Mobile Phone thread - please include links to good deals

[wakka]

I think they got their fingers burned with the Nexus 6. You're right in that it did sell poorly, probably mostly due to the massively increased price over previous handsets. It was way too big for most people too. My personal feeling is that the new N5 will be a return to the budget-ish pricing of before, but we'll have to wait and see.

In terms of size it's supposedly 5.2", with a Huawei phablet at 6" or so making up the premium end of the line. I think the pricing on that one will be more in line with the Nexus 6's ?500 odd.

[Nu-Eclipse]

I think they got their fingers burned with the Nexus 6. You're right in that it did sell poorly, probably mostly due to the massively increased price over previous handsets. It was way too big for most people too. My personal feeling is that the new N5 will be a return to the budget-ish pricing of before, but we'll have to wait and see.

What has to be kept in mind, especially when it comes to Nexus handsets, is that budget pricing essentially equals budget specs. That was definitely the case with the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 - all modified versions of existing high-end devices minus the top-of-the-range specs (often noted and criticised by reviewers), which was more than understandable when Google were basically subsidising those devices to sell them at super-cheap prices.

Google have made it clear for years now that they want the Nexus brand to have the same prestige as the iPhone, but that won't happen when Nexus phones have budget pricing and specs. On the flipside of that though, premium-priced Nexus devices with better specs haven't gone down well, as we have seen with the N6.

Something has clearly got to give, and I think it'll be specs over affordability. But you're right - we will see.

Oh, and the name/rep of Huawei definitely isn't synonymous with that of quality imo!

[wakka]

I dunno, do they want Nexus devices to be prestigious? I've not seen much evidence of that myself. I've always thought they were aimed at customers who wanted good specs at a good price, and were happy to forego the frills (e.g. metal casing, top spec camera, OLED screen). That's where the Nexus 6 failed - there are plenty of options in the ?500+ space that are nicer than the N6 (iPhone line, Galaxy line, Xperia line) - but the N5 was the best value in its spec category on its release.

I've always felt that core specs were where the Nexus devices didn't compromise, but you instead accepted the cheaper casing, camera and screen in order to get those specs at a low price. The Nexus 5 had equivalent specs (quadcore 2.2Ghz, 2GB RAM) to the top end (?500+) devices of 2013, but you didn't get the premium extras.

[Nu-Eclipse]

I dunno, do they want Nexus devices to be prestigious? I've not seen much evidence of that myself.

I do think that the Nexus 6 is proof of that. It may not be as good as its competitors spec-wise but it is thus far the best-specced Nexus phone by a considerable distance.

Making stock Android prestigious is/was definitely on Google's agenda at the very least, and Google Play Edition phones and the rumoured (but now seemingly scrapped?) Nexus replacement Android Silver definitely hinted at an attempt to move Nexus away from its pet-project, "strictly for devs and coders" image that it once had and make it more commercially viable.

The Nexus 5 (like the N4 and Galaxy Nexus) might well have had equivalent specs to its contemporaries, but their modified handset origins were always exposed in tech reviews where they were performance-tested using programs like GeekBench and shown to not be as great as their rivals of those times.

[Wools]

Anybody else likely to upgrade to the new iPhone?

Unless they cock up the formula, I'll be upgrading to the smaller of the phones. My contract for my iPhone 5S runs out in January, the plan is to go sim only and buy the phone outright.

I know it's personal preference in the end but I've never been won over by Android, both in their OS and the Hardware. My current job is app testing and we support iOS, Android and Windows 10 so we have a lot of high end, top of the line Android phones along with our lowest supported systems. After years of testing, I've liked some phones and OS versions but they have never come together like iOS and their specific hardware has.

Never expected to like iPhone 6 but I've come round and even like the 6+ but don't think my pocket, running arm band or even my bloody hand would be ready for that slab!

Looking forward to the new phone announcement! My one design hope is that they manage to fully mount the camera into the chassis of the phone without it sticking out. Probably won't happen but it'll be cool if they manage it.

[EvilBoris]

I'll probably upgrade , just need to see what he spec differences between the 2 phones are.

[wakka]

I rarely bother to read benchmarking etc for this kind of thing, so that's probably true! Still, the Nexus 5 was great value and I hope they go back to that model of no frills/low price.

[ETC]

I'll probably upgrade despite only having a 6 for like a month or two, need more storage and my mate has just broke his 5c so may as well as he has asked if I'll sell it

[Nu-Eclipse]

Pre-ordering starts on Saturday. "6s" and "6s Plus" models going for prices that original 6 and 6 Plus models were.

http://www.apple.com/uk/shop/buy-iphone/iphone6s

[Nu-Eclipse]

Can't decide whether to go for 64GB or 128GB 6s. Biggest iPhone storage I've had to date was the 32GB of my iPhone 4!

#firstworldproblems, I know...but struggling to choose!

[charlesr]

Anyone with a phone on ios9: you might want to turn off the new "wifi assist" option which is enabled by default. Unless you have an unlimited data plan.

[k0pp0]

Ordered a new Samsung S6 as part of my new job role. Had the option of an iPhone but couldn't bring myself to go back to one.

[BaronSqwelch]

Just preordered the Nexus 5X.
My 5 has served me well for 2 years but the non working earphone socket (and the fact I constantly forget to carry my Bluetooth dongle) means it is time to upgrade! Was quick enough to get a black one this time too.

[Colin]

Anyone with a phone on ios9: you might want to turn off the new "wifi assist" option which is enabled by default. Unless you have an unlimited data plan.

What is it? I have unlimited data anyway, but what does it 'assist' with?

[Nu-Eclipse]

What is it? I have unlimited data anyway, but what does it 'assist' with?

If your Wi-Fi connection is weak/unstable, there is an option to have your iOS 9 device automatically augment it with your cellular data connection to keep it running fast and smooth.

What wasn't mentioned by Apple was that Wi-Fi Assist is switched on by default. You have to actively turn it off if you don't want to use it.

Not a problem if you have unlimited data (though you might wanna check for "Fair Use Policies" in the smallprint) or a large data allowance, but could be an issue if you have limited data allowance.