4

I am looking for a new smartphone. I have had troubles with my previous phones: overheating and lag. I strongly believe that this is from the hardware, since I have been having these problems with my three latest phones, all Android, all flagship devices - a Samsung Galaxy S5, a Sony Xperia Z3+, and a OnePlus 2.

The overheating has occurred when watching YouTube videos and using Snapchat (which open and closes the camera a lot). The lag occurred overall in different places, including starting/switching from applications.

On the Samsung I did not have overheating issues, only lag, but on the Sony and he OnePlus 2, they both overheated a lot.

I am looking for a phone which can play YouTube videos without burning my hand, and which will not freeze (because of overheating) when using the camera a lot. I want it to run apps smoothly.

What should I be looking for when I go through the specs on different phones, and why?

I have been used Google to gather information about the phones. In my experience, I only find sites which say how "good" the phone is, almost like Samsung, Sony, etc have wrote the article themselves. In the past, I have trusted the information I read before buying, later finding myself fooled.

Edit After reading the comment by Alpha3031,

What phone would you recommend which will fufill the requirements: smooth running, reasonably fast for light tasks, and does not overheat? I do not have a limit in budget.

Olba12
  • 186
  • 6
  • 2
    Am I correct in assuming your requirements are smooth running, reasonably fast for light tasks, and does not overheat? If you still have the Samsung, you might like to try a custom ROM, as it's the software that lags. The aim of this site is to give a specific recommendation (i.e. a phone), given specific requirements, and then tell you why that product satisfies your requirements, so you might not get the type of answer you were expecting. Anyway, welcome to Hardware Recommendations, and good luck on finding your dream phone. – timuzhti May 23 '16 at 05:02
  • Yes, that is correct. I have a custom ROM on my Samsung. Have forgot the name, but it is rom based on Marhs. for s6 edge. This runes very good, the problems is that, many apps will detect root and hence, denie usage. Hence I do not see that as a solution. @Alpha3031 – Olba12 May 23 '16 at 06:28
  • I think I'll make a recommendation based on the Moto X/Moto Z 2016 when reviews of it come out around mid June. If you absolutely can't wait, or are happy with last generation's phone at a much lower price (what I always manage to do), I'd suggest the current Moto X. It has a Snapdragon 808 (2 big cores) so overheating won't be an issue as with the 810, and a very pure android, so there won't be lag due to OEM add-ons. NAND-wise, Motorola isn't quite as fast as Samsung though. HTC 10 and OP3 are also options, if you want a current gen flagship now. They both also have relativity smooth Android – timuzhti May 28 '16 at 01:29

2 Answers2

2

OnePlus 2 and Xperia Z3+ both feature the Snapdragon 810 chipset which is infamous for its overheating issue. Though OnePlus 2 manages to reduce this effect to an extent, it can't eliminate heating in its entirety. As for Samsung S5, the heating wouldn't be much as it has the older 801 chipset. Qualcomm has said to address this issue in the newer 820 chipset (read Xiaomi Mi5 and Samsung S7) albeit removing FM receiver if you were into it.

More than specs, I trust the reviews from GSM Arena So search the ratings/reviews for your future phone there.

If you don't have a budget limit, Samsung S7/Edge is the way to go in Android.

Slartibartfast
  • 121
  • 3
1

Now that that the Moto Z and Z Force have been reviewed, I can say I heartily recommend them.

On the inside, the have the exact same chipset as most of the other 2016 flagships, the Snapdragon 820. Thanks to its 4 core only CPU, it does not suffer the same overheating issues as the Snapdragon 810.

Meanwhile, as usual, the Motorola flagships are very close to stock Android, which reduces the lag issues associated with OEM skins like touchwiz.

Another nice feature of the Moto Z is the modularity. You can add on a projector case, battery or speaker, and there could be more accessories afterwards.

There are three main issues with the Moto Z:

  • It does not have a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack, which means audio has to go through the USB C port, and you won't be able to use your old headphones, if you have any.

  • It has a relative small battery (2600 mAh and 3500 mAh) though how much that affects the battery life is uncertain.

  • It will be Verizon exclusive between July and September. This means a long wait for the phone if you're on another carrier or don't live in the US.

If any of those reasons is a deal-breaker, the HTC 10 is a good option.

timuzhti
  • 1,752
  • 13
  • 26