Ideally 5g but if not at the bare minimum 4g volte capable. I hate the idea of buying any of them tbh but my phone is legit starting to die (hardware related, not worth fixing because I bought it for $50 through a promo and it fucking sucked then too but it was usable) but even if I fixed it it barely supports volte and every carrier in my area literally requires it now.
My initial thought was to pay extra and buy something sanctioned but I doubt I would screw anyone over but myself and I might as well just buy something functional and solid that I can distract myself with for a year or two and leave this hellhole.
Thoughts?
Though I heard it's not that much better than the 10 pro so maybe just this since it's cheaper
I have the Redmi Note 10 and it's an insanely good phone. Just in general, without considering that I paid ~200 for it 2 years ago. Battery life lasts me 2 full days of usage, hardware everywhere is amazing. I've used the Note 10 pro camera and I think it's a bit better than an iPhone 11 pro camera. Software wise, it's not great. Better than Samsung android, worse than Pixel android
Only 4G volte in USA. Also the Note 10 also says it doesn't work with Verizon but I tried out of curiosity and it works on my phone. T-mobile and AT&T also work on my phone. Can't say anything for these newer models though of course
I second this. My current phone is a redmi; it def punches above it's weight and has been really durable.
My 11T also has a Communist bunny fixing an android as the splash screen
why not go used? there are insanely good phones on ebay (eg. oneplus 7 pro, ).oneplus 8 pro
+1, I've got a oneplus 7 pro with LineageOS installed - that'll get you years and years more out of it. Better battery life because all the bloat is cut, and longer software support.
depending on your hardware strategy an older/cheaper iphone is a good choice. all of the ones you'll get new support 4g and volte and they have great parts availability and are super familiar to places that repair phones.
so if you keep things till they literally can't be repaired anymore or do your own work they're top tier.
the main downside is that youre tied to apples ecosystem. as a linux user for over twenty years that seemed like a dealbreaker but it's not. it's a phone.
you won't trust your phone anymore (not that you should no matter the manufacturer). you'll look like a normal person. that parts nice.
Thank you these are all good options that I 100% will consider especially the used market. I hate contributing to e-waste, especially phones so that might ease my conscience slightly as well. I will likely end up stuck on T-mobile for the foreseeable future and am replacing an xt-1922-9 (Moto G6 play) so just about anything is probably going to feel quite good.
Something with very high battery capacity, batteries degrade over time so if you have a long battery life to start with you'll have your phone until they shutdown 5g or 6g or whatever
Samsung Galaxy A32 5G if buying new.
iPhone 12 if buying used
I don't know if it's worth buying used, you would need to factor in battery replacement cost.
The first thing I'd look for on a used phone is iFixit repairability for the battery, that's always the first thing to go. Even if the phone is new old-stock (very old model cleared out for cheap on ebay), the battery might be degraded since it sat discharging naturally.
If i needed a phone right now i'd most likely buy a $200-$300 xiaomi/poco/Redmi phone off AliExpress. Another option is seeing if there's any liquidation places near you that sell phones. If you buy a Chinese phone, check if it has the cell bands you need.
I once got screwed buying a US phone for a Canadian carrier which didn't support the 3g or 4g bands I needed.
