Android phones, apps and tablets

Hadn't heard of Widevine before, seems the Oneplus phones also don't have L1 support.

Not entirely sure if it does impact on iplayer HD a bit of googling suggests that may be one of a number of DRM technologies that they use and just watching a video now it seems to be HD (although hard to tell for certain).

I have the Poco F1 which is a Xiaomi and doesn't have Widevine and unless you are stream to the TV I couldn't tell you if I was watching Netflix in HD or not on my phone.

Oh man, I thought this was just the 5/5T's problem but I just checked the X and it's L3 too. To be honest I don't remember the last time I actually used Netflix on this phone and the only media I stream is Youtube and Instagram videos on my lunchbreaks but that's because the screen is pretty small and the audio is mediocre so it's not a great device for it; I specifically wanted to get a phone with a bigger screen because I'm jealous of my wife downloading stuff on Netflix for flights on hers.
Maybe my ability to tell resolutions apart is all in my head but I do always immediately notice when a YT video drops to 480p when I'm suffering with a crap connection.

I need a new phone. I’ve only had iPhones since 2012. I think finally got the point where I can’t take any more of Apple’s ‘you must use this tech how we want you to use it’ crap. And their pricing is just plain trolling these days.

I used to have a 7s, but changed to an SE about a year ago, as I have screws in my right hand that limit the movement of my thumb, and coupled with the fact my hands are already on the small side, it means I couldn’t really use the new breed of larger 7/8/X phones one handed.

So basically, what I’m asking is what’s good out there these days that isn’t apple, and not massive (iPhone SE size is perfect).... I’m struggling with the second requirement, as phones just seem to be huge these days.

I was hoping Apple were going to bring out an updated version of their smaller SE size offering, but seems that they have been officially killed off.

Cheers!

not massive (iPhone SE size is perfect).... I’m struggling with the second requirement

gsmarena is you friend, you can filter by screen size in 0.1" increments. Acceptable quality Android phones in 4.7" or less probably comes down to Samsung Galaxy A3, but if you can go to 5.0" there are dozens of options.

XZ1 Compact is £199 at Carphone Warehouse at the mo. Very good phone imo.

Bit miffed that they were £299 a few months ago when I bought one..

Just ordered one, thanks!
Dithered over "horizon blue" but without seeing in the flesh I just went for boring black (looked maybe slightly more matt in photos too). Soon, I shall rejoin the modern world. I'm quite excited. Although I still prefer numberpad in many ways...

Thanks!

Zx1 compact did come up in my searches. Looks like there’s is a Zx2 now though?

The XZ2 Compact isn't actually very compact though, having grown to 5".

Also personally, I find the design a bit mediocre and the move of the fingerprint reader from the power button to the back and the loss of the headphone jack pretty disappointing

The XZ3 doesn't look like it's going to improve on those matters either

Ah, I see. Just looked into it a bit more. Fingerprint scanners on the side do seem much better.

Seems like a bargain at £200 though. Will go hit a Carphone Warehouse at the weekend and check one out in the flesh.

Cheers!

none near me had it in stock, I guess because it's an old model, so worth checking online.

Cheaper if you take a one month contract as well.

Good spot

Are you going to go for it?

So my Moto X Play has finally started going a bit funny, turns off randomly, gets a bit fussy about charging and overall being quite laggy. Have pretty much settled on a G6 Plus as a replacement barring any standout suggestions. Where's the best price at the moment?

I've bought a few phones from eglobal with no issue, £216:

https://www.eglobalcentraluk.com/motorola-moto-g6-plus-xt1926-64gb-4gb-ram-dual-sim-simlockvrij-diep-indigo.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwio3dBRAqEiwAHWsNVcM9nD0IkPnlDXtb6741UFoo0mm9_1z4zLnkkH1fKMxzpuwZJpmSgxoCH8IQAvD_BwE#/product/24252

Nice one cheers, Honey plugin got me another 5er off so great price

Anyone got thoughts on an Android watch with heart rate monitor and Bluetoothabilities? Lots of proprietary stuff out there, but thought there may be a Xiaomi of the wearables world.

There's Xiaomi. The Mi Band 2. I had one, it seemed OK, I never used it and gave it away.

just in case anyone is interested, I got a Mi A2 from eglobal a couple of weeks ago for £150 which I thought was alright. It's a bit of a rank colour (gold!) but it was cheaper than the nicer ones. Who's going to want to steal a gold phone, right?

The battery lasts for a long time which is what I was after. Pretty happy with my purchase, doesn't seem to be a lot between it and my work Galaxy s8

I have one of these Xiaomi Huami Amazfit Stratos Smartwatch 2, it's pretty decent haven't had any issue with it, also check out the Xiaomi Huami Amazfit Pace 2

Decent review here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhHvrkwdXKw

Seem to remember a volume control app being recommended on here but can't find it. New phone's lowest volume is still pretty loud in both loudspeaker and headphones

This one
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.phascinate.precisevolume&hl=en_GB