Thinking about downgrading, anybody done it before?

preslove

Lifer
Sep 10, 2003
16,754
63
91
I've had an Honor 8 for almost 2 years and the battery has gone to crap. It will show 30% battery, then just turn off and show 0%. I have to really baby it to not get a shut down.

I'm a cricket user, so I've been looking for unlocked phones with full compatibility for Cricket/AT&T & Metro/T-mobile, and it looks like the Moto G6 Play might be my next phone. It would be a downgrade on processor, ram, and screen resolution, but an upgrade of the battery. Probs Kind of a wash on the camera, tho.

Specs:

Honor 8
  • Bionic 12 MP Dual lens rear camera (RGB + Monochrome Fusion Focus) + 8 MP front camera
  • 3000 mAh battery,
  • Hisilicon Kirin 950: 4 x Cortex A72 2.3 GHz + 4 x Cortex A53 1.8 GHz
  • 4GB RAM + 32GB ROM
  • 5.2-inch touch screen, TFT, 16M colors, 1920 x 1080 (FHD), 423 PP

G6 Play
  • MSM8920 ;Quad-Core 1.4 GHz
  • 13.0 MP Rear Camera + 5 MP Front-Facing Camera
  • 3GB RAM ; 32GB
  • 5.7" FHD; 18:9; 720 x 1440 pixels
  • 4000mAh batter

Android never seems to use more than 2.3 gigs of ram, so that should be fine. The screen is probs going to suck, but oh well. The processor won't be that big a deal, right? The low screen res and the slower processor should make that big 4000mah battery last forever, right?
 

Rifter

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,522
751
126
I essential downgraded, or sidegraded depending on how you look at it.

I broke the screen on my S7e and bought a Xiaomi redmi note 5 pro international version for $300 to replace it.

My conclusion is im never buying another flagship phone again and will be looking into the $300 phone range when i need an upgrade, it does everything i need it to and for a $300 phone the camera is incredible. Only real downside is screen quality but for me this isnt a dealbreaker.
 

preslove

Lifer
Sep 10, 2003
16,754
63
91
I essential downgraded, or sidegraded depending on how you look at it.

I broke the screen on my S7e and bought a Xiaomi redmi note 5 pro international version for $300 to replace it.

My conclusion is im never buying another flagship phone again and will be looking into the $300 phone range when i need an upgrade, it does everything i need it to and for a $300 phone the camera is incredible. Only real downside is screen quality but for me this isnt a dealbreaker.

Yeah, I don't game, I just multitask between a few different apps (so I need more than 2gb of ram).

Are you in the US? The Xiami phones I looked at only had partial coverage for lte bands that att and tmobile use. I started looking at moto models real hard because they basically put every band in them. So, if I switch to t-mobile/metro pcs and they absorb sprint, my phone will have sprint bands, too :)
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
58,070
8,304
126
I can afford any phone I want, but my last was J7 Perx. I love this phone. It has everything I need, and most of what I want. The biggest downside is it's a 2nd-3rd tier phone, so accessories aren't as plentiful.
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
126
I'm cheap and don't use my phone much so I have just a Moto G5 Plus, from Amazon for $185 back when they gave you $50 off to show ads on the lock screen.

It's nice not to worry about breaking a $600+ phone or having it die after the warranty expires. The sound through headphones is great and it has a SD card slot for carrying my music collection with me.
 

happy medium

Lifer
Jun 8, 2003
14,387
480
126

Rifter

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,522
751
126
Yeah, I don't game, I just multitask between a few different apps (so I need more than 2gb of ram).

Are you in the US? The Xiami phones I looked at only had partial coverage for lte bands that att and tmobile use. I started looking at moto models real hard because they basically put every band in them. So, if I switch to t-mobile/metro pcs and they absorb sprint, my phone will have sprint bands, too :)

Im in vancouver canada, works fine up here on Rogers network. I know with some other canadian carriers(bell maybe?) it does have less LTE bands covered though.
 

real.eze

Junior Member
Apr 7, 2012
2
0
61
I essential downgraded, or sidegraded depending on how you look at it.

I broke the screen on my S7e and bought a Xiaomi redmi note 5 pro international version for $300 to replace it.

My conclusion is im never buying another flagship phone again and will be looking into the $300 phone range when i need an upgrade, it does everything i need it to and for a $300 phone the camera is incredible. Only real downside is screen quality but for me this isnt a dealbreaker.
Same. Broke screen on S7 Edge Exynos and bought a Redmi Note 5 Pro for $200US and can't justify flagship prices anymore.

Sent from my Redmi Note 5 using Tapatalk
 

Ken g6

Programming Moderator, Elite Member
Moderator
Dec 11, 1999
16,390
4,128
75
When my Nexus 5x died I downgraded to a Moto E4. The lower screen resolution isn't bad. It has the same amount of RAM, so that helps. I don't usually notice the slower CPU, and it gives me better battery life. The worst part is the camera; I wouldn't buy a camera this bad again.
 

Rifter

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,522
751
126
Also worth mentioning the speaker on the Xiaomi is as good or better than any of my previous samsung flagship phones, samsung really needs to get their crap together with the speaker(s).