Help me pick a budget phone

[tendoboy1984]

I want to switch back to Android from an iPhone SE but don’t want to spend hundreds on a high end phone. I’ve looked on Amazon and found these phones:

ZTE Blade V8 Pro
Moto G5 Plus
Alcatel Idol 5S
Honor 6X

All four have similar specs and fall within my budget of $200-$300. Which would you recommend?

 

[kate]

One advantage the Moto G5 Plus & Idol 5S have is carrier compatibility if you ever want to switch. They work on all 4 main US carries and most of their MVNOs.

V8 Pro is GSM only so it wont work on Verizon/Sprint/their MVNOs.

EDITED: Idol 5S also works on CDMA, specs I first checked had GSM only.

 

[tendoboy1984]

One advantage the Moto G5 Plus has is carrier compatibility if you ever want to switch. It works on all 4 main US carries and most of their MVNOs.

V8 Pro and Idol 5S are GSM only so they wont work on Verizon/Sprint/their MVNOs.

Don’t really care about that since I’m happy with T-Mobile.

 

[lunatic59]

According to the Amazon listing the Idol 5S works with Sprint and VZW, too.

With T_Mobile you have to be careful because they use some funky LTE bands so if you choose the wrong model, you could be stuck with 3G/4G service only.

Check out https://willmyphonework.net/ for the specific models.

The other thing I saw was that some of the Amazon deals are subsidized with ads, so if you're okay with popup ads all ofver your lock screen then I guess it could be a good deal. If you want the ad-free version then it's considerably more.

What features are most important to you? Moto phones have always have had great radios but not the best battery performers, and some cameras are not the greatest (but not too shabby either.)

 

[tendoboy1984]

According to the Amazon listing the Idol 5S works with Sprint and VZW, too.

With T_Mobile you have to be careful because they use some funky LTE bands so if you choose the wrong model, you could be stuck with 3G/4G service only.

Check out https://willmyphonework.net/ for the specific models.

The other thing I saw was that some of the Amazon deals are subsidized with ads, so if you're okay with popup ads all ofver your lock screen then I guess it could be a good deal. If you want the ad-free version then it's considerably more.

What features are most important to you? Moto phones have always have had great radios but not the best battery performers, and some cameras are not the greatest (but not too shabby either.)

I wouldn’t mind the ads because I have a Kindle tablet and I deal with the ads just fine. I know the ZTE Blade V8 Pro and Honor 6X aren’t discounted on Amazon Prime, so perhaps the Alcatel and Moto are my best bets.

For features, I want a good camera, USB-C for future proofing and it’s more durable connector, and a decent processor and specs.

 

[kate]

so perhaps the Alcatel and Moto are my best bets.

For features, I want a good camera, USB-C for future proofing and it’s more durable connector

Unfortunately the Moto G5 Plus doesn't have USB-C if that's a deal breaker.

 

[svim]

https://www.phonearena.com/phones/c...lus,ZTE-Blade-V8-Pro/phones/10474,10398,10390

 

[tendoboy1984]

I haven’t seen much hype for either the ZTE Blade V8 Pro or the Alcatel Idol 5S. Most people seem to be gravitating towards the Honor 6X and Moto G5 Plus. Are the ZTE and Alcatel phones not worth buying?

 

[tendoboy1984]

https://www.phonearena.com/phones/c...lus,ZTE-Blade-V8-Pro/phones/10474,10398,10390

Thank you for that. I noticed the phones have the following bands:

Alcatel Idol 5S: Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 17, 25, 26
Moto G5 Plus: Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 25, 26
ZTE Blade V8 Pro: Bands 2, 4, 5, 7, 12

Does this mean the Alcatel and Moto phones will have better coverage with my carrier (T-Mobile) then?

 

[Jfalls63]

Amazon offers some phones at a reduced price but come with adds on the lock screen.
Swappa is a good place to look for used mint and good condition devices. Might can find a deal on last year's flagship models.
https://swappa.com

 

[svim]

Thank you for that. I noticed the phones have the following bands:

Alcatel Idol 5S: Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 17, 25, 26
Moto G5 Plus: Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 25, 26
ZTE Blade V8 Pro: Bands 2, 4, 5, 7, 12

Does this mean the Alcatel and Moto phones will have better coverage with my carrier (T-Mobile) then?

Not necessarily better T-Mobile coverage but as @kate previously made note of, having a wider range of support for different bands means you have a lot more flexibility to change carriers.
Just hypothetically if something like T-Mobile re-locating the closest cell tower or a newly built construction project reducing your coverage should occur, you might find it less of a hassle to just switch carriers than set up a femtocell/cell extender to regain adequate coverage.