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I would only buy a device running Android One, because they receive monthly security patches and new Android versions for up to 3 years. The current options in

by krn 7y ago

I would only buy a device running Android One, because they receive monthly security patches and new Android versions for up to 3 years. The current options include all Nokia smartphones, Motorola One line, and Xiaomi Mi A line. For the best hardware and 5G support, I would look at Nokia 9.2 (Snapdragon 8--) and Nokia 8.2 (Snapdragon 7--) releases this year. The best deal is to buy 6 months after the release, when most Android devices become heavily (30-40%) discounted, but are still quite new. I prefer Android over iOS because of the freedom to install open-source OS-level ad-blockers, such as Blokada[1], which greatly improve privacy and battery life. [1] https://blokada.org/ https://blokada.org/

zozbot234 7y ago
Note that "Xiaomi Mi A" devices are the only ones that are similar to Android One. Most Xiaomi devices have a custom UX and additional weirdness. (Among which is the need to "sign up" online for bootloader unlock and wait for a timeout period. They do this because resellers used to ship bootloader-unlocked versions with "unofficial" mods of sorts, often with customers being none-the-wiser. Not an issue on the 'Mi A' line, for whatever reason.)
- krn 7y ago
  > Most Xiaomi devices have a custom UX and additional weirdness. That's true. Just like Samsung, Huawei, OnePlus, and any other Android manufacturer except Nokia, Xiaomi maintains its own Android ROM, called MIUI[1]. It's not as vanilla as Android One, but at least it also receives monthly security patches. > Among which is the need to "sign up" online for bootloader unlock and wait for a timeout period. They do this because resellers used to ship bootloader-unlocked versions with "unofficial" mods of sorts, often with customers being none-the-wiser. Not an issue on the 'Mi A' line, for whatever reason. It's not an issue with Xiaomi Mi A line, because Xiaomi's reputation is not affected as much if there is something wrong with a smartphone that is not running its custom ROM. Nokia has only recently started allowing to unlock the bootloader of some of the models, and has a similar process[2]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIUI https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIUI [2] https://www.nokia.com/phones/en_int/bootloader https://www.nokia.com/phones/en_int/bootloader
  - mavhc 7y ago
    According to Nokia: Unlocking a device means you may lose some of its functionalities, including – but not limit to – telephone, radio, audio, video, payment, encryption and DRM.
    - krn 7y ago
      As with probably all Android devices, unlocking the bootloader breaks the SafetyNet[1]. And any custom Android ROM requires drivers to be able to completely support the hardware of a particular device. [1] https://www.howtogeek.com/241012/safetynet-explained-why-android-pay-and-other-apps-dont-work-on-rooted-devices/ https://www.howtogeek.com/241012/safetynet-explained-why-and...
      - mavhc 7y ago
        Why would that break the ability to make phone calls though? Unless they mean now you have the capability to break it, not that unlocking it may break it

by krn 7y ago

zozbot234 7y ago

Note that "Xiaomi Mi A" devices are the only ones that are similar to Android One. Most Xiaomi devices have a custom UX and additional weirdness. (Among which is the need to "sign up" online for bootloader unlock and wait for a timeout period. They do this because resellers used to ship bootloader-unlocked versions with "unofficial" mods of sorts, often with customers being none-the-wiser. Not an issue on the 'Mi A' line, for whatever reason.)

krn 7y ago
> Most Xiaomi devices have a custom UX and additional weirdness. That's true. Just like Samsung, Huawei, OnePlus, and any other Android manufacturer except Nokia, Xiaomi maintains its own Android ROM, called MIUI[1]. It's not as vanilla as Android One, but at least it also receives monthly security patches. > Among which is the need to "sign up" online for bootloader unlock and wait for a timeout period. They do this because resellers used to ship bootloader-unlocked versions with "unofficial" mods of sorts, often with customers being none-the-wiser. Not an issue on the 'Mi A' line, for whatever reason. It's not an issue with Xiaomi Mi A line, because Xiaomi's reputation is not affected as much if there is something wrong with a smartphone that is not running its custom ROM. Nokia has only recently started allowing to unlock the bootloader of some of the models, and has a similar process[2]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIUI https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIUI [2] https://www.nokia.com/phones/en_int/bootloader https://www.nokia.com/phones/en_int/bootloader
- mavhc 7y ago
  According to Nokia: Unlocking a device means you may lose some of its functionalities, including – but not limit to – telephone, radio, audio, video, payment, encryption and DRM.
  - krn 7y ago
    As with probably all Android devices, unlocking the bootloader breaks the SafetyNet[1]. And any custom Android ROM requires drivers to be able to completely support the hardware of a particular device. [1] https://www.howtogeek.com/241012/safetynet-explained-why-android-pay-and-other-apps-dont-work-on-rooted-devices/ https://www.howtogeek.com/241012/safetynet-explained-why-and...
    - mavhc 7y ago
      Why would that break the ability to make phone calls though? Unless they mean now you have the capability to break it, not that unlocking it may break it