For the past little while, I've been wanting to upgrade my phone. Its currently a Samsung Galaxy Note 5 which was a hand-me-down from my late father, and was pushing 5 years old (Released 13 Aug 2015). Apparently I was taking too much sweet time to pick one, and so my phone decided to stop charging. This is probably the sign I've been waiting for to tell me to actually go and pickup a new phone.

Requirements

When looking for my new phone, just like everything else I do in life, I want to define a set of requirements to meet. What do I care most about my phone? 

Obvious Requirements

• NFC
• GPS
• USB C
• Bluetooth
• Wifi
• < $700
• Android 10
• > 4 GB RAM
• > 64 GB Storage / 32 GB Expandable. A lot of phone manufacturer's are trying to gouge the buyers by forcing them to purchase higher-grade phones. One tactic they're doing is removing the storage expansion slots. I'm used to a 32 GB phone, so a 64 GB would be an upgrade. But ideally, I would be able to expand the storage using a micro SD card

Less Obvious Requirements

• 3.5mm Headphone jack. I'm a die-hard when it comes to the 3.5mm. Bluetooth audio simply isn't where it needs to be for me to give up the jack. Plus, I own expensive headphones that use the 3.5mm jack. Why would I give it up when the audio quality is superior, all my devices currently support it, and the alternative (bluetooth) has issues?
• Qi Wireless Charging. Before my last phone crapped out, I realised it had wireless charging and bought 2 wireless charging pads (one at home, and one at the office). I found that the pads make life a bit more convenient as I don't have to fiddle with a plug and making sure its the right-way around. But I can also program my phone to change certain settings when receiving power via wireless vs plugged in. Change the brightness, change the screen timeout so its longer, open up Slack for work, etc.

Samsung Note 5 - Current Phone

After doing a fair amount of research (see below), I've narrowed my selection down to 5 phones:

• Samsung Galaxy A51
• Samsung Galaxy A71
• Samsung S10e
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9s
• Xiaomi Redmi K20

The Samsung S10e is a pricey phone, but was the cheapest that packed all the features I wanted. Due to its price point of $800, I couldn't justify holding onto it and found that a lot more phones became available without the wireless charging.

The other phones that were left over, were the two Xiomi Redmi's, and the two Samsung Galaxy's. I initially was leaning towards the Xiaomi Redmi phones as they offer the same performance, at a much more affordable price. However, they are not readily available in Canada. While I would much rather purchase a cheaper phone for the same performance and wait for shipping, I currently have no alternative and so time is of the essence. The fastest way to obtain a phone would be to go into a store and purchase it directly.

Out of the last two phones - the Samsung Galaxy A51 vs the A71, I settled on the A51. While the A71 does offer various upgrades such as to the camera, battery, and processor, reviews have indicated that the two phones are very closely matched, and none of the upgrades were going to be very noticeable. The camera quality is not a concern for me as I do my own quality photography, and scenarios where I would want to take a photo probably don't require spectacular quality. My last phone on a 5 year old, 3000 mAh battery was sufficient. However, now that I'm going to be working from home most of the time, 3000 mAh is probably going to be more than enough. And the processor difference between the two is minimal.

Phone Research