New Android Smartphone

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It will soon be time to choose my next one.

Everything is up in the air, if you excuse the pun.

So a few relevent points first. I am extremely clumsy and drop my phone at least 15 times a day. It needs to have a decent robust case on it (eg Otterbox). My eyesight is poor and I need the biggest screen possible, without it being a fold phone.

I started with a Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 with a Ballistic case, which was great and survived a load of abuse, including a nurse knocking it out of a second floor window onto a concrete path.

Then I had a Huawei X2 MediaPad which was more mega than the Mega. 7" and that was when the ratio meant the phone was more like a tablet. It got dropped and bent and suffers screen glitches. In any case, it won't update beyond Lollipop. This was my favourite simply due to the size. I could read it much more easily.

Then I got a cheap Chinese phone as an interim thing but kept it longer than intended. My current phone is a Nokia XR20. It is an Android One phone which came with 3 years of software updates and 4 years of security updates. So, I'm on my final software update Android 14, but have security updates until 2026. It's good because it is very robust and has a tough screen. Military standard construction.

Now, of the Otterboxes designed to fit Android phones, it seems they only cater for Samsung and Pixel. I may be mistaken.

I find Pixel phones attractive because like the Android One phones (now defunct), they get a goodly number of years of software and security updates.

My lad has offered me his old Pixel 6 Pro with 12/ 256, but it needs a new screen. According to Fleabay, it's worth about a ton as is. It should get up to Android 17 and security updates until October 2026.

But I have to run the gauntlet of mobile repair shops, or pay Google £230 for a repair.

I'm not sure it's worth investing that considering the security updates will run out next year. Would it be better to go for a 7 or 8 Pro?

I need as large a screen as possible.
I'd like a fingerprint sensor under the glass. The one on the Nokia is built into the power switch and it is a complete pain in the donkey to use.
I'd like 256 memory.
Reputable manufacturer's tough case.


What would you do?
 
My wife used to get through phones in no time at all, the shortest lived being about 4 days, it fell out of her pocket and down the bog. After a lot of research, I bought her a Redmi note 9. It is now about 4 and a 1/2 years old and still going strong. I bought myself the Redmi Note 10 pro a year after hers, still going. Dropped it on the quarry tiled floor yesterday, it's fine.
 
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