New phone time v. LG G4 bootlooped

[Stereodude]

So my LG G4 has decided to bootloop itself this afternoon, so I need a new phone and I don't want to pay a bunch.

I was looking at the Moto G5 plus and G5S plus since I want a decent phone, but don't want to spend a lot since apparently phones are disposable items now.

Any suggestions?

 

[Chewy509]

As someone who isn't far off at getting a new phone myself (digitiser is dying on the touch screen), I've been looking around as well...

I was looking at the Nokia 6, Sony XA and Moto G5S. (low-mid range price bracket).

I'm just having a hard time justifying spending $$$$ on a phone that lasts 2 years at most, when a mid-range phone will roughly the same job. Unfortunately it seems most places around me only want to sell the ultra-cheap entry level or the top end phones, but very few of the mid-range phones.

 

[Stereodude]

The LG G4 worked long enough late this afternoon for me to copy off any data off it that wasn't on the microSDXC card. Not a lot and nothing of any real value, but I got it. It locked up shortly after and went back into the bootloop cycle.

And I need a new phone by the time I fly out of the country on Monday which makes online buying tight. The middle of the road phones aren't generally sold in stores either.

And, of course I missed all the good deals on phones over the past week that ended yesterday. What great timing. I guess it could be worse and die Monday or while I'm gone, but still.

 

[Handruin]

I realize this won't likely be well-received but what about an LG G6? They now offer a two year warranty.

 

[ddrueding]

I really like the V30. Great improvement over the G5 I had before.

 

[Stereodude]

You guys sure like your LG phones.

I heard the V30's OLED display isn't great and it's an $800 phone. The G6 is $500, probably double what I want to spend, and I'm not sure I'm ready to commit to another LG even with an extra year on the warranty. My G4 died a few days shy of the 2 year mark. My old LG flip phone still works pretty well after 10 years though the battery has been replaced numerous times. Somehow I doubt any new smart phone is going to match that. Hence why I want to minimize my spend on a new phone, but I also don't want to end up with a junk phone as a result either.

 

[timwhit]

I swore off LG phones after my LG G5 developed numerous problems around the one year mark. I bought the Samsung GS8+. Not really in your budget either, but it's a great phone.

 

[Handruin]

I would have also bought the V30 like ddrueding had my other phone survived until its release. I'm mostly happy with the G6. My one major complaint is the camera is a step back from my V10. Otherwise the phone just seems to work fine.

I can appreciate you not supporting LG after having multiple problems. I'm unsure why but I don't like Samsung devices. I know it's petty but that fingerprint reader location would drive me insane. The one on the G6 is in the perfect location and works great.

 

[fb]

How about the Moto Z Play (first gen)? I love the battery time, vanilla Android + it should have a descent price.

 

[ddrueding]

I have had a second phone for about 3 weeks now, S8+ on Sprint (loaner, they want our business). I really don't like how narrow the screen is, and the fingerprint reader is in the wrong spot, and the amount of bloat Samsung puts in their phones (Bixby? Really?) seems to slow the thing down.

For a reasonable amount of money might I suggest:

[video=youtube_share;2w5B1Ne-fy4]https://youtu.be/2w5B1Ne-fy4[/video]

 

[Stereodude]

I have a Galaxy S8 as my work phone. I think it's too narrow. I only use it for the occasional e-mail, text, Google hangout message, and phone calls. I don't have any complaints about the performance. But, I certainly wouldn't pay $750 for one.

Really, I'm a lightweight smartphone user. I don't play games, watch movies, listen to music, or run apps. Some occasional web surfing (to kill time when necessary), intermittent texting, a bit of Google Hangouts, and the sporadic phone call. I take a picture or two on occasion, but I'm not using it in place of a P&S.

Edit: Decided to get a Moto G5S+. $239.99 shipped for the 3GB/32GB model. It's supposed to be delivered Friday. Thanks for the suggestions (even though it seems I ignored them all and bought one of what I first mentioned).

 

[ddrueding]

Entirely reasonable to ignore our suggestions; we are a very different type of user than you are. My screen is on probably 3 hours a day, so spending more makes sense for me. With your usage profile $250 seems the right price.

 

[LunarMist]

I have a Galaxy S8 as my work phone. I think it's too narrow. I only use it for the occasional e-mail, text, Google hangout message, and phone calls. I don't have any complaints about the performance. But, I certainly wouldn't pay $750 for one.

Really, I'm a lightweight smartphone user. I don't play games, watch movies, listen to music, or run apps. Some occasional web surfing (to kill time when necessary), intermittent texting, a bit of Google Hangouts, and the sporadic phone call. I take a picture or two on occasion, but I'm not using it in place of a P&S.

Edit: Decided to get a Moto G5S+. $239.99 shipped for the 3GB/32GB model. It's supposed to be delivered Friday. Thanks for the suggestions (even though it seems I ignored them all and bought one of what I first mentioned).

I went the other way, spending ~$250 for the primarily work phone and more on the phone for personal use.

 

[Stereodude]

Entirely reasonable to ignore our suggestions; we are a very different type of user than you are. My screen is on probably 3 hours a day, so spending more makes sense for me. With your usage profile $250 seems the right price.

It's not so much that I ignored them. I should have worded it better. It's more that I did a fair bit of research before I started the thread and the thread was more of a sanity check to make sure there wasn't some really slick phone in the price range I was looking at that I had overlooked or failed to consider.

 

[Handruin]

The Essential phone may have been a strange suggestion to fit a lower budget with more features...mostly because it was not well-received. This will obviously come with some other risks if Essential doesn't last as a company. I'm mostly joking but you never know if this might be something worth considering.

I don't really follow the phones in the $250 price point as most don't offer enough of what I want/need for my daily use. I reason the higher price point because this is a device I use the most throughout any given day and I want it to be responsive and very usable for two years or more.

 

[Stereodude]

My initial impression is that this phone (Moto G5S+) is very nice. It feels nice in your hand. The UI is nice and responsive. The display is crisp and has good uniformity. This may be a "cheap" & "low-end" phone, but no one would know it by manhandling it or using it.

 

[LunarMist]

What are the current thoughts for new phones, maybe for LGB? It needs to be on the T..Mobile.

 

[sdbardwick]

So..LGBT? :smile:

 

[LunarMist]

So..LGBT? :smile:

Oh, I see what you did there.

No, the Korean phones of Lucky Goldenstar.

 

[Handruin]

Are you asking what the recommended LG phone is? If so, either the LG V30 or LG G6. I'm not familiar with LGB.

 

[Stereodude]

As long as you like LG's not so good mobile OLED displays... :frusty:

Edit: The G6 still has a LCD, but the V30 doesn't.

 

[LunarMist]

As long as you like LG's not so good mobile OLED displays... :frusty:

Edit: The G6 still has a LCD, but the V30 doesn't.

Do you not like the V30 series?

 

[Stereodude]

Do you not like the V30 series?

I haven't used it, so I have no opinion. I've read the screen is not as good as Samsung's OLED displays.

 

[LunarMist]

I only have the G4 and lower grade Samsung OLED (1920x1080) to compare. The G4 has the old-time display which is dimmer, not quite uniform, less saturated, and has a lesser viewing angle. Obviously the Samsung is better other than the resolution. I could imagine an OLED somewhere in between that would be acceptable on a $200-250 phone, but not a premium phone.