I'm upgrading because my phone is losing (lost?) support. I use a OnePlus 7 Pro and love it and wouldn't bother upgrading otherwise. I'd appreciate some recommendations of android phones you like, please.
At the high end, Samsung has been pretty solid with their S lineup. The FE models are a good compromise as well. Pixels are a hit or miss, I'd recommend waiting for issues to surface before deciding on the 8/8 pro.
On the more budget - midrange side of things, Motorola has been doing a fairly solid job. They do have a lot of models, so some youtube videos should give you a fair idea on what's right for you.
I've bought Samsung for the past 5 years now and have never had an issue with bloat if you buy from Samsung. If you're buying it from a carrier then yeah there's probably a ton of crap preloaded. Imo Samsung just offers too much of a complete package to pass up. Pixel is good but hardware leaves some to be desired. The cute software quirks just don't make it up for me.
Imo Samsung just offers too much of a complete package to pass up.
That's basically the exact reason I refuse to buy a Samsung, haha. They're positioning themselves to be the Apple of Androids, offering exclusives to bring people into their ecosystem and making it hard to leave. Down to petty things like swapping the back/menu keys so just using a different brand of phone feels uncomfortable.
But they default to the opposite of standard Android, for the explicit purpose of making other phones feel unfamiliar to the majority of their userbase that doesn't switch them.
Honest question. Where is all this bloat stuff coming from for Samsung?
Like, I genuinely haven't noticed any software that I didn't want installed. Sure, there are a few pieces that I've kept but don't use, but nearly all of it can be uninstalled unless it's stuff that's actually needed.
I didn't manage it in an argumentative way. Sorry. I've seen quite a few comments about that. But I haven't noticed it, so I'm trying to see if it's like a provider issue or a country thing. Or just whatever.
Ahh, I only meant to say that I might be living in the past. I thought the bloatware came from Samsung since what I heard on the street matched my experience. Maybe it's time to bury that hatchet though.
To be fair it wasn't a big issue. It was just like five apps that I were stuck with. But back in the days with less memory overall it really grinded my gears. These days I'm not sure I'd even notice.
Ohhh. I understand. Thinking about it, i can see how some apps could be considered blaotware. Like Facebook, which I think is auto installed? Could be wrong there. And a few others, but they're like actual things for it. I just don't use them.
I'm gonna be honest, I fully thought you meant like a lot of absolutely useless apps. So, I'm sorry about that.