Phones

Every phone I’ve owned, listed by release year.

PTT Pocketline Swing

PTT Pocketline Swing (1997)

  • Alcatel rebrand for PTT Telecom (pre-KPN)
  • Monochrome display
  • Pull-out antenna

First phone. Rebrand of an Alcatel feature phone.

Nokia 3410

Nokia 3410 (2002)

  • Mono display, T9 input
  • Snake II, customisable covers
  • Internal antenna (still rare at the time)

Reputation for being indestructible.

Sony Ericsson Z600

Sony Ericsson Z600 (2003)

  • Clamshell with colour internal and external screens
  • Swappable covers
  • GPRS data

First flip phone, color screen felt like the future.

Sony Ericsson K750i

Sony Ericsson K750i (2005)

  • 2MP camera with autofocus and LED flash
  • Memory Stick Duo expansion
  • Walkman-style media playback

Famous for its camera, genuinely usable for the time.

Nokia 6300

Nokia 6300 (2007)

  • Slim stainless steel candybar
  • 2" QVGA display
  • 2MP camera, microSD

Hugely popular budget Nokia. Felt premium for the price.

LG Cookie (KP500)

LG Cookie (KP500) (2008)

  • 3" resistive touchscreen
  • 3MP camera
  • S-Class UI

Cheap touchscreen for the masses, well before smartphones were ubiquitous.

HTC Tattoo

HTC Tattoo (2009)

  • Android 1.6 Donut with HTC Sense
  • 2.8" QVGA resistive touchscreen
  • 528 MHz Qualcomm MSM7225

First Android phone. Already underpowered the day it launched.

Samsung Galaxy Mini (S5570)

Samsung Galaxy Mini (S5570) (2011)

  • Android 2.2 Froyo
  • 3.14" 240×320 display
  • 600 MHz single-core

Entry-level Galaxy. Did the job, barely.

iPhone 4S

iPhone 4S (2011)

  • Apple A5, 3.5" Retina display
  • 8MP camera
  • Siri debut

First iPhone. The Retina display was a step change after the Galaxy Mini.

Samsung Galaxy S3

Samsung Galaxy S3 (2012)

  • 4.8" 720p Super AMOLED
  • Exynos 4 Quad
  • Removable battery, microSD

The Android phone everyone had for a while.

HTC Desire

HTC Desire (2013)

  • Android with HTC Sense
  • (specific Desire variant uncertain, fix me)

HTC at its peak before the slow decline.

Nexus 5

Nexus 5 (2013)

  • LG-built, 5" 1080p IPS
  • Snapdragon 800
  • Launch device for Android 4.4 KitKat

The Nexus everyone loved. Cheap, clean, fast.

HTC One M8

HTC One M8 (2014)

  • Aluminium unibody
  • 5" 1080p display
  • UltraPixel dual rear camera, BoomSound front speakers

Probably the best-built Android phone of its year.

OnePlus One

OnePlus One (2014)

  • Snapdragon 801
  • 5.5" 1080p
  • CyanogenMod 11S out of the box

"Flagship killer" with the invite-only launch.

OnePlus 2

OnePlus 2 (2015)

  • Snapdragon 810
  • 5.5" 1080p, fingerprint sensor
  • One of the first phones with USB-C
  • OxygenOS

Decent follow-up, but the 810 ran hot.

Nexus 6P

Nexus 6P (2015)

  • Huawei-built, 5.7" QHD AMOLED
  • Snapdragon 810
  • Rear fingerprint sensor, USB-C

Pure Android, fast updates, and the infamous Snapdragon 810 thermals.

Google Pixel

Google Pixel (2016)

  • Snapdragon 821
  • 5" 1080p AMOLED
  • HTC-built, first Pixel-branded phone

First Pixel. Camera was the whole pitch.

OnePlus 6T

OnePlus 6T (2018)

  • Snapdragon 845
  • 6.41" 1080p AMOLED with waterdrop notch
  • In-display fingerprint sensor

Detour back to OnePlus before going to iOS.

iPhone XS

iPhone XS (2018)

  • Apple A12 Bionic
  • 5.8" Super Retina OLED
  • Face ID, dual rear camera

Back to iOS after years on Android.

iPhone 13 Pro

iPhone 13 Pro (2021)

  • Apple A15 Bionic
  • 6.1" 120Hz ProMotion OLED
  • Triple camera with LiDAR

120Hz on iPhone, finally.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 (2023)

  • 7.6" foldable AMOLED main display
  • 6.2" cover display
  • Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy

Side trip into foldables.

iPhone 15 Pro

iPhone 15 Pro (2023)

  • Apple A17 Pro
  • 6.1" 120Hz ProMotion OLED
  • Titanium frame, USB-C, Action button

Current daily driver.