Recommendations for Smart phones

[StillShaving]

You might also consider some the so called mid-tier smartphone offerings. A number of them offer 90+% of what the iPhone/Samsung originally mentioned offer for less than half the price. My Asus ZenFone 2 is not perfect, but provides dual SIM, microsdxc slot, big display, removable battery (on some models) for a modest price.

iOS is very good and nothing to criticize about it, but I do prefer the added flexibility of Android even if it is still a bit less polished.

 

[Go West Young Man]

Slash - you write that treatise every time a phone question comes up, but you never take the OP's stated requirements into account. Never had a smart phone before, wants to FaceTime with grandkids, seems like an open and shut case for an iPhone.

 

[flea8]

In the begining I had Android - problems. Switched to Windows phone Lumia. Worked great, maps were no problem, but I missed certain apps. Switched to Iphone 4s, since then no problem. Not kidding. Even got ipod, ipad, apple tv and planning to buy macbook. So for me - get Iphone (SE actualy

 

[Slash McCoy]

Slash - you write that treatise every time a phone question comes up, but you never take the OP's stated requirements into account. Never had a smart phone before, wants to FaceTime with grandkids, seems like an open and shut case for an iPhone.

Often one's "requirements" expand to match the available capability of the device. At one time I never imagined that I could log on to my laptop remotely using my Android. Or tether via bluetooth, or download youtube vids for later viewing, or access geo-restricted sites with VPN, or manage a website with FTP, or even change my log-in screen. Now I would feel rather inadequate if I couldnt do those things with my phone.

Video calling and voice over IP existed, long before Apple made it feel easy and seamless. Skype has excellent video calling capabilities and I believe it is even available in a version that works on an i-thing. Just sayin. Apple won't port their app to Android or other OS because they are desperate to hold on to market share. Skype is multi-platform. If the OP simply must use Facetime then yes, an i-device is the only game in town due to apple making the app inaccessible to users of other more capable devices. Is it worth the higher price and reduced potential overall capability to use the facetime app? Depends on the user and how far he ends up taking his phone. Or how far he can't take it, to be more to the point. I started out with iphones. They started the whole smartphone thing. The problem is with their philosophy... we will decide what you need to be able to do with your phone. Don't worry about a thing. We will keep you safe. If you can't perform a particular task with your phone, it is because we in our wisdom have decided that you should not be doing that, so trust us. We will make all your decisions for you. Like that. Android took the ball and ran with it. The Android Open Source Project is the best thing that could have possibly happened to smartphones, short of a practical Linux distro. Essentially, Android IS Linux, after all. It is simply a superior operating system. It allows you to do whatever you want with your device and let's YOU decide what is risky or not. All you have to do is root it to get it out of toddler mode.

I would go with an android just based on price and ease of maintenance. Some folks fall in with the i-herd and not knowing that anything better exists, are happy with their iphone or ipad. I see nothing wrong with educating folks, so I do. Would you rather I just shut up about it and let you and others praise the iphone and declare it superior with no dissenting views presented? That would do a disservice to many folks who genuinely want to know this stuff.

No, Android cannot at the present time connect to an iphone using apple's proprietary and closely guarded facetime app. There are many other apps that can perform the same tasks. Better? Honestly I don't know... I have never done that though I am pleased to know that I could if I wanted to. Can you think of anything that the iphone does that an Android cannot? Because I can think of many things an iphone cannot do, that an Android can.

 

[Lmarkow]

Telephony "politics" lol

OP was looking for a recommendation to talk with grandkids. Open vs. proprietary OS discussions probably aren't too helpful. Regardless of your views on this important debate (in some circles), there's no real debate that, for the non-technical user, Apple is easier. I just made the switch; I know. Perhaps an android can do it all, but you have to make it do that. The iPhone just does it for you. Add your MacBook or iPod? Sure, no problem. Easy. Period.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Telephony "politics" lol

OP was looking for a recommendation to talk with grandkids. Open vs. proprietary OS discussions probably aren't too helpful. Regardless of your views on this important debate (in some circles), there's no real debate that, for the non-technical user, Apple is easier. I just made the switch; I know. Perhaps an android can do it all, but you have to make it do that. The iPhone just does it for you. Add your MacBook or iPod? Sure, no problem. Easy. Period.

Only if it is something that apple decides to allow you to do.

I have said my piece and in the absence of logical rebuttal but presence of much confounding and illogical rebuttal, I will now butt out. Good luck to the OP and I am sure whatever he picks will give him a measure of happiness.

 

[thematthatter]

I have an iphone 6, my wife has an iphone 5 and we are apple family.

Apple is not a company it is a cult...
That being said, they do have some good features that I like, but for setting up a new iphone I recommend going to a genius bar and having one of the apple geeks set it up for you. We have an issue every time we get a new i device that all calls/text messages/facetime come to computer, ipad, and both phones at once. It takes a few minutes to sort everything out but its annoying for the first couple days.
and somehow my wife's contacts got synced to my phone once, every person she ever talked to synced to my phone... We were using the same Icloud and itunes account.

Its your decision in the end, but the church of Apple has not let me down yet.

 

[kevdogg329]

I have an iphone 6, my wife has an iphone 5 and we are apple family.

Apple is not a company it is a cult...
That being said, they do have some good features that I like, but for setting up a new iphone I recommend going to a genius bar and having one of the apple geeks set it up for you. We have an issue every time we get a new i device that all calls/text messages/facetime come to computer, ipad, and both phones at once. It takes a few minutes to sort everything out but its annoying for the first couple days.
and somehow my wife's contacts got synced to my phone once, every person she ever talked to synced to my phone... We were using the same Icloud and itunes account.

Its your decision in the end, but the church of Apple has not let me down yet.

Seperate icloud accounts fix that issue

 

[Razorburn92]

If you like simplicity then I'd say apple is the way to go. I had an Iphone 4 and it was a simple good little phone. I recently got the new S7 and love it. I like the bigger screen size, the apps, and the way you can personalize the phone to your liking. So it really boils down to what you like and which OS you like better.

 

[davidr2340]

I just upgraded to an LG V10, coming from a Note 2. I love the V10.

 

[Go West Young Man]

The issue isn't that there are better alternatives to FaceTime, is that the OP isn't likely to get everyone in his family to change their existing workflows.

 

[fishenfool01]

I have an S7 and I love it. Samsung brought back the external micro SD as well as dust and water proofing, which mysteriously went absent on the S6...

I'm guessing it was a classic case of the squeaky wheel getting the grease as people were very vocal about their displeasure with that.

Now if they would just bring back the removable battery.

 

[fishenfool01]

If it's really your first smartphone, then go iPhone. They really are more intuitive.

It all depends on your background. I have to say that coming from my background, (windows, dos, computer tech support), I found Android much more intuitive than any of the IOS devices. Whenever I have to work on an IOS device, it takes me at least twice as long to find what I'm looking for than it ever did when I first started using Android.

 

[fishenfool01]

Slash - you write that treatise every time a phone question comes up, but you never take the OP's stated requirements into account. Never had a smart phone before, wants to FaceTime with grandkids, seems like an open and shut case for an iPhone.

Actually you misread the OP stated requirements as they are as follows:

"I'm currently looking at updating my cell phone. The two that I'm considering are the new Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Apple iPhone 6S. I'm interested in your opinions on these two phones or any others you think I should consider."

Somewhere else in the thread people started talking about Facetime and grandkids, but it wasn't the OP.

Oops see that OP later mentioned all the other things. This is what happens when trying to read the whole thread on too little sleep.

 

[acesn8s]

I very much like the Nexus 6P.

I picked up my S6 last summer, wish I waited for the 6P - seems like an awesome phone.

 

[nicobie]

I just bought the new Nexus 5x so I can run Android Auto in my Volt.

Best phone I've ever had, pure Android straight from Google. Zero bloatware. Gets the quickest updates of all other phones.

 

[gb12549]

I've been a Windows phone user for my last several personal purchases. Because of changing jobs, I've had every flagship phone as my work phones - iPhone, Android and Blackberry. My Windows phone has been the only one out of all of them that has never frozen on me, broke from a fall or left me hanging trying to read an Excel file. The lag in apps argument is only valid if you're the type to load up on all that stuff; the Windows Store has apps in every area I need. Battery life has been the best too.

 

[Lmarkow]

I return to report that since my new iPhone SE arrived (see post #9) , I have not cursed at my phone once. I think I chose wisely.

 

[kevdogg329]

I'm currently looking at updating my cell phone. The two that I'm considering are the new Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Apple iPhone 6S. I'm interested in your opinions on these two phones or any others you think I should consider.

Did I miss your final choice?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Doraemon]

I've been using Apple products since 1985, when I got my first computer from the Apple factory in Garden Grove, California (they were located next door to where I worked at the time), so obviously I have an iPhone.

I got a new 6S Plus a few months ago when they were released, and I have no complaints so far. It is durable, fast, apps work smoothly, the camera is top notch, the battery life is excellent. As I have a baby daughter, I like the excellent video camera in the phone, and the image stabilization. Since I have a couple of iPads, a few Macs, everything works together. Photos, songs, apps, and things bought on one device are automatically shared with the other devices, and changing a password to an account on one device also changes the autocomplete passwords on the other devices.

My wife has had hit-and-miss problems with her iPhones. One had a camera go bad, another developed a sticking home button issue, and ht last one had a battery problem which caused it to discharge quickly. Apple has been good enough to replace all of these phones free of charge, though here in Japan that means a visit to the wildly overcrowded Apple store.