What's the best bang for the buck right now in Android phones?

[ZippyDan]

1. Separate recommendations for best bang for the buck in the new and used markets welcome.
   
   
2. Key factors: overall speed, screen quality, camera quality.
   
   
3. Secondary consideration: Is it rootable?

 

[Radeon962]

Best bang for the buck in new or used is the Nexus 6P. The only downside to me is the physical size. It's bigger than it needs to be when you compare it to the OnePlus 3 or Note 7.

That being said, unless you are in urgent need of a phone, prices will drop further after the new Nexus is revealed this fall.

OnePlus 3 is a great phone and great value but the software is still evolving. If you are comfortable rooting and flashing custom ROM's you may enjoy it as there is growing developer suport.

 

[npaladin-2000]

OnePlus3 or ZTE Axon 7, the bootloader can be unlocked on both of them, brand new hardware and high end specs for $400 (versus the Nexus 6P being last year's flagship). And they're both smaller than the Nexus 6P.

It may be worth waiting and seeing what the new Nexuses look like though.

 

[tsupersonic]

OnePlus3 or ZTE Axon 7, the bootloader can be unlocked on both of them, brand new hardware and high end specs for $400 (versus the Nexus 6P being last year's flagship). And they're both smaller than the Nexus 6P.

It may be worth waiting and seeing what the new Nexuses look like though.

Agreed. I've been using my 6P for 8+ months, and still find it too big. I'd love the next (large) Nexus to be the size of the Note 7.

I'm always wary of OnePlus and an unproven company like ZTE in terms of future updates and customer service. There are so many horror stories of OnePlus customer service and the updates just come so slow...Can't speak for ZTE as I haven't heard much about them.

What's your budget OP?

 

[desura]

I recently upgraded phones. Looked at the lg5x, Motorola phones, and Samsung.

Settled on the HTC m8.

Reasons:

1. It has really good sound quality.
2. It is 5 inches. Noticeably smaller and pocketable than the others.
3. Expandable sd card.
4. Really good support. It was released in 2014 but it has android 6.
5. Fast enough.
6. Great screen that is not overkill.
7. Build quality is fantastic.

Paid about $130 for it as well. THis is like half what an LG5x would cost.

 

[disappoint]

Nexus 5X. 5.2" IPS LCD screen instead of that ginormous 5.7" AMOLED monstrosity on the 6P. Fast updates to the latest Marshmallow, Nougat, Orange Pecan Muffin O/S. Same camera as the 6P, and it's a great cam, fam. Don't you hate when they say fam? Kids today I swear. Only downside to the 5X is 32GB non expandable (no sd card) is the max onboard storage capacity. But 32 GB is enough for me. Very lightweight for it's size.

 

[Sean Kyle]

The names I can come up with are:

One Plus 3

ZTE AXON 7

Huawei Mate

But if you gonna for a high end brand then these two are my new favorites:

Lenovo Zuk Z2

HTC 10

 

[sweenish]

High end
Lenovo

Funny.
On paper, it looks incredible. Out in the wild, it's Lenovo.

 

[npaladin-2000]

The names I can come up with are:

One Plus 3

ZTE AXON 7

Huawei Mate

But if you gonna for a high end brand then these two are my new favorites:

Lenovo Zuk Z2

HTC 10

What's the HTC 10 doing there?

Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk

 

[Raduque]

People are down on it because Lenovo, but I would recommend the Motorola G4 plus. It's got a great camera, great screen (ips lcd), good in-hand feel, Moto Maker, fingerprint reader, and is $300 for the 64gb storage, with uSD card slot.

The latter is why a Nexus phone will also never be on any "Buy this phone" list I make.

 

[Sean Kyle]

High end
Lenovo

Funny.
On paper, it looks incredible. Out in the wild, it's Lenovo.

The phone is really great if you look at it. the features, quality and everything in that price is really great!

 

[Sean Kyle]

What's the HTC 10 doing there?

Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk

It is one of the most best phones in the industry (in terms of specs) right now!
HTC 10

 

[sweenish]

The phone is really great if you look at it. the features, quality and everything in that price is really great!

Not sure what part of Lenovo you don't get. They don't do high quality, and if this phone manages to be some sort of God-device, good luck EVER getting a single update.

 

[isekii]

ZTE Zmax Pro
It's like 70-80 bucks if you port a line into MetroPCS.
$100 bucks - 60 bucks for porting a line in and 1 month of service.

 

[Chiropteran]

Moto G4 at amazon for $150. If I needed a cheap phone I'd grab one in a heartbeat.

My current Nexus 6P has been an awesome phone, but at the price I paid I'm not sure it's best "bang for the buck".

 

[JeffMD]

I havnt kept my eye open, but you could get some insane deals on Lg g4s. Even if you only pay up to $200, that still beats out what you normally see for that price range. It isn't a looker of a phone, but it should cover all other bases.

 

[Sean Kyle]

Not sure what part of Lenovo you don't get. They don't do high quality, and if this phone manages to be some sort of God-device, good luck EVER getting a single update.

This thing you said... you are right about it!

 

[mohit9206]

Xiomi Redmi 3S/Note 3

 

[GoodEnough]

Best bang for the buck in new or used is the Nexus 6P. .

That's a $500 phone. Hardly "bang for buck"

 

[RossMAN]

That's a $500 phone. Hardly "bang for buck"

Uhh more like $350 - $399 and that's for the larger 64GB model.

Yes it does not offer expandable memory like the almighty Moto X Pure does.

 

[Radeon962]

That's a $500 phone. Hardly "bang for buck"

I buy lightly used from Swappa where it is hovering around $350 at the moment. Price has increased since N was released but will drop back to around $300 or below when the new Nexus is released.

 

[tsupersonic]

Uhh more like $350 - $399 and that's for the larger 64GB model.

Yes it does not offer expandable memory like the almighty Moto X Pure does.

Yeah, it's on sale frequently. Everything about the 6P is far better than the MXP, and like you said the only advantage of the MXP is the micro SD expansion.

 

[TeknoBug]

I agree with some suggested devices in this thread, but to add to them: Alcatel Idol 4 or the Blackberry DTEK50 (same as Idol 4), not bad for a $299 USD device and the DTEK50 has security integrated into its hardware and should get monthly software security updates. And the LG G4 still seems to hold up today and can be picked up brand new for cheap now.

People are down on it because Lenovo, but I would recommend the Motorola G4 plus. It's got a great camera, great screen (ips lcd), good in-hand feel, Moto Maker, fingerprint reader, and is $300 for the 64gb storage, with uSD card slot.

The latter is why a Nexus phone will also never be on any "Buy this phone" list I make.

As a long time Motorola user, nope nope nope. They don't do security updates anymore, and after that superfish spyware fiasco I'm not willing to throw a bone at any of their new devices. Still using my Moto X 1st gen (made by real Motorola) but that'll be my last device after Lenovo took over.

 

[lopri]

New Nexuses come out around September and sometimes Google offers promo discounts or Play store credit. Nexus phones have always been a decent bang for the bucks.