Which cell phone is best for my needs?

June 14, 2017 10:28 AM

This may be a bit of a lazyweb/crowdsource request. I'm shopping for a new cell phone and would like to find a great option that meets certain criteria. It should be unlocked, for use in the US with AT&T.

Desired features, roughly in priority order:

plain vanilla Android
removable battery
strong antenna for indoor use
hardware gyroscope (for VR/AR use)
NFC (for mobile payments and etc)
dual SIM

Price is a factor but I'll do the work on that one based on what you fine folks can recommend me. Of course it ought to have a removable storage option. Screen size is more important than quality (but not looking for a phablet).

posted by attercoppe to Technology (5 answers total)

Best answer: Either a Pixel, Nexus 5X/6P, or possibly a OnePlus 3. The latter if removable storage other than a USB stick is a deal breaker. The Moto G series is also quite good, but Moto has gotten pretty shit about updates in the last couple of years since Lenovo took over. At least the others are likely to have custom ROMs you can flash for the foreseeable future with less of a PITA.
posted by wierdo at 11:38 AM on June 14, 2017

Best answer: I'd start with The Wirecutter's Android phone recommendations and determine which of their picks meet the majority of your criteria.
posted by zebra at 11:39 AM on June 14, 2017

Sorry, I completely spaced on the dual SIM thing, so the Nexuses/Pixel were inappropriate suggestions. The others have versions that are dual SIM that should work with at&t, though in general you won't find it in the US-specific SKU.
posted by wierdo at 11:41 AM on June 14, 2017

Best answer: What you want doesn't exist in the US market - especially the dual sim card bit.

NFC tends to not be present in except for high end phones.

Plain vanilla Android basically doesn't exist except for Sony, Motorola, and Nexus or Pixel branded phones, or one-offs from other manufacturers.

This search basically returns a few LG phones (all of which have customized versions of Android) and the Alcatel Pop 4s, which looks like it doesn't have either dual sim or NFC in the US.

Here's a link to the actual search page, so you can figure out which of these constraints you're willing to live without.
posted by NoRelationToLea at 12:42 PM on June 14, 2017

The Wirecutter recommends the OnePlus 3T which is about to be replaced with the OnePlus 5 which is likely to be more expensive. I switched from an LG G4 to the 3T and the camera is significantly worse imo, along with some other items like NFC and antenna strength. They are about the same-sized phone, but the LG G4 has hardware flaws that cause it to die without warning, which is why I bought a new phone. The NFC sensor also isn't as good and I spend a lot of time waving my phone in front of my NFC reader waiting for it to beep that it was successful.

Of the LGs that NoRelationToLea posted, I'd vote for the LG G5. The V20 is definitely phablet-sized whereas I believe the G5 is a little smaller than the G4, which has a great enormous screen.
posted by possibilityleft at 5:07 PM on June 14, 2017