Looking For a No-Gimmick Solid Performance Smartphone

[9piecebucket]

Since 2014, my trusty Galaxy S4 has worked for me, but nearly 4 years later I'm now being outdated by software to the point that I can't function anymore. My bank app, Outlook email, and several other apps now no longer support my phone, so I need an upgrade.

I have some pretty specific criteria:

- No gimmicks like thumb scanners or face scanners, and no built in AI or digital assistants. I'd rather not pay extra for something that both takes up performance and creates vulnerabilities.

- A decent main camera, but I really couldn't care less about the user-facing cameras, since I don't ever use social media.

- If possible, I'd like to not have a giant pile of preloaded bloatware.

- Android, of course.

Overall, I need a phone that puts raw performance above gimmicky social-media oriented features.
Any suggestions?

 

[jojesa]

You should consider the Essential Phone
Fast, a lot of storage, a nice camera, pure Android experience with no bloatware and nice battery.

 

[Math Geek]

the bloatware is put there by the cell company most of the time. true that each brand has their own stuff they pre-install but the majority is from your phone company, nothing the brand can do since it left the factory without it all.

only way to get rid of the bloat is to pick a phone you can root and then debloat it once you get it home. will make any cheap phone run much faster and smoother. i personally am using an LG xpower which i picked up for about $50. battery is huge, sd card slot and its not the size of a laptop which is a plus for me.

really you need to pick your phone service first, then see what phones are compatible with the network and chose from there. in the end though, sadly bloatware is gonna be there from the company no matter which you chose....

 

[9piecebucket]

the bloatware is put there by the cell company most of the time. true that each brand has their own stuff they pre-install but the majority is from your phone company, nothing the brand can do since it left the factory without it all.

only way to get rid of the bloat is to pick a phone you can root and then debloat it once you get it home. will make any cheap phone run much faster and smoother. i personally am using an LG xpower which i picked up for about $50. battery is huge, sd card slot and its not the size of a laptop which is a plus for me.

really you need to pick your phone service first, then see what phones are compatible with the network and chose from there. in the end though, sadly bloatware is gonna be there from the company no matter which you chose....

Is it possible to just buy a phone, take the SIM card out of my current one, and stick it in the new one? I don't quite understand how certain phones aren't compatible with certain carriers.

 

[Math Geek]

if the phone works on your network, then simply swapping the sim card is how you would do it.

but not every phone works on every network or company. it may be the same phone model but there is usually 3-5 different versions of it for various markets. for instance my xpower has at least 3 different versions, 2 of which can be rooted and the 3rd so far has not been able to. so even though they are all xpower phones, they have different internal features about them based on where its being used and on which networks.

that's why i suggest buying the phone from the company you want to use it on or doing a ton of homework to ensure it can be used on that network. if you're not very well versed on rooting and unlocking and so on with phones, then i very highly suggest you buy one ONLY from the phone company so you know it works.

this limits your options of course but most companies have a wide variety of phones for all budgets and needs.

 

[jojesa]

Is it possible to just buy a phone, take the SIM card out of my current one, and stick it in the new one? I don't quite understand how certain phones aren't compatible with certain carriers.

Yes, if the phone supports your mobile carrier and the SIM is the same size..
That's what I do when I purchase a phone, I take the SIM card from the old device and insert it on the new.
If the SIM is different I just get a new one from the service provider.