40K+ Suggest a flagship (S24 Ultra - Pixel 9 Pro - iPhone 16 pro?)

[napstersquest]

I am not able to make up my mind.

I am Android user previously (Loved my LG G6, then got the Oneplus Nord 2 which I am using right now).

The Nord 2 is not giving me any problems really (apart from the proximity sensor issues which arise because the display keeps coming off due to weak glue).

My wife is insisting on iPhone 16 pro because she has an iPhone. I might have to keep an Android handy because I also have the Samsung Watch 4 Classic.

I have seen my friend's S24 Ultra and honestly it is quite too big for me.

I was looking at Pixel 9 Pro, which is around 75K (with discounts + exchange on the Google Store - currently out of stock but comes in stock quite often). I am also reading about the upcoming Pixel event planned for 27th June, which might announce Pixel 10 series.

I want to experience flagships once again, main usage will be camera, WhatsApp, Mails, the usual stuff.
My Nord 2 is almost 4 years old now. Expecting similar mileage if not better.

 

[bigb123]

My only choice would be Pixel 10 series

 

[enc0dex264]

Pixel is the worst phone you can buy of all flagships imo.. you are spending 90k for a phone with a piece of shit exynos processor.. gets warm even for the slighest tasks.. battery life is terrible compared to the snapdragon equivalents or iPhone.. you also get 0 reparibility outside warranty in india and you also get 0 to no accessories for the pixel in india (for eg you can find tempered glasses for any iphones on any local mobie shop but you wont find tempered glass for any pixel phones)

The only advantage pixel has is the stock UI but even samsung beats it atm in terms of featureset.. you also wont get call recording with the pixel which is kinda mandatory if you are doing deals over phones.. and you also wont get fast charging.

Oneplus 13 is the best value for money flagship right now.. or S25U is not much expensive if you can find a good deal.. I just bought my imported sealed unit S25U for 87k in chandigarh. (Went from zfold 6 -> S25U because the battery on the fold6 is terrible)

I chose to get a samsung phone again over the oneplus or iphone.. simpy because im already in there ecosystem (watch and buds + tv) otherwise i would have gone back to the iPhone or the OP13.

 

[napstersquest]

I have had short hands on experiences with many phones in the list you mentioned @enc0dex264
The Pixel has brilliant point and shoot camera, S24U is no slouch either. But the S25U has lesser features that matter to me (honestly Samsung ditching the remote shutter on the S pen is ass backwards move, especially since the charging coil for the stylus is already present in the S25U body!).
Anyway the S24U and S25U are too big and the regular S24/S25 have so many features cut down, they are not value for money it seems.

I am not bothered with Pixel's performance (It has Tensor G4 and not Exynos - and BIG F U to Samsung for not releasing the Snapdragon variants in India - I won't import because I would rather not risk warranty issues), even the Nord 2 still feels sharp to me. I never game and never will, won't watch many movies (have a large TV in front of my bed exactly for that) on the phone so the large screen is useless.

I never used the 65W charger that came with my Nord 2 either. I either use 10W chargers at my work/home desk or 18W QC chargers when traveling. Also probably the reason why the Nord 2 still lasts me through the day on single charge.

The call recording part with Google kinda hurts. Video recording experience (as per many reviewers) isn't the best either.

But I definitely will not go with Oneplus this time around. For multitude of reasons, build quality issues, green line issues, main one being it is almost Oppo now in most senses. I love their support here, but I prefer not needing it every 6 months.

 

[enc0dex264]

I have had short hands on experiences with many phones in the list you mentioned @enc0dex264
The Pixel has brilliant point and shoot camera, S24U is no slouch either. But the S25U has lesser features that matter to me (honestly Samsung ditching the remote shutter on the S pen is ass backwards move, especially since the charging coil for the stylus is already present in the S25U body!).
Anyway the S24U and S25U are too big and the regular S24/S25 have so many features cut down, they are not value for money it seems.

I am not bothered with Pixel's performance (It has Tensor G4 and not Exynos - and BIG F U to Samsung for not releasing the Snapdragon variants in India - I won't import because I would rather not risk warranty issues), even the Nord 2 still feels sharp to me. I never game and never will, won't watch many movies (have a large TV in front of my bed exactly for that) on the phone so the large screen is useless.

I never used the 65W charger that came with my Nord 2 either. I either use 10W chargers at my work/home desk or 18W QC chargers when traveling. Also probably the reason why the Nord 2 still lasts me through the day on single charge.

The call recording part with Google kinda hurts. Video recording experience (as per many reviewers) isn't the best either.

But I definitely will not go with Oneplus this time around. For multitude of reasons, build quality issues, green line issues, main one being it is almost Oppo now in most senses. I love their support here, but I prefer not needing it every 6 months.

Tensor is just a rebranded exynos afaik.. ive had experiences with exynos once on the pixel 6a and 1 samsung flagship and i swore i will never buy a exynos based phone again.

But i see your point aswell.. it seems you care about the camera alot and you dont care as much about the performance or charging or short comings of getting a not very popular phone.

Please share a long term review if you do decide to go ahead with the pixel, good luck.

 

[apac]

Currently Pixel 9 XL Pro user here, not liking it. Previously used S20 / S23 (still have them) and I might go back to S23 / S23 Plus.
My personal opinion about Pixel 9 compared to last gen Samsung flagships - photos are bland (honestly dont want to spend much time in post processing, so liked the out of the box processing of Samsung's photos), no call recording, few nice to have features specific to Samsung missing in Pixel.

Not too bothered with performance in Pixel since not a mobile gamer and for other things seems fine. But it's the handy things which were available in Samsungs which I miss a lot in Pixel, in addition to how photos come out.

Maybe you can give S24+ a try if Ultra seems unweildy? might be missing some features and processor compared to S24 Ultra, but most other things should be similar I suppose.

 

[sauravghosh]

One thing I've learnt from moving away from Pixels and using other androids is the software-side user experience is not the same. The consistency is unmatched on Pixels. The camera is the best of any androids out there, by far. Best as in most natural colours and stuff. But yes, the tensor. It's shit. The modem is shit (although i have no clue about Pixel 9 in particular). Plain and simple. You will see someone with a 15k Samsung make faster payment through upi while you wait and wonder.

At that budget the iPhone is the clear choice. Keeping in the mind ios stupidities.

Samsung doesn't even fit here. Unless you specifically have a likeness for cartoonish colours and bloated software.

 

[Party Monger]

One thing I've learnt from moving away from Pixels and using other androids is the software-side user experience is not the same. The consistency is unmatched on Pixels. The camera is the best of any androids out there, by far. Best as in most natural colours and stuff. But yes, the tensor. It's shit. The modem is shit (although i have no clue about Pixel 9 in particular). Plain and simple. You will see someone with a 15k Samsung make faster payment through upi while you wait and wonder.

At that budget the iPhone is the clear choice. Keeping in the mind ios stupidities.

Samsung doesn't even fit here. Unless you specifically have a likeness for cartoonish colours and bloated software.

Were you the one who had a tought time getting your pixel serviced?

 

[altair21]

I have had short hands on experiences with many phones in the list you mentioned @enc0dex264
The Pixel has brilliant point and shoot camera, S24U is no slouch either. But the S25U has lesser features that matter to me (honestly Samsung ditching the remote shutter on the S pen is ass backwards move, especially since the charging coil for the stylus is already present in the S25U body!).
Anyway the S24U and S25U are too big and the regular S24/S25 have so many features cut down, they are not value for money it seems.

I am not bothered with Pixel's performance (It has Tensor G4 and not Exynos - and BIG F U to Samsung for not releasing the Snapdragon variants in India - I won't import because I would rather not risk warranty issues), even the Nord 2 still feels sharp to me. I never game and never will, won't watch many movies (have a large TV in front of my bed exactly for that) on the phone so the large screen is useless.

I never used the 65W charger that came with my Nord 2 either. I either use 10W chargers at my work/home desk or 18W QC chargers when traveling. Also probably the reason why the Nord 2 still lasts me through the day on single charge.

The call recording part with Google kinda hurts. Video recording experience (as per many reviewers) isn't the best either.

But I definitely will not go with Oneplus this time around. For multitude of reasons, build quality issues, green line issues, main one being it is almost Oppo now in most senses. I love their support here, but I prefer not needing it every 6 months.

S25 series has 8 Elite in India, if you dont mind waiting till Diwali, check out S25+, the price should come down to below 60k imo, thats what I plan on getting my father. Otherwise yeah, Pixel is your bet for Android with a clean interface and updates.

On a side note, Nothing Phone 3 is also gonna be launching on July 1, and if Pei hasnt smoked something bad and the it actually gives out decent pricing in India, it might be a worthwhile buy

 

[blr_p]

But the S25U has lesser features that matter to me (honestly Samsung ditching the remote shutter on the S pen is ass backwards move, especially since the charging coil for the stylus is already present in the S25U body!).

No idea why people make such a big deal about this. There are keychain bt triggers since the last ten years.

Had this discussion with an S25U user recently but nothing persuaded. Usually when people come up with such frivolous complaints, it means only one thing. They want another phone.

Anyway the S24U and S25U are too big

Agree and the exorbitant price tag

and the regular S24/S25 have so many features cut down, they are not value for money it seems.

Liking my S23 at 43k along with a ton of other people who also bought from FK.

and BIG F U to Samsung for not releasing the Snapdragon variants in India - I won't import because I would rather not risk warranty issues),

Only with the S24 series where just the ultra was SD

However S25 is all SD.

https://www.business-standard.com/technology/gadgets/samsung-galaxy-s25-series-india-pricing-pre-order-details-specifications-125012300250_1.html

My S20FE is SD. Guess what, so is my S23. Made in India too. Why import anything. Besides you lose the call recording facility and have to resort to csc hacks. Which nobody on this board has attempted.

I never used the 65W charger that came with my Nord 2 either. I either use 10W chargers at my work/home desk or 18W QC chargers when traveling. Also probably the reason why the Nord 2 still lasts me through the day on single charge.

I have disabled fast charging on both my Sammy's. No faster than 10W regardless of whether the charger can do more. Yeah, you can actually do this on a Samsung. Also playing about with limiting max charge to 95%. Possible with A15 but not earlier. I find 80% a bit restrictive.

But I definitely will not go with Oneplus this time around. For multitude of reasons, build quality issues, green line issues, main one being it is almost Oppo now in most senses. I love their support here, but I prefer not needing it every 6 months.

I'm amazed you went with OP in the first place. After the G4, it was the V20 for me. Too bad LG got out of the phones game. Really liked their stuff.

 

[napstersquest]

I'm amazed you went with OP in the first place.

When I purchased, that was not really the case (OP being Oppo pretty much) but Nord 2 was the first one to get the Oxygen 'themed' ColorOS and I didn't research much before buying. I saw the specs briefly, saw the price, ordered.

Too bad LG got out of the phones game.

Since LG pulled out, no other phone really excited me. The Wing had a mediocre processor, otherwise would have bought that, And when the LG G8 with dual screen accessory went on sale, the G6 was working well so didn't switch (I wasn't earning much those days).
The flip and razr phones are kind of exciting, but the price delta for those is too much. The crease, extra care needed, and shorter lifespan means I can't really get those now.

No idea why people make such a big deal about this. There are keychain bt triggers since the last ten years.

When they intentionally do such thing especially for a $1000+ phone (which would cost them less than $5 to implement, and it was there in previous version) it is a red flag for me. I wish there was a Samsung S/Note with a sub 6.2" screen. Would have been an instant buy.

Maybe you can give S24+ a try if Ultra seems unweildy?

Not much difference between the plus and ultra in screen size (It is still 6.7").

 

[arup]

If it was 2024, I'd have had recommended the S23.

 

[altair21]

Not much difference between the plus and ultra in screen size (It is still 6.7").

weight (almost 30g diff), thickness and height is where its at