Can anyone recommend me a phone upgrade? Currently I have a samsung s4 mini

[nuzuki]

Hi all,
I wondered if theres any phone make/model experts out there? Im looking to upgrade my samsung to a newer model than the s4 mini. I like the fact its samsung and has a smaller screen but wouldnt mind something with a faster chip and better camera. Anything android but preferably samsung.
Thanks

 

[festive]

hello Nuzuki, well maybe you can give us a bit more detail, how much you willing to spend. I have an S10 and its good not life changing though. I really quite liked the Huawei P20 pro (or new p30) but then we have the Play store issues and AndroidR /S upgrades etc. The S8/S9/S10 all good phones but there are also good deals non Samsung about, still android of course.

 

[Mottie]

I’ve just got back from the Lakeside Apple store. Went over there to get my daughter an iPhone 8. Bloody chokka with people clamouring for the iPhone 11 so I gave up, came home and ordered an iPhone 8 from John Lewis online. Same price but JL gives 2 years guarantee instead of the 1 year you get from the Apple store. Used to like iPhones myself but prices have gone silly because people keep paying. I'm happy with my S9.

 

[Ihavenojob]

Just go on eBay and look at some of the Chinese smart phones, some makes are increasing in popularity ( Huawei were unheard of here not so long ago ) great specs at fairly good prices, look here for reviews of many makers https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=gsmarena or Google for reviews.

 

[securespark]

What's your budget?

I think phones these days start at 5" at least, more and more are 6"+. The aspect ratio of your S4 mini was 16:9.

Modern (!!) phones have an aspect ratio more around 19.5:9.

Aspect ratio is the relationship between the height and width of a display. It’s a measurement of how tall or wide a screen is.
It doesn’t tell you how big a screen is, just the proportional relationship between the height and the width, so on a 16:9 screen there will always be 16 pixels in one direction for every 9 pixels in the other.

Taking the Samsung Galaxy A20e as an example, to compare it against your S4 mini:


It is approximately 22mm longer, 9mm wider and a little thinner.

It weighs 34g more.

It has a 5.8" screen, not 4.3".

Aspect ratio is 19.5:9, against the S4 mini's 16:9.

Pixels Per Inch (PPI) is 296 against 256.

Processor is Octa core against the dual core of the S4 mini.

The cameras are better res: 13 and 5 on the rear camera (wide and ultra wide) and 8 on the rear.

The memory is bigger too and the battery is 3000mAh against 1900.

The A20e is £170 at CPW SIM free, or you can buy it cheaper PAYG with a £10 top-up.

It always pays to ask if it is cheaper to buy a phone SIM-free or PAYG at CPW, as most (but not all) of their phones are unlocked, even if you buy them PAYG with a particular SIM card.

If the phone is cheaper PAYG, what I usually do is put the SIM in an old phone and use the credit.

I also buy phones from Amazon. Worth a look there. Also, Argos have a good range of SIM-free phones too.

If it's not clear, do check before you buy if the phone is unlocked to all networks, then you are free to use any network you like: you are not tied to your existing one.

 

[nuzuki]

Thankyou very much for the replies. My budget I guess is around £100-200 normally pay as you go handset. Normally im doing messy jobs so tend not to buy flashy things incase I break or drop them although im careful and rarely do. I think the bigger the screen is the more I shall maybe damage it. I managed to break my old blackberry screen by lifting a building block onto my thigh whilst climbing a step ladder but that was maybe the only time and to be honest the phone was pretty rubbish anyhow.
The a10 sounds like a good handset then, I didnt realise my s4 had such a slow processor inside.

 

[securespark]

It was an average processor in its day, but compared to newer CPU's it looks slow.

If you have a job where the phone can be subject to some rough and tumble, I can heartily recommend the Ballistic Tough Jacket phone cover. It's chunky, but it really does a fantastic job. I had a Galaxy Mega 6.3" with one fitted and it got dropped many times without detriment.

One day I was in hospital with a broken leg on a second floor ward and the phone was on the windowsill. A nurse knocked it off and it fell onto a concrete flagged path below. The nurse, certain it was smashed, rushed down and fetched it.

Turned out it was fine!

Trouble is, they don't make them for many phones.

If you fancy a Tough Jacket case and you're not bothered about having the very latest phone, how about a Galaxy J7 2018 model?

Compare the spec of your S4 mini to that of the 2018 J7 using gsm arena.

It's a bit smaller than the A20e too.

 

[nuzuki]

Yes looks a good phone, a bit squarer looking than the a20e though. The a20e seems to be nearer the 100quid mark. Maybe I'll wait till after Xmas and see if prices change a tad. I wanted an upgrade so I can run ip cam apps on my phone which currently it's a bit hit n miss. Thanks for your help