At least for the next few years, I am pretty firm on needing a jack on my device.
I am currently using an LG v60, and while nice, it’s starting to show its age.
Any suggestions on where to go next?
I was looking at the ROG phone, and while it does seem very nice, I feel like it is a bit much as I don’t game on my device at all.
Are there any good phones I should be looking at?
Thanks!
Depends on your budget and location.
Unlimited budget: Sony Xperia 1 V ($1400). Has almost anything you’d want. SD8G2, MicroSD slot, etc.
High budget: Asus Zenfone 9 ($700). Great compact phone with a headphone jack. Alternatively wait for the Zenfone 10 to come out as it’s coming out this week.
Or even the Xperia 5 V ($1000), a slightly downgraded version of the 1 V.
Lower budget: Sony Xperia 10 V ($450). Expensive for the specs but you get outstanding battery life, 25-50% more than any other phone on this list. And it’s the only budget phone with a telephoto lens.
USA pick: Moto G Stylus 5G (2022). Can be picked up for $250 on Amazon and has excellent all-around specs for the price.
Europe/Asia picks: Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+ ($350) if you want good cameras for the price. However the chipset might struggle with MIUI from time to time.
Xiaomi Poco X5 pro ($300). Good all-arounder at this price.
Xiaomi Poco F5 ($400). Best chipset out of all of these budget phones, at nearly flagship levels.
The Zenphone 10 is launching in 3 days, it is also rumored to have a headphone jack like the previous Zenphone 9!
All I want in this whole world is a Zenphone 10 on Verizon. If literally any other carrier worked at my house (rural dead zone) I’d jump ship in a heartbeat.
Wait out - When the Asus Zenfone drop this Thursday. Top tier specs with a great camera.
Xperia if you’re into photography at all
Asus Zenfone
My zenfone 8 is solid, but has high treble when listening on max on my headphone and Planar IEM. I would not necesserily recommend builtin jacks. If you can choose a lot cheaper device for lack of a jack, you can get a fucking great bluetooth adapter and a very good IEM from the difference.
Apart from that, I recommend Gigaset/Volla and Fairphone since they are servicable and have removable batteries.
Still rocking my S10 that I believe is the best phone made.
Wireless charging, wireless power sharing, good waterproof rating, headphone port etc.
Holding onto this thing as long as possible. Might price out a battery replacement… 💪
Am I the only one who dislikes the wireless charging gimmick? Id rather phones dont bother with it to keep the size and cost of the phone down a bit.
I think the idea of reverse wireless charging is cool as hell, but only if you have wireless buds or a smartwatch to take advantage of it.
The heat, energy loss, and extra time to use wireless charging is not worth it to use full time imo. You also cannot use your device nearly as much on a wireless charger vs a long cable.
But when it’s integrated into bar tops, tables, etc., to charge your phone while at a restaurant or something, that’s extremely convenient.
It feels very situational to me.
Yeah it’s niche use doesn’t really make it a selling point for me, others things I’d rather have before it.
The reverse charging is a cool feature though, but I feel like phone batteries just aren’t big enough for it to be useful outside of a quick partial charge of something like a smartwatch like you mentioned.
Maybe once the tech advances a bit more I can be convinced, but right now a cable does the job well.
The Zenphone 9 is a great phone. If you don’t mind going for a slightly older phone, then I would recommend the Galaxy A52s.
I was considering this one, but I have heard wildly different stories from people using them.
Some say it’s an incredible phone, some say it’s a laggy nightmare with bad battery life.
Unsure who to believe.
Maybe the Xperia 1 V? https://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_1_v-12263.php
I have the 1 IV and I really like it except that it’s prone to overheating when using advanced camera features. The V is said to have resolved the heating issue.
The catch is that Sony devices aren’t usually subsidized by carriers, so you’d have to be willing to pay full price on Amazon et al.
There would also be an Xperia 5 V release upcoming as well which is a compact version of the flagship with a lower pricetag. The 5 IV had a 3.5mm jack so I would imagine the V will as well. https://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_5_iv-11838.php
Nokia XR21. Waterproof, drop proof, 4 years of updates, programmable physical buttons.
I have its predecessor and it is a fabulous device.
It may be on the older side, but I’ve been using my Pixel 4A for three years or so, no complaints. I also use the headphone whenever possible. Also using GrapheneOS.
You may want to check out the Pixel 5A (also has a headphone jack if I’m not mistaken) for a bit of a newer phone, but the one I got used seems to have a band issue in which it would forcefully shut down after some time with my SIM card.
my pixel 4a is still kicking it
I do need to back it up and factory reboot tho, I think that might help some of the typing issues that have come up recently.
The pixel 5a has some reliability issues it’s predassessors did not. It is an extremely fragile device.
I think the fragility is either overstated or there were some lemons in the batch. I’ve had mine since day one, don’t treat it with kid gloves and have never had an issue.
I had one break, then another, then another. Granted I’m rougher with my phone than most, but that sort of pattern hasn’t popped up with other phones.
What breaks? The screen?
Yes. And I don’t just mean the glass. I had a screen fail without any impact/physical damage.
I am really happy with my Asus Zenphone 9. The best feature is the long battery life. If i wanted i could use the phone for ~72h, though I usually charge it to 80% and charge the phone every 2 days instead.
The Battery Life was my main buying point, the aux and smaller size were important though too.
It also has an actual gimble for camera stabilisation in the lense instead of the typical stabilization through a sensor, though i guess it is more of a gimmick. I myself don’t take that many action shots where this could be useful, so I can’t really give any info if it is better than the usual way of stabilization.
Since it is an Asus phone I think it also is pretty powerful and power efficient for mobile gaming if that interests you (I don’t care about that).End of this Month they will also reveal the Zenphone 10, so maybe this might also be a possible phone to check out. I bought mine also directly release last year since I was looking for a new phone around that time. It was bundled with a chromebook that I was able to resell so it was a nice deal in comparison to other comparable phones.
What do you need from the minijack port? Easy access or great audio?
A few things:
- I fall asleep listening to podcasts, so I need the ability to play and charge
- I hate keeping track of multiple things to charge, I like how simple wired buds are
Asus Zenfone 9 and Xiaomi Poco F5 are also viable options
Poco sadly doesn’t have all the connection bands I need.
Sony Xperia phones?
Not sure if you can still get a Samsung A52s. That’d be a nice pick if you still can get it. It’s what I use and it’s one of the few with the trifecta of features I was looking for: 3.5mm jack, memory card slot, and OIS in the main camera.
I’m hoping the EU’s new battery law will mean all countries will get Sony Xperias with removable batteries, though I realize it’s probably too much to expect.
Nokia’s X series 🔥
