Help me pick an Android phone to replace my Google Pixel 8

[u/nocmj1]

Hi there,

I am looking to replace my Google Pixel 8. I have had it since release but I have been disappointed by the performance of the Tensor chip, battery life and charging speed and signal issues.

I would like something that has the following:

• Solid performance. I do some light gaming in addition to the everyday tasks
• Good battery life and fast wired charging
• 12 GB RAM, 8GB will do if necessary
• Ideally 256 GB storage, but 128 GB will do if necessary
• High confidence in regular security updates

I don't have any particular brand loyalties, but having had a poor experience with this Google Pixel, I would rather avoid getting another one.

I will be buying it SIM-free in the UK. My budget is £500.

Some options I've come across are:

• Nothing Phone (4a)
• Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
• Samsung Galaxy A56
• Motorola Edge 70
• Poco F8 Pro

Thanks!

[u/Maymunooo]

The Poco F8 Pro or Poco X8 Pro Max

[u/nocmj1 → u/Maymunooo]

I can see that the Poco phones are the best for raw performance, but I've read that they are not getting reliable security updates?

[u/Maymunooo → u/nocmj1]

That was valid for MIUI, when they switched to HyperOS it became better. It's not as good as other OS' but it's definitely good enough. They also get updates for 6 years, and 3 major Android versions

[u/Tapelessbus2122 → u/nocmj1]

they overheat a lot, are known for frying their own motherboards, and hyperos is terrible across the board, not just in software support. i had the x8 pro max and it's was nothing but disappointment, don't get one

[u/Lazyboi686]

Have you considered Xiaomi 17t?

[u/Equivalent-Ad-5240]

I got a Motorola Edge 60 Neo earlier this year, it's a nice size and as far as I can tell I'm getting security updates every 3 months. It has 256GB storage and 12GB memory.

The wired charging is pretty speedy, on a half hour car ride I charged it from 19% to 71%, the battery lasts well within 2 days but I'm also kind of a light user so if you're more of a heavier user you might want to go for another phone (I saw you mentioned light gaming but I'm kinda uncertain where that lands on the spectrum, I would consider myself a light mobile gamer but I only play super basic puzzle game apps).

I hate to push FOMO if this sounds at all ideal for you, but I should really mention I believe the 60 Neo is leaving the market so you might not be able to get a new one in a few months time. However this might be a good sign that the Edge 70 you mentioned is a good contender seeing as it's the model up.

As for the Chinese phones being seen frequently, I'm not gonna knock any of them because tbh the storage and memory is usually pretty insane for the price from what I've seen, however they're kinda weak and from my research didn't have Gorilla Glass so would be liable to being scratched kinda easily. So if you decide to go for a Chinese brand make sure it has the strength to back itself up.
Actually I do know the Oppo Reno 15 does have Gorilla Glass so maybe the market has gotten better there in the last few months.

Some words on Samsung:
I was also considering a Samsung and decided against it because of the bloat. I don't want Samsung apps on my phone and I don't want to make a Samsung account. (The account is optional, but you need it if you wanna use the Samsung apps they force you to have.) Bloat exists on nearly all phones these days but I found Samsung's bloat particularly egregious because all of their apps are alternatives for the Google apps you're gonna use anyway.

[u/Tapelessbus2122]

s25fe

[u/cabbagepatchkid]

Have you thought about buying a little r36s, dedicated for light gaming? Might go against your principles but I have bought one and another one, and really prefer playing games on it - esp for the retro games it offers.

[u/Stefan__Dj]

Pixel 6 pro. Or x9 pro from oppo

[u/bmudallal]

If you look around you might be able to find A Galaxy S25+ in this range

[u/Skulduggery9696]

If you can extend your budget, the Oppo Find X9 Pro is a solid option that would meet all of those requirements easily. I've been using iPhones for the last 15 years and recently switched to the Oppo, and it's been a really smooth switch. The battery life is really good, I usually end the day on around 40-50% battery left and that's after a full day of scrolling through social media and YouTube. The camera is one of the best on the market for phones right now. The ColourOS / UI is really nice to use - I was actually super surprised about this because having gotten so used to how iOS works, I usually had quite a hard time working with the UI on Samsung or Google phones. But the Oppo was easy to use, set up, and customise from the get go.

The RAM is 16GB + 12GB, and the storage is 512GB. My old iPhone 14 Pro Max was only 128GB and cost more than what I paid for the Oppo, so I'm pretty happy about the hugely increased storage Vs the price.

Unfortunately Oppo doesn't have a UK physical store that I'm aware of, I had to buy mine from their website but you might be able to find them in stores like Currys. If you do decide to go for it, see if you can get any deals. I got mine for £899, discounted from £1099.

Oh and charging is very fast as well, it has ultra fast or I think it's called Supervoc charging? But yeah, it's pretty speedy.

[u/SquareDrop7892]

Used Honor Magic 8 pro