Help Phone Recommendation?

[BDPinko]

Hi,

I'm looking for a new phone. The last one I had was an LG Motion that I had rooted & tested new OS's on and really enjoyed having the same processor as the Samsung Galaxies at a fraction of the price, and I was on MetroPCS.

At this point, I'd like another value phone like that with a good processor and decent screen size (in today's measures), also rootable, assuming rooting is still a thing.

Cost? From $49 to $500 or so. Is the BLU R1 HD good? Just noticed it on the XDA "top phones" list. Any ideas? I'll check back tomorrow for any suggestions.

Thanks,

 

[lvt]

With Marshmallow and Nougat being standard on new phones, rooting is rather a personal experience than necessity.

Personally I think spending $500 on a smartphone is a waste because it will be an old phone in 6 months and almost obsolete next year.

 

[PDN]

My wife and I have the GalaxyS5, Samsung, Verizon.
It will be 2 years old Feb. 2017. We are elderly on social security and wonder if we keep t will we be able to talk, text, email and surf for a while longer?
TY

 

[BDPinko]

With Marshmallow and Nougat being standard on new phones, rooting is rather a personal experience than necessity.

Personally I think spending $500 on a smartphone is a waste because it will be an old phone in 6 months and almost obsolete next year.

I guess I am so out of the loop that I don't understand what you mean about Marshmallow and Nougat... do those versions make the need for rooting obsolete? I liked being able to test out different OS's, delete bloatware, and go back and forth, etc., which having the unlocked bootloader requires, yes?

But apart from all that, maybe I'll just jump in and get something cheaper to start and go from there.

Thanks,

 

[BDPinko]

I ended up getting a Moto G4 Plus with 64 gig internal for $299 unlocked at Best Buy

I got MetroPCS 8 gigabyte per month for $50. Seems like a good deal but I probably spent more than I wanted to.

Thanks for your help

 

[lvt]

I ended up getting a Moto G4 Plus with 64 gig internal for $299 unlocked at Best Buy

I got MetroPCS 8 gigabyte per month for $50. Seems like a good deal but I probably spent more than I wanted to.

Thanks for your help

It seems that you made a good choice with the G4+, the only part that could have been made better is the battery, 3,000mAh is a bit weak for power users.

 

[lvt]

I guess I am so out of the loop that I don't understand what you mean about Marshmallow and Nougat... do those versions make the need for rooting obsolete? I liked being able to test out different OS's, delete bloatware, and go back and forth, etc., which having the unlocked bootloader requires, yes?

What I mean is that the new versions of Android made rooting optional rather than necessary for most of people. You can merge SD card to internal memory, restart or power the phone off without the physical power button, better control of what's going on in your device, more advanced apps permission setting, these things usually require rooting on the previous versions.

 

[badcatz]

Just to add my two cents... I bought a Nexus 5X and for me anyway, having an unlocked phone negates the need to root it. My primary concern was always the bloatware that carriers insist on installing on their devices. I'm happy running Nougat on my 5X without rooting.
I get that you want to play around with different Roms. I personally would like to try that too but not with my dailey driver. I'm going to start looking for a cheap phone to goof around with.

 

[BDPinko]

Yeah, I'm sort of seeing how battery life isn't that great.

I probably did overspend, but it seems like a good phone and I will probably end up rooting in the next few weeks when I'm more comfortable with all the new features of marshmallow and will look into upgrading to nougat. I hadn't realized that bloatware was not an issue with unlocked phones.

 

[badcatz]

I also have a Moto Maxx 2 that is a really good phone but it hasn't seen much use since I picked up the 5X. Since unlocked phones are by definition not tied to carriers, they are usually free from bloatware.