After further thoughts and considerations after compiling my initial list of phones, here is my final shortlist of devices:
- HTC: One A9S, Desire 10 Pro, Desire 10 Lifestyle
- Huawei: P9, Nova, P9 Lite
- iPhones: 6s, SE
- LG G5
- Samsung Galaxy S7
- Sony: Xperia X Compact, Xperia XA
- ZTE Blade v7 Lite
Again, as I said in my previous post, I realise there are many great devices out there which I’m missing out and probably shouldn’t, but these were the devices which impressed me the most, on a budget of about £30 a month. Some of them come in at around £32 a month, but £33 is my absolute maximum, with £35 a month being too expensive. The Huawei P9 and LG G5, for example, are both available from Vodafone on a £32, 24-month contract, with 3GB of mobile data, and unlimited calls/texts.
Device Considerations: One by One
Huawei P9 – every time I feel the phone, it feels great. I feel like I already know this phone, so there shouldn’t be a huge learning curve.
Looked at memory storage options (HTC Settings app – low storage etc), looks okay but not as good as HTC (compromise).
I like the EMUI 4.1 UI, which I know a lot of people don’t. Although I probably would miss not having an app drawer if not updated to EMUI 5/Android 7, at least I can still move my app icons/folders around (unlike iOS, on which this OEM ‘flavour’ of Android is based).
Had a play with camera – shallow depth of field feature fantastic, can see myself using this a lot, as well as light-trails option (although I can already do this anyway with manual toggles).
iPhone 6s/SE – had another feel of these today. The 6S feels great in my hand, really comfortable to hold.
But I’d be stupid to buy an iPhone just because it feels great in my hand.
The SE, while being the cheaper option, just feels too ‘cheap’ (sorry if that’s offensive, but it’s true). I don’t like how the glass panel sits above the chamfered edges – it feels like an afterthought, like someone just came along and decided ‘eh, Bob, why don’t we put a screen on our phone?‘
All of my personal feelings about Apple aside, iOS looks and feels great, and I’m sure any niggles would soon be worked out.
But there’s a few things that, if I got an iPhone, I just wouldn’t get on with: no micro SD slot, lack of a proper file management system, and music.
I love being able to access my Android phone’s internal storage as well as expanding my storage via micro-SD cards. It’s a cheap solution to the big problem of storage.
I would only be able to afford the 32GB iPhone 6S, which comes in at £32 a month versus the iPhone SE at £33.49 a month. I’d use that up in five minutes!
Plus, I currently make use of my phone’s ability to be used as flash storage via a USB cable – this is also how I load music onto it. With an Android phone, this would be the same, but with iPhones, I’d have to go through iTunes.
I don’t like iTunes, nor the iPhone’s apparent reliance on the software for loading CD music (and MP3 files bought from other websites, like Google Play) onto an iPhone.
I’d be compromising on three of my most-used features by going with an iPhone, so it’s likely I won’t be getting an iPhone.
The reason it’s still in this list is purely as a safe option, alongside the HTC One A9S, Desire 10 Pro and Desire 10 Lifestyle, all three of which would act as a direct replacement for my HTC Desire Eye.
LG G5 – I like the phone, it’s wide-angle lens is great, even if there’s a little bit of fish-eye distortion near the outer edges of the image.
My only gripe with the dual-camera setup is that the wide angle 2nd camera is a lower resolution than the main one – 8mp to the primary’s 16mp.
Not that I’d be fooled by Megapixels, though – but I found the difference in image quality very noticeable. During my in-store tests, results were poor. Very… poor.
The LG G5 also benefits from a modular design, similar to the Motorola system of ‘Moto Mods.’ Iike this because it means I can add mods to the phone at a later stage if I want, or swap out the battery in case of low power when out-and-about – seonthing we haven’t been able to do in the age of non-removable batteries.
However, these mods aren’t cheap, and I’d have to splash out more cash to get better features. Better speakers, camera grip – why aren’t these already part of the phone in the first place?
I’ve also noticed issues with Quality Management on the LG G5. This has been widely reported on the internet, and I’ve also seen it on the display units in my local stores – I noticed warping, chips and protruding bumps near the bottom on the back of the phone, where the mods (and battery) are inserted. Not acceptable by any standards.
Samsung Galaxy S7 – despite my earlier blog about my thoughts on this phone, I’m not sure I like TouchWiz as it’s too vivid.
Also, I’m not sure I like the AMOLED screens. I guess I’m just not used to this technology yet. When I got my HTC Desire Eye, I was worried about not having any physical home buttons, but now that I’ve gotten used to having on-screen navigation buttons, I don’t need physical ones.
In five minutes of simple fiddling, I couldn’t get used to the arrangement of options/home/back on the S7. I don’t get why I would need a home button, plus I can’t get why I’d use the fingerprint button.
I’ve never really liked Samsung products (I’ve always thought of them being cheap and plasticky, with the S6/Edge being the turning point). I also feel that this phone would end up being another ‘compromise’ like the iPhone SE – a big-brand phone with good features but no real panache in my eyes.
Although, I am willing to be proven wrong. I just don’t know if this is the phone that will do that.
Sony Xperia X Compact – I had a look at this phone today whilst in town. Although some reviewers have complained that it’s too plasticky, I actually like this phone for its compactness.
It’s a good all-rounder, which is kind of what I’m looking for. It offers a good spec camera, although it’s not the best of the bunch with image quality, and it’s great for music with a built-in equaliser and audio settings (think Sony’s Walkman).
This means I don’t have the hassle of installing an extra app like Poweramp, although it’s probably not going to stop me from using Poweramp as I have grown to love it.
Also, as a side note, I once had a Sony Ericcson – it wasn’t a great experience. However, my Walkman MP3 player… now that was great!
ZTE Blade v7 Lite –
I had a feel of this today. Despite being metallic and premium-like, I didn’t actually like it. It felt too metallic and angular compared to other premium/metal devices (P9, G5, Pixel, iPhone 6S).
KPH tech blog 
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