In the current spectrum, how much should one spend to get the best value? I know everyone has a different taste and budget. But analysing the current trend of smartphone culture could give a bit of insight into spending wisely.
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I paid NZ $469 for my current Samsung A31 almost four years ago, I wasnt fussed about the camera but wanted a 3.5 mm jack and lots of storage. Its now looking fairly shabby but still works well. I’ll use it until its dead and get another phone around the $400 mark. Midrange, not top end, but not a budget phone either. It needs to do a number of jobs (play music, navigation, web surfing, record rides and hikes, camera, find cheap gas, tell me how much UV dosage I’ll get at any particular time, weather, messaging on 3-4 apps plus calls of course) and be reasonably robust. Style and status dont come into it, I dont care about any of that
Find cheap gas? One secret america dont want people to know.
I thought maybe if I buy flagship Samsungs, I won’t have those problems I had with Xiaomis, unpredictable bugs, slowing down, also maybe Samsungs have better build quality…
tho I don’t have those and yeah, much better build quality, my Note 20 Ultra still had issues where warranty replaced almost the whole phone - after one year. My Fold 4 cracked its own inner screen by the peeling off screen protector, which costed me with a one time offer around 150USD. Again, in one year after buying.
the price don’t matter. it’s just pure luck at this point.
I used to buy phones for around 150USD. tho this trend of mine was only possible 5-10 years ago.
My BlackBerry Z10 and Z30 costed me this much, and those were the best smartphones I ever had and will have.
after this Fold 4, no idea what will I get, but I hope for several more years, this won’t be an issue.
My advice would be to stay away from smsung
Samsung seems to be failing in almost every consumer sector they’re in. Their appliances in particular are being dropped by stores across Canada because the chains don’t want to deal with the tsunami of warranty issues that crop up.
I only wonder when this drop in quality will trickle down to their business-class products… I have a thing for their U.2 drives (dat DWPD goodness!) and ECC RDIMMs.
yeah, my conclusion is kinda that.
and this is the reason why I really don’t know what brand to jump in next. I try to avoid Chinese or emerging Chinese companies for a while, tho quite a few years has passed since I owned one, so I’m not completely dismissive with them either. It would be nice to stay in the foldable world, though.
costed
Particples are hard.
My Fold 4 cracked…
Yeah. Ya think?
Really, I’m amazed when the folding-screen phones don’t crack; it’s like they’ve broken a fundamental law or something by continuing to exist intact.
Particples are hard.
idk man, I just pretend to know English, so errors may occur here or there.
I prefer older used flagships. It’s hardly depends on the use case though. I don’t care about camera, games or what so ever. Phone, messenger and maybe a handful of apps for social and homelab. So for me it’s max 100€
This is getting to be a better and better option with Google and Samsung promising more than 3yrs of OS updates.
Meh, OS updates are overrated, especially now that Android is so much better with battery life.
I have a phone running Android 9… And it’s super fast. And if I switch it to Lineage/Divest, it’s even faster.
Don’t worry man I’m with you on that one. Android 12 is a downgrade from 11 IMO
My general rule of thumb when getting a cheap device:
- want the cheapest device even if it has dubious ads and tracking: xiaomi
- want a relatively cheap device and ok with first party ads/promotion and tracking: low end Samsung
The thing with cheap device is it’s not guaranteed to have 3rd party roms available, and even if one exists, it’s not guaranteed how long they’ll be maintained, so it’s not a factor when I’m trying to get a very cheap device.
You can spend barely a whole minute during first time setup to make Samsung phones not give you any ad and remove most tracking that has no direct use for the end user.
Best to look for current rom development on a device first. The Lineage device list is a big part of why I’m now going to Pixel.
Generally you get roms on the newer devices, and the older they get, development drops off.
Also depends on the device. If it was a flagship, it tends to have a longer rom lifespan because the hardware has a longer usability curve.
The Lineage device list is interesting in that you see which devices are (generally) more usable long term by the development cycle.
I tend to limit myself to max €100 per expected year of use. It’s just a phone to me. My Nokia 6.1 was €300 and is still working. Main requirement is the availability of an alternatuve rom for it.
Yup, I also budget 100 euros per year. I tend to buy phones around 400 euros myself, they need to last 4 years before I buy a new one.
Currently on a Poco F2 Pro with LineageOS, still needs to live for a couple of years.
The best value smartphone on the market is the Fairphone 5. 70 euros per year, amortized over 10 years. Compare with a cheap, slower, but more expensive to repair Samsung A14, which would only last 2 years before the battery starts dying, and cost 85 euros per year over that time.
250€ because I spent that much 18 months ago and still super happy
I use apple phones, but i usually run 3-6 years behind.
Currently have an 11 , I think they are up to 14. I don’t really see what the new models do.
Still the thick end of 250 quid.
I don’t know what people who spend 1000 tell themselves.
It’s funny, I bought an s9 plus at launch and was recently “kicking tires” thinking of upgrading.
Looked at the recent crop and from my judgement, they’re about 15% better than this one for the things that matter to me. For only $2,000 CAD
Looks like I’ll be having the screen and battery replaced and keeping this for another 7 years.
See the new models have a bigger number so that is better
That I had a savings goal that I put a dollar a day into for three years to get there lol.
Divide the total cost by how many years of OS updates are given by the manufacturer.
You’re an Apple fanboy too, eh?
That’s the metric I’ve been using for the last decade-plus, and it’s kept me locked to Apple for that very reason. When you can get 6-7 years of completely new OS upgrades, and another 2-3 years of security updates after that, Apple is a no-brainer choice to make.
No phone that I used in the last 10 years survived longer than 3 years so why would i care about 6-7 years of OS upgrades?
I was using an iPhone X until just a few weeks ago, and my father is still using my old iPhone 6.
The iPhone 6 I got in 2014. That was just over 9 years ago. And my X lasted for over 6 years… and will be replacing my dad’s 6.
iPhones can last a hell of a lot longer than any Android device for the same care taken of them.
I’ve been an Android user since the beginning, started with the G1. But I’m starting to think about Apple. I have no other Apple products but I just don’t care about phone tech any more. I want a long lasting phone that launches apps, texts, and makes phone calls.
As much as I would love to welcome you with open arms, be aware that each platform has highly opinionated ways of doing things. If you are a long-term Android user who is just looking for a “simpler” experience… yes, iOS is indeed a more user-friendly design and has less friction between its different parts, but it does so in much different ways that will present you with an initial learning curve that might be too much of a slog for you.
Just… get an iCloud tier that satisfies your storage needs. Even if you have no other Apple devices to sync to. Trust me, it’s literally an insurance package in case your phone gets lost, critically damaged, or stolen, and is stupidly simple to use as a recovery source. I quite literally cannot count how often I see people who have lost a crapton of personal photos and data because they were willing to get a $1k+ phone, but couldn’t stump up the 99¢/mo for that iCloud storage.
Have you tried an iPhone? With a case? Admittedly I don’t have experience with other brands but iPhones have always just worked, reliably, for my family of four, and have held up for years
They’ve usually lasted except for this last round where my teens had our old iPhone X’s: 3-4 years with adults, perfect. However the kids kept taking their cases off and dropping the phones. I don’t know why they were so careless this time around, but I can’t fault the phones. If they were trying to get early replacements, they only succeeded in carrying around phones with broken screens
Anyhow, good phones are sturdier than ever and can last with even the most moderate of care
The new Google and Samsung phones have been promised 7 years of updates, including major Android versions and features drops!
Mm-hm. And Apple has been doing this since the very early days.
Let’s see how these abandonware-loving companies pull this off, first. My work phone was promised three years of updates, and it’s still waiting for Android 12. Which came out in 2021. I doubt that it, much less Android 13 and 14, will ever end up on the device from a bog-standard update.
Actually apple doesn’t provide any guarantee. They’ve historically supported their devices for a while, but if they choose to cut their support short, it’s entirely within their rights.
This, plus make sure it’s hardware security updates too, and not just OS updates. Some disenguious vendors like to confuse the two terms in their favor. I.e. fair phone.
the fairphone 5 gets 10 years of Security Updates by Qualcom and around 8 Years of Software Updates
don’t know what you’re trying to do here
I’m illustrating the window of Qualcomm soc security updates is smaller than the advertised fairphone updates window.
right, but FP took a industrial Chip instead of a Phone Chip because that industrial Chip has that extended Support
or did you learn something i didn’t?
Could you please elaborate what you mean by saying “hardware security updates”?
Security updates from the hardware vendor. Classically Qualcomm and their system on a chip driver security patches.
I think it depends on your use case and how strapped you are. Unless you’re gaming, you don’t need a super performant phone these days. Anything midrange will perform around the same as a flagship in normal phone tasks. What does matter is the form factor, battery life, and support window.
That being said, I basically only recommend the pixel series these days, because they support grapheneOS and they’re just cheaper than other phones with that long of a support window.
Samsung and Motorola do make some nice hardware though.
Personally I would look for Linage OS supported devices on second hand sites. I managed to get a Oneplus 8T for around 250€. Didn’t had any problems and it still runs smooth
Under $300 IMO, that gets you a used flagship model from 1-2 years ago that isn’t too much different from the current models.
The issue is that currently the 1-2 years used flagships have a lot of issues
- Samsung S21 and S22 have bad batteries, not even talking about Exynos if OP is based in the EU
- Pixel 6 and 7 have bad connectivity and also some battery issues
- OnePlus aren’t what they used to be
That reduces quite a lot what should be the main source of used flagships
P7 only has connectivity issues in third world countries like the US. It’s not a problem in Europe
Well, you never know where people are, so it’s safe to warn a 300 millions country
Every generation has issues to be fair, I have an S21 and it’s been great.
Interesting, Snapdragon or Exynos?
Snapdragon on mine
As much as you can afford. When it comes to technology you can’t go for the budget options without truly feeling the consequences. That said, apple is extremely overpriced for the hardware, but don’t get a cheap $150 android phone. I’ve heard the Pixel’s are good I know Google yuck, but if I’m remembering correctly you can get one if their phones for ~$600
As much as you can afford. When it comes to technology you can’t go for the budget options without truly feeling the consequences.
That was true when the modern smartphone was a new concept. Since then, cheap models (a little above the bare minimum) have steadily become better and these days, aside from photography, will do anything the more expensive ones can. Which have also gotten much more expensive than they used to be. Unless you need specialty features like folding or S-Pen, it’s not worth it.
The Pixel A series runs ~$400-$500 and won MKBHD’s blind camera test two years in a row. With all the nice pixel features and no OEM bloatware, it’s a standout for sure!
Whatever the most recent cheapest Pixel costs
It depends. If you can find good deals then any phone within $300-$500 should suffice. They are for the most part quite similar.
My current one cost $350. It has 12GB of ram, 1TB of fast ufs 3.1 storage. A 120hz curved amoled display with HDR support(on youtube). Also supports 67w fast charging. Plus, stereo speakers and a capable dimensity 7050 Soc. The camera is also nice with OIS.
I was considering a midrange Samsung. But, the deal(1Tb of storage and 12gb of ram, within $350) was too good to let go and Samsung wasn’t providing any price cuts to justify the price. So, I made the choice. YMMV. Good luck.
Which phone is it? My pixel 5a’s camera just gave out and I’m in the market.
It’s a realme smartphone. I have the local variant purchased from Amazon india: https://m.gsmarena.com/realme_narzo_60_pro-12396.php
The global variant should be: https://m.gsmarena.com/realme_11_pro-12261.php But, depending on the region you may or may not get the higher storage variant.
The 11 pro plus should have the 1TB variant. https://m.gsmarena.com/realme_11_pro+-12246.php
You can also consider the latest poco X6 pro smartphone which comes with an even faster UFS 4.0 storage and equally powerful processor. The realme phones are a year old at this point with their succesors launched this month.
