My husband and I have kept our “old” Samsung Galaxy S5’s for three years. We’ve been overall very happy with them, but my camera has stopped working correctly, and his screen is broken at one corner (we’re hard on our phones, both do a lot of construction work) so it’s time for a replacement.
We can afford to just buy new phones, instead of getting them through Verizon (which the the only cell phone company that has coverage at our house.)
So, it’s time.
We’re not apple people. We’ve done the iphone, and found the walled garden irritating.
I want a big screen, a great camera, and plenty of memory. My husband would prefer something about the size of an S5, I’d like a little bigger. Wireless charging would be awesome, if that’s a thing now. Neither of us play games on our phones.
Any suggestions? Are there any reasons to hold out for the next generation?
I just replaced my LG G2 with this Moto G Play from Amazon. It has been great so far! It’s just such a relief when things work as they should, isn’t it? I don’t mind the Amazon ads, I also have them on my kindle, so I’m used to ignoring them.
The camera seems fine, I’ve set it up to back up straight to Google Photos, which is handy. You can use an SD card to add more memory if 16GB isn’t enough.
I also like that it’s unlocked and I can take it overseas and just stick in a local SIM.
It cost $100. So I’m not going to freak out too much if I drop it or whatever. Setting it up was a breeze, the Google Settings app did everything.
I’m really not sure what dropping an extra $500 for the latest model would get you.
I’d never heard of Swappa. I’ll look into that, thanks.
I’m leaning toward Galaxy S6’s, after reading a bunch of reviews. The outdoor screen brightness and the camera seem to be excellent, both of which are important to us.
I moved from the Galaxy S5 to the S7. The next time I update it will probably not a Samsung simply because of all the trash programs they force load and which cannot be deleted. Having said this the S7 really is a huge step up with respect to camera quality for video and audio. Within the focus and light limits of the camera sensor the quality is simply amazing vs the S5.
If you are looking for a less expensive but still very good phone the Moto G has a lot of good buzz.
I purchased a refurbed Galaxy S5 last year, and it does everything I need it to. The camera may not be the best on the market, but I have a dedicated camera for that. I spent about $200 on it, and I’m more than content with that.
The only reason I would go with the newest (because really, older phones probably do most of what most of us need them to do) is to delay as long as possible from the date of purchase, the point at which the manufacturer no longer supports your device with updates.
Starting with the features you want is a good idea - and the above is good - think about what else you might want - do you need it to be especially durable/wearproof? Waterproof? Do you need extended battery life? Will you be using it much outdoors?(if so, an OLED screen is more readable in bright daylight than an IPS screen)
If you are hard on your phones you might want to look at the Cat S60 or Sonim XP7. While they might be pricey they also don’t require OtterBoxes or screen protectors and are already waterproof, dustproof and in the case of the Sonim, designed for outdoor work. PLus, IR camera on the Cat, which I think is just friggin cool. You might be able to find these second hand on Swappa as well.