Technology Enthusiasts

[onlyanimalsaregood]

Hi guys How are you doing lately?

So, I've always considered myself a technology enthusiastic person and I've been considering upgrading my Huawei P20 Pro, which is still rocking after almost 4 years of use.

I'm quite satisfied with the Huawei, being that this isn't my first phone from the brand, therefore I would like to upgrade possibly to the Huawei P50 Pro. However, with the US restrictions (fucking Trump), the Huawei has neither 5G nor Google Services, which is a reaaaaalll bummer.

Although there are ways to still have the Play Store (thanks to the Gspace app) and 5G (with the new cover that Huawei released), I think it's annoying to have all that effort while other phones of the same value or cheaper already offer all that.

That being said, I've been looking at several possibilities (without excluding the Huawei P50 Pro), such as: the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra or the S22 Ultra; the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra or the Mi 12 Ultra (which is still to be released in July this year but will now have the exclusive partnership with the Leica camera - which was one of the things I liked best about Huawei); the Honor Magic 4 Pro; the One Plus 10 Pro; and the IPhone 13 Pro Max or the 14 Pro Max (which is still to be released as well, between September and October - and keeping in mind that I've always been an Android user ).

Therefore, I think it would be interesting to exchange opinions with technology enthusiasts like me, especially since we've people here from all over the world and it's a good way to occupy the time and mind.

So, what do you guys think? What are your opinions and experiences? Do you prefer Android or IOS? Why?

Btw, you can suggest other phones and thank you in advance

 

[Al Cappella]

Ya, the Huawei is a non-starter in Canada too, the company has been banned from our 5G network completely. There are longstanding rumblings that the company is state-controlled (duh, it's China) and therefore spies.

I'm a solid IOS guy, but have used Android through Samsung previously. I'm comfortable with the IOS ecosystem at this point, works well with my AppleTV, etc. Interestingly I've never gone for any of their laptop/desktop products.

Whatever the case, get as new and feature-rich as you can possibly afford. There are no bargains in this racket, and there's never a good reason to grab something cheaply…

 

[onlyanimalsaregood]

I know, it's a shame because Huawei was bringing lots of innovations to global technology, they still do.... They were the first to get 5G. The US sanctions hurt not only the Huawei company but also the consumers, who are left with fewer options to choose from and it's the competition that makes phone companies strive to outdo each other and be better that others.

Oh so you're a big fan of the IOS ecosystem. I respect that. I never had an iPhone. I've tried tinkering in stores but that's about it. If I bought an iPhone I wouldn't fully enjoy the IOS ecosystem because I wouldn't buy a new computer when mine is perfectly functional. And I'm not a watch person either. So, may I ask which iPhone you would recommend?

And I agree, I'd rather invest in a good phone and change it every 4 years than invest in a less good one and change it more regularly. And besides, I really like technology.

 

[Al Cappella]

If I bought an iPhone I wouldn't fully enjoy the IOS ecosystem because I wouldn't buy a new computer when mine is perfectly functional. And I'm not a watch person either. So, may I ask which iPhone you would recommend?

I have an iPhone 11, not the pro or max, and so don't know quite yet what the newer ones have to offer. I really don't care that it doesn't connect natively to my pc—I use the appleID web portal if I need stuff like pictures. There are other ways around it too, but it's just not that important. There is a trade-in plan available, so I won't have to pay full price for the next iPhone. Mine is still good for awhile. But I'd look at the 14. Here, where I am, we don't have 5G anyway. I'm in the sticks…

 

[Pluto]

I have an older Huawei model which dates from a time when the Chinese brands were all competing for screen-to-body ratio. It has a pop-up selfie camera which unfortunately is no longer a thing. Nowadays the Chinese brands are all obsessed with high-wattage charging, which doesn't interest me as I'd rather maximise battery longevity. I'm inclined to avoid Huawei in the modern era despite my good experience.

Apple is in a category of its own. Generally, people who are in the ecosystem should stick to it and people who are not a part of it should avoid it. The exception is schoolchildren, who are at risk of being bullied if they have a non-Apple phone. (Yes, people are lovely.) In addition to being very expensive, Apple make more of their revenue from services nowadays, as well as ethically repugnant actions like delaying the transition to the modern USB type C standard that they themselves popularised with earlier Macbooks.

In answer to the question, if I had to commit to a recommendation, I'd be boring and say Samsung S21/22 Ultra. In terms of the overall well-roundedness, it benefits from Samsung brand's enormous size. A 5th of Korea's GDP from memory. Less popular brands like Sony can suffer in areas like software development or long-term updates. Samsung's DeX interface is an example.

I am currently sticking with my Huawei in the hope that someone comes out with a flagship with a hidden selfie camera one of these days. But if I had to buy for some reason, I'd probably look at a Google Pixel 6 since it's well-supported and rather affordable.

 

[Al Cappella]

In addition to being very expensive, Apple make more of their revenue from services nowadays, as well as ethically repugnant actions like delaying the transition to the modern USB type C standard that they themselves popularised with earlier Macbooks.

Sad, but true…