Hello, I have a LG Phoenix 4 and it's not a pleasurable experience. It's only 6 months old and it's already malfunctioning. I can't download apps from google play and it randomly text people when the phone is idle. I'm buying a phone every 6 months and I think that's mainly due to the fact that these phones are cheap, but I'm wondering if the expensive phones are any better. I'm looking at getting a Galaxy S8 or an S9, but can't get over the price. Do the expensive phones work any better than the cheap ones?
Basically the more expensive phones have better hardware specifications and a better casing. The question is which one does have the best hardware for the best price and here the subtleties are starting... For instance you get a good phone with a superb SoC (Snapdragon 865) for ~440 € already (for instance Pocophone F2) This SoC is better than Samsung's current Exynos... Or if you want only spend ~300 € the ZTE Axon 10 Pro is also still a good choice... I always had Samsung phones (Galaxy S series S/S3/S6) 'flagship'. They all lasted a long time but were expensive. But nowadays Samsung got too expensive IMHO and their own SoC (Exynos) has lost compared to the Snapdragons. The problem is that when you are looking for an 'old' phone such as S8 and S9 you'll soon run out of OS support (FOTA) and security level updates. But Samsung Galaxy's have a good camera / display. Also the Huawei P pro series has. My buying policy is that I buy decent phones but I keep them at least 4 years...my current one is a OnePlus 7T Pro. The Samsung S20 ultra is too expensive IMHO and actually not that fast. It probably has the better camera and 5G but I can pass on that.
LG Phoenix 4 is pretty much the bottom of the lowest priced phones. Like Yen, before I switched to Apple most of our phones were Samsung Galaxy S Models. One of my friends RIP never bought anything but the lowest cost phones available from ATT every few months when his phone died. Dude talked a LOT and some models I might have been lucky to understand half of what he said, with some phones I wouldn't answer his calls because I couldn't understand anything. When considering that someday My Life or the life of one of my Family members may depend on our being able to make a high quality "understandable" phone call, a phone isn't the place to Cheap Out BUT Flagship Models aren't a necessity
I am in the Philippines. About 12 phones in the household. Everyone calls using legacy phones. Smartphones are used for Internet and camera. Legacy phones we get about $10. We have Realme, Oppo, Samsung and Cherry Mobile. The Samsung is the worst of the bunch. Realme the best. The most expensive is the Realme 6i. About $180. iPhone 5s is about $600. The only person I knew with iPhone and iPad is rich and moved to the big city. (BF from Australia)
That's why I don't have a legacy GSM phone anymore..I mean who still makes GSM 'ordinary' calls? An 'oversea call' is still expensive while even a video call via 'internet' costs actually nothing extra using mobile data....most messengers are able to..
Bat ex-next wife (Dipolog City) is using an iPhone 7Plus she got from her cousin who upgraded(?) to an Oppo f9 Pro After seeing the Oppo pictures it's more of a Downgrade to Bat. Everyone Bat knows in The Philippines communicates by Facebook Messenger since the phone loads/home plans usually come with generous facebook data FIVE MONTHS since Bat mailed his passport to get renewed and still Nuffin Guess it don't matter since Bat still can't get a Visa to go back Really need My present wife to get her Citizenship restored and travel with her the first time until I can get the SRRV Also to put land in her name
Another point to consider when buying a new phone. (Besides of own budget): How is/was your handling and experience? Could you try it in a shop? -Were you or friends comfortable with a special brand before? What about bloatware? Is root an option for you? What about bugs and time until they got fixed? Update policy? Battery time? -And! What was / is the reason that you want to have a new one? Although I am actually a bit chaotic I never dropped my own phones or even lost one. All them are still working and are in a very good condition (yeah for some reasons I still have all them). Never resold one. Many of my friends buy a new one because of self-caused damages. They have visible damage or even screen cracks after a few months already. So if you should be a bit sloppy it would not make much sense to go always for very expensive ones. On the other hand the casing should be good enough to have a solid one. The new OnePlus Nord for instance is made to have 'affordable' phones again (back to their roots), but it has failed simple physical stability tests. (According to YouTube testers).
If you have oodles of cash then no if on the other hand you don't then yes. personally I would stick with Samsung. weather I had oodles cash or on a budget. They just have the flare with tech. "apple" on the other hand are just money grabbing ..."%*&$ cannot say really. kindest regard's Starzú
Trouble with Samsung is the cost of repairs, try pricing a new screen for an S8plus which is now classed as an older phone. I switched to OnePlus after using Samsung since they introduced the original Galaxy S back in 2010 right up to the S8plus.