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Best phone for Pokemon Go?

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I've played with three phones.

LG G3: Did not render animations in gyms, and screen was not viewable in sunlight. Also could not see yellow flashes.

LG G5: Super fast. Screen was passable in sunlight. GPS was horrible, but I had an early build.

Samsung S7 Edge: Also super fast. Screen is good in sunlight. Edge screen sometimes negatively impacts curveball.

From an Android perspective, I think the S7 may be the best.

Thoughts?

Asked by Bucko6788 years 3 months ago

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Answers

Started playing with a 2 and a half years old Nexus 5, nice performance, nice screen, bad at multitasking (ex playing while listening music and talking with friends), worst battery life (only could play 2hours before battery died without using an external battery).

A week ago I switched to a One Plus 3T, the experience is being amazing for me, I can do a lot of things at the same time and my battery lasts 6+hours of screen, it performs very well on sunlight with only half brightness, I don't know how exactly is the S7 but I don't think there are many phones better than the OP3T for the money it costs.

Also the GPS is very nice, on the Nexus sometimes I kept running in circles or just jumping, I was banned for that (temporary one, fixed within ten minutes)

Girlfriend has S7 active. HUGE battery(4200 I think I'd have to check), fast processer, drop proof, water proof. I'm guessing it's the best for Pokemon go. I could be wrong.

I got a Moto z force for snap on battery and shatterproof screen. Also great but not quite as rugged. With snapped battery the life is incredible though(3500mah + 3000mah). Also snapdragon 820(same as S7 I believe). 4gb of ram and Android 7.0

I use a Asus Zenfone 2, with 4GB of ram, Android 5.0.

Gps makes me often angry, I don't know how other phones work, as I only played with this one.
Screen is quite big, so not best for one hand play, if you play while cycling...

I've used iPhone 6 and Samsung Edge 7. the difference is huge. Not tested other Android phones, but I'd think there are not many handsets better than Edge 7 for playing this game on Android, an excellent device!

Does the Samsung Edge 7 mess up throwing curve balls or any other balls? I need a new phone myself...

I've not seen anything of the kind (I'm using PoGo+ as well these days), but you may want to go with the regular S7 if you use curve balls a lot since you have to be careful with the edges on the Edge :)

Thanks for sharing...That being the case, I'm hoping there's some of better deal on a Note 4 or 5 (RIP Note 7)...

Yeah, I think Note 5 would be a good option, unless you want to wait for Note 8 in spring :) Generally I think processor, RAM and good screen are the key things here, I did try the game on a lower grade Sony device and it was not a good experience, lagging rather badly.

I run Pokemon Go on a Note 4. It runs smoothly without lag (and the phone is a high-productivity tool for work as well). Only drawback in an outdoor context is that it is more sensitive to humidity than a phone with a decent IP class. My phone has had to sustain rain (still works though - I guess the heat generated from playing Pokemon Go vaporizes water instantly ?).

I use a Moto G4 Plus with dual sims. Network reception is very patchy and the dual sims are therefore extremely useful. The screen is good and comfortable for my big hands. Battery life is very good. GPS is 'okay'.

The family has multiple Samsung and Sony phones that have been used for Pokemon Go also during harsh weather conditions (rain, snow). In my experience, three aspects have turned out to be important for us:
1) Water resistance (e.g., IP67). Sony has several such phones.
2) A phone size that is compatible with your hand-size, particularily if you want to play single-handedly.
3) Access to powerbank(s) rather than trying to find a phone with a huge built in battery (my phone has a 2800 mAh built-in battery and is supplemented with power banks in the range of 6 to 10 Ah). With a power bank in a pocket and a charge cable of appropriate length, there is no need for a bulky phone with a huge battery and you will never run out of steam. Also, if you plan to spend a full day en route with family or friends, adding an extra power bank in the backpack is no big deal. All too often someone in the company runs out of battery. If you live in an area like mine with rain and occasional snow, it is worth buying weather-proof power banks.

Good look with your search for the optimal Pokemon Go phone!

Pokémon GO for iPhone should be better optimized. Especially on the 7 and 7 Plus. I've been playing on my Note 5 for months and no problems here. Rarely i get to play on 60fps. I'd say either the iPhone 7/7 Plus, other high-end androids or maybe the ZTE Axon 7. Most recent processor with the best front speakers.

I've been playing on a 2 years old iPhone 5S since launch and the framerate looks mostly to be around 30 with some bursts of 60, and the battery drains like crazy with the phone becoming very hot after 10 minutes of play. It crashes on rare occasions including gym battles but everything else runs pretty good overall.