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I really wish Google would sell a good value (Nexus level prices) phone again, so I can own a phone with stock Android. You can get good hardware for half the p
by nmeofthestate 8y ago
I really wish Google would sell a good value (Nexus level prices) phone again, so I can own a phone with stock Android. You can get good hardware for half the price of Google's pixel phones; the downside is the crappy Android versions on them.
(thanks for the suggestions on close-to-stock-Android hardware)
- scrollaway 8y agoIf you're not constrained by the hardware, then take the time to install LineageOS (https://lineageos.org/ https://lineageos.org/). If you need Google's flavour of Android you can get it from OpenGAPPS (https://opengapps.org/ https://opengapps.org/). I did it for my mom's phone and most recently my own (which until I hit some software issues was running Google stock). It's really easy nowadays, with some tech skills and assuming your phone isn't obscure.
- thaumasiotes 8y agoI just got a Pixel 1 planning to do that very thing. I thought I was getting a great deal; they're about $200 on Amazon. I ran into an apparently common issue where it won't connect to Windows through its bundled USB cable (or any other USB cable...). Plugging it into my external monitor, which is also a USB hub, solved that problem. Except that in bootloader mode, it is once again unrecognized, making it impossible to unlock.
- neumann 8y agoi had that problem with a google pixel. the 5th cable worked. buy a bunch of random ones online.
- s73v3r_ 8y agoThe Nokia 6.1 is on sale for $230 at Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B4KPFKM/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B4KPFKM/
- seanalltogether 8y agoJust my 2 cents, I own a Nokia 6.1 and bought it for the exact reasons OP had, a cheap stock android phone. Unfortunately the hardware is really poor and I still don't have Android 9 available to me yet. The camera is really really bad, it sometimes shows a photo has been taken and when you view it later it turns out the shutter captured whatever was in view 2 seconds later. Something is also really wrong with the audio firmware, music will just stop randomly followed by a loud pop, it's like a buffer overflows or something.
- foepys 8y agoI got the Nokia 6 (2017) and can confirm that the camera was also very bad there. But security updates are still coming (just updated to patch level October 2018) and Android 9 has been announced to come at the end of this year, which is absolutely fine for me because that's a much better support than a lot of "premium" phones ($600+) get. Samsung's Galaxy S9 - its top smartphone - is still running Android 8.0 (8.1 is out since end of 2017) and it will get Android 9 not before next year. Considering that the Nokia 6 costed me only ~$170 when I bought it a few months back, this is top value.
- voltagex_ 8y agoGrumble. The 6.1 was an emergency upgrade for dad when the Nexus 5X started bootlooping in the airport. He hasn't mentioned the camera (damn, the 5X set a really high bar for a $400 phone) or audio issues yet
- chongli 8y agoA Nexus level priced value product running stock Android would cannibalize Pixel sales. Google made the Pixel a premium product specifically for those who care about stock Android. People who buy value phones don't care about stock Android.
- gjm11 8y ago> People who buy value phones don't care about stock Android. What does this even mean? I mean, since there are no cheap stock-Android phones clearly anyone who buys a cheap phone doesn't only care about stock Android. But it's absolutely possible for someone to (1) want a phone at non-"premium" prices and (2) want a phone running stock Android. The fact that they then have to pick at most one of those two because no one but Google makes stock-Android phones and Google have gone premium-only doesn't mean that they don't, or shouldn't, want both.
- opencl 8y agoThere are a bunch of cheap stock Android phones now from the Android One program. Nokia has the 3.1, 5.1, 6.1, 6.1+. Xiaomi has Mi A1, A2 Lite, A2. Then there's the BQ Aquaris X2, GM9 Pro, Sharp X1, Motorola One.
- shaan7 8y agoTry the Nokia phones by HMD, they're almost stock Android (only diff is you can't remove some Nokia apps without root)
- floatboth 8y agoNokia doesn't allow bootloader unlocking, which should be a giant "nope" for anyone reading something called hacker news… Meanwhile Xiaomi's Android One devices (not MIUI) are just 'fastboot oem unlock' without any key requests, just like good old Nexuses.
- wstrange 8y agoAndroid One phones are pretty close to stock. https://www.android.com/one/ https://www.android.com/one/
- gst 8y agoThe Android One phones (https://www.android.com/one/ https://www.android.com/one/) are running stock Android and provide 2 years of Android OS updates and 3 year of security updates.
- bscphil 8y agoFor people who want to buy phones in the several-hundred-dollar range, 2 years of official updates really isn't sufficient. My Nexus 4 lasted 4 or 5 years, the last few on unofficial firmware - but I shouldn't have had to use third party firmware on a device that was working just fine.
- hocuspocus 8y agoWell, you never had to. It's pretty disingenuous to compare Android and iOS like it's a 1:1 comparison. Google Play services and several other components get updated independently from the system. A Nexus 4 that is running the last official security patch still works "just fine" and gives you access to the majority of apps on the Play store. While the update model isn't perfect and a bit concerning security-wise, if you want a device that "just works" for 5 years and won't be artificially crippled, Android wins.
- Someone1234 8y ago
- therealmarv 8y agoI bought the Nexus 7 Plus below 300 Euro. You can also get the Pixel 2 (and sometime in the future also Pixel 3) camera apk running on it in a modified version. Side note: It has also one of the best cameras on phones in this price area.
- distances 8y agoNexus 7 is a tablet without Plus model. Are you thinking of 6P?
- kennyadam 8y agoThey probably mean the Nokia 7 Plus, which I also own. It's a fantastic phone and you get so much for you money! Seriously, I've owned the Nexus 4, 5, 5X and 6P and this is my favourite out of them all.
- therealmarv 8y agoThanks. Meant the Nokia as you said... I was too fast with typing and cannot edit anymore ;) And I agree to your comment. I had Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 5, Nexus 5X and Nokia 7 Plus is the best so far.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- int_19h 8y agoI really wish someone would do another solid 7-8" Android (or ChromeOS) tablet. That felt like a perfect form factor - I could even still pocket it in a vest. Alas, most of what's still on the market is either ancient (and not getting new Android updates), or cheap low-res junk, or usually both. The only exception seems to be MediaPad M5, and Huawei screwed that one up by reporting it to the apps as a phone rather than as a tablet; and then there's the whole shared antenna issue (basically if you use Bluetooth, your WiFi is an order of magnitude slower). And I'm not holding much hope for sub-10" ChromeOS tablets. It seems that everybody just wrote that market off.
- butz 8y agoNokia could be an option: they have big range of devices in various price ranges, build quality is decent, runs near stock Android and updates are one of fastest, compared to other brands. Sadly, not all devices have unlockable bootloader and kernel sources for some are still missing.
- pingec 8y agoWhat about Xiaomi Mi A1/A2? They are not from Google, but they come with stock Android and are great for the price.
- singhrk 8y agoUsing mi a2 for last 2 months. A android one phone. Stock android, no bloat, very good looking hardware.. Overall a good value, but software is slightly buggy (occasional heating, random boots) and no clear communication on software upgrade policy
- floatboth 8y ago> no clear communication on software upgrade policy The "Android One" label communicates 2 years of updates. Either way, it's a Treble phone with an unlockable bootloader (without any key requests even! just like old Nexuses). I flashed a GSI (unofficial Lineage 16) right after I came home from buying the A2 :) Of course this Treble stuff is still pretty new and you need to hack around some things — for example, I had to remove some XML file to make Bluetooth audio work, and (when Magisk rooted) SELinux is blocking the Wi-Fi driver from automatically loading so I have to load it from a root shell manually after a reboot :D but that's perfectly acceptable for me.
- samsolomon 8y agoMotorola's Moto G series is in the $200-$300 price range and run vanilla Android with one or two apps pre-installed. I'm big fan of my Moto G5s. https://productdork.com/t/moto-g5s-plus-review/13 https://productdork.com/t/moto-g5s-plus-review/13
- neumann 8y agoagreed. I have a Moto g5 plus and apart from a not top of the line camera - it is pretty great for the price and has a nice clean vanilla android.
- duxup 8y agoThe death of the Nexus / privacy concerns is why I'm tempted to flee to Apple. I've never used an iPhone but if I'm gonna pay top dollar for a Google branded type phone .... why not consider an iPhone / the privacy concerns I have and etc too? All the other Android manufactures have been so hit and miss I'm not really interested in them as an alternative.
- chrisper 8y agoYou will miss the openess of Android. I tried a couple of times going back to an iPhone, but always ended up selling it after 6 months. For example, iOS doesn't let you change default apps (e.g. browser). Also their third party keyboard integration is not so great.
- duxup 8y agoI've thought about the default apps thing a lot. I'm anticipating missing that a great deal. At the same time Android just isn't ... feeling good right now with privacy and etc.
- sankoz 8y agoAsus zenfone max pro M1 has a close-to-stock version of Android 8.1. I am using it for the past couple of months and pretty happy with the phone.
- prolikewh0a 8y agoI just bought a $159 Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite (Android One/Stock, US ATT or T-Mobile Compatible) to replace my original Pixel XL and I can't tell much of a difference except for the Camera. It has a much smaller notch than the Pixel 3 and will receive updates I believe until 2021 or further. Some small corners were cut, but it punches way above its price point.
- ac29 8y agoIts a little bit of a stretch to call it ATT or T-mobile compatible. It only supports 2 of the 6 LTE bands T-mobile uses, and ATT is similar.
- prolikewh0a 8y agoIt only doesn't support Band 12 but band 2 and 4 are the important T-Mobile bands which it supports. No other bands are used heavily. ATT is very compatible. Using T-Mobile around Seattle with the phone and have absolutely no issues anywhere. For $159 I'm not sure what more you could expect. Band 12 would be nice, but I understand they need to cut some corners.
- toomanybeersies 8y agoI have nothing but praise for Xiaomi products. They are phenomenal value. I have a Xiaomi Redmi 4x, which cost me $140 and has perfectly smooth performance. The camera isn't terrible either, it does the trick. Best of all, spare parts are cheap and easy to find. I completely shattered the screen on my phone, it was only $20 to get a complete new screen assembly (lcd, digitiser, and frame), which I'm fairly sure is OEM. I broke the ear speaker in the process of replacing the screen, only $1 to get a new one shipped from China. I can literally make a phone from parts, I can even buy the motherboard on Aliexpress. Xiaomi have really good build quality too, and their their custom version of Android isn't terrible. I also have a Xiaomi bluetooth speaker that I bought for $30, which performs as well as a speaker 2-3 times the price. It's built out of solid aluminium too, so it can take an absolute beating.
- prolikewh0a 8y ago
- amrrs 8y agoI think that's what OnePlus is doing these days. Not sure if you have heard of this youtuber @mkbhd he recently made a video that OnePlus 6 became his daily driver from Pixel 2. OnePlus 6 devices already run Android Oreo based OS.
- cs02rm0 8y agoYes... but. OnePlus prices are rising at pace. I think my 3T was £309 some 2 years ago in the UK, where the 6 is £519 and the 6T is expected to be more again. Also, where the Nexus phones were supported for at least 3 years the 3T wasn't going to get Android Pie just 2 years after release, but it seems it now will (eventually). I agree it's been filling the segment, but I'm not sure it's continuing to, sadly. Don't get me wrong, they still seem to be beating Apple and Google in terms of bang for buck, but they're definitely chasing up the ladder after them.
- thaumasiotes 8y agoI got a OnePlus 3 based on this kind of recommendation when Google discontinued their reasonably-priced-phones strategy and came out with the Pixel instead. It works fine, but it's so large that it hurts my hand. And OnePlus appears to be committed to making only comically oversized phones. Very sad.
- gwilkes 8y agoOne more alternative, buy used Pixels, I just bought a Pixel 2 yesterday for $325. Less than half what the Pixel 3 starts for. Sure, it is small risk but if you would prefer less risk you can get certified refurbished ones for just a bit more from Amazon or Best Buy. I live outside the US so I used ebay as they do international shipping. Lastly, you get 3 of OS and security updates (2 years from now of course since it is a year old), this is the first Google phone to get updates for this long, all previous devices were 2 years.
- gymshoes 8y agoNokia seems to have taken that mantle with all phones being Android One.
- pjmlp 8y agoCurrently the Nokia phones are the best option for it.