How do you decide on a Smartphone ?

I'm lucky because I get my older sister's previous phone when she decides to upgrade to an unnecessary new one 🙊 Was using her Galaxy S8 for quite a few years now and about a month ago she gave me her Galaxy S10+ :)

I prefer Androids for the amount of customization you can do! I've never looked into any other brands and might be hesitant

If I was purchasing one myself, I would get a cheaper older version, most of the updates seem minimal, but the camera on my S8 is very noticeably worse than the S10, and taking pictures of my pets and beautiful things I see is pretty important to me

I just go for the cheapest current generation phone, they all do the same things so what do bells and whistles matter? I don't care how many MP the camera has or if it can play the most intense mobile games. I buy a phone to be a phone. As long as it's 5G and has a hotspot(no wired internet where I live sadly) then I'm good. If it's on sale even better.

Started my phone journey with Nokia like many people here... and then became a pretty heavy android user starting from 2012. Started with a galaxy S3, then S6, Note 8 and ultimately the S23 Ultra. Unfortunately I've become more and more frustrated with Samsung regarding their UI and overall app experience (your average samsung phone has like 2 copies of every simple app, a google one and a samsung one 🤦‍♂️). What ultimately killed the S23 ultra for me was the camera experience, it takes some great shots but has rather significant shutter lag, an issue samsung still didnt seem to fix even on the S24. And the video despite being 4k 60fps, just wasn't as great compared to iPhone. Alongside the usual issues like a very noticeable jitter while switching lenses during videos. So I switched to the dark side and went full apple in 2024: iphone 15 pro max 512GB, airpods and now apple watch ultra 2. While iOS is quite a bit limited compared to android, I don't seem to mind it as much and actually like those limitations. At the end of the day it's a far more reliable stills camera (with zero shutter lag) than my S23 ultra, and basically kills it in the video department. I take lots of photos of pets (cats mostly) and birds and considering how much they move, zero shutter lag is super important to me.

One of the advantages of going with iPhones is that they retain their resale value quite a lot. Switched to a 16 pro max by selling the 15 and only had to pay around $250 for it, which I consider reasonable for basically their newest flagship. Admittedly it's a very very minor upgrade but I already love the camera button and 4k 120fps video. Before I never really upgraded phones every year and kept my phones for 3+ years on average but seems it's economically feasible on the Apple side...

First and foremost, form factor. My current phone (Pixel 4a) is already too big for my tastes, so when I upgrade it, I'll be prioritizing size. Anything bigger than what I currently have is out of the equation.

That probably means I'll have to stick with older and/or weaker phones, performance-wise. But for me it's worth the reduced bulk in my pocket every single time I leave the house.

Also, I had two iPhones and it never worked for me, so I went back to Androids and never really thought about it again. For me it's Android through and through.

Good camera, refurbished, not new, not expensive, not Apple.
I have a Samsung Galaxy S22 for $300-ish, admittingly it's mostly for dog photos. It doesn't do a great job at wide or far away shots as it gets blurry if there are too many details, like leaves on a tree, but it's a good phone and does what it needs to.

My last phone was from Apple and I'm still salty at how many pop-ups I got to "pay monthly for more cloud space" every time I opened my photo album (I checked, and I still had plenty of room on my phone.) and after only two years of use, it couldn't leave the charger else it died immediately. A year in I had to start bringing a charger to work because it died around lunchtime. Maybe the newer phones are better but it was still obnoxious.

Iam easy, I have always bought my Phones, by the Camera. Thats Only thing I look...
My old phones have always been, best camera in phone around.
My current is Samsung S23U. Maybe S24U is a bit better, but not interested... I am waiting couple more versions... :)

I've used Samsung for more than a decade and a half. I'm not going for any other brand unless it's an Android I want.

I used to always buy midrange Samsung phones (I think only the first one was Motorola, and that was about 20 years ago), now that's out of the question - they cost twice as much as they did here. My old one isn't even getting updates anymore, but I'm not going to buy a new one for now: my nephew's just turned 2, and if he's anything like his sister, he's about to start a phone murder spree anyway.

I feel like the selling points and features that high-end smartphones have really only end up being used by maybe 0,1% of the userbase. If you're not a "power user" I strongly believe that a cheapo 100-200€/$ model is going to do everything you want a smartphone for. I know some friends that have 120€ Motorolas and they're just fantastic for the price.

That said, personally I like gaming on my phone so I kinda have to get something higher-end in order to run all the apps I'm interested in. Most of the ones with high specs however are crazy expensive, so I usually end up getting a used older model, use it until it can't run newer games (or it breaks) and then rinse and repeat. Smartphones drop in price really quickly, and a flagship model from one or two years ago is still extremely capable (and often, basically identical to the new one) so it just ends up working out.

My current one has been going strong for a while, it's a used Iphone 11 that I bought a couple years ago for around 150€. It's still performing admirably and running all the games I've thrown at it so far, and it's still getting OS updates.
Though once it finally bites the dust, I might consider getting a Poco phone new. I've seen some models with Snapdragon chips that look extremely capable for gaming, and they only go for around 250-300€ new.

I settled on Samsung a decade ago when I got S3 as my 2nd ever phone(my 1st ever phone was a local one).Now, everyone in our home has a Samsung phone. Even today, my phone is one of Samsung's Flagship phones that I bought at Launch.I am a Samsung loyalist but if I can get my hands on a better phone from ABCXYZ manufacturers,I'll replace my phone in a heartbeat.

When choosing a phone I decide whether it is Chinese or not. However, I recently took a Motorola, and only recently I found out that it is no longer an American brand, but bought by Chinese Lenovo. :(

Chuckled at

Buying a phone? Mate im still using my phone from 2018. I'll use it till its dead. Survivalist? Environmentalist?🧔🌿

and that's where my vote goes, except that my phone is from 2012. :D
It was my first smartphone after my good ol' trusty flip phone croaked and I'll be with this phone until I'm again forced to get a new one, which sadly is quite soon now. Not because the phone is dying, but because of the network closures rolling out. No real idea what I'll get as replacement, but absolutely nothing expensive. Decent-ish camera would be nice and battery duration, but I haven't really looked into specifics yet.

You forgot to mention the rugged phones, and yes, I have same phone since 2020 XD (not gonna change it until it breaks, and trust me, it will not break soon :P ).

Knowing about the miserable working and living conditions of Coltan miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo buying a new smartphone was out of the question for me. You can get past generations flagship level phones dirt cheap where I live. I ended up getting a used Samsung S 20 FE in mint conditition for 120 bucks which I'll be using for the foreseeable future. I only want a decent camera array and good audio for listening music on the go.
Also this https://i.imgur.com/RldZSVm.jpeg

I only change my phone when the one I have is about to die. It is really hard to buy one though since most phones are overpriced, ugly, or low in quality.

I only change my phone when the old one dies or is getting super slow.
The only things I look at are to have a good enough camara and not to be super expensive.
The phone I have right now was the most expensive so far which is Pixel 6a.
Every other phone was half that price. Never had a complain but since I got that one, I would like to keep with something around that "quality of life".
I don't care about brands, had Nokia 3310, Nokia 6600, LG (no idea), Samsung Galaxy 1, Xiaomi Redmi Note 6, Pixel 6a

I don't use my phone very much so I'm mostly ok if it just works

My phone needs to be able to handle being somewhat wet, just in case. It needs to take photos that satisfy me as an amateur photographer (not hard these days). It needs to fit in my pocket without falling out (girl pockets, sigh). And it needs to be cheap enough that if (when) I drop it or it breaks in some unpleasant fashion, I can not feel so bad replacing it. Preferably around $300ish or $400ish these days I guess. Sometimes there's a good trade-in. And it needs to work on a cheaper phone plan.

I currently use a Galaxy S10 which is good enough for me. I don't care for most features newer phones have and I actually use my headphone jack so don't want to give up on it.
Buying a new phone every 1-3 years makes no sense to me and I would say 90% of the people buying the latest flagships don't even use any of the features that differentiate it from budget phones.
I don't know when I will upgrade but I am in no rush to do so.

In 11 1/2 years I'm still with my third smartphone. My phones have to be with Android, small(!) and no budget/entry-level. Unfortunately, there are always only 1-2 models left with these requierements. (1st: Samsung, 2nd: Sony, and current 3rd: Googel Pixel 3a)
As long as they are still intact I don't replace my phones. At the moment, my Pixel is still fast enough for my use case.

Budget phone ftw

I find flagship phones the most idiotic thing imaginable. Gazillions of RAM and more powerful graphics chip then my laptop, just to scroll instagram. And everyone is happy to pay 1-2k for that. Which is ridiculous. Just from the standpoint of actually using what you buy. Same as someone who will only use email and word has no need for 5k workstation with RTX4090 or whatever.

The problem is, while there are people who can be milked, they will concentrate only on flagships and throw crumbs at budget phones. I try to find middle ground in getting a previous model flagship phone because they usually have better camera sensor, next gen CPU and provide security and SW updates for way longer then budget phones do. I got Samsung S22 for about 500 EUR last year, when S23 was being sold everywhere. Just because for me the FE editions of S21 were a bit too underwhelming for the price they still have. Have tried cheaper budget crap phones, but all of them have crap SW, are underpowered and unfortunately become slow due to, as I mentioned, accent on flagship phones while leaving budget phones in the background.

Wife has iPhone bought by work. And unless you buy the most expensive one with best camera chip, best CPU, best memory you are getting fucked. The previous one she had needed changing after a year as apple tries to milk you at every step. The new phone she got was with higher memory and is going strong for now, but we both agreed we would never buy such a phone with our own money.

In the end I do think and agree that flagships are simply better. But unfortunately that is at the expense of cheaper phones. As I said - S22 had updates supported until 2027, which means I will most likely be able to use it for 2-3 years without a problem. S21 FE - 2025 is cutoff. Which means its not secure anymore, it will start lagging. I mean you can of course get lucky and if you do optimization on your side, then it could be no problem. But honestly I have no time to mess around with software, versions and trying to optimize it myself.

Anyway - I used my last phone which was Samsung S8 for 5 or 6 years I think. Got it as well 50% off when S9 came out. Will most likely use the S22 until I can get some S27 or whatever for cheap. I have had Sony, LG, iphone, Poco, Xiaomi. I have found that getting previous model flagship for half-off is best bang for the buck. You get flagship power which is better then budget phones at that moment + the updates as I said just to be safe.

My next choice is - must have: >800k untutu,
very good: wireless charge, OIS in main camera, sdcard
good: fingerprint in side button, not screen; battery >4000
And i dont wanna leave xiaomi for now.
Mi11/12 can be enough, but it is w/o sdcard and button f-print. I'll have to wait i suppose.