Wanted:
- large screen
- good battery life
- great camera
- long device lifetime, i.e. repairability, software and security updates, swappable battery, …
- enough RAM (8GB) and built-in storage (256GB)
- SD card slot and 3.5mm won’t hurt (but we use wireless headphones all the time)
The competition are (from my POV):
- Samsung S23+ (or similar)
- Motorola Edge 40 Pro (or similar)
- Google Pixel 8 Pro
I ruled out all other vendors due to disappointing update promises. Motorola with 4 years security updates promised (out of which the first year has already passed if the model is not brand new) is the minimum.
All phones are stretching the budget; must be really good to justify the expense. Benchmark for “great” is better than the previous generation (S10).
Really? Is it that bad? I can see, it’s behind flagship phones, but low-to-mid, really? How do you justify this?
I can sort-of understand your point looking a the benchmarks, e.g. https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=12540&idPhone2=12083&idPhone3=12070
Not that great
Based on the specs, the build quality (according to data sheets stating its plastic), and some of the features (especially the low-res screen) and the software and components (e.g. the outdated UFS, no WiFi 7, the old BT standard, the small battery, etc.)
460ppi low-res? You got some proper eagle eyes, dang
Edit: Just saw your other comment, didn’t know you could bump down the resolution on a Pixel 7. But scaling down to 1080 on a 1440 display won’t look as good as native 1080, I reckon