Hi All,
This may be an odd question, but it's about time to replace my old cell phone (Samsung Galaxy S7) and most of the reviews of new phones don't cover some of the things that are important to me for field birding (lots of hiking), so I figured I would try crowd sourcing recommendations.
OS: Android
Peformance: The S7 is a flagship phone, though a year old when I got it. It can run the eBird app with GPS tracking, the Audubon bird guide, Strava (if I am tracking my walk as a workout) and a trail mapping GPS program simultaneously without lag problems. I don't want to give up any of that ability, but I also don't want to spend the money on a flagship phone again and would rather pick a middle of the road phone (sub $400), but have no idea if they will be able to handle the workload I mention above without bogging down and taking lots of time to switch between the apps. Does anyone have experience running a similar workload on something like a Moto G Power or Pixel 4a or similar?
Battery life: That workload above drains my S7 battery way too quickly (could also be because I could be far from a strong cell signal). If I am planning to be out for more than about 3 hours I have to bring a backup power bank with me which then makes using the phone and keeping it in my pocket much more cumbersome. Again, this is why the Moto G Power is at the top of my list with its 5000mAh battery, but maybe there are others that perform acceptably?
Size: the phone has to fit comfortably in my jeans pocket. I'm not thrilled with the trend towards bigger and bigger phones. Everything today is bigger than the S7
Waterproof: would be nice, but at the lower price point it doesn't seem common, so it won't be a deal breaker if it doesn't have it.
Camera: don't much care how it performs. I usually have my DSLR with me if I want to take pictures
Face unlock: Is this a function of the OS or the phone? It would be nice when I have gloves on and can't use a fingerprint to unlock without taking them off.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts, feedback and suggestions!
This may be an odd question, but it's about time to replace my old cell phone (Samsung Galaxy S7) and most of the reviews of new phones don't cover some of the things that are important to me for field birding (lots of hiking), so I figured I would try crowd sourcing recommendations.
OS: Android
Peformance: The S7 is a flagship phone, though a year old when I got it. It can run the eBird app with GPS tracking, the Audubon bird guide, Strava (if I am tracking my walk as a workout) and a trail mapping GPS program simultaneously without lag problems. I don't want to give up any of that ability, but I also don't want to spend the money on a flagship phone again and would rather pick a middle of the road phone (sub $400), but have no idea if they will be able to handle the workload I mention above without bogging down and taking lots of time to switch between the apps. Does anyone have experience running a similar workload on something like a Moto G Power or Pixel 4a or similar?
Battery life: That workload above drains my S7 battery way too quickly (could also be because I could be far from a strong cell signal). If I am planning to be out for more than about 3 hours I have to bring a backup power bank with me which then makes using the phone and keeping it in my pocket much more cumbersome. Again, this is why the Moto G Power is at the top of my list with its 5000mAh battery, but maybe there are others that perform acceptably?
Size: the phone has to fit comfortably in my jeans pocket. I'm not thrilled with the trend towards bigger and bigger phones. Everything today is bigger than the S7
Waterproof: would be nice, but at the lower price point it doesn't seem common, so it won't be a deal breaker if it doesn't have it.
Camera: don't much care how it performs. I usually have my DSLR with me if I want to take pictures
Face unlock: Is this a function of the OS or the phone? It would be nice when I have gloves on and can't use a fingerprint to unlock without taking them off.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts, feedback and suggestions!