I Googled to see what bloatware people find on OnePlus phones. It looks like some phones have stuff like HotFreeGames, WPSOffice, a browser just called ‘Internet’, etc., on them. Mine came with none of that.
Me too, mostly because of battery life. Some years the new model is better than in other years, but this year it is back on the top:
Then I’m glad to see it! And to be fair, it’s not much worse than the stuff on Samsung phones. Still I’m happy switching between Pixels and iPhones depending on what’s the best bang for the buck at the time of upgrade (generally every 3ish years).
Although my ongoing authentication glitch with Apple was getting very irritating. And the limited 5g bands on the iPhone SE 3rd gen was also slightly frustrating.
A couple phones ago, I had a Moto. I thought the built-in FM receiver was neat. I could plug in my wired earbuds (wire doubled as the FM antenna) and listen to local radio.
That’s built into Qualcomm chips. If you have one of those and a headphone jack you can access that on lots of phones even if they don’t come with a preinstalled tuner apps.
I haven’t bought one on a while, but certainly the moto G series used to be a very good budget phone. Not the very cheapest, but a cheaper phone that you didn’t need to give up much for.
I own a OnePlus 8 and it didn’t come with anything egregious either. Certainly no worse than any Samsung, LG, Nokia, etc phone I’ve owned and probably a bit better. My largest gripe with OnePlus, such as it is, is that they’ve become too mainstream and their previous price/performance ratio was better than it is today. Still, I got this one when they started clearing them out for the new model a few years ago and I’m quite happy with it.
I’ve found that the low $200 range is the minimum I want to spend a phone in terms of storage, battery and general snappiness with modern OS/apps and that anything over $500-$600 is wasted on me since it’s usually centered around the cameras (which I rarely use), ultra high-end displays and processors that far exceed what I need for my modest phone use. I’m not going to be editing video on it – I won’t even be watching movies on it – I just need it to have a couple common apps running at once and flip between them or scroll through pages without any obvious sluggishness.
Anyway, back to the OP, any one of the Samsung A-series phones is fine.
I wouldn’t spend over $200 on a phone and never have, even considering promos from my carrier.
A Samsung A-14 has three years or so of Android updates, which is remarkable for a budget phone, and it has removable MicroSD plus a dual-SIM card tray, plus a dedicated ⅛" inch audio out.
So, what’s the problem?
Buy one, or similar, slap a case on it if desired, and a screen protector.
Problem solved.
I chose an A14 over an S-23 (new in box), for the same price sold, just for the reasons I said.
I’d choose the same over an S24 for the same reasons.
It’s a gadget.
A useful one, but these are toys. I like my toys to have acceptable performance for lowest price.
Especially since they are disposable.
What do you get for “more performant” hardware? The ability to order a sandwich quicker while driving through a Jack In the Box? The ability to not know in advance a location at which one is supposed to appear? A Slack work appearance which really is the lowest of all types of demanding software?
In fact, the next time I’m forced to use Uber or Lyft instead of an actual cab driver for an actual company, I’d be most grateful if they turned their navigation device “phone” into an inert object resting within their glovebox. In fact, I’d insist upon it.
Mea culpa, the Samsung A-series currently does not support wireless charging, it seems.
However, storage is virtually unlimited, if you select a phone which “allows” one to use removable storage.
So, I guess one has to decide.
I prefer regular security updates for several years and unlimited storage to wireless charging, which I’d never need, but OP’s needs vary.
Personally, I’ve never found it to be burdensome to plug into a charger at home, work, or even any business I’d frequent as a customer, or even charging in the car while the engine is running, but, obviously, needs vary.
Why would you want this? I recently had two cab rides with drivers who didn’t use a phone app to navigate, and it was horrible. One missed her turn and wasted 30 minutes of my time. (Plus racking up a much higher bill.) Another one had no idea how to get to my house and i had to give him the same directions Google maps could have given him, only every time I spoke he thought i meant he had to turn immediately and he braked suddenly. I’d much prefer the driver uses an app they are familiar with.
(And I’m pretty sure the ride share drivers aren’t paid or insured if their phone is off, so please don’t try to insist on it.)
Well, experiences vary, it seems.
I’ve never had an actual cab driver fail to find my apartment, whereas every single Uber/Lyft driver has never managed to find my place…which I guarantee they will not find by using an “app”…without calling me directly on the phone or just giving up and somehow saddling me with a five-dollar “person not where he or she was.”
Instead of having a “driver” following cues given from the ubiquitous phone or phablet stuck to his or her dashboard, I’ll put my money every time (and have, and will continue to do) on a driver able to look at street signs, numerous detours due to construction, etc.
Well, she could have been taking you for a ride, you know! I acknowledge that there are such individuals out there, who can still maintain the higher motor vehicle licensing standards required by any taxi service worth the name…as opposed to some regular schmo who is just toddling around in his or her own vehicle, without any particular livery.
Certainly there are unsavory, inept people in any profession…especially any service profession, it seems. Waiters, airline pilots, cooks, drivers…who knows what else? Booksellers, bankers.
That may be so. Not sure how whatever company or insurer would determine if a phone were in “airplane mode” or merely in a “dead zone” (can you hear me now?) without a subpoena in a post-mortem investigation.
It’s probably the case that mileages, so to speak, vary immensely.
Oh yeah that’s just what I want when I am paying someone to take me somewhere: They should not have directions on how to get there and should just blindly drive around until they find the place, taking all kinds of wrong turns and costing me extra $$.
They could always use a map, and visual cues, such as street signs and other!
Ah yes. That’s just what I want when I am paying someone to drive me somewhere. For them to take extra time to pull out a map, search to find how to get there, miss a freeway exit and have to backtrack, then run into gridlock traffic because a paper map doesn’t show what the fastest route would be.
Tech bad! Change bad! Life improvements bad!
Could be. I actually think she was just an extraordinarily incompetent cab driver who for some bizarre reason (probably her age) hadn’t adapted to the modern age. Also, i once got “lost” in the same set of streets, it’s actually a hard place to drive. And SOooo much easier with an app warning you when to get in the right or left lanes.
Lyft has a field to leave a note for the driver if you live someplace where the online maps are wrong or ambiguous. I suspect the other rideshare apps do, as well.
Does that have anything to do with the thread subject?
Seconding this. As I mention above, I brought one for my wife’s cousin who was phone-less, back in March. It cost 140 unlocked on Amazon and has served him well for the last six months and shows no sign of giving out any time soon.
Moderating:
No, it does not. I apologize for my part in this hijack, and urge everyone to drop it and return to the topic of low cost phones.
A couple of features I like in low-cost phones are a regular headphone port and a USB charging port. Those things help contribute to keeping the lifetime ownership cost also low. Being able to use a headphone port means I can use cheaper, corded headphones. Being able to use a USB charging port means I can use cheaper chargers. If I need a charge away from home, I can basically walk into any hotel or coffee shop and ask if they have a USB charger in their lost-and-found that I can borrow.
I would also recommend looking for a plastic back. If it has a glass back, it’s going to be a cheaper glass which may not be as durable as the glass on expensive phones. So not only do you have to deal with the hassle of a slick glass back sliding out of your hand, but if it hits the ground, the glass will be more likely to crack.
I use bluetooth headphones so this is not as much as an issue.
Yes! Especially if you need to use a powerbank.