What Android phone from the past deserves a refresh? [Roundtable]

We play the wishing game and ask for a new version of our old favorites in this week’s roundtable.

Android has come a long way since the beginning. 2008 may not sound like it was forever ago, but in smartphone years it’s ancient history. We’ve seen a lot of Android phones come and go since then, and while some were good and some were bad, a few were absofreakinglutely awesome.

This week the AC staff goes around the table to talk about those awesome phones from the past to tell everyone which phone deserves a refresh.

Jerry Hildenbrand

Hail to the King, baby.

I want it, many of you want it and probably some people at Google want it: A 2017 Nexus One. Glowing trackball and all.

Bring back the Superphone.

Andy Rubin called it the “Superphone” when he helped announce it in 2010, and then promised it was the start of bigger things to come. He nailed it (at least the second part). The original Motorola Droid kicked off Android as the carriers’ dream device but the Nexus One showed the world a glimpse what Android could be when Google was able to do whatever the hell they felt like. It even had amazing specs for its day with that incredible 1GHz processor. Android was glitchy and geeky back then, but the Nexus One carried it forward through countless updates that fixed things and broke others. It was fun as hell.

Imagine a 5.5-inch Nexus One with a Snapdragon 835 and 4GB of RAM. And a glowing trackball. Oh yeah.

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Andrew Martonik

I would love to see OnePlus take another swing at the OnePlus X. Despite all of its flaws of missing some specs and having some baffling radio band choices in the U.S., the OnePlus X was a gorgeous phone. It was compact, simple, brilliantly made and had a great screen — all for just $249. None of the devices today you see at that price point offer this level of hardware.

The OnePlus X was compact, simple and brilliant.

I’m sure the economics of such a phone don’t really make sense — which was part of the issue with the whole thing — but I think OnePlus is in a far better state operationally now than it was when the OnePlus X first came out. A sequel would be greatly loved by those of us who really appreciated what the original did.

Marc Lagace

All I ever wanted in a phone was found in the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, so I’m pretty stoked that my “refresh” pick is actually happening. In fact, Samsung is supposed to start selling them sometime this month in South Korea, with hopefully a North American re-release following shortly afterward? Right now, the price is rumored to be over $600, which will be even higher for us Canadians so I’m holding out hope that these will be sold through the major wireless carriers so I might be able to pick one up on contract.

The note 7 was all I ever wanted in a phone.

When Samsung first announced they would be selling refurbished Note 7s, they mentioned market availability would be “dependent upon consultations with regulatory authorities and carriers as well as due consideration of local demand”. I guess that means I should tweeting at Samsung and Bell to sell them in Canada.

Seriously, I will jump through whatever hoops are necessary to own a Note 7 again. I will avoid bringing it on flights, I will have it registered as a potentially deadly weapon, and I will deal with the barrage of jokes about it being the “Fire Edition” if they end up calling it the Note FE — I just want a non-explodey version of the best phone I’ve ever used.

Russell Holly

The original Moto X had features that still don’t exist in anything else.

I would give my good arm for a refresh of the original Moto X. It was small, unique, felt good to hold, and offered features that still don’t really exist in the exact same way elsewhere. It wasn’t a perfect phone by any stretch, but it was a breath of fresh air and Moto quickly deviated from it in search of those bigger phones “everyone” wanted.

Give me a Moto X with new gesture controls, a killer camera, and a body small enough to actually fit in my hand. Keep that curved back, keep MotoMaker designs available, and stay as far away from maximum display size as possible.

Florence Ion

A low-end phone that felt like its high-end counterparts.

I echo Andrew’s sentiments — bring back the OnePlus X! Whatever happened to making low-end smartphones feel like their high-end counterparts? Just because I don’t want to pay premium prices doesn’t mean I don’t deserve a premium-seeming experience. The combined package of the stylish glass and metal bezel on the OnePlus X and its aging-but-not-archaic processor remains unparalleled to this day. Will we ever see a reprise of this fabled affordable device?

Jen Karner

I’d love it if an updated version of the Nexus 5X were to appear in my hand.

I’m not really one of those people who falls head over heels in love with a phone, so this is a tough one to really decide on. Really though, I’d love it if an updated version of the Nexus 5X were to appear in my hand. I loved how well it fit into my — admittedly tiny — hands, and I used the phone until it had basically given up on life. If I could get a new and improved version with an updated camera, more storage space, and Android 7.1 I’d be a pretty happy camper.

Harish Jonnalagadda

An updated HTC One M8 with the same BoomSound experience would be awesome.

HTC got a lot of things right with the One M8 — the aluminium chassis was downright gorgeous, the phone had amazing stereo speakers, and it had an in-hand feel that few phones can match today. Most of all, the phone had the best BoomSound setup of any HTC phone before or after.

The stereo speakers threw out an impressive amount of volume, making the One M8 an ideal device for viewing multimedia content on the go. An updated variant with Snapdragon 835, HTC’s latest software skin, and a much better camera would make for a very compelling device.

Your turn

Have a favorite Android phone from years past that would be great with updated hardware? Hit the comments and let everyone know!