Previously on Lemmy: Motorola
Maybe we should just make this a series now.
Never settle for Oneplus.
I’ve always felt that Oneplus is a brand that I should like on principle of having clean software with barebones but powerful hardware, but in reality, every single Oneplus phone I’ve seen always had some sort of big BUTs attached to them, so buying Oneplus always feels like settling.
Take the Oneplus One for example, that sandstone textured cover was THE most creative material I felt a phone could have had, and I’m honestly shocked nobody has ever done it again. But along with that of course, comes with the cringy “smash your phone” marketing campaign, the half-hearted attempt to distance themselves from their parent company Oppo, the whole software mess with CyanogenMod/OxygenOS, etc.
Had a Oneplus 3T for a while, same deal: Great phone when it works as intended, but they raised their price without making the phone better, and the inexplicable random restarts/battery drain is so irritating, never had another phone that does that.
Recently they’ve dropped all pretense of not being Oppo and abandoned their core audience, choosing to have the “courage” to drop the headphone jack. Mediocre Chinese phones with flagship specs are a dime a dozen, I just don’t see a reason to buy them anymore.
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Pre ColorOS they were my goto. These days Pixel all the way.
Used to be high spec and a low price. Now they’re average spec and an above-average price.
Nowadays phones are all pretty similar in price and spec, so I’d rather get a slightly more expensive phone from a company with proven, accessible warranty.
I think Oneplus is a proven company, it’s just that they’ve always proved themselves to be mediocre.
I’m using a OnePlus 6 right now. I’ve never had a problem, and I’ll probably stick with the brand.
All tech is great when it works all the time. The problem is what happens when it stops working. Can you contact them? Where do you send it for repair? How long does that take? All that sort of thing.
What do you use now, or what would you recommend instead?
I have a Samsung at the moment and have had Samsung’s for 6 or 7 years. I’ve only had minor issues with a few of them, and I’ve been able to visit a Samsung retailer / service centre to actually get them looked at in person.
So, proven reliability for my experience and ability to get it looked at in person is something that means I’m happy to pay more for the phone than I would be for other brands.
They used to be great value, good specs for affordable prices, then slowly turned into premium shit when they got more popular. Same happening with Nothing now.
Exactly that, they were great until 4 or 5, I think. Then they became premium. It’s kinda a version of enshittifcation for hardware makers: Pander to enthusiast community at the start, get some marketshare and mindshare, then go premium and raise prices, abandoning the original group of fans.
But they’re way too buggy to be considered premium
So short answer, I really love them but I’m keeping a cautious eye on their choices.
Full disclosure, this is coming from my OP11, so I’m a little bit biased, but this is absolutely the best phone I’ve ever had. And mind you, my previous phone was the OP7Pro which is an incredible device that STILL works like new after 3 years. So personally, they’ve been good to me.
However, I am keeping a close eye on their OS and software decisions. I was a little hesitant about this phone at first. The Android 11 OxygenOS was perfect on my OP7Pro. I upgraded to 12 (their merger with ColorOS if I’m not mistaken) and it was just a mess. For the first time since buying it, my OP7Pro had random bugs and stuttering. I immediately reverted to Android 11 and it was back to perfect. Unfortunately, the OP7Pro will no longer receive updates, so if I wanted to try the newest OxygenOS, I needed to upgrade.
OP11 starts with OxygenOS 13 and is slated to receive 5 years of updates, which is awesome for longevity. Some of the decisions they made after the terrible OxygenOS 12 (many changes to the OS, releasing the OP11 as the only flagship without a Pro later in the year, etc.) gave me hope that they recognized their mistakes and were willing to fix them. I decided to give them another shot and got the OP11 in April.
The software is still missing a few (minor) things I liked from OxygenOS 11, but Android 13 makes up for it with some interesting features. And this might be an unpopular opinion, but I actually like what they’re doing with the OxygenOS 13 skin. It’s hard to describe since there are a lot of small things I probably noticed unconsciously, but I haven’t had any bugs and it’s been a dream with this device. I do feel like they’re listening to their customers again, and trying to get back on our good sides.
In the past I’ve been burnt by Samsung and LG, but OnePlus hasn’t ever let me down (except that atrocious OxygenOS 12, but again, I skipped it). So long as they keep making the effort to listen to their customers and keep pushing the changes/additions we want to see, I’ll keep buying their devices and running their OS. Of course if I see a repeat of 12 with OxygenOS 14, I honestly might bail. 12 was so bad I’m never doing that again.
I realize this is kind of rambly, so please let me know if you want me to clarify anything.
Are there any specific features of OxygenOS in particular that you like? Haven’t used one in a while.
So I’m not sure if I’m the best person to be giving their opinions as I’ve used only OP phones for the last 3 years, so the things I like might be standard android these days. Also, rereading my comment I sound like an OP fangirl, so feel free to disregard my comments.
I love their aesthetic. I like the “bubbly” feel to the UI, the font, color choices, etc. I think they’re very snazzy. I also love the customization features, specifically the launcher editing UI (it’s stupid intuitive), the AOD options, they have their own creepy animoji thing that I kind of love, the transition animations are smooth, and it’s cohesion in general is excellent.
It all feels like it belongs together. I have a hard time determining where “standard android” and OxygenOS begin/end. It just feels nice to use and I love leaving my phone faceup just to look at it. It’s hard to identify exactly what I love because I haven’t been keeping a list or anything, but just this morning I was moving some apps around and between folders and it just did exactly what I wanted in a way my old phones definitely wouldn’t. Small, but really exciting in the moment.
Of course, these are all very little things that might not be enough for other folks, but the little things are usually what delight me most. I’m also not a bank, so this phone is absolutely the most expensive thing I own and I try to appreciate it when I can.
I will say, there are things that OP will need to change. For me, things like icon customization and notification dismissal direction need updated. But these are extremely low on my list, so I don’t mind it as it is.
I want to add that the hardware on this device alone is worth it to me. It’s a beast and the battery is fabulous.
Anyway, I’ll stop gushing haha. I didn’t realize how much I like it until now. I know these devices aren’t for everyone so this is my own opinion. I’m also writing this on my commute so I feel like it isn’t coming across as clearly as I’d like. I hope that helped a bit though.
I had a few Oneplus phones, but the 7 pro was my last of theirs. the 5 and 7 pro were phenomenal phones and the 7 pro is still one of my favorites phones ever. That being said, I didn’t like the direction they were going and the full merge with Oppo so that oneplus phones are basically stripped down version of Oppo phones, just soured me to them completely. Then you have their non-existent customer service reputation and they’ve been put on my list to avoid.
I was a huge fan of Oneplus, but will not buy any of their products again
Agreed on the OP 7 Pro being pretty great, up until the last major android update that kind of killed it. I ended up having to switch it over to the Pixel Experience ROM for stability reasons.
Most of the OnePlus series, including older models, is fully supported by LineageOS, and unlocking the bootloader is straightforward. That were the most important reasons for me to go OnePlus. For me and my family there was nothing else comparably easily supported by Lineage with a good price/performance ratio. We currently use 6T and 8T models, that we bought used. The only downside for me is the lack of a notification light.
Have a Oneplus 7 Pro, first Oneplus phone I’ve owned and it will be the last. Absolutely love the phone itself, but Oneplus as a company, the software they package, the warranty issues, and the direction they’ve gone as a value pick have all fallen off a cliff since it was produced, and have turned me off to ever upgrading to one of their newer models. That’s fine for me though, I have replacement parts on-hand, and a third-party actually maintained rom, so I’m OP7P until the wheels fall off this thing.
Edit: Can’t comment with experience on other OP phones, but I’ve heard very good things about the 6s, it was my second pick when I was looking for a phone at the time.
I’ve had the 3t for a couple of years until the 6t came out and I’m still using that to this day. I’ve been happy with both of them, the 6t still works well and although e.g. the camera isn’t the greatest I have no intention of getting another phone until this one is completely dead.
That said, I wouldn’t buy a newer models since the pricing policy and the move away from their former principles made them a mediocre phone amongst many and I would definitely get a Pixel next if I had to.
I am only slightly better than a “casual” user in terms of Android phones. The most I’ve done is flash LineageOS on my phone. I think smartphones have reached the pinnacle for users like me. Like TVs I’m really wondering where smartphones could possibly go from here. As long as all the apps work and the battery can last a full working day I don’t think I’ll be replacing my 8T any time soon.
If there’s one thing I’d be looking for it would be Android’s answer to iMessage. But that ball is in Google’s court. Ideally it would be an open protocol, preferably they would just adopt something that already exists, like Matrix Chat.
Matrix does seem to be the way forward, but last time I used Element it was absurdly slow, so I don’t think it’s ready yet.
They had their time in the sun. Their first few phones were pretty good in terms of price to performance. 7 Pro were peak One Plus.
Every phone after that just got more and more bland with hardly any feature to make them stand out from the rest of the competition.
I appreciate they have unlocked bootloaders. Now that I’m comfortable upgrading my old phones with the latest Android and security updates I’ll never buy another phone that doesn’t let me unlock the bootloader like Samsung. It’s why I replaced my Note.
What phones have unlocked bootloader now? Looking to see for options to replace my OP3T lol
I used to love them.
I “won” the opportunity to get the OnePlus One.
Was such a great device, I love flashing ROMs on it, even got the bamboo back.
Pretty much every device since the first has been just a slow transition into being your average phone OEM.
They are nothing special anymore.
And now that other OEMs have less crappy skins (and OnePlus’ skin got worse) there’s really no reason to buy them anymore.
Kinda sad.
Kinda like reddit, I suppose.
I don’t like them. I think they are trying to be Apple and I hate that because it means higher prices, fewer features. No headphone jack, no SD card slot, no dual SIM, high prices.
That’s not meant to be the Android way. Android is all about choice and options. That’s what I love about Sony, and why I have a Sony Xperia 10iii - they give you more: award winning design, sleek form factor, fantastic cameras, headphone jack, SD card slot, dual SIM, waterproofing, easily removable SIM tray, notification LED, battery care, long battery life, great OLED screen, NFC, HiRes audio on wired and wireless, MP3 upscale to improve music quality on MP3 tracks, great video recording (up to 4K on mine), support app built in, fast stock launcher will little bloat. I’m even a fan of the dedication Google Assistant button and use it all the time.
And the price was great because I got it on sale for just €350.
That’s how Android should be: options, choice, value for money
Edit: I forgot to mention that Sony allows unlocking the bootloader if you want to install other ROM’s like Sailfish, Lineage etc
We’ll do Sony some other time. Promise.
😊
Is it just me that reads “award winning design” and instantly mentally classifies a post as “likely marketing”?!
WTF is the value for a customer if their phone’s design has received awards?
I mean, does any genuine human out there choose the looks of their phone based on the awards it got rather than, you know, personally likeing said looks???!
I stopped reading out of habit as soon as I got to the “award winning design” and “form factor”. Such marketing buzzwords are usually a good sign telling me that part of the text has no valuable information and should be skipped.
I hadn’t even noticed this habit and I have no idea when it started. I wonder what other subconscious reading optimizations I’ve made, and how they might impact the type of information I read without me realizing it…
I had a oneplus 6 and really liked it. I am also getting a oneplus nord n200 in a few weeks to replace my dying moto. I will be flashing LineageOS which is mainly why i chose it.
I owned a OnePlus One. Solid phone for the time. Sandstone back and degoogled CyanogenMod.
I got my wife the OnePlus X. Their first attempt at a premium phone. Buggy piece of shit crashed all the time. Google Keep would crash. Chrome would crash. This was reported by everyone, and instead of a fix, it was completely dropped by OnePlus after four months. Like, no updates or anything, because of an outdated chipset. No security patches or anything. Just pretend it never happened, sorry for your money. I sold both phones and went to iPhone.
OnePlus, the supposed best Android phone, sent me to Apple for like a half decade after that. And this was pretty early on in their game, like 2016 or so. I missed out on everything up until now, I have no point of reference on upside down displays and ColorOS vs OxygenOS or whatever. I’ve never been screwed over by trading in a phone to OnePlus and have them come back and take half the value back due to OLED burn-in, because I got away from OnePlus before any of this was even a thing.
Years later, I ended up back on Android and lo and behold, I have a OnePlus phone as a backup. Nord N300 5g or something like that. It came out a few weeks ago but I got it a little earlier than that due to some TikTok thing. It was cheap, it has a good camera, an LCD screen and Android 13. I like the OS better than stock Android (Nokia X20, XR20, Pixel 7 and FairPhone 4 for comparison). I know exactly what I have and I don’t expect much from it, so it is kind of not bad to use. Updates are decent, I’m on a May security patch. The software and overall experience is better than any of the recent Nokia’s I’ve owned (pure trash brand, don’t get me started).
So at the low end, it’s not a bad proposition. Really nothing bad to say about the new phone. It does what I need, has an SD card and 3.5mm jack and an LCD panel. Caveat this: I am not a premium phone user anymore (the last maxed out spec phone I got was a red iPhone 8+ in 2018), so I can’t compare OP11 or OP12 or whatever and won’t get anything with an OLED screen if I don’t have to.
