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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Whatever the most recent cheapest Pixel costs
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!
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.
250€ because I spent that much 18 months ago and still super happy
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.
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.
That I had a savings goal that I put a dollar a day into for three years to get there lol.
See the new models have a bigger number so that is better
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.
These questions are so exhausting.
How much does a car cost?
Look, you have to figure out what you need and what you can afford and then research it.
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.
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.
My advice would be to stay away from smsung
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.
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.
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 paid for the Pro version of the Pixel on my last go round, and I have to say it wasn’t worth it at all. Unless you’re doing gaming on your phone, the previous year’s flagship is almost definitely good enough. Or go for the non-Pro if you don’t care that much about the camera.
Best value is around 300-400 $ But it depend on what you need on your phone, and you need to choose well.
https://www.kimovil.com/ has some good comparison.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.
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
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
I wouldn’t spend more than 300 bucks
