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Driving rule under DND, which if toggled on enables DND mode while driving. I'm running android pie and this seems to be a stock feature.


Pixel 2XL > Nokia 8.1

As long as it's a postpaid connection, there's no need of separate pack. Just make sure you enable International roaming in My Jio app.

Sorry friend, I am not sure about Jio prepaid. IMHO, it should work for prepaid as well. Please see if the option for International roaming in My Jio app is enabled for your connection.

My short review of the Nokia 6.1 plus -
Display : Okay, nothing great or bad about it. Obviously not flagship grade, the brightness and contrast and typical midrange. Does the job and can be used in sunlight with some difficulty

Performance: Decent. Clean version of Android helps. But there are occasional freezes and stutters which might be bugs in Android Pie. I would like to wait for a couple of more updates before I conclude but my guess is those issues should be ironed out in the next few months.

Updates: Great. I am currently on Android Pie with December security patch. This was one of the main reasons for buying this phone and Nokia has certainly lived up to the expectations.

Camera: Average. Nokia has recently pushed some updates to the Camera software which has improved performance significantly. However, I believe there will be better devices available in this price. Google Camera is better but is unreliable. I think this can click decent photos in daylight but not usable in indoor or night conditions. One positive thing is the bokeh is pretty good and the edge detection works fine.

Battery life: Very good. I was worried about the battery life considering the smallish 3060mah battery. But it has been very good surprisingly. I think its a combination of factors like small screen, energy efficient chipset and clean software. You can expect 5+ hours of screen on time and it will last entire day even with heavy usage.

Audio quality: Poor. I think this is one area where most midrange phones compromise. The speakers are tinny and hollow and the output via headphone jack is low and lacks any sort of fidelity.

Call quality:Excellent. Its even better than the Pixel. reception and voice clarity is great.

Other points:As mentioned earlier, the phone did not work in my recent trip to USA. I can't live with this issue. So, I will be replacing it shortly.

Recommendation: Yes, if you want clean Android experience with regular updates. But, if you want your phone to work abroad, looks elsewhere. Unfortunately, I dont know which midrange phones will work abroad.

Recently while I was traveling abroad, I used the global pack for my jio prepaid. It worked flawlessly. They charge Rs.2 for calls to india/local calls to country you are in/ and outgoing sms. Incoming sms is free. I felt that was good value as far as calls are concerned. I did not use internet a lot, so cannot comment about that.

If you are travelling to UAE, they have unlimited packs. Never used that, these packs are not available for all countries. I feel if you do not require a lot of calls and internet, global pack should suffice, because the pack is cheaper for longer duration.

In search of a true Android flagship

This is my rant about Android flagship phone.
I was using the Pixel recently before I bought the Nokia 6.1 plus due to battery life problems. The hope was that the Pixel can be repaired by just changing the battery but Google says the motherboard needs replacement which will cost more than 20K.

Now, I would like to buy a flagship phone as frankly the Nokia 6.1 plus is a midrange phone with too many compromises and I can't live with that for long.

What are my top requirements?
Great software experience, timely updates for a long time, one-hand friendly, good camera and battery life.

What are the options?

1> Pixel 3/3XL - These are good phones but only a slight improvement over the Pixel 2/2XL. The specs are same, the camera performance is same with some marginal improvement in performance which can't be observed by normal users. Also, the quality of screens and the bland design do not justify the astronomical price. Main reason to consider these will be regular software updates for 3 years.

2>Samsung S9/Note - I think these phones still offer the best hardware on any Android device. I will happily buy these if Samsung provided a better software experience and timely updates.

3>Oneplus 6T - I think there is nothing much to complain given the price. Sure, it lacks water resistance and the camera experience might be slightly inferior compared to the above but at the price, this offers the least amount of compromises.

2> Pixel 2/2XL - Pixel 2 is ruled out for the gigantic bezels. I almost bough the Pixel 2 XL but the screen is a huge letdown. Its dull and there are screen burning issues in many handsets. I personally tried one of my friends and I dont think I can live with it.

Even if I take money out of the equation, there is not a single phone in the Android world which can satisfy my requirements. In the Apple world, I have the option of Iphone X/XS/XR which should satisfy all my requirements. I always thought Apple is overpriced but the fact is that - there is no phone in the Android world which provides a wholesome and hassle-free long term ownership experience like Iphones. I can't switch to IOS as I am too much used to the flexibility offered by Android but it surely is frustrating. If Oneplus 6T was available in a smaller size, I would have picked one. Otherwise, I might just wait for a few months and pick up the Pixel3 if price drops.

Adi, buy the Note 9, you will be happy with it as far as the premium experience goes. You will have to tone down your expectations a bit.

Size - its a large phone, but once you get used to it, there is no going back.

Screen - no other phone (even Apple) will give you the fantastic screen quality and brightness. All other phones pale in comparision.

Updates - security updates are regular, got the December security patch a few days ago. You will get os updates a bit later, but really does that matter? Day to day usage its a fantastic snappy, smooth phone.

Camera - its great too, sure perceptions will differ especially among Utube reviews.

Call quality and battery life is excellent.

I am still on my Note 8 simply because I am extemely happy with it. No lag or stutter at all. Its 15 months now. Will buy the Note 10 in 2019.

Check it out properly, I feel it will satisfy all your premium phone cravings and then some. Plus there are good offers going on too.

Cheers

Get the note 9. There are some good offers in BYOD site of Samsung. I am using Note 9 and One UI beta, which is the new Samsung software. I am impressed by how lag free it is!! I am getting regular monthly security updates and I am convinced by Note 9's performance overall. This phone is a keeper and you can easily bank on it for 3 to 5 years.

Can't say I was in exactly the same boat as you, since I wasn't after the flagship experience initially. After being used to Mi phones for 4+ years, I just wanted a change. Looking through almost all the phone available, I ended up getting a S9 as I was inclined to get the best camera w/ manual controls. It was more expensive than all my previous phones combined, but hey, WTH, YOLO!:D


I liked the size/form factor of S9 and bought it over the larger S9+. Note wasn't out by then. Try them in a store near you, that would help you decide which one you find the most comfortable to use.

Talking about the specific points you raised -

Camera: The camera is an absolute beast and rivals my Sony A6300 in good light. On default settings, I would say the pictures are ever so slightly over saturated - purely nitpicking! You also get manual mode for both video & photo, so you can tune it to your liking. In the manual mode you can choose between f/1.5 and f/2.4 AND get the ISO down to 50!

UI: After being used to the MIUI, it feels leagues ahead. While MIUI is all about duplicating things/looks from Apple, of late they have gone mad with injecting ads in almost all their stock apps :Frustrati No such non-sense with Samsung. In fact, you can uninstall some of the bundled apps if that is what you want. I deleted most of the redundant Google apps and kept a few Samsung ones. It feels very fast and fluid to operate. Goodies like face/fingerprint unlock all work without a hitch.

Battery: Being in a smaller form factor with a hugh screen, this is a bit of a problem in S9. Full charge just about sees me through a day with fair bit of social media, emails, whatsapp, youtube (during commute). I am planning to get a wireless charger from Aliexpress for my office desk.

Updates: Security updates have been timely - last update was somewhere in the 1st week of December. No idea how long will it last, but I assume they would support these devices for at-least 2 years given the price we pay for it.

If you are not after stock android and prefer some bit of customization as an OEM feature, consider the Samsung phones. Screens, obviously are a major plus point. Otherwise pixels are your best bet.

Camera and battery are fairly similar in performance across both the phones.

Personally, I'm now OK with P2XL screen with the options to change it from natural to boosted to saturated. I keep it at saturated. IMHO, P2XL at the moment is an absolutely value for money proposition at the current price. I don't think P3 prices will drop to acceptable levels before May next year. Now, also with the new e-commerce rules that are likely to come in, discounts may be hard to get by.

You should get a look-n-feel of Samsung at a nearby store to make up your mind.

Among the pixels, I would have chosen a P2XL. :)

Thanks for all the suggestions.
My wife has a Note 8 and I have enough experience with it :). The Note 9 is not much different. It is a great phone but I think it is too big for me other than the software experience. I have tried S9/S9+ as well. I liked the overall size of the S9 but one shortcoming with the S9 is the lack of the secondary camera which means you lose out on the bokeh feature. Correct me if I am wrong here.
Between the S9+ and Note 9, I will choose the S9+ for the slightly compact dimensions.

P2XL is a great bargain now, no doubt. I dont like the screen and the updates will be on till Oct 2020 which means I need to purchase another phone then. I was planning to keep a phone for 2.5-3 years if possible. So, need a phone with at least 2+ years of updates remaining. How is Samsung in this regard? How long they provide security updates for their flagship phones?

I think the Samsung cameras are as good as the Pixel and I do prefer them in many situations over the Pixel.

Since the new S-series from Samsung is on the way, it might be worthwhile to wait and then take a call

Samsung provides 2 major updates to its flagship phones.

Below are few examples.

Galaxy Note 5 - Started on Lollipop. Updated to Marshmallow and Nougat. No major updates will be received, only getting monthly security updates, may stop soon.

Galaxy Note 8 - Started on Nougat. Updated to Oreo. Will be updated to Pie and this will be the last update. Security updates will continue for sometime post Pie update.

Galaxy S9+ - Started on Oreo. Will be updated to Pie soon. It will get one more major update to Android 10.0. Security updates will continue post that and will stop eventually

Thanks, any idea how long the Security updates will continue? My office stops email access of we don't have security updates. So that is the topmost requirement for me

Need to check if "Treble" has been incorporated by Samsung. This will allow Google to update some features and security patches directly without having to depend on the vendor.

How does your office know if you have security updates or not?

There is Airwatch MDM installed on the phone which is a pre-requisite for corporate email access. So, it knows all details about the phone including security patch version and checks for all compliance factors continuously.