5 Affordable Last-Gen Smartphones That Are Great Buys

[Phil Wheeler]

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.

Good to know, but who wants to go to a COSTCO on *that* day of all times? Hmm .. on line?

 

[sac39507]

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.

Hey buddy ole pal. Hook a brother up with that Galaxy S8 for $300 will ya?

 

[Phil Wheeler]

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.

Good to know, but who wants to go to a COSTCO on *that* day of all times? Hmm .. on line?

They do have it on line now for $220. No telling if they'll have it on line at the Black Friday price on that day.

 

[Bomberspell]

I was able to get myself an - LG Stylo 3 as a gift from my older brother. Can never afford anything these days.

 

[Scodd]

Damn I hate cell phones. I wish I could still just say "beep me".

 

[entrycoupling]

In my opinion, Sony Experia is the best, I remember owning one a few years back and I loved how it takes high-quality photos.

 

[lazer]

I also bought a 'older' phone, several years ago I bought a LG G3 for cheap (actually two one for me and one for the wife) I spent about $350 for the both.

They are still great phones to the extent that I feel NO need to replace them. They work wonderfully and I saved a REAL bundle of money by buying an older version when the new ones came out.

I really don't need the best of the best and don't need the newest of the new. I have a great phone, works great, and does every thing I need plus I have money left in my pocket.

 

[toooooot]

Do not buy first 2 if you re not ok with a phone starting to have a problem after a year of use.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Hey buddy ole pal. Hook a brother up with that Galaxy S8 for $300 will ya?

Lol. If I did that for everyone who asks me, I wouldn't be at all popular with them. I do them a favour and they do me a favour. They buy and import the devices directly from the manufacturers themselves, then sell them to retailers and resellers, not wireless carriers at all, hence they are all unlocked, carrier and carrier bloatware free. The more they buy, the better price they get per unit but they are region specific. Mine being South Africa, certain parts of Australasia and the EU, not the Americas, Russia and the Eastern Bloc countries.

 

[Uncle Al]

They do have it on line now for $220. No telling if they'll have it on line at the Black Friday price on that day.

Actually I got mine from Consumer Cellular for $200 about 3 months ago, for what ever that's worth to you ....

 

[Chidoro]

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

The 5s, a phone released in Sept 2013, is still being supported with ios 11. Apple pushes the updates, and the phone gets it.
Your ridiculous song and dance to get updates is cute though.

 

[Ben Myers]

"Budget Devices Still Have a Purpose." Aha! You got it. The purpose of budget devices is to save me money. Right now I use a perfectly good LG L2 that I got for $50. I may yet upgrade to a $100 LG G4, but I do not feel compelled. They save other people money, too.

 

[vhfan]

If I get a phone call I know it's the wrong # which is exactly what I want , nobody bothering me and no worries .

I have a phone in case of an emergency but smartphones and the like to me is a complete waste of money . I know I'm in the minority though.