My Zenfone 8 is getting old. I love this smartphone as it runs perfectly smooth despite its age and easily fits in every pocket. However, more and more problems start to pop up. The internet connection is unstable and I need to restart the phone once in a while for the internet to start working again. The battery is really weak. It even struggles to get past the day.
I am even considering getting another one, perhaps with a broken screen, to replace the mainboard in mine, but this phone is not getting security updates anymore, so I think it may be finally the time to buy a completely new phone.
What am I looking for:
- At least 1 year old. Yes, you read that right. I want to see long-term reviews and experiences with servicing. New phones often appear super fast in the store and then start lagging just a few months after buying. And also there’s a chance to get an older model at a decent price.
- Relatively small. I know that it’s rare to see a phone with less than 6 inch screen, so it’s not a hard requirement. I’m even considering getting a foldable as used ones are getting cheaper, but I worry that with me dropping things once in a while, it’s not a good idea.
- Clean software. This is subjective of course, but Zenfone 8 has almost pure Android with only a few noninvasive things added by ASUS (like smaller tiles!). Any ads are a no-go.
- Inexpensive. I don’t need a flagship, I need something I can rely on. And I’m piss poor currently, so I really rather not spend all my money on a phone.
that’s a beast of a device (SDM888), it’s barely 4 years old and it’s fully lineageos supported: https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/sake/ wiping the supposedly “pure” OS and replacing it with LOS will net you a blazing fast device with infinite configuration options, your potential hardware problems notwithstanding.
a) if you’re truly poor, you’d stay clear of buying stuff and use the shit you got, b) no new budget phone comes close to what you got and c) it don’t matter what the manufacturer shipped with it as long it has lineageos support. go to https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/ and filter for latest version (23.0) and you’ll see which devices have active support.
Pixel 9a (or 8a) are both pretty good, are small, have relatively clean software (and GrapheneOS is an option I think), seems to have good reviews. The chip is also okay for the price. (it’s a last gen Tensor G4, which matches well against midrange chips, not so much with the latest flagships)
Other options would include the various Chinese brands (Xiaomi, Oppo, or Vivo, but those tend to have bloated software. Performance and battery life is usually good though. Note that these are 6.3" phones, which some could consider too big) and Samsung’s older S series (S20 up to rumoured S26 have basically been the same design, cameras, and battery size. Performance is very incremental and I think they switched between Exynos and Snapdragon a few times. Note that OneUI is quite bloated, and the battery is quite small)
If you want something super repairable and long lasting, the Fairphone 5 is still quite good. (the 6 is newer with better specs, but the battery requires a screwdriver to open now. The 6 also has a lime switch that switches you to a “minimal” mode)
Unfortunately, none of the above have headphone jacks which is pretty dumb. Fairphone does have microSD support which is cool!
just ran a quick search, the zenfone 8 seems like a very capable phone with SD888… is the issue really on the hardware side? with a custom rom i’d say this phone is good for more than 5 years. maybe even with the stock rom since android apps tend to support older versions.
I definitely need to try doing a factory reset before spending money, but the thought of having to backup all apps, especially the FOSS ones, where I need to manually make backup for each one, makes me procrastinate doing that.
Yes, I know, if I bought a new phone, I would have to do that too, but for now I’m just evaluating my options.
As for if these are software or hardware issues. One of the issues is that the compass/GPS is going haywire. It has trouble getting a fix, even when doing eights and for like 1 minute the arrow (my position) on the map is rotating and moving all over the place. For this issue, even restart doesn’t help, so it doesn’t look like the software issue.
The connectivity problems… some can be fixed with a restart, some cannot. Every few minutes the internet connection drops. Sometimes it starts working again after a while, sometimes I need to restart the phone.
Oh, and the worst one — recently it just started randomly turning off during the night, so the alarm doesn’t ring
do you already have the bootloader unlocked? if so, a full backup could be trivial. if it’s not unlocked then the unlock procedure involves a factory reset so it wouldn’t be of much use tho…
No, unfortunately I don’t
Define “inexpensive”. I have a Pixel 8 that still gets updates. Used ones are like $220, a quarter the price of a new Pixel 10.
Ugh… I’m in Poland, where the tax is always included so it’s hard to compare prices with the US. I would say 1500 PLN or less, so 420 USD with taxes
I would say Pixel 8a or 9a. Both are 6inches if I’m not wrong.
Nothing is also an option. OnePlus phones are also good.
I’ve heard that OnePlus are not as good as they used to be, but I don’t remember what the criticism was about. Pixel sounds good as I could finally try Graphene
If you are into custom ROMs, you probably don’t want to get a recent OnePlus phone
I’ve been nothing but thrilled with every single OnePlus I’ve ever had. Some bought used, some new. My current 10 Plus Pro (stock OS due to banks and shit) I must’ve dropped 200 times before the screen finally cracked just the other day (too expensive to fix but it still works fine).
That’s good to hear
After a long research to replace my old phone, I landed a Nothing Phone 3a. Last July bought for some 200€ and been happy ever since.
Plain android, not bloated, able to uninstall all crap and bootloader is not blocked and can be unlocked without phoning home.
Not related to the company at all, just an happy customer.
Main defects, lacks 3.5mm jack and not small at all.
