
Show HN: StockDroids.com – A curated list of near-stock Android devices - oDot
http://www.stockdroids.com
======
seltzered_
Thanks for making this! Finding myself shopping for a replacement phone, and
so far have decided to settle with waiting unless I see a decent deal on a
nexus 6p.

Would suggest also adding whether the phone supports a removable
battery/extended battery. That seems to be a feature that is nearly dead on
new android phones these days, except for the lg v10 and the moto z (via the
moto mod battery case).

Also seconding the 'last update' column - I'm largely trying to forego most of
my power-user desires for sd slots/removable batteries for a nexus phone
because of just how many security issues with android seem to require it to be
up-to-date.

Oh yeah, would also like a 'fingerprint reader' column - it's becoming near-
ubiquitous these days though some phones from last year don't have it (e.g.
moto x)

~~~
wernercd
"Would suggest also adding whether the phone supports a removable
battery/extended battery."

    
    
        * Carrier Support (GSM vs CDMA)
        * "Modes" (Frequencies, bands,whatever you want to call it)
        * Sim card size (Normal 3FF, Nano 4FF)
        * Removable Battery
        * Wireless charging (I must have Qi)
        * Fingerprint
    

Comparison vs other phones (I'd love to compare these vs my Note 3. Yes... 3.)
would be nice, but probably a bit beyond the scope of this.

Otherwise, awesome tool.

~~~
brokenmachine
I'm still using a Note 3, and have been watching but haven't found a good
replacement yet.

It's a great phone. User-replaceable battery, great screen, MicroSD slot,
poncy stylus that I never use, hardware menu key (seriously Google, I use the
menu key _all the time_ ). Still works well and fast enough, if not a rocket
compared to this year's phones.

I find it disappointing that 3 years after getting the Note 3, apparently all
the phone companies have forgotten how to make a new phone that can compel me
to put down the money that I'm ready and wanting to spend.

Basically I want a faster Note 3 with a 6.5" AMOLED screen.

I'd be willing to bet I'm not the only one. How can all these companies be so
smart yet so brain-dead at the same time?

~~~
fgandiya
Have you looked into the lg v20? It's pretty durable, has a big screen, user
replaceable cattery and it performs pretty well...

~~~
brokenmachine
I have, and it looks nice but I want about a 6.5" screen.

~~~
fgandiya
I thought that was a typo! Why 6.5"?

~~~
brokenmachine
Because why not? I have room in my pocket and 99% of my phone use is internet.

------
ikeboy
A couple of months ago I got a new phone. I had a fairly short list of needs:

1\. Micro sd slot

2\. Supports sprint in the US

3\. Supports cyanogenmod

4\. Given those, it should be powerful as possible

To my surprise, none of the 2016 flagships were acceptable. The Nexus line did
not have a micro sd slot. Samsung s7 did not have cyanogenmod. Oneplus 3 did
not support sprint. Most other phones were just not powerful, slow processors,
etc.

I ended up settling for a 2015 moto x pure (style in op). Still disappointed
that I couldn't get one with an 820 processor. Are my needs that exotic that
nobody cares about them? Or have the phone companies just dropped the ball?

~~~
djsumdog
I have the same requirements, except I can use GSM. I currently use an older
Sony Z-yuga.

Your biggest problem requirement is Sprint. Outside of the US, almost no one
used CDMA. The rest of the planet is on the GMS/HSDPA/LTE stack.

I think Sprint and Verizon are the two largest networks in the world that are
still on CDMA. Verizon is actually owned by Vodaphone and I think the reason
they haven't rebranded their US offering is because all their other companies
are on GSM.

~~~
maxerickson
The radio question is almost dead.

[https://www.amazon.com/Moto-4th-Generation-Exclusive-
Lockscr...](https://www.amazon.com/Moto-4th-Generation-Exclusive-
Lockscreen/dp/B01EZC9WC0)

(cheap phone with support for big 4 US networks)

edit: Also, Verizon Communications bought out Vodaphone a couple years ago,
Vodaphone no longer has an interest in Verizon Wireless.

------
Esau
Honestly, this is why I have always avoided Android devices: because there are
too many variances.

\- some you can root, some you can't.

\- some have 3rd party junk, some don't.

\- some get updates, some don't.

Being a fan of free/open source software, I want Android to succeed, but they
have turned a good thing into a fucking quagmire.

~~~
sjwright
Whether the modern Android experience has roots as a free/open source system
is becoming a bit of an academic exercise. In a practical sense, useful
distributions of Android and iOS are both combinations of open and closed
source components.

~~~
jhasse
Android is a lot more open though.

~~~
sjwright
My point is that, for some people, anything which is not fully open source
might as well be closed source and arguing about percentages is academic.

~~~
xyzzy_plugh
The point is that it is a benefit to society as a whole. Android being open
source as-is today is hugely beneficial. It has transformed the mobile and
embedded/consumer device landscape. I have a hard time believing that the
impact to everyone would be the same if it was closed source.

~~~
sjwright
I agree that society benefits from freer software.

But transformed the landscape? It's unquestionable that the iPhone truly
transformed the mobile landscape. Closed-source Android has eaten up a huge
amount of market share across the spectrum (particularly in low-cost high-
volume sales). Open-source AOSP is a relative footnote. It has barely
transformed anything.

------
thedays
This is great! I like how the filtering quickly lets you drill down and find
phones that meet your criteria.

My suggestions for improving this would be to add:

\- Dual SIM - many buyers, esp. in developing countries and frequent
travellers prefer dual-SIM phones.

\- Network Bands - many people have a preferred mobile network, e.g. Verizon
or T-Mobile in the US, Telstra in Australia, etc. Each of these networks only
supports specific frequency bands for 3G and 4G. So I'd suggest adding in a
search-based filter which allows a user to find phones that support a
particular band, e.g. 28 that their favorite mobile network uses.

------
carussell
The item I'd like to see added to the device infobox is an answer to the
question "Can I run my own AOSP on this?", backed up by a link to some wiki or
blog post of someone demonstrating it.

~~~
TaylorAlexander
Definitely. I'm also keenly interested in phones that can run Ubuntu touch,
though that list is small.

~~~
yincrash
[https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Touch/Devices](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Touch/Devices)

~~~
oDot
Also useful:

[https://ubports.com/](https://ubports.com/)

~~~
duskwuff
Which lists a grand total of _two_ devices with "active" support. Both with
caveats. :(

------
oDot
Thanks everyone for the nice comments!

Here is what's in the works. Hopefully answering most of your requests:

\- Upgradability (how fast does the phone get official updates)

\- Better specs (sent out emails to the companies yesterday)

\- Rootability

\- Unlockable Bootloader

\- CM port available

\- Non-stock phones with CM port

~~~
logic
Missing from the list of handsets appears to be the Fairphone 2:
[https://www.fairphone.com/](https://www.fairphone.com/)

------
jewbacca
Parallel conversation on /r/android:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/5dzw2h/stockdroids...](https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/5dzw2h/stockdroidscom_a_curated_list_of_nearstock/)

------
voltagex_
Needs a "last update" column - my Moto X Style is near stock, but is on 6.0
and a May 2016 patch level.

~~~
ikeboy
You can get nightlies on cyanogenmod.

~~~
voltagex_
Yes, and lose access to the IR sensor and gestures (probably)

------
fermuch
Slightly off topic, but what I found terrible hard to look up on the specs
lists for android phones is support for USB OTG. Some companies disable it,
some enable it, and some switch between enabled and disabled between different
sub models of the same phone. Sadly, I had to go to stores and ask to put an
OTG to check for compatibility.

~~~
Daniel_Marcos
Just out of curiosity, what do you use USB OTG and Android for? Nowadays I
seldom hear about it. I can't think of the last time I saw someone use one!

~~~
brokenmachine
I use OTG for a MicroSD card reader, and occasionally a mouse and usb
keyboard.

Also sometimes for a USB Serial UART connected to an Arduino.

I'm using a Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

------
moreati
A slightly OT question: does any 2016 Android phone have MHL/HDMI alt mode? It
seems to be a feature that became dropped by multiple manufacturers around
2015. I wasn't able to find one in this year's models.

------
stryk
This is fantastic! Both in terms of information provided AND in the way it is
displayed and presented. Simple yet extremely functional and easy to use. Very
nice

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snarfy
I still regret buying Samsung. So much customized, non-removable garbage.

------
Paul_S
That's super useful, thank you. I got the Moto G (which is on the list) and
will use this to get my next phone when this one dies (non replaceable battery
so I imagine 2 more years tops). All the table is missing is how easy it is to
root.

There is nothing useful third-party "extra sauce" can add. In fact all the
incentives for them are to make the OS worse.

~~~
ajford
Meh, it's "non-replaceable" in the same manner as the Moto G 1st gen. I had
that one from release (non-LTE version) until the day my Moto G4+ arrived from
Amazon. About a year ago I replaced the battery for my Moto G1 for ~$20. A
crap-load of screws (~15 Torx T4s) to get the back cover off, and one
connector and I was done.

Went from about 5 hours of useful time (1-2hrs SOT, had to charge at work just
to make it home) with about 2hrs of listening to podcasts to making to dinner
time (maybe 12hrs, 2-3hrs SOT).

I figure by the time I need to replace the battery on my G4+, someone will be
selling a replacement. Just cause it's not "User Replaceable" doesn't mean
that someone with a screwdriver can't replace it.

On a total side note, I'm kinda pissed that the new Moto M is coming out so
soon. It's practically the same price as the Moto G4+ and seems to be better.
I like the USB-C, rear fingerprint sensor, and metal body. Oh well.

------
fastball
Love it.

When I was buying a budget android phone a few months ago, this was my primary
criterion for purchasing. Wish it'd been around sooner.

------
lewiscollard
I am all into finding stock Androids, and the replacement for my stock-Android
Chinese eBay special phone will probably be chosen through your site. :) But I
think you might want to put some effort into making this site smaller. It's
currently 3.3 megabytes for a list of 60 phones with small thumbnails and a
list of tech specs.

~~~
oDot
It is planned but as sibling comment suggests, in the backlog for the moment.

If anyone is interested in the technical details -- I am using an angular-cli
version that doesn't support AOT compilation so no tree shaking. Also no
Angular Universal, therefore a loading screen.

I hate spinners. And hamburger menus.

~~~
jotto
I made [https://www.prerender.cloud/](https://www.prerender.cloud/) and it
_might_ be useful here - that is, solving that initial 3.3mb loading penalty
for the JS. But it may require removing your loading screen so the screen
doesn't flash to loading after the initial prerendered payload comes down.

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Normal_gaussian
Searching on resolution doesn't work

The CPU model is way to indirect a comparison to be useful

I want AMOLED

Aside from that a reasonable attempt at a solution

~~~
oDot
Will check that, thanks

------
ian0
Ive transitioned over the years from iPhones to Samsung androids then the
nexus range, ie gradually closer to stock.

About 6 months ago my second nexus 5 crapped out and as I couldst find any
nexus replacements (Im In SEA) I decided to try out the Xiaomi Mi4i. Im now
fully converted. Its as big an improvement over the Nexus as the Nexus was
over the Samsung. And its half the price of one.

The biggest surprise was MIUI. It rocks and in my opinion a far superior UI
than vanilla android. Its also updated really frequently, the last update they
did (last week) rectified the only major issue I had with the UI (quick-links
on the status menu).

Seriously, I cannot praise this phone highly enough. My only qualm is the
performance with while flicking between apps. But hell - its $170!

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butz
Availability row would be useful, e.g. you cannot purchase new Nexus 5 any
more.

------
dshuang
Thanks for making this site. For your 404 page, something along the lines of
"these are not the droids you're looking for" would be great, given the site
url.

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bossx
Useful comparison layout, please add battery size & life

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relics443
Gotta love Moto. The droid turbo was the best phone I ever had. If they could
make that with an updated soc and RAM, I'd be all over that.

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nl
Surprised they don't list the Sony devices. They are "near-stock", unlockable
and I'm pretty happy with my Z4C

------
lsiebert
Great site! I also want to know if a screen is OLED or not, given the battery
savings.

------
jaimex2
Awesome!

I'll be sticking to OnePlus though, so far they have provided the best
environment for their phones to flourish in the custom rom scene.

I'm running latest Android without hassle! ( CM 14 )

------
dominotw
Nice work!! Only comment I have about the website is to make the row highlight
color a little softer and highlight row transition a little more gradual.

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alimbada
I won't ever buy another Android phone, but I have been looking for a stock
Android 7-8 inch tablet for a while. The search continues...

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dbalan
Adding a row about the update situation of device would be nice. 1\. Updates
promised untill X year 2\. Only security patches, etc.

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andrepd
Why does a filterable list need a loading splash and 10 seconds to load? D:

~~~
qplex
The site won't even load for me. JS and no fallback to plain HTML. Good
example of why modern websites suck. A plain text file listing the models
would be more useful.

~~~
oDot
Hi, quoting another comment of mine with an explanation:

> It is planned but as sibling comment suggests, in the backlog for the
> moment.

> If anyone is interested in the technical details -- I am using an angular-
> cli version that doesn't support AOT compilation so no tree shaking. Also no
> Angular Universal, therefore a loading screen.

> I hate spinners. And hamburger menus.

~~~
qplex
Thanks; I did not mean to criticize too much. The idea of having a list of the
devices is good.

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dvh
I would like to have information if all apps can be uninstalled.

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siimplytech
This is really cool. How do you get the data?

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buckbova
I have the g4. Just wish it had a compass.

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DriesS
You will add tablets also in the future?

~~~
oDot
Yes, though other things are a priority (check out my other comment)

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dylz
Don't you generally have to have some form of legal notice (at least in the
states) that every single outgoing link is an affiliate link?

~~~
jameskegel
No.

