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 think the budget is between $250 and $300
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
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!
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.
Somewhere between 300-500 Prioritising getting a decent chipset over the rest of the features, because having all the gimmicks doesn’t matter if the phone feels slow after a few years of updates.
I would say the opposite.
The chipset is no longer important unless you’re heavily into smartphone games. Even a mid-range chipset from 2 years ago will run standard tasks just fine these days. Smartphone requirements have basically plateaued for a few years now.
Prioritize just about everything OTHER then the chipset, depending on what you really use the phone for. Cameras, battery life, screen quality, memory capacity… Prioritize chipset only if you’re gaming.
I dont really game on my phone but my parents both got the Samsung a51 shortly after i got my Poco F1. And nowadays the a51 takes a while to load basically anything while the F1 still feels pretty snappy.
Chipset also plays a huge part in the battery life and camera experience.
For me I only start looking for a new phone when i get annoyed by how slow my current phone feels, I’m not saying you should get a shitty phone just because it has a good chip, it just really helps it not feel old in a few years.
300-500 of what currency?
Euro, although it should still apply to dollars since phones tend to be a bit more expensive here.
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
Value is subjective.
When the Pixel 7 came out it was incredibly good value for money. Buttery smooth, high quality cameras, best quality android experience $500. Unbeatable, and made the A series not worth it that year.
This year I’d probably say the pixel 7a.
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.
Pixel A series for $300 is a good deal, or just deal with the OnePlus models. I don’t use my mobile much anyway
$2,000,000,000
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My work phone is nice (~$700 new?), so I use that for camera when possible.
My personal phone is an entry level “free” phone. Through Google Fi, and for this one you pay up front, with bill credits for the next year (I think?) which covers the cost — so basically I give Google Fi a $200 loan where the “interest” is a cheap phone. No complaints, it’s not premium but it works.
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.For me its 250-350. I can usually get a 1 or 2 generation older flagship device at that price, refurbished.
250-350 of what currency?
I typically buy a new flagship on sale and hold it for 4-5 years. Buying a new $300 phone means you start with mid-range performance and go down from there over time. This means you’ll either have a really slow phone for the last year or two or you’ll need to replace it sooner.
Not necessarily. It depends. Some Socs like the 888 and 8 gen 1 were bad. I briefly used a Xiaomi 11T pro(8/128GB) and the snapdragon 888 inside compared to the dimensity 7050 in my realme 11 pro(12/1TB) is not much faster, if at all. The difference was super small. Instead I have much higher ram and large storage which negates any speed advantage it may have in day to day usage.
Depends on what phone you get and where it cuts the corners. The Snapdragon 845 in my Poco F1 is still plenty fast 4 years later. The camera is still respectable even today.
The plastic body and shitty LCD screen aren’t great, but that was already there when I got it.
I got a couple Galaxy a20 like phones (can’t remember all the names) and they would break very easily, one fell from my pocket onto my shoe and the screen cracked . I eventually got a galaxy s21 and this phone has been dropped on pavement a bunch of times. Dropped in water , butter chicken etc and still is just fine. Other than that I actually don’t notice much difference in performance . I bought my s21 directly from Best Buy and it was almost $1000 Canadian.
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.
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.
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.
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.
If you don’t care about the cameras…
Nowadays that’s probably the biggest most worthwhile improvement you’ll see.
Edit: The difference between your S9 and an S23 or S24 would be pretty dramatic.
I spent £250 on my Motorola G73 and am very happy with it
