Best new/used phone for <$300

[daxzy]

I haven't really been keeping up with the myriad of phones (just the major brands). SD Card slot would be nice, but not necessary. Here's a list I came up with. Any suggestions or additions?

Used:
iPhone 6 16/64GB, about $220-275
Nexus 5X 32GB, about $250

New:
Honor 6X
Moto G4

Edit: Need something that has longevity (> 3 years from now) in security updates. Not sure how the Chinese OEM's rate in terms of their update schedule.

 

[ericlp]

IMO always get a new one in the box, not a refurbished one... Reason why is, even if someone had a phone you liked ... say an S7 that they used for a year (never been dropped) and been with some sort of case on it so...not a scratch on it...

Butttt... since most of these new phones have no way to remove the batteries that glued in.. So, as you charge and discharge battery over time X it will lose X amount capacity and life of a battery.

So, I always get a new, sealed in the box phone. You can get an S6 Edge Plus for about 300 bucks maybe 350 new. I got one, I like the phone but had to flash the rom since to get it off of T-mobile. Try to get unlocked phone as well.

 

[Commodus]

The higher-end Moto G5 Plus is $299 on Amazon ($240 if you're a Prime member). As long as you can live without NFC, it's supposed to be a great device for the money.

On security updates: as far as I know, no Android phone in history has ever received security updates for over 3 years. Even Google tends to stop updating phones after a couple of years. You'd basically have no choice but to get an iPhone, and probably something newer than an iPhone 6.

 

[Trader05]

Another vote for the G5 Plus. I'm looking to upgrade my father with this phone.

 

[Raduque]

If updates are your only criteria for a phone, then the Google devices are your only choice, and even then only for two years.

Chinese OEMs rarely update their devices.

 

[manly]

The iPhone 6 is a not an option IMO, as it's gimped with 1 GB of RAM.

 

[Commodus]

The iPhone 6 is a not an option IMO, as it's gimped with 1 GB of RAM.

The regular iPhone 6 is fine (I had one). It's the 6 Plus that was dodgier, since the higher screen resolution meant that you had less available memory for everything else.

 

[manly]

The regular iPhone 6 i fine (I had one). It's the 6 Plus that was dodgier, since the higher screen resolution meant that you had less available memory for everything else.

It's not so much about now, but iOS 11 is probably gonna be fatter. Having Safari reload tabs where # of tabs = 3 sucks as well.

Based on past history, iOS 12 would probably "brick" the iPhone 6/6 Plus models.

Personally I like value/budget phones but if I'm gonna buy/recommend a mid-range device (esp. if it has Apple's long-term update support), I'd like the hardware to be as future-proof as reasonably possible. A 6S should be good for the next 3 years, battery not-withstanding.

 

[daxzy]

How long does Motorola update their phone after release?

Edit: I see iPhone 6S has 2GB RAM, and I know iOS usually deprecates on RAM size, so that maybe the minimum as far as an iPhone is concerned.

 

[Commodus]

How long does Motorola update their phone after release?

Edit: I see iPhone 6S has 2GB RAM, and I know iOS usually deprecates on RAM size, so that maybe the minimum as far as an iPhone is concerned.

That's a reasonable assessment. 2GB iPhones will be relatively futureproof -- that's no doubt part of why even the "lowly" iPhone SE has 2GB inside.