Oppo Find X2 Neo: We're not getting any slimmer through lockdown, but phones are The first thing you notice about the Oppo Find X2 Neo is how incredibly thin it is. Measuring 7.7mm across, it feels slimmer than other recent 5G blowers, including the Huawei P40 Pro, and is remarkably attractive for a sub-flagship device, with the delicate trims and effects you'd typically expect from a pricier number. But …
I've never felt able to rely on MicroSD for anything important so photos get backed up and the space freed up when I hit WiFi, and even after the OS and apps take a chunk I suspect there's still 150GB+ space in the phone for music. Having had three phones in a row without MicroSD, I don't even look out for it in specs any more.
OsmAnd+ maps, Kiwix, video streaming with offline support, and good old fashioned music purchases is something I'd struggle to part with. I need the maps for hiking, bicycling, and traveling. The others aren't critical but easy to get used to. Despite all this talk about 5G and coverage maps, cell signals are still annoyingly fussy. I bought a 1TB microSD card so I can make backups from my real camera and rsync to back home. If you're going to have a 1TB card, you might as well put FLAC encoded music on it and use wired headphones too.
If my current phone broke I'd put LineageOS on one in the closet until big memory support, headphone jacks, and international radio bands are back in style. It just takes a lot longer for the maps to load.
It's computer.
If you don't want a computer, a noddy 2G phone will suit fine. Others, however, will want to be able to use it as a computing device.
Not sure why you think it's important that the world knows that you're not interested in something...
You still use a phone to make phone calls? How quaint. I assume you are one of these people who prefers a 2 minute phone when you can get the same information with 20 minutes of back and forth texting. Time to join the 21st century, where efficiency means taking more time to do the same thing!
20 minutes of back and forth texting? Why, when you can record long, meandering whatsapp messages with lots of background noise and breathing sounds replying to a simple yes/no question?
Even better, let's schedule a Zoom/Meet/Teams/Skype/Sploorf meeting! With everyone we know, and cameras on! All the cool kids are doing it, apparently all the time.
I mean, I haven't sampled that many phones, but the difference between my own phone (Moto G something) and my wife's (Honor something) of the same recent vintage is quite marked - mine drops in and out and the loudspeaker volume (in holding-it-to-your ear mode) is low enough I have to attach a set of earbuds in order to hold a conversation against background noise. The Honor, making a call from the same spot, is always clear and the connection is solid.
When I get a new phone it will probably be the same model as a friend, so I can audition theirs and check the call quality.
If I had to buy a brand new phone right now, it'd be the Pixel 4a. And I'm not enamoured with any of the currently available devices. But for me, it's a decent choice out of a mediocre bunch.
If it was a bit shorter (<140mm), didn't have a cut-out camera in the screen, had a larger battery and a wireless charging coil, then it'd pretty much be ideal. Wait, does it have dual-sim? If not, forget it...
It's also a requirement for me that a phone be easy to root. I'm just not buying the latest devices, because if there's no way to root, it's not acceptable.
Rooting seems to do nothing much these days apart from break online banking and Google Pay, and stop some streaming apps from working.
I used to root all my phones when Android was missing a lot of features, and there were no downsides. Back in the days of the Galaxy S3 or HTC Hero. I then spent far too long managing that task on an HTC One M7 and at that point it occurred to me the stress involved no longer reflected the benefits.
Are there any benefits to rooting any more?
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