Which is best Android Phone?

[elitejp]

Something that Im not sure is an issue but privacy and legal rights to photos when using the cloud. Im part of a photography forum and a really big concern recently is that many hosting sites are now saying that any picture that you upload they have legal rights to use even though the pics were uploaded to a personal account.
Besides issues that can occur when uploading anything into the cloud I find it hard to argue against the ability to expand storage through a msd card realizing that there is no downside to having extra storage on hand if needed.

 

[Commodus]

Something that Im not sure is an issue but privacy and legal rights to photos when using the cloud. Im part of a photography forum and a really big concern recently is that many hosting sites are now saying that any picture that you upload they have legal rights to use even though the pics were uploaded to a personal account.
Besides issues that can occur when uploading anything into the cloud I find it hard to argue against the ability to expand storage through a msd card realizing that there is no downside to having extra storage on hand if needed.

That concern is somewhat overblown. This doesn't mean that you'll suddenly see your photos used all over the place. They might be used in promo videos demonstrating the photo service, but that's really the extent of it.

As for microSD? I suspect it'll be harder to make a case for it in 2017. Outliers like Zaap notwithstanding, it's hard for many people to fill up 128GB unless they're recording a whole wedding ceremony in 4K or something similar. We're approaching that point with phones that we reached with hard drives, where the mainstream user has more storage than they know what to do with. Hell, on my desktop it took me 3 years before I thought it might be nice to go from 1TB to 2TB.

 

[Elixer]

That concern is somewhat overblown. This doesn't mean that you'll suddenly see your photos used all over the place. They might be used in promo videos demonstrating the photo service, but that's really the extent of it.

As for microSD? I suspect it'll be harder to make a case for it in 2017. Outliers like Zaap notwithstanding, it's hard for many people to fill up 128GB unless they're recording a whole wedding ceremony in 4K or something similar. We're approaching that point with phones that we reached with hard drives, where the mainstream user has more storage than they know what to do with. Hell, on my desktop it took me 3 years before I thought it might be nice to go from 1TB to 2TB.

I know lots of people that have blown past 128GB in a few days, it isn't that hard to do, especially if you have a family with little ones.
I think you are underestimating the demand for pics & vids & songs & games/apps that people want to ALWAYS have access to.
It is bad enough lugging around power bricks to recharge the device, now, you need to carry around a storage brick as well?

 

[Yakk]

Yeah I know I can easily go through 128GB very quickly. 60 fps HD video, or 4K fill that up very quickly and then add some apps and games. My 200GB msd card is getting a lot of use and could use more as I can only store a few albums and audio books at a time to keep room avaliable.

Arguing to limit options is just silly.

 

[Commodus]

I know lots of people that have blown past 128GB in a few days, it isn't that hard to do, especially if you have a family with little ones.
I think you are underestimating the demand for pics & vids & songs & games/apps that people want to ALWAYS have access to.
It is bad enough lugging around power bricks to recharge the device, now, you need to carry around a storage brick as well?

Well, the question is... how many people need so much built-in storage that even 128GB or 256GB isn't enough? Anecdotes make a case that there are clearly some people who do, to be sure. I just don't want to act as if we're already in a dire storage crisis, especially when so many people buy the 32GB base model for many phones (yes, they're frequently buying it because it's the least expensive model). What I want to know: how many people bought a 32GB Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge and still don't have a microSD card (and have no intentions of getting one)? It's probably a higher ratio than you think.

 

[Zaap]

What I want to know: how many people bought a 32GB Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge and still don't have a microSD card (and have no intentions of getting one)? It's probably a higher ratio than you think.

Once again, most people don't have a 128GB model phone. It's just a trick that Apple and Google even make a 32GB model- they both want to sell people an extra 96GB for a ridiculous markup. Samsung can get away with a 32GB model and not be quite such crooks about it- because you CAN add storage if you need it. Anyone who doesn't care? Fine. Better to have it and not need it than...

And those people running around with 32GB (which comes out to about 16-20GB usable by the time they've even set up their phone to the bare minimum- yeah, I know many of those types. "Hey, can you take some pictures of my son's birthday for me and send it to me? I don't have any more space on my phone." This and "Why is thing running so slow!!?" and "Oh shoot, I can't install that game, I need to shuffle some stuff around first."

I don't know why people want the low-end of any market to determine their choices. Just because there are people who either don't know about/need/care about the fact that 32GB and even 128GB are actually piddly amounts of storage in this day in age, doesn't in any way determine what people who should know better should accept in a 2017 flagship.

Now, if an iPhone or Pixel or Galaxy S7 etc cost $100 or so, fine. But $700+? Get out. That's more than enough of a price tier for people to expect a modern level of options and stop pretending it's 2007 still. Granted, I know it's great for the bottom line of huge companies that some people don't care about paying 2007 prices for 2017 amounts of storage- but many of us don't base our choice of these devices on that.

 

[Commodus]

Once again, most people don't have a 128GB model phone. It's just a trick that Apple and Google even make a 32GB model- they both want to sell people an extra 96GB for a ridiculous markup. Samsung can get away with a 32GB model and not be quite such crooks about it- because you CAN add storage if you need it. Anyone who doesn't care? Fine. Better to have it and not need it than...

And those people running around with 32GB (which comes out to about 16-20GB usable by the time they've even set up their phone to the bare minimum- yeah, I know many of those types. "Hey, can you take some pictures of my son's birthday for me and send it to me? I don't have any more space on my phone." This and "Why is thing running so slow!!?" and "Oh shoot, I can't install that game, I need to shuffle some stuff around first."

I don't know why people want the low-end of any market to determine their choices. Just because there are people who either don't know about/need/care about the fact that 32GB and even 128GB are actually piddly amounts of storage in this day in age, doesn't in any way determine what people who should know better should accept in a 2017 flagship.

Now, if an iPhone or Pixel or Galaxy S7 etc cost $100 or so, fine. But $700+? Get out. That's more than enough of a price tier for people to expect a modern level of options and stop pretending it's 2007 still. Granted, I know it's great for the bottom line of huge companies that some people don't care about paying 2007 prices for 2017 amounts of storage- but many of us don't base our choice of these devices on that.

One thing to remember, though: at last check, Apple is estimated to have 90 percent of the profits in mobile where many of its rivals are either making tiny profits or bleeding cash (this includes big names like LG, Sony and Xiaomi). That's partly a testament to Apple's higher-than-average profit margins, to be sure, but it also means that many phone makers don't actually have that much wiggle room on storage. It's not a question of padding their profits as the it is whether or not they have profits.

Apple? It probably has some breathing room. But at the same time, it's easy to claim that a much higher baseline (say, 128GB) is realistic for a flagship when you don't know how much it costs per chip on that scale, what the availability is like, and other factors that might be at work. Can Samsung or Toshiba crank out, say, 40 million 128GB chips per quarter for one customer? With that said: I really hope Apple, Google, Samsung and others don't cling to a 32GB minimum for as long as they did 16GB. It'd be nice to see more flagships starting at 64GB or higher without price hikes.

 

[jhansman]

S7 Edge, still

I want to stay with T-Mobile, and this phone seems the only real choice ( I insist on having SD card expansion) among their Android offerings. My S5 is getting long in the tooth....

But to address the OP's question, there is no "best" because, as clearly expressed in this thread, everyone has different priorities. I think the smartest way to pick a phone is to list your three or four highest priorities, and then see what devices fulfill them; then go out and handle them. I couldn't care less about looks, but ergonomics and expandable storage count for me. Providers now use technolust to keep us by our short hairs, so spending a upwards of $100/mo. for mobile is now taken for granted. My buddy at work lives with a flip phone and misses none of what we accept we must have. Go figure.

 

[you2]

I can't speak for everyone but for me micro-sd isn't about additional space; it is about space that i can easily move between devices. The cloud is overrated and over-annoying for certain types of data set.