How old is too old when looking at older models of smartphones to buy??

[ZepTepi]

My best friend, who is at the other end of the spectrum from me in terms of his philosophy regarding his smartphones, is considering moving from iPhone to android. He has no desire to have the latest, most advanced models and is unwilling to pay anymore than he has to when looking at moving to a different model as he is now. He told me yesterday that's he's been looking on Craigslist for phones and is willing to pay no more than $150-$200 total for one but is hoping to pay around $75. Both of those comments made me cringe. Keep in mind that he apparently can't get a phone through a cell phone provider because of his bad credit so he has to pay completely out of pocket for any new phones. He has also asked me to help him pick an android model as he hasn't used one before which has lead me to post this question here. I've always been someone who has never had a model of android that is more than 2 generations back from the most current model but he has been asking me about models such as the LG Optimus L9 which came out in 2012! Yikes, that's ancient in tech years! imho at least.

What do you consider too old?



Secondary question for any of you who have used both android & iPhone smartphones,

Do you think I'm off-base in thinking someone, like my buddy, who is not very tech savvy is better off with an iPhone considering that they seem to be easier to use for non-tech savvy people? I'm a die-hard android guy but most of the things I love about them over iPhones are things I think would mostly cause him frustration over time.

I appreciate anyone who takes the time to read this and offer your opinion.

Thank you!

Mark in San Diego

 

[bcrichster]

I'd say 4 to 5 yrs old is too old for smartphones because when Google updates to a new OS (each yr), the apps become updated as well. This in turn causes them to break functionality for the older OS versions (usually about 4 versions back from current).. Kinda forcing you to update against your will or risk having an unusable device, unfortunately.
So.. A 3yo device has about 1-2 yrs tops before apps start breaking.

 

[ocnbrze]

One of my good friends who is at the other end of the spectrum from me in terms of his philosophy regarding his smartphones. He has no desire to have the latest, most advanced models and is unwilling to pay anymore than he has to when looking at moving to a different model as he is now. He told me yesterday that's he's been looking on Craigslist for phones and is willing to pay no more than $150-$200 total for one but is hoping to pay around $75. Both of those comments made me cringe. Keep in mind that he apparently can't get a phone through a cell phone provider because of his bad credit so he has to pay completely out of pocket for any new phones. He has also asked me to help him pick an android model as he hasn't used one before which has lead me to post this question here. I've always been someone who has never had a model of android that is more than 2 generations back from the most current model but he has been asking me about models such as the LG Optimus L9 which came out in 2012! Yikes, that's ancient in tech years! imho at least.

What do you consider too old?



Secondary question for any of you who have used both android & iPhone smartphones,

Do you think I'm off-base in thinking someone, like my buddy, who is not tech savvy in the slightest is better off with an iPhone considering that they seem to be easier to use for those kind of people? I'm a die-hard android guy but most of the things I love about them over iPhones are things I think would mostly cause him frustration over time.

I appreciate anyone who takes the time to read this and offer your opinion.

Thank you!

Mark in San Diego

if he buys a phone off of craigslist make sure that he checks to see if the imei is clean. there have been many instances of people buying a phone that has been blacklisted by the carrier and you have to get that cleared up before you can get the phone unlocked to the carrier you want.

there are plenty of affordable phones that are brand new. my suggestion is to take him to a Best Buy or
other retail outlets where you can actually look and see what he might like.

as far as iphones go.....i don't know they are foreign to me. i have trouble trying to do something on my friends phone. so i don't think it is any easier.....it is just knowing the os for each device that really helps. in android, you can simplify things down. i did this for my mom. all i did was make the icons for the basic apps i know she would use bigger and only had a few per home screen.

 

[Dannydet]

Check out Cricket wireless.
$35 a month and you can bring your own phone or buy one from them.
They have high end to budget phones in the stores that you can purchase also

 

[MoodyBlues]

ZepTepi, can you give us an idea of what he wants to do with the phone?

I'm curious, too, about what he's been using up until now. You said he's new to Android, but you also asked if iOS would be better for him, leading me to believe he's still using a 'dumb' phone.

Since he has bad credit and can't finance a phone, and hopes to spend only $75...that's a tough one!

Please let us know what his expectations are in terms of what it can do, and how long he wants to keep it.

 

[Greum]

As a former iPhone user I wouldn't say iPhones are any easier or more difficult than Android - just a bit different.

 

[mikedt]

Not sure what $75-200 bucks would buy you with iPhones in the US, an old iPhone 4, 5 or 6 possibly? All of which are no longer supported by Apple AFAIK.

 

[ZepTepi]

ZepTepi, can you give us an idea of what he wants to do with the phone?

I'm curious, too, about what he's been using up until now. You said he's new to Android, but you also asked if iOS would be better for him, leading me to believe he's still using a 'dumb' phone.

Since he has bad credit and can't finance a phone, and hopes to spend only $75...that's a tough one!

Please let us know what his expectations are in terms of what it can do, and how long he wants to keep it.

ZepTepi, can you give us an idea of what he wants to do with the phone?

I'm curious, too, about what he's been using up until now. You said he's new to Android, but you also asked if iOS would be better for him, leading me to believe he's still using a 'dumb' phone.

Since he has bad credit and can't finance a phone, and hopes to spend only $75...that's a tough one!

Please let us know what his expectations are in terms of what it can do, and how long he wants to keep it.

He primarily uses his iPhone for:

1. Email
2. Taking pics
3. Watching vids
4. Browsing the net
   
5. Buying things via Amazon, Ebay, ect.
6. Using Lyft driver app

Those are the bulk of things he uses his smartphone for.

He has had his iPhone SE for the last 2-3 years I believe. As I mentioned oh, he's been using iPhones for around the last 8-9 years and was a Blackberry user before that. If he does decide to move to an Android phone it would be his first foray into Android.

As far as the question of how long he would want to use it, that's hard to say. He tends to change models when his current phone begins having issues as his is now.

 

[Deleted User]

My best friend, who is at the other end of the spectrum from me in terms of his philosophy regarding his smartphones, is considering moving from iPhone to android. He has no desire to have the latest, most advanced models and is unwilling to pay anymore than he has to when looking at moving to a different model as he is now. He told me yesterday that's he's been looking on Craigslist for phones and is willing to pay no more than $150-$200 total for one but is hoping to pay around $75. Both of those comments made me cringe. Keep in mind that he apparently can't get a phone through a cell phone provider because of his bad credit so he has to pay completely out of pocket for any new phones. He has also asked me to help him pick an android model as he hasn't used one before which has lead me to post this question here. I've always been someone who has never had a model of android that is more than 2 generations back from the most current model but he has been asking me about models such as the LG Optimus L9 which came out in 2012! Yikes, that's ancient in tech years! imho at least.

What do you consider too old?



Secondary question for any of you who have used both android & iPhone smartphones,

Do you think I'm off-base in thinking someone, like my buddy, who is not very tech savvy is better off with an iPhone considering that they seem to be easier to use for non-tech savvy people? I'm a die-hard android guy but most of the things I love about them over iPhones are things I think would mostly cause him frustration over time.

I appreciate anyone who takes the time to read this and offer your opinion.

Thank you!

Mark in San Diego

I have a Nexus 6P below $200 and its great you can either buy one from https://www.swappa.com/ or buy a GamerROM Edition one at my website: https://gamerromos.weebly.com/store.html either way its really good but battery may have to be replaced if it was used fo awhile but isnt expensive to fix

 

[Davdi]

Why not cheap Chinese phones, here are a couple of NEW ones on EBay, shipping from within the US:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Blackview-...Core-6-088-inch-3-16GB-Touch-ID/113836150152?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Umidigi-A3...Gb-Ram-Android-9-0-Triple-Slot-2/392370203195

And a used Nokia - this would be my choice as it's guaranteed updates to at least Android 11, and a year's security updates after that.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Nokia-5-An...753024&hash=item521e33b985:g:V1YAAOSwQ-BdB6RH

AS for the original question : I'm currently on Android 7 (Nougat) with an HTC Bolt and no prospect of any update ever - I'm looking for an Android 9 phone, and I'm leaning heavily to Nokia, simply for the guaranteed updates.

 

[Deleted User]

Why not cheap Chinese phones, here are a couple of NEW ones on EBay, shipping from within the US:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Blackview-...Core-6-088-inch-3-16GB-Touch-ID/113836150152?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Umidigi-A3...Gb-Ram-Android-9-0-Triple-Slot-2/392370203195

And a used Nokia - this would be my choice as it's guaranteed updates to at least Android 11, and a year's security updates after that.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Nokia-5-An...753024&hash=item521e33b985:g:V1YAAOSwQ-BdB6RH

AS for the original question : I'm currently on Android 7 (Nougat) with an HTC Bolt and no prospect of any update ever - I'm looking for an Android 9 phone, and I'm leaning heavily to Nokia, simply for the guaranteed updates.

Nokia still exsists as a company wow plus buying firnebay is terrible

 

[beagleX]

There definitely lots of option for $200 or less phones. I also suggest to the a brand new to keep him away from possible phone issues from previous owner.

 

[ZepTepi]

Thanks for the reply's everyone! Much appreciated!

He's decided to get a Motorola Moto G7 Supra from Cricket.

 

[MoodyBlues]

Thanks for the reply's everyone! Much appreciated!

He's decided to get a Motorola Moto G7 Supra from Cricket.

Excellent choice! All my smartphones have been Motorolas. He should be quite happy with it.

Thanks for letting us know.