I don’t know much about mobile phones, what the spec. means etc. But I know they can be damned useful, even if you never make a phone call!
I’ve had a couple of Androids, and thinking of continuing down that route. The latest Xiaomi (15 Ultra) grabbed my attention. Are they any good? Do you have one, heard any good or bad reports/rumours?
Here’s a nice man talking about the camera. I haven’t done much photography in the last year or two, maybe this toy will get me back into it.
So I’ve been round a few shops looking for the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, and nobody sells them.
You have to get it online:
Cant even spell Xiaomi, let alone know anything about them. I,m a switch it on switch it off person
My spell checker is familiar with the Xiaomi word, not a problem. Just don’t know how to say it!
They seem to run on an imitation Android system called MIUI. I’m guessing that might be less secure and might not have consistency in updates. Android itself doesn’t have a good rep, so an imitation will be even more shaky. Who knows how well it interacts with updates of our most frequently used apps. There is a history of snooping and data harvesting with this manufacturer. Who can tell what is true these days and which devices don’t do that.
The build quality on cheaper models is not durable. Depends on what you are using the phone for and how careful you are in protecting the handset from damage.
You take a lot of photos and taking any on a phone with a different operating system or even accessing your own cloud, you will want a robust security system.
I’m pretty sure it’s nice to use and easy to set up as was Huawei. Probably not value for money in the long term.
Thanks Annie, that’s useful to know. So I think I’ll say no to Xiaomi. I was only interested because of the camera, a new camera is the last thing I need. They’re just toys I like playing with.
If I had to buy a smartphone I think I would pay a decent price and make it last me for ever…(how ever long that might be in my case)
I don’t know much about the phone in question d00d but Annie mentioned a Huawei, I use a Huawei, I got it given and it’s been great, however, recently I purchased a pair of hearing aids and you could download an app to adjust them and do other interesting stuff. The bloke in the shop tried to download the app and it wouldn’t download, apparently due to the snooping that Annie mentioned some companies don’t allow their apps to be downloaded onto a Huawei phone.
My daughter (the expert) tells me to dump it and buy a proper phone. Easy for her to say when all my money went on buying a new home for her and hubby… 
Huawei handsets are very appealing because of their ease of use and set up is so smooth. They seem like the perfect phone. But…as you say that perfection is traded off with a loss of privacy and this has caused major distrust from app developers and international governments.
The trouble these days is that you don’t know what hidden features are built into handsets made abroad. The booby-trapped pagers in the recent Israeli ambush are an example of one we know about. The problem is what we don’t know. This is of course true of any government.
We are being forced to use smartphones and I guess we trust all our handsets too much, sitting and having frank conversations which might be recorded as these are great listening devices! It’s an amazing achievement to have these spying devices sitting in everyone’s pockets. In future (and perhaps already) bots will be there listening to any key words which will trigger a harvesting frenzy. If you want to talk privately switch off the smartphones, smart tv and any other smart systems.
I try not to be dependant on my phone, I don’t use it for banking or anything important, no incriminating or particularly important docs or pics on there, it’s a lot of fun as in something to keep me amused. It’s a 5 year old Samsung A12 costs £170 new. Setting it up was child’s play, but I need to look into … what apps need deleting to avoid ads that pop up as soon as I open google. If I type something into search and follow it I’m OK but if I click on the clickbait I can go to site after site with popup after popup.
Google says: A mobile phone typically becomes obsolete within 2-5 years depending on the model and usage, with some high-end phones potentially lasting up to 8 years, but this timeframe is largely determined by factors like software updates, battery life, processing power, and new technology advancements.
I wouldn’t have been tempted with this Xiaomi Leica phone without a popup on my phone!
it’s a conspiracy! 
We all look at Putin, China and North Korea etc and never even consider that our own government could resort to such dirty tricks and subterfuge, but they can, will, and have, but you’re never going to hear about it on the news unless its used as propaganda to put the blame on somebody else.
We are all heading into a dystopian world like headless chickens because we all like to take the path of least resistance, the easiest way, the time saver…So we allow the internet into all of our homes and lives (remember the Trojan Horse?) use our phones and cards to access our money that’s stored nicely away in some bank account in cyber space. But your government can control you completely. Without access to your bank account you are nothing in todays world and can be cancelled at the flick of a switch.
Be thankful “We Care About Your Privacy”.
thicko alert
I can just about handle a text message … what’s an app? 
I struggle with the idea that mobile phones should be all things to all people.
I have an inadequate unit that allows me to to post pictures on forums etc and it serves me accordingly.
Now here’s a camera 
Probably best you don’t know Morty. Hmmm they can be useful, the ones on your phone used to remote control something else like another camera, or in @OldGreyFox 's case your hearing aids. But many just take you to another website like Youtube or Facebook and spy on you always.
@d00d You don’t have to pay a ransom for a smartphone from a reputable outlet.
This one from Tesco is £39.99 delivered next day and save even more with the code SLAY8.
NEW IMO Q5 5.5" SIM-Free Smartphone 4G 16GB Unlocked - Midnight Blue | eBay
I do love those old cameras @Chilliboot … that era especially 
My current favourite is an unassuming little Ricoh, a Pentax baby:
Things can be reassuringly expensive.
