What’s the best unlocked phone for a fruit grower? Why? Android or Apple? What apps would you use? Anyone have a model you know of with a respectable zoom? Carl Zeiss lens in a phone? I would like to get attachments to check psylla levels, mites etc… Internal memory and processor are a big deal to me for storage capacity and speed. What about network options and angles that save money or increase quality? Anyone using a smart phone app for remote control of your fruit growing control center, water units, timers, cameras, fertilizer or herbicide or pesticide, smart home options? Alexa controlled lights used for grow lights, aquaponics or hydroponics? Smart outlets that are cellular controlled for gardening or fruit growing tasks? Anyone manage to control full water systems through cell apps and devices? I’ve set up a bunch of these https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00EZWD146/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1490950950&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=digital+logger+web+power+switch through the years to manipulate network equipment which is effective for network outages. Tp link seems to be making pretty good smart outlets controllable through kasa at this time but every outlet needs an ip and every device can be manipulated through the app. Is there a way to centrally manage a larger network through an app ? Has anyone designed a better cellphone app for android to manipulate these smart devices better eg. One command to restart 50 devices? Think misters to apply tree sprays and fertilizer. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could add apps to monitor soil fertility, ph, moisture levels, wind speeds and apply what you needed when and where you needed them? We are getting very close to this and I think it could be done with minimal maintenance on green houses or highly controlled dwarf fruit tree growing systems. Imagine in 5 years where cellphones and smart devices will be! Sprays will likely be applied via drone. Your phone will be manipulating your drones.
Huge fan of vanilla Android, and have been using an unlocked Google Pixel for last 6 months, great phone, fast as the day I got, no bloatware and updates in a very timely manner every month.
Obviously ‘APPLE’…
Another vote for APPLE 
We have used an LG phone (Android) for the last couple years and are happy with it. It’s on the Straight Talk plan, from Wal-Mart, and it’s only $45 a month per phone, with no contract.
As long as we’ve used cell phones, we’ve never enrolled in a contract, way too costly. Now, if you’re buying phones for multiple folks, then the no-contract gets more expensive. We just use one phone between us.
Sure, with a non contract plan, you have to buy the phone to start with, but our LG was about $100, and at $45/mo, you’re out just $540/year. It has a good camera, about 8G memory, and I just like Android’s OS better than Apple’s
I’d look at the Moto G …the 5th gen just came out today. What is nice about these phones is they are far cheaper then the Apples, but are almost as good in every way. Plus they have most of the bands that cover all the major carriers. If you have money to burn…go buy a new i phone.
My Apple 6S takes the best photographs I have ever seen. Far better than my husband closet filled with Nikons and other varieties! Sharp and clear. Mites might be a problem to shoot as many are hard to see even with an excellent zoom. My vote is for the Apple camera.
I’d second Moto G. Been using one for several months now and it works well. Not as good specs as the latest top of the line phones out there, but do you really need all those features, and are they worth a few extra $100’s you pay for them? Not to me.
It really depends on how you plan to use your phone. If the apps you want are available for your platform (Iphone or Android), and the phone model is recent enough and has sufficient processing power & memory for those apps, then it doesn’t matter.
People get so caught up in the “status” of their phone. It’s a tool nothing more, to me at least. Buy something of good quality that does what you need. More so than in a car or house, you will likely never use or even be aware of the “extras” you don’t use in a phone.
Totally agree…i have a newer smartphone (LG) but it’s a cheaper model but does everything i need it to do. The Apple’s do seem to have about the best cameras of any phone…so there is that.
Just yesterday a niece was going to buy an iphone 7 and the price was nothing i’d ever pay for a phone! i lose everything. Insurance is also so so (if you have it)…i know a guy who dropped an iphone down a fishing hole and sent one through a washing machine (both gone)…insurance wasn’t cheap (around $200 each time i think…cheaper then a new phone, but still)…
I have a Galaxy Note 3. It’s an older model (I don’t buy new phone’s) but it takes great pics.
I’ve been a big Android supporter the early days although I had an iPhone 5 and iPad Air through my employer. About 9 months ago I destroyed my Galaxy S5 Active which i loved and replaced it with a Google Nexus 6p and the phone has been absolutely terrible. The large screen is gorgeous but the phone has suffered through problem after problem since day one. I bought a Nexus since it was vanilla Android and always got the newest version of android first but each update bring another problem. Countless bluetooth problems, random reboots, sim car missing errors, and the list goes on. I used to choose android over apple because it was less invasive and didn’t require a stupid program like iTunes. But the bigger google gets the more invasive their phones get. My next phone will be an iPhone of some type. Not because I love it, but because I’ve had it with Google and their horrible service.
For things like mites you can buy clip-on macro lenses for your phone. Here is an example from amazon, but there are hundreds of different options. https://www.amazon.com/Amir-Fisheye-Camera-iPhone-Smartphones/dp/B0179JX8GC
Excellent! Thanks!
I recommend a dumb phone, if you must have a phone at all. Voluntary simplicity. Most fruit growers I think would appreciate that.
If you insist upon having a smart phone, I would recommend android, maybe a Samsung Galaxy S7. That phone specifically because it has a nice camera, is dust and water resistant, high build quality, and (because the S8 model will be released in a couple weeks) the S7 should be discounted significantly.
I recommend android over apple because it’s more flexible to you the user. I make some apps for android but would never work with ios. If I make anything useful I’ll link it here.
The Apple iPhone is magic. All others are junk
I had a ZTE Zmax for a couple of years,until recently,it was left on top my car and did a face plant into a curb.I liked the phone,it was more of a phablet,fairly good size,but they don’t offer them anymore.The battery was inaccessible,but that didn’t stop people from trying to open it and installing another.There were some accidents,so they were taken off the shelves.
Now my phone is a Moto G4 Play.It’s an okay phone.It’s smaller than the previous one and the camera may not be as sharp,but it’s fine. Brady
Getting some great suggestions thank you! I did know from a previous post from @MES111 about the add on lens to see the psylla but I was hoping the cameras would be more advanced by now on the phone. See his old detective work here Recurring Problem Pears Every Late Summer - #12 by MES111. I’m asking for a lot from a phone because effectively they are not really a phone they have became a lightweight computer I use for most of my business.
I would get an ipad if you do not care about making cell phone calls, you do not need cell phone service if you buy it from best buy and if you have a good wifi connection. Cell phones none of them (even iphone) could compare to ipad.
Interesting that you brought up the subject at this time as I was researching for upgrades to the Gizmo I bought for $3.99. It is the best $3.99 that I ever spent but it is a little clumsy to use with only two hands (a third hand to hold the target leaf is helpful)
There are a bunch of USB or Wi-Fi enabled field microscopes/cameras. They are a little pricier but not that bad especially if you need it as a business tool. Like a good pruner.
You take the image and it automatically loads into your phone, laptop, cloud etc.
See below for some of what I found so far. Hope this info helps.
I am sure some more computer savvy orchardists out there could come up with better.
I will be checking with B&H Photo in NYC next week or two.
https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-digital-Microscope-Magnifier-Smartphone/dp/B016O8RJY6
See the Google search page linked below. Hope this helps.
Mike