Which flagship phone would you consider to upgrade? (2016 Spring Edition)

[homer]

Since I am pretty enthusiastic about the latest consumer electronics, I think it would be interesting for PM members to share their thoughts on the recently-revealed smartphones. If you consider to upgrade your device (before June 2016), which one would you purchase? 

1. iPhone SE 

Specs: 

4-inch display, 326 ppi, A9 Chip, 12MP f/2.2 back camera, 1.2MP f/2.4 front camera, 1624mAh

Unlocked Canadian Price: 

16GB $579

64GB $709

2. LG G5

Specs: 

5.3-inch display, 554 ppi, Snapdragon 820, 32GB, 4GB RAM, 16 MP f/1.8 back camera, 8MP f/2.4 front, 2800mAh

Unlocked Canadian Price: 

32GB $799

3. Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

Specs: 

5.5-inch, 534 ppi, Snapdragon 820 or Exynos 8890, 32/64GB, 4GB RAM, 12 MP f/1.7 back, 5MP f/1.7 front, 3600mAh 

Unlocked Canadian Price: 

32GB $999 

4. HTC 10

Specs: 

5.2-inch, 565 ppi, Snapdragon 820, 4GB RAM, 12MP f/1.8 back, 5MP f/1.8 front, 3000mAh

Unlocked Canadian Price: 

32GB $999 ($100 off with Code HTCCA1008) 

Others: Samsung Galaxy S7, Huawei P9, and more? Leave your thoughts as a reply! 

[firerat1980]

Hows the onplus one also what would be theose phones in canadian shipped i dont mean to be i just new to buying over seas phone

[samgabbay]

If you are willing to go Android and Are searching for a Flagship, I would suggest OnePlus 2 or MI 4 From Xiaomi (Available from Gearbest)

[srlawren]

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@firerat1980 wrote:
Try some phones on wish.com Chinese flagship phones like the letv or and many others they come in dual sim also try Asus Zen Fhone 2 64 gig storage model it awesome phone

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Just remember to ensure that the version of any phone you buy, especially those imported from other places, supports the right 3G and optionally 4G LTE frequencies/bands for the Telus network PM runs on. (The Zenfone 2 and Zenfone 2 Laser available from Staples are fine--this applies more to letv etc)

[csphone]

I would definitely go for the iPhone SE with no reservations - I don't need my phone to replace my tablet, which is already part of my workflow. A hardware upgrade for a phone the same size as my current one would be much appreciated, and I don't have to adjust to Android. 

[firerat1980]

Try some phones on wish.com Chinese flagship phones like the letv or and many others they come in dual sim also try Asus Zen Fhone 2 64 gig storage model it awesome phone

[danette77]

If I could dream ... the HTC 10 all the way. It has good reviews, the specs are incredible, plus the 5.2 inch screen should still be small enough to fit into my tiny hands, lol. 

[frankflag79]

Galaxy s7

[7789849803]

@homer I am completely agreeing with you. In fact, I try to follow the same philosophy (in theory, atleast).

[homer]

@7789849803 haha, I trust people, but at the same time I am cautious as well. There is nothing wrong to protect ourselves. 

[7789849803]

I appreciate your spirit of wanting to trust people, @homer.

[homer]

@srlawren I understand that buying a second-hand electronic is a hit-or-miss, but my personal experience tells me that most Canadians are still trustworthy 😄 

[srlawren]

@homer great question!  I'd probably lean toward a new mid-ranger, unless I had a known source for a used high-end.  That is, if I was buying it from a friend or family member or colleague that I trusted not to blacklist it later and I know it wasn't stolen etc.  If that's the case, then I'd consider a previously-enjoyed high-end phone.  It would have to be the right price too though.  A lot of times, it could still cost more for a used flagship than a brand-new midrange that is going to perform similarly (possibly with a few fewer bells and/or whistles).

[homer]

---

@srlawren wrote:

@jairolevi yeah the OP X is definitely a sweet phone and excellent value!  

@imm1304 yeah the Z line is nice too.  I would have bought a Z3 Compact back in Dec 2014 when I got my Moto X, had they not been ridiculously expensive unlocked off contract (I think they were $699 or so at the time?) and if they didn't have a glass back.  The glass back is just slippery and another thing to break on an accidental drop, so I prefer an alternate back surface.  At the time the regular Z3 seemed to big to me, but now is probably right in my target range of 5.0"-5.5" screen.  I still think they're overpriced, but do love the near-stock Android.  (That's part of what drew me to the Moto X, as it's similarly almost AOSP Android).  

For reference, and I've mentioned it in the community before, the phone currently at the top of my "to buy" list is the Moto X Play.  Not a flagship, but a nice mid-ranger.  I'm going to pull the trigger on it one of these days, I believe.  

---

Koodo used to have Moto X Play on sale last September with a Free Moto 360 1st gen. However, I didn't want to switch to Koodo (switched to PM later LOL), so I ended up getting a Z3c 🙂

[homer]

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@jairolevi wrote:

That is right.  The OP 3 has not been anounced yet.

The pricing should be around the same as the previous phones when they were introduced, probably around 400 to 500 CAD.

The OP 2 is impressing, heck I even love my OP X which is supposed to be a budget device! I could bet this OP X has better specks than the iPhones for less than half the price.

Did you know, that Claire Underwood was using a OnePlus in the 4th season of House of Cards?

JL.

---

@srlawren wrote:

@jairolevi the OnePlus 3 looks pretty flippin' tempting!  It hasn't actually been announced yet, right?  I wonder what the pricing will land at.

---

---

It was reported that the advertisement in House of Cards only costed OnePlus a small amount of money, but the effect was very successful. 

[homer]

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@imm1304 wrote:

iPhone SE stands out as the non-flagship phone on your list.  It may be hard to believe because its still expensive, but its a budget phone from Apple with inferior screen, very poor front camera etc.  

I agree with @srlawren, under 5" seems too small nowadays with all that extra functionality built into the new superphones.  

Look out for the LG G5 going the route of the G4 in a few months.. lots of deals will pop up as LG tries to increase its share in the mobile market.  

My personal favourite remains the Xperia Z series with a stock based custom rom.  

---

I agree. I put iPhone SE on the list because it was just released (still warm haha). 

Are you using a SONY phone then? 

[homer]

I agree! There is always a trade-off - whether people pick up a large or small screen phone. I wish I could go back to the NOKIA era when screen size is not that important 😄 

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@srlawren wrote:

I should add:  the iPhone 5se would not be on my personal list, but that's my bias against iOS/preference for Android speaking.  That, plus despite my preference for a device that isn't huge, under 5.0" seems too small to me these days.  (Hence a big part of why I'm sick of my 1st gen Moto X, at 4.7"--though mostly it's the abysmal battery life.)  That said, iPhones really are great if you're a fan of Apple and their ecosystem, so I'm not trying to bag on them, they're just not my cup of tea.  YMMV 🙂

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[homer]

I agree. Technology updates too fast, and there are always attempting phones being released every month. However, just curious, what would you choose between a brand-new mid-range phone and a second-hand flagship device? 

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@srlawren wrote:

@jairolevi the OnePlus 3 looks pretty flippin' tempting!  It hasn't actually been announced yet, right?  I wonder what the pricing will land at.

@homer great question!  I'm sure you'll get a variety of opinions.  I'd actually really like an S7 (non-edge) as the size and features and pretty ideal for me, except for two dealbreakers:  1) TouchWiz --never been a fan, and more importantly 2) the price (though, this will apply to pretty much everything on your list).

The G5 is kind of tempting too and also a good size (I have smallish hands so would prefer 5.0-5.2", though virtualy every phone I'm considering lately seems to be a 5.5").  Again though, very expensive, and not a fan of LG's layer on Android either (the name of which escapes me at the moment, but their TouchWiz).

The HTC 10 looks pretty sweet!  Too expensive again, for my taste.

I mean, I can technically afford a $700-1000+ phone, but with so many good mid-rangers out there these days for much less, I find it hard to justify.  Especially when I'm just going to tire of the phone in 12-18 months and need to shell out for something else again.  And again.  And repeat.  🙂

---

[srlawren]

@jairolevi yeah the OP X is definitely a sweet phone and excellent value!  

@imm1304 yeah the Z line is nice too.  I would have bought a Z3 Compact back in Dec 2014 when I got my Moto X, had they not been ridiculously expensive unlocked off contract (I think they were $699 or so at the time?) and if they didn't have a glass back.  The glass back is just slippery and another thing to break on an accidental drop, so I prefer an alternate back surface.  At the time the regular Z3 seemed to big to me, but now is probably right in my target range of 5.0"-5.5" screen.  I still think they're overpriced, but do love the near-stock Android.  (That's part of what drew me to the Moto X, as it's similarly almost AOSP Android).  

For reference, and I've mentioned it in the community before, the phone currently at the top of my "to buy" list is the Moto X Play.  Not a flagship, but a nice mid-ranger.  I'm going to pull the trigger on it one of these days, I believe.  

[jairolevi]

That is right.  The OP 3 has not been anounced yet.

The pricing should be around the same as the previous phones when they were introduced, probably around 400 to 500 CAD.

The OP 2 is impressing, heck I even love my OP X which is supposed to be a budget device! I could bet this OP X has better specks than the iPhones for less than half the price.

Did you know, that Claire Underwood was using a OnePlus in the 4th season of House of Cards?

JL.

---

@srlawren wrote:

@jairolevi the OnePlus 3 looks pretty flippin' tempting!  It hasn't actually been announced yet, right?  I wonder what the pricing will land at.

---

[imm1304]

iPhone SE stands out as the non-flagship phone on your list.  It may be hard to believe because its still expensive, but its a budget phone from Apple with inferior screen, very poor front camera etc.  

I agree with @srlawren, under 5" seems too small nowadays with all that extra functionality built into the new superphones.  

Look out for the LG G5 going the route of the G4 in a few months.. lots of deals will pop up as LG tries to increase its share in the mobile market.  

My personal favourite remains the Xperia Z series with a stock based custom rom.  

[Jeremy_M]

Great topic starter @homer!

Cheers,

Jeremy

[srlawren]

I should add:  the iPhone 5se would not be on my personal list, but that's my bias against iOS/preference for Android speaking.  That, plus despite my preference for a device that isn't huge, under 5.0" seems too small to me these days.  (Hence a big part of why I'm sick of my 1st gen Moto X, at 4.7"--though mostly it's the abysmal battery life.)  That said, iPhones really are great if you're a fan of Apple and their ecosystem, so I'm not trying to bag on them, they're just not my cup of tea.  YMMV 🙂

[srlawren]

@jairolevi the OnePlus 3 looks pretty flippin' tempting!  It hasn't actually been announced yet, right?  I wonder what the pricing will land at.

@homer great question!  I'm sure you'll get a variety of opinions.  I'd actually really like an S7 (non-edge) as the size and features and pretty ideal for me, except for two dealbreakers:  1) TouchWiz --never been a fan, and more importantly 2) the price (though, this will apply to pretty much everything on your list).

The G5 is kind of tempting too and also a good size (I have smallish hands so would prefer 5.0-5.2", though virtualy every phone I'm considering lately seems to be a 5.5").  Again though, very expensive, and not a fan of LG's layer on Android either (the name of which escapes me at the moment, but their TouchWiz).

The HTC 10 looks pretty sweet!  Too expensive again, for my taste.

I mean, I can technically afford a $700-1000+ phone, but with so many good mid-rangers out there these days for much less, I find it hard to justify.  Especially when I'm just going to tire of the phone in 12-18 months and need to shell out for something else again.  And again.  And repeat.  🙂

[homer]

oh that's nice 

thanks for posting this 🙂 

@jairolevi

[jairolevi]

@homer

No no, they already got a Canadian Site!

No dutties, no exchange rate, price is in CAD.  They still ship from the states though.

https://oneplus.net/ca_en

JL.

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@homer wrote:

Unfortunately pp have to buy Oneplus phones from their US website... but it is still cheaper than the other big brands (including duties and tax). 

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[TroyDaBes]

None of the above. I already upgraded my phone last year and I won't be changing it in the next 3-4 years.

iPhone 7 plus I guess if I were to choose

[homer]

Unfortunately pp have to buy Oneplus phones from their US website... but it is still cheaper than the other big brands (including duties and tax). 

[jairolevi]

OnePlus 3:

- Quadcore: Dual-core 2.15 GHz and dual-core 1.6 GHz

- 6Gb of RAM

- Dual sim

- 16 MP camera

- Fingerprint sensor.

Here are the full specs:

http://www.gsmarena.com/oneplus_3-7995.php

You can also compare it with other phones here:

http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=7995&idPhone2=6902&idPhone3=7630

JL

Note: I currently have a OnePlus X and I love it! IPhones (apple) are ok, I guess, but you can get a much better specs phone with half of the money in Android.  

I just happen to love OP. I happen to find it by looking an affordable and good quality Dual SIM phone ( I have my phone number with SpeakOut - I rarerly call or text - and my internet with PM or Tbay in another SIM.  Really affordable setup by the way)