long term use of 4S and then 5S, which have identical bodies to the SE.
Not discounting the SE entirely, because its sub-£300 price is attractive and it does most of what others in the range do. However there's the 7, 7S, 8 and 8S to consider too. The 8S is slightly too big for convenient pocket use while at work, or to fit easily and securely in the tractors come to think of it, but its keyboard is best and the dual cameras plus selfie camera are apparently superb. Again the price is against it.
Maybe the 7 or 8 standard size would be a good compromise? The 7 has, by some accounts, a very short battery life and the 8standard has an even smaller battery, which is a worry. Are any of them justifiably worth twice the price of an iPhone SE or more?

Decisions, decisions!

Maybe I'll just leave it all for a while? Yes, that's the sensible option.

 

[franklin]

I am going for an A3 as it is just that bit smaller ie it actually fits in one of my pockets.

 

[Renaultman]

I've got the Moto g5 doing everything it's supposed to so far, very cheap. Was recommended a Chinese one at about£100 but it didn't have a memory card slot :-(

 

[franklin]

My last new one was an old Galaxy S2 which was very good. Will buy a spare battery from eBay on day one of new phone to extend working life.

 

[Philip Watkins]

....... However there's the 7, 7S, 8 and 8S to consider too. The 8S is slightly too big for convenient pocket use while at work, or to fit easily and securely in the tractors come to think of it, but its keyboard is best and the dual cameras plus selfie camera are apparently superb.......

Presume you mean 7plus and 8plus as Apple haven't made a 7S or 8S.

 

[dave6470]

If you didn't mind going to android I'd take a look at the oneplus 5
I've had one for a few months and really like it really good specs 128 GB storage 6GB ram for £499.00

 

[msheep66]

I have just bought a Moto G4 which is a great phone for the money, previous phone a Samsung S3 which only runs 3g.

 

[milkloss]

I will soon be in the market for two new phones. One for a friend to update her ancient Android, which will be another medium size, medium price Android. But what or which?

And my old Apple 4S loses its wi-fi functionality more regularly these days, requiring thermal shock treatment to get it to work. Dunking it in a plastic bag of near boiling water, followed by a few hours in the deep freeze used to sort it for a couple of months. However these days it needs doing every week to ten days and it is obviously on the way out.
With this in mind she may be about to inherit my perfectly good and eighteen month old [replaced by new by Apple back then due to battery fault] 5S, which should do her well for another four or five years. But what do I get?

I have in mind the Samsung S3 for my friend. It seems like a good phone with good camera for about £250. Are there better alternatives for that price or less?

As for iPhone, I would like the iPhone X, but like doesn't get. It is a ridiculous price and if I used its camera and other features fully, the 256GB storage would make sense. Either version at £1000+ is however out of the question. Its just ridiculous.
The sensible answer is the iPhone SE, which is a revised version of my 5S with double the storage, but I do fancy a change after long term use of 4S and then 5S, which have identical bodies to the SE.
Not discounting the SE entirely, because its sub-£300 price is attractive and it does most of what others in the range do. However there's the 7, 7S, 8 and 8S to consider too. The 8S is slightly too big for convenient pocket use while at work, or to fit easily and securely in the tractors come to think of it, but its keyboard is best and the dual cameras plus selfie camera are apparently superb. Again the price is against it.
Maybe the 7 or 8 standard size would be a good compromise? The 7 has, by some accounts, a very short battery life and the 8standard has an even smaller battery, which is a worry. Are any of them justifiably worth twice the price of an iPhone SE or more?

Decisions, decisions!

Maybe I'll just leave it all for a while? Yes, that's the sensible option.

So are you using a 4s or 5s right now? Can't see doing the boil in the bag trick being much fun for a chap like you!

I'd go 6s myself, can't think the newer ones are much better for the money.

 

[Dairyfarmerswife]

We are big fans of Motorola here, all running Moto z plays which have phenomenal battery life and clip on 'mods' - a jbl speaker and a hasselblad camera. The Moto z has just been replaced by the z 2 I think, which is about £380. 'Pure android' - very few Motorola apps could compared to the add-ons you get on a Samsung.

 

[Cowabunga]

Presume you mean 7plus and 8plus as Apple haven't made a 7S or 8S.

Yes, that will be them. I was just browsing the Currys web site and all the S and plus and various model numbers, so similar, gets my head in a spin.

 

[Cowabunga]

If you didn't mind going to android I'd take a look at the oneplus 5
I've had one for a few months and really like it really good specs 128 GB storage 6GB ram for £499.00

I'm not going back to Android. Nothing against it but since I have an iMac and an iPad Pro, it makes sense to stick with Apple. £499 is almost certainly too expensive for my friend, who is a complete technophobe and mostly uses it as a phone and camera, although I do believe she does do some email and browsing on her Android of late, when away from home.

 

[Cowabunga]

W

I have just bought a Moto G4 which is a great phone for the money, previous phone a Samsung S3 which only runs 3g.

Will have a look at the Moto G4.

 

[Cowabunga]

So are you using a 4s or 5s right now? Can't see doing the boil in the bag trick being much fun for a chap like you!

I'd go 6s myself, can't think the newer ones are much better for the money.

I'm using a perfectly good 5S. It is my wife's 4S which is my cast-off that is giving bother.

My daughter has a 6 and I think the 6S is the bigger version of it? If so, its easier to source a 7 locally just now.
The boil in the bag trick, then freeze, worked very well for the last year or so, but its getting beyond a joke now. I did it three days ago and just checked and wi-fi is again locked out. Its a well known fault on older ones and the thermal shock cure is also well known although regrettably, only a temporary one.

I'm off tramping again on Monday and I'll do a little detour either to a Stormfront shop or to Apple shop in Cardiff to have a good look in the metal.

The sensible option is a new iPhone SE, but its also the boring option. Besides which the keyboard is too small for my fingers and I keep mistyping on the identical 5S

 

[Happy]

The sensible option is a new iPhone SE, but its also the boring option. Besides which the keyboard is too small for my fingers and I keep mistyping on the identical 5S

Just got myself the boring one here.
Quite exciting to me though as replaced an old Samsung flip phone.
Seems plenty big enough in my pocket but I'm sure I 'll get used to it in a week or two.

 

[milkloss]

I'm using a perfectly good 5S. It is my wife's 4S which is my cast-off that is giving bother.

My daughter has a 6 and I think the 6S is the bigger version of it? If so, its easier to source a 7 locally just now.
The boil in the bag trick, then freeze, worked very well for the last year or so, but its getting beyond a joke now. I did it three days ago and just checked and wi-fi is again locked out. Its a well known fault on older ones and the thermal shock cure is also well known although regrettably, only a temporary one.

I'm off tramping again on Monday and I'll do a little detour either to a Stormfront shop or to Apple shop in Cardiff to have a good look in the metal.

The sensible option is a new iPhone SE, but its also the boring option. Besides which the keyboard is too small for my fingers and I keep mistyping on the identical 5S

6s has a stronger chassis and faster than the 6. The 6 plus is the bigger one. The 7 has no phone plug but is waterproof and much faster again. No clicky home button though Buts it's buzzy/feed back. I think.

 

[Cowabunga]

Just got myself the boring one here.
Quite exciting to me though as replaced an old Samsung flip phone.
Seems plenty big enough in my pocket but I'm sure I 'll get used to it in a week or two.

Its not a boring phone. Its just that I've had almost identical 4S and 5S for years and I would maybe like a change. Mind you, I don't know how many operating system updates they've had over the years, so today's 5S has the very latest IOS11 that was introduced a week or so ago. The 4S has had all the updates until this one, but apart from the wi-fi playing up [not working at all now], the latest operating system is incompatible. Not that this matters, because IOS10 is awesome anyway.

The SE [4 and 5 and their S's] is ideal size for the pocket. Mine has a Lego case on it which would transfer to the SE no problem. My wife wants my 5S but she doesn't want the red and yellow Lego case. I think she's shy.

 

[milkloss]

Its not a boring phone. Its just that I've had almost identical 4S and 5S for years and I would maybe like a change. Mind you, I don't know how many operating system updates they've had over the years, so today's 5S has the very latest IOS11 that was introduced a week or so ago. The 4S has had all the updates until this one, but apart from the wi-fi playing up [not working at all now], the latest operating system is incompatible. Not that this matters, because IOS10 is awesome anyway.

Any useful changes in ios11? I haven't updated yet.

 

[Cowabunga]

6s has a stronger chassis and faster than the 6. The 6 plus is the bigger one. The 7 has no phone plug but is waterproof and much faster again. No clicky home button though Buts it's buzzy/feed back. I think.

These different numbers, with and without S and/or Plus are confusing to someone like me, who hasn't kept up with them.
I prodded a 7 and 8 in Currys today and noticed that the home button has lost its traditional travel. It seemed more like a tiny round touchscreen.
Not sure what you mean by "no phone plug", unless you mean that there's no headphone socket, which I read about somewhere. That's not an issue for me, because I generally play music on either iMac, iPad or stream from the phone to car through Bluetooth. Not sure whether car uses Bluetooth or the lightening cable to stream music when the cable is connecting through USB.

 

[Cowabunga]

Any useful changes in ios11? I haven't updated yet.

Not so much on my 'old' 5S as there is on iPad. Main thing is the swipe up from the bottom, the Photos app which stores images more efficiently. There's probably a lot more, but the important thing is that it just works.

Having said that, there's an update to IOS 11.0.2 [I think] waiting to be loaded which sorts some minor bigs in email and stuff out. Not stuff or bugs I've knowingly come across. Will update later while it charges while I sleep.

 

[milkloss]

These different numbers, with and without S and/or Plus are confusing to someone like me, who hasn't kept up with them.
I prodded a 7 and 8 in Currys today and noticed that the home button has lost its traditional travel. It seemed more like a tiny round touchscreen.
Not sure what you mean by "no phone plug", unless you mean that there's no headphone socket, which I read about somewhere. That's not an issue for me, because I generally play music on either iMac, iPad or stream from the phone to car through Bluetooth. Not sure whether car uses Bluetooth or the lightening cable to stream music when the cable is connecting through USB.

Yes, sorry, I meant no headphone socket. The new home buttons are indeed not clicky I.e, mechanical, but do have feedback of some sort. Taptic I think you call it. It also knows the difference between a tap and a press. I didnt like it when I tried it but it does mean the phone is waterproof to a degree which is only a bonus in our trade.