Travel with Kevin and Ruth: Decision made!

Thursday, September 7, 2023

Decision made!

Well, I made a decision on the new smartphone, and I'm actually going to order it here in Canada rather than waiting until we get to Asia. It's the Honor Magic5 Pro 12GB/512GB.

Spent a ton of time yesterday perusing reviews and learning about all of the different characteristics of these high end smartphones. Two things are important to mention. First, when comparing the high end phones, they are all really good. And second, none of them (sorry iPhone fans) are perfect.

By the way, lots of great and helpful comments the other day, both here and on our facebook page. Thanks to those who contributed information.

So, what swayed my decision one way or the other?

I'm not an Apple person, so the iPhone was never in the running.

The Google Pixel 7 Pro looks like a really good phone for the money. And it might have been my choice until I read that it doesn't work well in countries where it's not sold and supported. So, probably not the best choice for a world traveler.

The Samsung S23 Ultra definitely would have been my choice except that the Honor phone is about $400 cheaper here in Canada. The Honor is also very slightly lighter, and very slightly smaller.

Another selling point for me with the Honor was the charging speed. The Honor will charge from zero to 43% in 15 minutes. And to 78% in a half an hour.

There was another phone I was looking at, the Oppo Find X6. But here in Canada I can only buy the Chinese version and you have to fiddle with it to get Google Play store and a few other things to work. Looks like a fantastic phone otherwise.

I haven't ordered the Honor Magic5 Pro yet, but I will do so today. Even though it's not officially available in Canada or the U.S., it is supposed to show up here in six days or less. It also comes with a one year Canadian warranty issued by the international reseller. Including taxes and shipping, it's going to be $1,412 CAD ($1,033 USD).

As for our Nikon P900, we are going to sell it. This camera sells new for about $900, but ours has taken a lot of photos and is well used. It's still working fine, but is starting to fall apart physically. It would still be great for a casual user who is an avid bird watcher! I'm hoping to get around $150 for it.