Wanted:

  • large screen
  • good battery life
  • great camera
  • long device lifetime, i.e. repairability, software and security updates, swappable battery, …
  • enough RAM (8GB) and built-in storage (256GB)
  • SD card slot and 3.5mm won’t hurt (but we use wireless headphones all the time)

The competition are (from my POV):

  • Samsung S23+ (or similar)
  • Motorola Edge 40 Pro (or similar)
  • Google Pixel 8 Pro

I ruled out all other vendors due to disappointing update promises. Motorola with 4 years security updates promised (out of which the first year has already passed if the model is not brand new) is the minimum.

All phones are stretching the budget; must be really good to justify the expense. Benchmark for “great” is better than the previous generation (S10).