With how much it costs to buy a flagship mobile device,
I think it's fair to say that most people
would like to get a few years out of their phones.
Now for iPhone people,
that means they're still rocking an iPhone 6 or 6S,
both of which are actually still supported
on the latest version of iOS.
But if you're more into the Android scene,
you're probably straight out of luck,
as even the more reputable manufacturers
only provide feature updates for around two years
and security patches for another one,
with the actual follow-through on these promises
being reminiscent of an elementary school pinky swear.
So what do you do?
Accept that your once flagship phone
is now a slow, insecure mess?
We say no!
So today's video has two main objectives,
to see if we can take a five-year-old Android phone
and make it competitive with the experience
of an iPhone of the same era.
And while we're at it,
to investigate if an old flagship at just 50 bucks on eBay
could be a viable option
if you're looking for a basic smartphone
and you want to save a buck.
Speaking of saving a buck, Thermaltake's A500,
eh, it's not really about saving a buck,
it's just really nice.
It's got a modern minimalist design
with brushed aluminum panels
and dual hinge swing tempered glass doors.
Check it out today at the link in the video description.
We began our quest by looking at a bunch of older devices
near the five-year mark,
from the likes of OnePlus, HTC, and Google.
But most of them were either no longer officially maintained
by LineageOS, our ROM of choice,
or weren't easily or cheaply purchasable,
or didn't have a removable battery.
And that last one is something we really want
because no amount of fresh software
is gonna fix a worn out lithium battery.
We were actually getting kind of discouraged
until we stumbled upon the LG G3.
It was a pretty big deal when it launched back in 2014,
with its top tier specs,
and at the time, super high res 1440 screen.
And today, not only are there heaps of them
for sale on eBay,
but they can be had for a mere $50
with replacement batteries from companies like iFixit
coming in at under 20 bucks.
Perfect.
Now, before you run out and buy one though,
make sure you get the version of the G3
that corresponds to your cellular carrier.
Even though most of the changes between the variants
are just the bloatware that comes pre-installed on them,
it's probably not worth risking using a different one
unless you have no other choice.
So for us then, the D852 was the way to go.
Oh, not much in the way of packaging on this thing,
but hey, wow, not bad.
This is in great condition.
There's hardly a scuff on it.
Original battery.
We'll definitely need the replacement one.
Now, as much as we hoped that this was gonna be as simple
as one, two, three, click, and you're done,
unfortunately, Jake quickly discovered
that it was going to be a bit more of an involved process.
Now, there are multiple methods
of gaining the administrative access
that we need to install our third-party OS,
otherwise known as routing,
but none of them have been updated
to work on the latest version of Android
that LG rolled out for the G3.
Thankfully though, unlike iOS, we can downgrade Android
with the easiest method being to roll back to KitKat.
Then from there, routing is essentially one click.
We can install our custom recovery software
and install LineageOS.
Now, we'll have some more details in a forum post down below
if you guys aren't familiar with this process.
Before we begin the downgrade,
you guys need to know a couple of things.
One, this tutorial is specific to the LG G3.
If you're looking to flash LineageOS
or some other ROM to a different phone,
Google, YouTube, and the XDA forums are your best friends.
Two, this process will result
in your phone being completely wiped.
You have been warned.
Now, let's get into it.
Start by downloading and installing,
first, the LG USB drivers,
and second, the LG UP DLL, then LG UP itself.
This is the tool that we're gonna use to downgrade the phone.
Once you have the software ready to go,
download and extract the respective KitKat ROM
for your device.
We've got a D852,
and we'll be using the Bell version specifically.
Now, we plug the phone into our PC,
go into Settings, About Phone, Software Info,
and tap Build Number.
Until it says, You are now a developer.
If only it was that easy, right?
Then we go back into the main settings menu,
into Developer Options, and Enable USB Debugging.
This will allow our computer to communicate with the phone.
You'll also wanna swipe down on the notification tray
and enable MTP USB mode.
On the PC, open up LG UP as an administrator,
select your device, and the .TOT file, and click Start.
Give it a couple minutes,
and you'll eventually be greeted by your KitKat-equipped G3.
Set up the phone quickly,
then head over to Settings and Enable USB Debugging again.
With that turned on,
we can download and run the one-click Purple Drake route.
Say yes to permanently routing,
as this OS is gonna be wiped for Lineage OS shortly anyway,
and then we're actually getting really close now.
But before we can install our OS,
we'll need a custom recovery to be able to flash it.
This is where TWRP comes into play.
Download the TWRP app from the Play Store onto the phone,
then copy over the TWRP app from the Play Store onto the phone,
and you'll see a TWRP file that's linked in the description.
Select the file from your device's storage in the app
and flash it, then reboot to recovery mode.
Now is actually a really good time
to back up your install of KitKat
on the off chance that something goes wrong.
So do that and copy it over to your PC.
Then we can wipe everything off the device as shown.
Last but not least,
we'll need to grab the latest nightly build of Lineage OS
for our device and open Google Apps,
since they don't come
with Lineage OS by default,
and no Play Store on Android is a pretty rockin' bad time.
So we select ARM, Android 8.1, and the Nano version for that.
Then once we've got both,
we can copy them over to the device and then install.
Restart the phone and...
Whabam!
Lineage OS is good to go!
From here, you can install any missing Google Apps
from the Play Store,
because basically none of them come by default,
and then you can optionally install them from the Play Store,
and then you can optionally install the Magisk root
if you'd like to do root-related things.
Not everybody's into that, though.
So all that's left now, then,
is to take this puppy for a little test drive.
For the $70 total that we spent,
is this a compelling option?
Let's put it up next to our iPhone,
which, believe it or not,
still costs nearly twice that much on eBay,
and find out.
Well, one thing's for darn tootin' sure.
Apple, while they definitely didn't have
a screen size advantage at this point in time...
Or resolution.
Or resolution advantage,
definitely had brighter screens.
Like, that is a market difference.
I don't even think the iPhone's at max.
I think it's a Lineage OS thing,
because as I recall, when this was stock,
it was a little brighter.
I'm not 100% sure, and that sounds a little bit weird,
but I kind of feel like it was better before.
All right, well, why don't we go ahead
and fire up a video?
Do you need some help?
Yeah, can we just go to the beginning?
Ready?
Three, two, one.
And go.
Okay, well, I didn't...
Whatever, close enough, cool.
There you go.
All right.
You gotta give Apple credit
for the color accuracy of their displays,
though even back then, you can tell
this is far more true to life than this is.
It's more washed out, it's a little bit too warm.
Screen is so much bigger on here.
Yeah, it's definitely gonna be better
for content absorption consumption.
So I downloaded PUBG on both of them, right?
Which is a big game, like about a Gigabyte.
And it was completely done,
along with the 10 other apps I downloaded on this phone,
before PUBG was even done on that one.
One thing, though, is that...
Speakers.
Yeah, should we try it out?
This is before front-facing speakers
were really much of a thing,
although the HTC One did do that around this time.
But Apple, even though they were still doing
just the bottom-firing speaker,
that's still a lot better than a rear speaker.
That was one of my big complaints
about this phone at the time.
Yeah, I'll crank this up, let's see how we do.
Is it harder to cover it up with your hand, though?
Like, either way, you're gonna have to cup it, right?
This one's kind of crappy.
We wanted to upstage our last insane resolution gaming setup.
Okay, pause it for a second.
Upstage our last insane resolution gaming setup.
Have you dropped this in the toilet or something?
This doesn't sound like a regular iPhone.
No, it's, yeah, it's basically...
I dropped it, yes, but not in the toilet.
Moral of the story,
they both kind of sound like garbage.
All right, so gaming-wise, we have PUBG Mobile loaded.
It is capped at 30 FPS, and we're on low settings,
but how you feeling?
It's playable, although I am seeing frame drops as well.
Yeah.
It seems like that's a common trend with mobile games,
but I'm definitely having an experience
that I would say is acceptable.
It's kind of like Xbox 360 graphics,
but if you, like, play one of those games on a laptop,
that can't quite do it.
So gaming-wise, we're on a pretty even playing field,
but let's try web browsing.
So I think for this test,
we should just load up a couple of the same websites.
Wow, you're already typing things great, Alex.
It's working fine.
It searches for FU Jake really well.
Okay.
What's a site we can load?
Ars Technica.
You ready?
Yeah.
Three, two, one, go.
All right, so Android looks like it was winning a little bit
there.
Yeah.
It still hasn't even loaded all the way on there.
LTT Forum?
Yeah, sure.
Let's go to the corporate site, because I think we already
did the forum earlier.
Let's go Linus Media Group.
Three, two, one, go.
Oh, iPhone's really chugging now.
I mean, like, final load time, I think we're pretty close.
Yeah, true.
It did look like at the start there that this was going to, like,
go a little bit faster, but I think that was just, I mean,
overall, they're both pretty similar.
I mean, it looked like the G3 was edging out a little bit
at the start, but overall, acceptable, usable,
pretty similar.
We can take a quick look at LineageOS.
For those not familiar, it's very similar to your stock
Android experience, so to speak.
So not a ton of, like, extras or anything like that, but.
You can load up whatever launcher you want, though.
So if you want to get the Ruthless Pixel launcher, make
it look like a Pixel or any of them, really.
Even the Microsoft one is actually pretty good.
I don't know if you've seen that before.
Cool.
Whereas on an iPhone, it's going to be an iPhone.
I think we can go deeper than this, though,
because one of the things that Android was really
behind Apple on in this era was rear camera quality.
Oh, yeah.
But we know that software is a major component
of mobile camera performance, so I think maybe,
why don't you take some pictures, run around,
get some other people's impressions,
and see what they think of our five-year Android versus,
five-year iPhone experience.
When we get to the camera, the gap between devices
starts to become a little more apparent.
We took three identical photos on each phone
and threw a Pixel 3 in as a modern reference,
and it's clear to see the G3 definitely falls behind a bit.
Colors are more washed out and the noise is definitely
more noticeable compared to the iPhone 6.
Now, this is likely because LineageOS is supported
across such a wide range of devices,
meaning its camera app isn't going to have the same
image post-processing that's specifically tuned
by the manufacturer for a given device.
You can tinker with these settings
in the included camera app to help with this,
so we'd recommend doing that.
It actually looks like our older Android device,
be it the LG G3 or one from another manufacturer,
holds up shockingly well if you can get an OS
like LineageOS that is fully supported
with security updates.
I actually am blown away by how much phone we got
for just $70 after we replaced the battery
with a brand new unit, which remember,
makes this thing,
because it's not like SOCs degrade over time.
Functionally, brand spanking new.
Now, it is missing some creature comforts.
We've got USB micro B instead of type C.
It's not as durable, it's not as fast,
it doesn't charge as quickly.
No wireless charging, obviously.
Mobile speakers have come a long way in the last five years.
This wimpy rear speaker here compared to the dual front
or side, but sounds kind of front-firing speakers
on something like a Note 9.
And of course, no biometric authentication.
Really did feel like going back in time
compared to facial scanners or fingerprint scanners,
especially the ones under the screen and the like.
Bottom line is, unless you need iMessage,
this is looking like a very compelling option
if you wanna save a buck
and you've got the time to invest in it.
Or if all that looks like way too much work,
an older iPhone is still a solid choice.
Just make sure the battery is up to snuff.
Speaking of being worth investing in,
how about a Ring doorbell?
Ring is on a mission to reduce crime in communities,
and with their 1080p HD resolution and 160 degree vision,
having one on your door is definitely a step
in the right direction.
They've got an adjustable motion sensor,
two-way audio so you can talk to whoever's
at your front door.
It's Wi-Fi capable, so you can always check
what's going on wherever you are.
And it's powered by eight to 24 volt AC,
so that's your existing doorbell wiring
or the battery bank.
It connects via an app that can work on your smartphone
or desktop with Mac and Windows support,
and they've got a special offer at the link below
for their doorbell camera kit
that includes the video doorbell too,
a spotlight cam, and a solar security sign.
So check it out at ring.com slash LTT.
We're gonna have that linked below.
So thanks for watching, guys.
If you disliked this video, you can hit that button.
But if you liked it, hit like, get subscribed,
or maybe consider checking out where to buy the stuff
we featured at the link in the video description.
Also down there is our merch store,
which has cool shirts like this one,
and our community forum, which you should totally join.