Here’s a list of phones I used; Anyway, go buy the new Pixel 9.
If you don’t mind Googles extreamly bad AI and also their subscription plans to suck you dry… Sure.
And then the ugly camera bump on these phones… Ouch.
For me, it’s the oneplus phones that are the saving grace in a mess of bad phones.
Best looking design is probably the Honor 6 but the Chinese software design is awful and very convoluted.
I absolutely agree that the camera bump is ugly as fuck but a case probably hides it very well like it does on my 6A
I had a 2XL that I absolutely loved. It eventually got screen burn in so bad I could barely use it.
But I held on to it till the 6 came out, and I’m still rocking a fantastic 6 pro. Love it. Have zero interest in paying twice as much for the 9 though.
The Pixels are probably the best high-end phone, but today the selection available is all bad enough that your choice comes down to “what features can I lose?”
Even the likes of OnePlus have been shit for years. A company that literally entered the market on releasing an affordable flagship with near-stock software. Their last great phone was the OnePlus 6, before they decided to start ditching features.
I had assumed that more companies would enter the market and take over, but that hasn’t happened. You still end up with no choice, whether it’s a poor screen, an awful camera, no storage, removed ports/jacks, no NFC support, or stupid little features that no one would actually give a shit about.
The strength of early Android was that you had flagship phones that had the best new features, and experimental releases that tried new things on a budget like barcode scanners, slide-out keyboards, a desktop OS, remote features, etc. This still exists, but you’re paying even more for the pleasure of testing something in the wild.
IMO, the world could use a new mobile OS, and one grounded in reality.
The Pixels are probably the best high-end phone
I think it depends on what you are looking for in a high-end phone, as Google’s Tensor chips are not equivalent performers to the chips found in other smartphones at that price range. Consumers are being asked to pay a high-end price for the performance of a high-end phone from several years ago or an upper mid-range phone today.
OnePlus is like, the only mainstream phone manufacturer worth it anymore. Half the price of other flagships, high frequency pwm dimming to reduce eyestrain, and still great camera. People say OxygenOS is bloated but that’s because stock Android is so stripped down and has had so many features removed over the years. But OxygenOS kept things that make sense, like a usable swipe down menu, floating windows, per application refresh rate, etc. and still has the IR blaster. And no AI gimmicks.
I really don’t see anything competitive with the OnePlus 12 or 12R in the US market at that price. The high frequency pwm is the biggest selling point for me though. I literally can’t use a Pixel because of the low pwm.
