5 Affordable Last-Gen Smartphones That Are Great Buys

[Julio Franco]

If you're looking for the best value possible on a $200-$300 smartphone, you will find mid-range devices competing against last generation flagships that are still sold new but at new reduced prices. Packing better hardware, features, superior cameras and performance, here are our favorite last generation high end phones.

Read the full article here.

https://www.techspot.com/article/1517-affordable-last-gen-smartphones-best-value/

 

[OortCloud]

Where is a G5 $200? I can't find refurbs for that price...

EDIT: Ignore me - I found em!

 

[fadingfool]

Love my second hand G5 - you can also pick up the camera module and the B&O DAC module for peanuts compared to the prices at launch (the camera mod also acts as a battery pack so keeps the phone charged for longer).
Very nice phone and doesn't feel any slower than my work iphone 7. Definitely recommended.

 

[Jon Tseng]

To get round issue of issue of older devices have less OS updates/software support, you should also filter on which devices were popular back in the day as that will translate to better updates of third party ROMs like LineageOS. The Xiaomis generally come top in this respect. J

 

[Arris]

I dropped my long term device Sony Z3 recently and something inside died. I picked up a second hand/refurbished Huawei P9 for a good price and have been enjoying its snappy performance. Compared to the Samsung Galaxy 7 Edge that my company bought for a silly amount of money for development purposes I'm very happy with it. The smart way forward is buying previous gen flagships, the only downside, particularly with Android is the limited time they will support the device as it's usually 2 years of updates from release.

 

[dj2017]

How is the support for LeEco devices? The company did had some serious economic problems.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Nah, nothing there that tickles my fancy. When I replace my devices, it's always with a latest, current gen device simply because I buy directly from the importers with no middleman involved. Right now I can buy a Galaxy S8, brand new, for about $300, it pays to have connections in the trade but I'll wait till late next year rather and see what the S9 has to offer. Right now my HTC 10 is still doing the business. At the end of 2019, early 2020 I'll probably look to replace my 2017 Galaxy A7 because it won't be receiving newer Android OS's anymore.

 

[Shaitan]

LG v20. Great buy, not so great battery. However, the last device I'll buy from LG considering the 'non-removable battery' policy they adopted with LGv30...
In the meantime, I've bought a spare battery for the V20 and I'm totally happy with the phone!

 

[nismo91]

Nice article. I have G4 and G5 now, each bought a year after its release and when they have lost much of its SRP.

G5 is definitely a steal. first you have a removable battery which lets you replace your weak battery for only $15 once it gets weak, which it will be. and the wide angle cam, love it. sure its only 8mp but it's better to be 8mp than nothing.

I really hope the V30 will be on this list again next year, because it has an upgraded wide-angle cam which has proven itself to be really useful when you're outside.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Counterpoint: that 3 year old iphone 6 still has two years of updates coming. What android phone on this list will get even a years worth, if that?

I'd rather get a new android phone with a few years of updates for $400 then a last gen model with nothing coming for $200. Moto z play2, the cheaper motos, the one plus, ece. And dont forget, if you buy used, the battery cant be replaced, so good luck with a worn out cell in a years time.

 

[p51d007]

I still love the "but it doesn't get updates" nonsense.
Outside of any SERIOUS security updates, pretty much any android OS, is rock solid, from
Jelly Bean on up. 99.9% of the major software apps run on JB and up, most people don't have a
clue or care what software is on their phone, as long as it works.
Heck, I ran JB for almost 2 years on one of my devices, before they skipped KK and went to Lollipop.
The version of OS, has become similar to benchmark scores. Other than tech geeks, bragging rights,
it really doesn't matter.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

I still love the "but it doesn't get updates" nonsense.
Outside of any SERIOUS security updates, pretty much any android OS, is rock solid, from
Jelly Bean on up. 99.9% of the major software apps run on JB and up, most people don't have a
clue or care what software is on their phone, as long as it works.
Heck, I ran JB for almost 2 years on one of my devices, before they skipped KK and went to Lollipop.
The version of OS, has become similar to benchmark scores. Other than tech geeks, bragging rights,
it really doesn't matter.

You're right, outside of that MAJOR ISSUE of security updates (which the majority of older android devices do not get), and outside of all the performance/battery improvements you miss out on running an ancient version of android, there are totally no issues. Lack of updates is totally a nonsense problem! /slap.

 

[Uncle Al]

Hmmmmm ..... my Moto G5 still gets updates and does just about everything the others do ..... but not even an honorable mention ..... poor moto!

 

[Skjorn]

LG Optimus G (G1).Android 4.1.2. I will prob use this thing until it quits. All the bio-scanners scare me from a new phone.

 

[Peter Farkas]

Hmmmmm ..... my Moto G5 still gets updates and does just about everything the others do ..... but not even an honorable mention ..... poor moto!

and it is also confirmed for Oreo update. I have an Iphone 6s for work and a Moto G5 for personal light usage. I am totally satisfied with both. this G5 16GB/2GB was a real bargain. Being on the iOS bandwagon for 6 years now, I was impressed to see how much a cheap android phone satisfies most of my daily needs.
Yeah, things have changed a lot since 2012...

 

[sammyc]

The Quad Dac and the most powerful amp in a smart phone currently should also be mention for why the v20 kicks butt. As an audiophile, and a NYC subway commuter, being able to replace my Fiio x5 DAP with just a single device is great for my harder to drive headphones. The 2 Volts RMS from the headphone jac in high impedance mode will drive nearly anything out there save for my 600 ohm AKG's.

 

[Hai Karate]

I bought a second-hand G5 back in June for a very low price. Yes, it was fast and the cameras were great BUT the battery life was piss-poor and its display is prone to developing severe image retention, especially if you let the phone get hot. I was left with a device that I couldn't use the way I wanted, so I dumped it.

I ended up buying an Asus Zenfone 3 and even though it has a Snapdragon 625 and isn't the fastest phone in the world (on paper) I'm extremely pleased with it. It's very smooth and snappy, the battery lasts me two days without even trying, the camera is probably 85-90% of the quality of the G5, and the screen is lovely and has no image retention whatsoever. Plus, even when I've used the thing for Google Cardboard, it doesn't get hot at all.

 

[amstech]

Pretty cool article.

The S6 is a better buy then the Xperia XZ while having the same specs and OS.
It can be had for $250 give or take, NIB.

 

[Boilerhog146]

Great article,
However,(you knew it was coming).you didn't mention.
I love my Alcatel Idol4s
Has a 5.5 "FHD Amoled display.still see it in direct sunlight.
21 mp dualtone led flash ,ultrafast auto focus,up to 0.1s (pdaf),video stabilization(EIS)rear cam
8 mp led flash,wide viewing angle 84 degrees ,front cam
2 X1.2 W speakers with a 3.5 mm headphone jack!
Snapdragon 820
4G LTE
64 gig rom+ 3.5 gig ram
Micro SD card slot
a vr headset with strap.
a finger print scanner
premium build quality.user can't swap the battery.oh well!
still getting updates.I have the windows 10 version.
got it new at the ms store on line for 250.00cdn.that's 196.41 u.s. Today.incipio soft clear case was another 40.00 cdn,shipping included .was 349.00 cdn total.
screaming good deal.

EDIT: After the iPhone x read,yes ,the Alcatel Idol 4s has glass front and rear as well.get the soft incipio case.
it also has continuum support.

posted on the Idol 4s.

 

[Jon Tseng]

Counterpoint: that 3 year old iphone 6 still has two years of updates coming. What android phone on this list will get even a years worth, if that?

I'd rather get a new android phone with a few years of updates for $400 then a last gen model with nothing coming for $200. Moto z play2, the cheaper motos, the one plus, ece. And dont forget, if you buy used, the battery cant be replaced, so good luck with a worn out cell in a years time.

Yawn. This chestnut gets old..

So the other day I bricked my usual phone and had to resurrect my 2013 (I.e. iPhone 5S-vintage Nexus 5 for a bit).

Dropped on a custom Nougat ROM (Oct17 update) and updated the kernel (Oct17 build). Damn thing runs if anything slicker than new.

Oh and don't forget the iPhone 5S went off OS support earlier this year.

Also I swapped the battery out a couple of years back. Relatively easy to access even though battery officially non-swappable (Youtube if your friend).

The lesson is not to avoid second hand devices but, as I said up thread, pick up ones which were popular in their day so will have good third party ROM support..

J

 

[Reehahs]

The Quad Dac and the most powerful amp in a smart phone currently should also be mention for why the v20 kicks butt. As an audiophile, and a NYC subway commuter, being able to replace my Fiio x5 DAP with just a single device is great for my harder to drive headphones. The 2 Volts RMS from the headphone jac in high impedance mode will drive nearly anything out there save for my 600 ohm AKG's.

This is a boon for music lovers, originally I read this as quad DUCK.

 

[Phil Wheeler]

Counterpoint: that 3 year old iphone 6 still has two years of updates coming. What android phone on this list will get even a years worth, if that?

I'd rather get a new android phone with a few years of updates for $400 then a last gen model with nothing coming for $200. Moto z play2, the cheaper motos, the one plus, ece. And dont forget, if you buy used, the battery cant be replaced, so good luck with a worn out cell in a years time.

Yawn. This chestnut gets old..

So the other day I bricked my usual phone and had to resurrect my 2013 (I.e. iPhone 5S-vintage Nexus 5 for a bit).

Dropped on a custom Nougat ROM (Oct17 update) and updated the kernel (Oct17 build). Damn thing runs if anything slicker than new.

Oh and don't forget the iPhone 5S went off OS support earlier this year.

Also I swapped the battery out a couple of years back. Relatively easy to access even though battery officially non-swappable (Youtube if your friend).

The lesson is not to avoid second hand devices but, as I said up thread, pick up ones which were popular in their day so will have good third party ROM support..

J

Re "Oh and don't forget the iPhone 5S went off OS support earlier this year.": Not so. My iPhone 5S is running iOS 11.1 now. But it is the oldest one which will use that iOS. And the battery still tests at 98% with a utility I have (my wife's tested at 25%, so we replaced it with an SE a month ago).

I also have an unlocked Samsung J3 which uses the same SIM card and is my "just in case" backup -- cost me all of $125 earlier this year and is about as large a phone as I want to carry. It works fine with my AT&T SIM inserted -- and the battery is replaceable. Good to have a backup when your primary phone is four years old.

My grandson now has an iPhone X and loves it. His mother has his "old" iPhone 7, and I have her old iPhone 6 Plus (which is really pretty new, because it was an Apple replacement under Applecare -- battery tests at 99%). But it's way too large a phone for me to carry; I use it for a tablet for streaming from my Plex server and such as that.

 

[Jon Tseng]

Re "Oh and don't forget the iPhone 5S went off OS support earlier this year.": Not so. My iPhone 5S is running iOS 11.1 now. But it is the oldest one which will use that iOS. And the battery still tests at 98% with a utility I have (my wife's tested at 25%, so we replaced it with an SE a month ago).

I stand corrected on the OS support - my apologies.

But what do you mean by the battery still running at 98%? I see minimal chance that a four year old device has only seen 2% degradation in capacity (or 75% either for that matter). Apple uses the same batteries as everyone else from guys like Samsung SDI et all. The batteries don't suddenly display different chemistry because they are powering a different hardware design...

Posted from my iPhone 6S

 

[Phil Wheeler]

I stand corrected on the OS support - my apologies.

But what do you mean by the battery still running at 98%? I see minimal chance that a four year old device has only seen 2% degradation in capacity (or 75% either for that matter). Apple uses the same batteries as everyone else from guys like Samsung SDI et all. The batteries don't suddenly display different chemistry because they are powering a different hardware design...

Posted from my iPhone 6S

There is a neat app called iMazing which lets you transfer files (MP4, etc.) to the iOS devices without loading them into iTunes -- so they can live on an external USB3 HDD vs. your computer. It also tests batteries, tells you the number of cycles, etc. Because my iPhone 5S is plugged in most of the time, it has few charge cycles on it. It currently says my battery has 157 charge cycles on it and is at 97% state of health.

If you don't have iMazing and have any iOS devices, you should get it!

 

[TomSEA]

Hmmmmm ..... my Moto G5 still gets updates and does just about everything the others do ..... but not even an honorable mention ..... poor moto!

Costco is going to be selling Moto G5 Plus' for $170 on Black Friday.