I bought a second-hand xperia 5 III last week. Edit: Flashed lineageos and a magisk module to use the stock camera.
The naming scheme is confusing, the first number is the price range, where 1 is the most expensive, 5 the sweet spot, 10 the "budget" model, then the second number is the generation, I < II < III < IV < V < VI.
Huh. Interesting. I've got a Redmi that I can feel is starting to falter. The most annoying thing about it is the amount of random shite loaded onto it that's hard to get rid of. And the camera is garbage.
Would you mind showing me an unedited photo it takes? I'm considering jumping ship, but I'm not sure where to go. LineageOS sounds nice.
If you're not put off by Chinese electronics, you can still get a phone with all the extras (card slots, notification leds, headphone jacks, IR blasters).
I'm using an ulefone power armor 26, it's a beast that's overkill in every possible sense, but there are more normal phones from redmi or xiaomi that are every bit as good as a samsung or an iphone.
Do you think the ulefone is more durable than a xiaomi or oneplus? They do seem a bit overkill... How do you find apps, just dl from play store or f-droid and no issue?
The ulefone brands rugged lineup is definitely more durable than any normal consumer model. I've taken mine snorkeling up to ~10ft deep in the ocean several times, it is 100% waterproof. The only other Chinese brand I've had experience with was a Huawei that my brother loved. I can't speak to the quality of xiaomi or oneplus since I haven't gotten one due to the fact that they typically don't have 4g band 71, which is what my carrier (tmobile) is using for their rural spectrum.
As far as apps, the ulefone runs stock android 13, the Google Play store is preloaded, and yeah I use fdroid as well.