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-   -   The Mobile Phone Thread - Queries, decisions, discussions all here (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/gadgets-computers-software/63048-mobile-phone-thread-queries-decisions-discussions-all-here-812.html)

On my way home this evening I stopped at Kotivakkam Axis Bank atm. I noticed that Relliance Digital was still open, so I did the u-turn and called in.

They had about three Moto phones on display, and one of them was an Edge 40 might have been Neo. Don't remember clearly. I got one of the staff and asked for G84. He looked at a paper, said yes, and I said I'd buy one. It was nearly 20k, I'm sure I could do better, but still.

He called a colleague who looked in a cupboard and shook his head.

I refused to show any interest in anything else. He went to his computer, said there should be one, black. I said ok, I'm not going to sweat the colour. He went upstairs.

Five minutes later he came down again, empty handed, and searched in another cupboard.

Moto 84G, 256Gb internal, Midnight Blue, he read off the box in his hand. I bought it.

Do I like it? I've barely got started with it. Loading a heap of apps, messing around with it. Hoping I can transfer Whatsapp in its entirely but there are heaps of photos in there and it might take ages!

Yes, it feels plastic. And thin. And I loved my old, humble Mi A1! Which is dying. So I needed a new phone rather than wanted one. And I expect i'll be ok with it.

I hope so: I keep my phones for years! :)

Thanks, will check.
Thanks a lot, will try this on my current device and then proceed.

The Xioami devices that I have been using for long have the option of cloning the apps - a godsend for me. Apart from WhatsApp I have many other apps cloned too; makes it easy to keep separate track of professional and personal matters simultaneously, without switching accounts.

I'm drooling all over the Xperia 1 series right now, apart from Xperia 1 iii, their 1 lineup is pretty solid, the only thing that keeps me from buying it is the slow battery charging speeds. Had used a Nokia 8.1 in the past (18w charging) & switched to a Oneplus 8T (67W) and not Nord CE 3 (80W), the idea of going back to the slow lane is kind of scary.

1. Anyone did this kind of switch? (Downgrade in charging speed)
2. Have found a few vendors on Indiamart who are selling 1V for around 40k or so (Abhishek Aroma, Moksh Enterprises), anyone having any experience with them?

The Nord CE3 is too expensive! Nobody in our family and friend circle has a credit card. So I won't be able to avail the discount. Moreover, my parents have further reduced the budget to 23,000.

I mentioned a good processor, but I want something which can record 4K videos too, as the current Exynos 9611 on my M30S supports 4K recording. And I don't want another Exynos chipset phone. Looks like I'll need to wait for sometime and keep using my M30S.:)

My 2.5 years Motorola Edge 20 is still going strong. Except for a few stutters here and there, it is perfectly usable - maybe because of it's near-stock Android. I have a ton of stuff installed in it (no games though) yet it holds up.

The biggest pain of owning Motorola phones is the software updates. The Edge 20 got the Android 13 update a year after it was released by Google. Security updates used to come every 2 months, but they stopped after the 2 year window.

Enjoy your new acquisition.

I went from a 30 W charging Moto G82 to probably a ~15-20 W charging S23 (when charging via cable in my car and fast charging switched off to avoid overheating).
To be honest, nothing has changed by much. Just that the S23 has slower battery drain and works efficiently all the way till 5% charge. The smaller battery to fill up helps too.
All this 'range anxiety' in mobile phones can be avoided if you plan your charging in advance. For instance, I just slow charge my phone from my car while driving and from my laptop while working.

:thumbs up
Obviously, security can be an issue, but otherwise I'm not bothered about updates. I prefer things not to change! My old phone was Android 8; my tablet is Android 9.
Thank you. Usage is a great improvement: I can get out a text message about five times faster, just because the phone works properly! The display ratio, I'll never like: I have to learn to live with it.

It's the latest thing they've taught us to worry about. As long as it lasts the day, I was generally happy with my phone charging slowly overnight. And my previous, QC2.0, could get enough charge in half an hour if I really needed to.

I think this G84 is 33w charge. This is a different world to me! I used to be happy to see Ampere app reporting over 1,000 charge rate. On this phone it's showing over 4,000!

Another plus point for the G84 is that it does come with a charger. And it seems to be full rate, not cut back for our market. You get a lead too, and a rear cover.

I would really love to use my phone long enough (currently done 20 months with my Samsung S20 FE 5G), but somehow when the security updates stop coming, using the bank apps and Gpay on my phone makes me anxious. At that point, I end up buying a new phone just for my peace of mind.

How important is it that my phone has 5G if I am buying one in 2024 and plan to keep for 3 years? Is it something that I should definitely have? I personally don't have need for blazing speed and am quite OK with 4G speeds.

Also, do the carriers (Airtel/Jio) charge extra for 5G connections? Or is it the same as 4G connections?

If you are buying an old pre-owned midrange/flagship phone, yes, it might have just 4G capability. But if you are buying a new phone, then this is not a relevant question because almost all phones on sale have 5G capability.

No needed at all. Unless you are connecting your phone to desktop/laptop as mobile hotspot.

Your same old plan will have 5G speeds. There is no separate 5G plan typically. No need to change sim card too.

Glad you could find one.

I was also interested in the G84, but wasn't as lucky. Was going to place an order at the last Flipkart BBD sale, ... only to find out that they would not ship to my address (although most Flipkart items I can buy without problem)! The local Reliance Digital doesn't carry it. So had to give up on the idea. Perhaps I was better off this way too: if I was having so much trouble while buying it, I wonder what kind of after sales service I could expect away from a big city! ... A Samsung service center in contrast is just a short walk away!


How is your Mi A1 dying? I too like to keep my phones for as long as possible, but the battery dies before the phone does. My current Samsung mid-ranger is almost 7 years old, but still works just fine (with an Exynos processor, and no heating too!), and I'm very happy with it. The trouble is, it needs a new battery which isn't available from Samsung anymore. The cheap chinese replacements I can't trust. A Redmi phone in the household had its battery (original too) bulge out, so the screen is getting pushed off the body (not broken yet)! My Samsung is a year older, but its battery is still as flat as new.

So I'd have to just discard my perfectly working phone for no other reason than that a reliable replacement battery can't be purchased anymore!

I often wonder what happens in the used phone market, ... how are those powered?! It's such a shame that there is no standardization in phone batteries which can come in any shape and size whatsoever in accordance with the phone manufacturers' whims. ... And people have to dump their perfectly working electronics if an appropriate power source can't be found any longer!

.... My Nikon digital camera takes a battery that is identical in all respects to those in the popular old Nokia budget phones, ... except that the contacts geometry differs, ... and is sold at three times the price!
.

Samsung service center will not have that battery because there will be no demand for it. Google "original samsung <modelname> battery" and buy online.

we have an old Samsung Galaxy J7 that we use for alarm mostly (we have alarm going off atleast 8 times in a day). This discourages the use of smartphone as soon as we wake up. Battery availability is not a problem.

You've got me worried now. I run Google Pay and 3 other banking apps (ICICI, SBI, Axis) on that phone. My primary phone is an iPhone 15 pro but use this for the banking apps as the iPhone does not have a sim slot and my VI connection is a physical sim. Now will I have to upgrade the phone. I really like the Edge 40 except for the curved edges.

But going by what has now happened to the Edge 20, the Edge 40 will also stop receiving security updates in another 1.5 years. Sounds pretty wasteful. My prehistoric iPhone 6S just got a security update last month eventhough it received its last iOS update in 2021. Remember, this is a 2015 launched phone.

Which Android phones provide the longest security updates? The Pixels?

I think so. Google Pixels lead the pack, followed by Samsung Galaxys, followed by the rest of the gang.

While I've owned Motorola phones for more than a decade now, it is a fact that as a company they are extremely lacking in OS/Security update policies and timelines.

I am curious, why can't you run banking apps on your iPhone? Are OTPs not received on e-sims? You can just get an esim for your VI connection and put it on your iPhone, right?

And yes, Pixels come with 7 years of OS and Security updates from the time they are launched. Same is the case with the new Samsung S24 series. But these are high end phones and do not serve the purpose of people like me who don't want to spend more than 30k on a new phone.

If someone can confirm that security updates are mere gimmicks and don't affect Google Pay or bank apps usage, I'd be over the moon!

PS: I also extensively make payments with my credit card through NFC from my phone, so that's another area of worry.