Best phone for non-nonsense small business users in 2023?

[manonthestreet]

Hi there,


What would you recommend for a small business? By that l mean there's no IT guy responsible for installing mass licensed security suites and monitoring firewall activity etc. etc. It's just you on your own, trying to run a business.


Basic needs - by "Native app" l mean a native app that doesn't require access to your entire life on behalf of some third party:


- Native weather app

- Native map app

- Native eMail app (i.e. need to link to several eMail accounts, to send and receive eMails)

- Native notepad app

- Native YouTube app

- Native browser with option to disable cookies and a privacy mode

- Good security right out of the box (assuming user doesn't browse adult sites, doesn't click on just anything, probably doesn't even log into online shopping channels on the mobile)

- Good camera to take product photos for online shopping channels

- Native photo editing app (must be simple enough to allow rapid cropping and sharpening, brighten/darken, contrast adjustment, to prep an image for online shopping channels whilst sat on the bus)

- Good screen resolution

- Durable enough to survive being dropped (of course the user would be buying a rubber case for added protection anyway)




Could Apple give good enough security?


I'm guessing Android can't, though there are apparently some very secure Android phones out there, but what do you think of them? They can get pricey but it might be worth it, to never get malwared.

 

[JPDemers]

I'm in the same boat, and get by with an Apple iPhone 13 Mini. Pocket-sized for normal pockets, has all the apps you mention (other than a YouTube app, which I assume you can download.) Excellent camera, and it does double duty as a webcam for my Mac Mini, which runs all of the office software I need. Security is very good: if you use Apple's iCloud for backup, even Apple can't decrypt your stuff. (The FBI hates this - and you will too if you forget your password.) Facial recognition (to unlock the phone) works reliably.

Buy a used one, and it'll retain quite a lot of its value should you ever want to upgrade. (The 12 Mini will be cheaper, if you don't mind a marginally less-capable camera.) Frankly, I don't think I'll need to upgrade for several years to come: this is a hell of a nice phone, and 100% supported (so far) by all of the new operating system versions.

Note that iPhones use a proprietary photo format (HEIC) by default, which some websites (looking at you, eBay) don't play well with. Easy fix is a camera setting where you tell the phone to use the "most compatible" format, which is JPEG (tradeoff: JPEG files are about 2x larger.) The phone will also convert HEIC to JPEG if you e-mail a photo, even to yourself, so that's a conversion option if you want to store pics in HEIC format.

 

[8string]

Well, you are looking at only two OS platforms with lots of choices in those two. I run a small consulting business and have used iPhones for 10 years. Last month, I chose to try out Android. Leaving behind my $1400 top of the line iPhone 12 Max Pro with 512GB of storage. While yes, it has forced me back into Gmail as a base, a much better product than Apple Mail, it also allows me to use Office 365 and Outlook for all my other accounts (every client account has an email I need to access), as does Apple. What do I like about the Android phone, now that I've had it for a few weeks. First. Cost. $250 for a Motorola 5G Stylus. 8GBs & 256 GB card. The phone is just as good, (I use AT&T) and the camera is about 75% as good. But good enough, especially for outside shots. Video is great. The ability to store any photos or music (I am also a musician) without dealing with the horrible Apple Music lockin app on a card and remove that card or buy a larger card is great.

What else? The predictive text is far better than Apple. (on a par with Windows). I also dictate the bulk of email on my phones, in the field. Guess what? Android's dictation is vastly better than Apples, and my wife, who also uses an iPhone (for a while longer) says the same thing. I don't think I've had more than a word or two it did not understand in a few weeks of dictating. I cannot believe that Apple cannot get dictation right when both Android and Microsoft have it down to a huge degree. Standardizing on USB C is also a big plus, no more aggravation of trying to figure out which damn cable I have. Let's thank the EU for forcing this change on Apple. What do I like better about Apple? Text messaging. Overall a simpler interface. Swipe to dim the screen. But if you think I am an Apple hater, I have a MacBook Air, a Microsoft Surface Pro running WIndows 11, a Dell desktop running Windows 10 and an iPad Pro. I've had numerous Apple Macs since the 80s, and have spent years working in the Windows world. I am tool agnostic. I just want the one that makes my life easier. For now, I will be selling my iPhone and not looking back. I will have a much larger array of phone styles to choose from, as I still am waiting for the right foldable phone. Clamshell is much more useful for my lifestyle. None are quite there yet.

Count me a confirmed Android user after only a few weeks. Not going back to the iPhone anytime soon.