Seeking advice: Samsung Galaxy S25

The problem here is that not all of those brands are available, and even if you can technically get them, you might not be able to get them on a payment plan through your carrier.

Yeah agree about oxygen OS I had a OnePlus 10 pro that I got to mess about with from time to time. I enjoyed using it, but I did end up returning it because of the talkback experience. It was a good phone, but not usable without a lot of persuading it

I'm glad you asked these questions as I have an Opo phone myself so I can answer majority of these questions
1.
Opo phones now run Coloros internationally. I'm pretty sure after 1+ shut down though I think in China and some other Asian countries I think they might be still using oxygen OS.
When I got my find X5 light, I had the same questions as you after what I read and heard about 1+ phones. So when I booted up my When I got my find X5 light, I had the same questions as you after what I read and heard about 1+ phones. So when I booted up my Opo for the first time and turned it on, I was pleasantly surprised when I did the shortcut, the talkback actually turned on and spoke

Unfortunately, I cannot speak about later versions of cour OS. My Opo is stuck on android 13 cour OS 13 with no way to upgrade. Yes, this phone originally came with android 11 in 2022. Then it was upgraded to android 12, and finally android 13.
here's my review of the oppo find x 5 light.
Hello everyone,

I would like to detail to you all my experience with the OPPO Find X5 Lite 5G (8GB/256GB) and what I like and don't like after the hour or so of use.

First off I'd just like to say yes. I am aware this is a four-year-old phone. Would I go out to people and say, "Buy this"? Probably not, especially if you care about software support or security updates, which are non-existent anymore on this phone. Would I say, "Go and get it if you want a better brilliant midranger at the time for cheap now"? I think so , especially if you don't care about software support or security updates.

I would first like to point out the fact that I have used a Moto G04S before this phone. That was my last phone before the Oppo, so just to make you all aware of what device I'm coming from.

I also bought this device for $140, grade C, from CEX Australia.

First off I'd just like to mention the design. I like how narrow and thin the phone feels in my hand. Comparing it to my Moto G04S, even with both caseless, it's clear who the major winner is. The Oppo is also a lot lighter, which is brilliant for me as I'll be putting my phone in my pocket probably a lot.

I'm really happy that this phone retained the headphone jack. According to my research the whole Find X 5 series had retained the headphone jack, which was brilliant to hear.

google lied to me, every phone, but the 5X5 light doesn't have the headphone jack

One interesting thing is the button placement and I'm not sure if most reviews mentioned this but one side has the power button and the other side has the volume buttons. If it wasn't for the mute switch not existing, it would look exactly like an iPhone, which I think that's what Oppo was trying to do pre-2023.

The display size to me is perfect. I don't need a big screen because I am blind. I'd honestly prefer a smaller screen.

The one thing I am disappointed about is the fingerprint sensor. Now I am aware this costs $700-$800 Australian dollars when it first launched in 2022. Coming from an ergonomics and visual perspective as a blind person, why does the fingerprint sensor have to be in the display instead of on the power button when it's a lot easier to find? It is a bit annoying that I'll now have to enter in my password every time I want to open my banking app, or approve a Google Play purchase, or even pay for something using NAB, which is my bank. When on my Motorola I could put my finger on the power button and it would immediately confirm it.

I'veI've actually gotten more used to the fingerprint sensor now. I can find it just fine on the screen. It's on the very bottom of the screen a bit above the charging port.

The main reason I bought this phone was because of the massive amount of internal storage and the ability to expand over time. This phone has 256 GB of storage, if you couldn't tell, and considering I bought this for $140, that is genuinely impressive.

Compared to my G04S and its unisoc T606 CPU, this phone definitely feels and seems a lot faster. 8 GB of RAM definitely keeps it humming very well, especially because there really isn't much AI on this at all. The cameras, for what I needed, I think, will be good enough. I read reviews saying camera quality was not great. Especially I think I read one that said low light wasn't great. I don't know but for what I needed to do, for me as a blind person, I think the cameras will be adequate enough.

The battery life, I think, is decent although I haven't really had a chance to put it through its paces. It's been at 75% in regards to idling for the past 15 minutes. I think that's with power max mode turned on as well, which maximises the performance over battery life and heating, which is some insane idling time over my Motorola, which has massive drain over idling and not doing anything at all. Obviously I haven't really put it through its paces. It's only been 3 hours but I will edit this post as I continue to find out more about the battery life, cameras, and performance.

Software to me is not an issue. Android, compared to iOS, is a lot better compared to its app support. I'm pretty sure WhatsApp only dropped support for Android 5 a year or two ago so I think I will be fine. The only time I would be concerned is if Android 13 were to lose access to Google Wallet and NAB but so far so good in my opinion.

Again I will continue editing this post as I find more things to talk about but for the moment everything is really nice from my experience anyway.

So I did an audio recording test on both the Oppo and Motorola. Both of them sounded kind of similar but the Oppo did sound a lot more clear. It was then time for the speaker test. I think both of them sounded pretty similar but granted neither of them were at the same volume. The song I used was the intro of "I Miss You" by Blink 182, which isn't a great baseline to go off of in regards to testing stuff.

My payment info has now been added to this phone so it will be interesting to see if paying for things is faster on the Oppo compared to the Motorola. Probably a bit slower now that I have to input my pin every time but oh well. I find myself slightly incorrect in regards to its software support or at least end-of-life prospects.

After finishing up this original post I installed a system update on this phone. That changed the security update from March 1st, 2025, to January 1st, 2026. It also upgraded the Google Play system update from March 2024 to July 1st, 2026. The phone is at least still receiving Google Play system updates and most likely still will for the foreseeable future.

Hopefully the big test will be how well it can handle its battery life, especially with a SIM card installed in a couple of days. I do like how I can have my Wi-Fi speed on the status bar now, which is genuinely pretty interesting. There's a lot more customization, especially in the settings, which is very nice.

Okay so it's been a few days since I last edited this post. I think this last thing I do will be the last revision of this review as there really is not much more to go on in regards to this phone. Obviously I will add more if need be.

I got my SIM card installed on Saturday. Not related to the phone at all but it was a massive pain to get it all sorted to the point where I am not even going to go into any detail about it because it was so annoying.

Everything works. My file data works successfully. I also used NFC Google Pay on Friday and that was also pretty successful. Seems like both the Oppo and Motorola are matched on speed in regards to Google Pay, which is cool.

Battery life, I legitimately cannot give a good rating on it. It doesn't help that I don't charge it to 100% all of the time but it's just that what I use for a phone can be different one day and then be a whole different thing the next. There's nothing to really put a baseline over on.

Having 256 GB of storage is an absolute godsend.

I used my phone as a personal hotspot today. It survived for six hours, barely, but it survived so it gets my tick of approval.

After all of this, would I still recommend it? Depends. Are you the security-conscious person that overly relies on yourself to protect your phone? Do you need to have the latest and greatest Android security patch? Do you need to use work or government apps? Do you work for the FBI, CIA, or any other security agencies around the world? Are you final just running Android 13?

If you're not a fan of any of that, then I'd advise not using this phone. If you can find it for cheap, if you don't care about security updates, if you don't work for any governmental organisation, if you don't work for any security agencies, and if you're fine with this phone being a four-year-old mid-ranger, and if you can find it for under $250 (maybe $300 if it's in really good condition), then I'd say go for it.

For most people this phone will suit your needs:
- It has NFC
- Very fast charging
- A decent display
- Cameras that aren't the greatest but are fine with what they do
- Okay battery life
- A headphone jack
- Micro SD card
- Stereo speakers
- IPX4 water and dust resistance
And a good experience all around. Anyway this is the end of the review.

Do you have a price range? Do you need to have it unlocked? Can it be bought unlocked and you just put your SIM card in?

ok.
cool.
i no your not in Australia.
but i found this Google Pixel 8a for $390 Considering it was released in mid 2024 and it has seven years of software updates you would reasonably assume it to last until 2031+ probably more after that. It's the phone I would get if I didn't want to use my find ex-5 light light anymore. You can probably find phones like this for similar prices off of Amazon.

Hello Brian. I have been reading your comments carefully! I hope these lines I'm going to write will be helpful to you.
One possibility that you could get, but first of all do your own research, is to look for Nothing Phone.
I have to mention first of all that I have not used this brand, since my main devices have always been Pixel and others.
Nothing brand has recently grown quite worldwide and I read in an article that this brand, Nothing Phone, will be taking the place that OnePlus left vacant in USA.
I think you can already find and look for Nothing Phone physically in Best Buy stores. Nothing Phone is a manufacture where prioritize the economic part.
Personally, I think it is too accessible for everyone and has very good specifications and features. I hope it helps you and you already have another better option. But again, investigate carefully and deeply before buying a device that possibly is not what you expected.
"My recommendation is that you can find good deals and even financed smart phones if you get directly from mobile carriers. Even flagship devices, like the laters Pixel or others brands.
Many carriers offer great promotions. Good luck, and whatever you decide, I hope it’s the right and best choice for you.