Best Mobile Phone 2021

[crollsurf]

Couldn't find any articles on best hiking/bushwalking phone. Wondering if anyone found what they think, is the best mobile phone.

For me the order is:
1. Battery - longer life the better. I guess the bigger the better but I believe the chipset/software has an affect on longevity.
2. Waterproof/dustproof - Not sure how important this really is but nice to have and if you drop your phone in the creek, potential life saver.
3. Fast charge - Handy when in town to get a quick charge but also less chance of forgetting to unplug from the battery charger and over charging
4. Shock proof - Not that important for me as I am very careful with my phone but a bit of insurance very hurt.
5. Reception - I know nothing about this but a phone that picks up reception in areas others don't, has to be a good thing.
6. Camera - Least important but needs to be reasonable to good.

At the moment I'm thinking of getting a Realme 7 5G but not convinced, especially as it isn't water resistant.

Good to know what others are thinking in order of importance and phone selection

[EGM]

I bought a new phone earlier in the year.

I ended up buying something else but the Nokia 8.3 looked very good and ticked alot of boxes for me. Good camera, tough, waterproof,stereo speakers and good battery life. Nokia also sell the XR20 which is about as tough as a phone can get.

I personally wouldn't buy one that isn't IP68 rated or better.

[Warin]

I like to have the 'water proof' feature as a separate case.

So I bought a phone that fits in a 'lifeproof case' I can test the case by submerging it in water (without the phone) and lever it there for as long as you want. The manufacture says 30 minutes... 3 hours later no water inside.
So of the phone warranties for the 'water proof phones' have limits on the 'water' .. cannot be sea water, swimming pool water.. Might want to read the fine print.

Reception.. Telsra has a ?blue tick? IIRC for phones with good reception - intended for country customers.

Good luck.

[ChrisJHC]

Couldn't find any articles on best hiking/bushwalking phone. Wondering if anyone found what they think, is the best mobile phone.

For me the order is:
1. Battery - longer life the better. I guess the bigger the better but I believe the chipset/software has an affect on longevity.
2. Waterproof/dustproof - Not sure how important this really is but nice to have and if you drop your phone in the creek, potential life saver.
3. Fast charge - Handy when in town to get a quick charge but also less chance of forgetting to unplug from the battery charger and over charging
4. Shock proof - Not that important for me as I am very careful with my phone but a bit of insurance very hurt.
5. Reception - I know nothing about this but a phone that picks up reception in areas others don't, has to be a good thing.
6. Camera - Least important but needs to be reasonable to good.

At the moment I'm thinking of getting a Realme 7 5G but not convinced, especially as it isn't water resistant.

Good to know what others are thinking in order of importance and phone selection

Pretty much any modern phone will meet your requirements.
A couple of comments:

I assume you don’t hike 100% of the time so pick a phone that meets your overall requirements.

Batteries aren’t really an issue these days. There are plenty of ways to save battery if that’s a concern. No.1 is to put your phone in aeroplane mode unless you actually need those functions. Your GPS will still work fine. Even better - turn the phone off altogether if you don’t need it. I leave mine on (in aeroplane mode) as I use it as a camera as well.

Charging - most (all?) modern phones use smart charging where they charge rapidly up to 80% then gradually for the remainder. Note that some phones have specific power requirements so make sure that whatever you’re using can provide that. Also, some phones don’t like variable power input so don’t work well directly with solar chargers. In my case, I prefer to use a solar panel to charge a power bank then use that to charge my phone (usually while I’m sleeping).

Reception - more dependent on carrier than phone. Telstra is almost always better outside the city / large towns.

Waterproof / dustproof - most phones are fine, however can be improved even further by putting them in a ziplock bag. You can still use all the functions through the bag.

Camera - any modern phone will be fine for “point and shoot” type usage. I’m not expert enough to talk about better quality usage.

You’ll notice that I’ve stayed away from the iPhone / Android discussion. From what I’ve seen, they’re both fine and it’s a personal choice which way you go.
Just make sure that any apps you use are available for the system you choose.

Hope that helps!

[wildwanderer]

I bought a Oppo A74.

Huge battery. 5000mah
Goes for days

And big screen. 6.5 inch

Water resistant ipx4.

Fast charge

Camera is good.

128 gig of storage

Is also 4G / 5G if you need that. Mine mainly stays in flight mode.

Very good value for under $400 especially as I mainly use it as a bushwalking phone.

Cons- I've managed to put a couple of large screen scratches in mine.. not sure how..I'm careful. It has gorilla Glass but doesn't seem as scratch proof as my day to day phone which is several years old and mainly scratch free despite being my former bush phone as well. So yeah.. I recommend a screen protector.

[crollsurf]

Wanted the Xioami flagship for it's best in class camera. After being out of stock for 6 months+ I relented and bought the Samsung S21 Ultra.

Battery is good for 3 days in flight mode with navigation and some Spotify and Netflix use. No charger needed.

Cameras are in reality 12MP, not 108MP but best in breed 12MP so comfortably good enough for socials, PC and 4K TV. I took some 108 RAW (PNG) and JPG's. The JPG was so close to my 108MP after post, I think the phones software is good enough not to bother, but no way a replacement for FF or micro 2/3rds.

Night time Netflix entertainment, WOW. If my eyes could focus closer to the phone, as good as being at the Cinema. Even my old Jaybird Vista's sounded better.

Haven't tested the screen in the wet or the Video capability.

Happy but at $1649, you'd want to be.

[crollsurf]

Update on the Samsung S21 Ultra after a 5 day walk.

The Cameras are fine for social media, memories, quite acceptable for background images on a Laptop (1920 x 1080). Pretty good macro, a variety of zoom lens so you can zoom without losing quality. Wide angle is reasonably wide. Video quality is acceptable but average. For anyone into photography it is noticeably lacking however. Maybe, not even half as good as a 24MB micro 2/3rds and it would be a joke to even consider comparing it to a full frame camera.

Bushwalking in general, I think it's a good option if you want a decent phone camera as well. It's heavier than most but has a 5,000mAh battery which would last 2 days with nav, photos, Netflix, Spotify... and 3 days in a pinch. So potentially the weight could be offset by not having to bring a power bank.
The AMOLED screen is fantastic and maybe worth the price alone. No issues with the touch screen in the rain, Easy to Nav in sunny weather and watching Netflix is another level in quality compared to my old S9+.

If price isn't an issue, it's worth considering, otherwise look elsewhere I'd say.

[Tortoise]

I bought a Oppo A74.

Huge battery. 5000mah
Goes for days

And big screen. 6.5 inch

Water resistant ipx4.

Fast charge

Camera is good.

128 gig of storage

Is also 4G / 5G if you need that. Mine mainly stays in flight mode.

Very good value for under $400 especially as I mainly use it as a bushwalking phone.

I'm looking at getting a new phone this week, and going Android. My priorities are pretty similar to Wildwanderer's, so I'm thinking maybe I just go with this. I especially want long battery life for extended walks, rain-resistance and a reasonable camera. And not costing megabucks. Anyone have a better option? Ta for your thoughts.

[Dexter]

Yeah I'm coming up to needing a new one after my Pixel started to have issues and I'm now on an older iPhone till I work out what I want to do. Interested to see if there's any updated suggestions.
I would also like a super dooper battery, and good camera. Though I'm a photographer by trade and I've tried ditching a camera and just using my phone on an overnight walk, and really missed having something decent with me. At the moment an older RX100 m3 is my compromise between weight and image quality.

[Warin]

I'm looking at getting a new phone this week

This week? Umm a ulefone power armor 14 is <$260 from EU/Aliexpress ... but you won't get it this week.
Battery 10,000 mAh
IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins)
Drop-to-concrete resistance from up to 1.5 m
MIL-STD-810G compliant

[Tortoise]

Wow, those are some pretty impressive specs for me, Warin, especially as it looks like the camera is all I need. The only down side seems to be the weight - 358g. And it still needs a case. Do you have one?

I might be able to hold off. The urgency is that I'm probably going on a 6-ish-day walk, my mp3 player has died, my old iPhone's battery drains very quickly indeed, and I need audio to get to sleep...

[Warin]

Wow, those are some pretty impressive specs for me, Warin, especially as it looks like the camera is all I need. The only down side seems to be the weight - 358g.

Battery + protection = weight?

And it still needs a case. Do you have one?

No, I have been following others on a different forum with similar needs. A google says cases are available .. but I'm not certain which would suit your needs.

[Tortoise]

The only down side seems to be the weight - 358g.

Battery + protection = weight?

Probably. There might be a lighter way to give similar protection for a lot more $$.

[Neo]

Moto g31 is quite good, extremely close to my lost pixel phone and spotted at Officeworks for $237.

128GB, 50 megapixels, 5000mAh battery etc.

Not super waterproof or shockproof but does come with a silicone back cover.

Any phone, I size it up with an iPhone case at Kmart to then pick a suitable (iPhone) glass screen protector for about $6.

[wildwanderer]

@tortoise.

A note on the Oppo phone. I've been really impressed with battery life and overall speed of the phone for navigation.

However after using it on several walks, the camera is no where close to the Google pixel or iPhones in image quality. Quite disappointing really as the reviews were good for the camera.

Also the screen scratches very easily. I fixed this with a screen protector but not before I put several scratches on the screen.

[Tortoise]

Oh dear!
I had to pull out of the walk that was making the phone purchase more urgent, so now I have more time to decide. Arrrgh! Bummer to hear about your disappointment with the camera on the Oppo 74, WW. I definitely want to improve on my iPhone 6 camera.

[Tortoise]

Does anyone use a Samsung A53?

[ribuck]

I definitely want to improve on my iPhone 6 camera.

My daughter has just replaced her iPhone 6 with an iPhone 13 Mini and is so impressed with the improvement in camera quality (along with many other improvements).

I'm an Android guy, currently with a Samsung S10e, but previously I had a Samsung A-series phone. There's no doubt that the cameras are better on their S-series phones than on the A-series. The camera accounts for most of the price differences on high-end phones. On less expensive phones it's the screen clarity and brightness, and the waterproofing, that are often sacrificed to keep the cost down.

[Tortoise]

Thanks, Ribuck.

[norts]

Yes Tortoise I have had one for awhile.
Why do I seem to have gear that you are asking about, seems to happen fairly frequently!

[Tortoise]

Yes Tortoise I have had one for awhile.
Why do I seem to have gear that you are asking about, seems to happen fairly frequently!

It surely does! Why didn't I think of you first? Incoming pm.