Does it make sense to buy phone released 2 years back !!

[prarthana-cs]

Hi,

I am wondering if it makes sense to buy a new phone which was first released 2 plus year back ??

In my case, considering Samsung galaxy s4 cos it is now at a very enticing price, which was released more than 2 years back. Considering it still has the hardware to match any other android phone in its price range (s4 will also get lollypop update, latest android at the time of this post), is it worth a deal ??

Thanks

 

[corkyg]

As long as it does what you need it to do, and the price is very good, I would have no problem with it. This review is only a month+ old.

http://www.techradar.com/us/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/samsung-galaxy-s4-1137602/review

 

[Commodus]

Yes and no. CorkyG is right in that you'll likely be fine if it fits your needs and has a good price. I'm just anxious about OS support -- like most Android vendors, Samsung tends to abandon upgrades after a couple of years. You may be stuck using Lollipop for the rest of that Galaxy S4's lifespan. If you're comfortable with that, it's okay... just be aware that you may never get Marshmallow or other new releases.

 

[DeviousTrap]

What's a good price? I'd be surprised if you couldn't get a lower-end current gen phone instead for similar money. That would likely be a better performing phone than a GS4.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Yes and no. CorkyG is right in that you'll likely be fine if it fits your needs and has a good price. I'm just anxious about OS support -- like most Android vendors, Samsung tends to abandon upgrades after a couple of years. You may be stuck using Lollipop for the rest of that Galaxy S4's lifespan. If you're comfortable with that, it's okay... just be aware that you may never get Marshmallow or other new releases.

Yup, Samsung already announced which Samsung phones are getting Android M and the S4 isn't on that list.

I think the only two year old phones worth buying for anyone that cares about updates are iPhones or Nexuses.

With that said, the S4 is still my favorite smartphone ever. I wish the GPe program didn't die, that S4 plus a GPe rom was as close to perfection as I have gotten in Android.

 

[mmntech]

My only concern with buying older handsets is updates. Device manufacturers seem to have all agreed that 2-3 years is too old, and they stop supporting them. My Mom's Galaxy Note 8.0 (2013) still hasn't been upgraded to Lollipop. Samsung just came out saying it never will, because reasons.

Aside from that, most phones dating back to 2011 are still perfectly usable today. My iPhone 4S that I bought at launch is still going strong.

 

[poofyhairguy]

My iPhone 4S that I bought at launch is still going strong.

To be fair it is on the current version of the OS. Or could be. The 4S is the exception to the rule.

 

[shabby]

What aboot the nexus 5? Its getting marshmallow guaranteed.

 

[mmntech]

To be fair it is on the current version of the OS. Or could be. The 4S is the exception to the rule.

Yes it is, and only because Apple took so long rolling out hardware updates for the iPod Touch, iPad Mini, and Apple TV.

My iPhone 3G only lasted two years before iOS 4 quite literally made it unusable. It was so slow, you couldn't even make phone calls with it. Fortunately that was when Apple still allowed you to downgrade. Very nearly bought the Galaxy S II because of that.

 

[poofyhairguy]

My iPhone 3G only lasted two years before iOS 4 quite literally made it unusable. It was so slow, you couldn't even make phone calls with it. Fortunately that was when Apple still allowed you to downgrade. Very nearly bought the Galaxy S II because of that.

Lol. I did buy the S 2 because of that actually. Was sick of the iOS treadmill. How ironic that the S2 is now useless and the 4S from the same time period runs a modern OS.

 

[lxskllr]

Why does a phone need updates? If it does what you want today, a newer version isn't gonna make it less functional. The time will come when it isn't supported by new basic programs, but that's generally well into the future. My S5 is still on KitKat, and it'll remain there for the life of the phone; hopefully >3 years.

 

[isekii]

Why does a phone need updates? If it does what you want today, a newer version isn't gonna make it less functional. The time will come when it isn't supported by new basic programs, but that's generally well into the future. My S5 is still on KitKat, and it'll remain there for the life of the phone; hopefully >3 years.

mainly security patches, i prefer the older os. Kitkat was my fav i think. <-- nvm it was Jelly Bean I prefer more got the two mixed up.
Out of all the phones I had Note 2 was my all time fav.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Why does a phone need updates?

Because mobile OSes are not mature yet, each major version of both Android and iOS bring a lot of new features to the table.

On the Android side, here is what I am looking forward to in Android M:

1. Better permissions for apps. Prior to Android M you have to use a Xposed module to do this.

2. Doze, which should FINALLY fix the major battery problem (wakelock) that has plagued Android since day one

3. Google Now on Tap seems awesome, the next big leap for assistant apps.

4. Android M should fix how Android handles removable storage.

A phone that is not getting updates gets none of that.

 

[lxskllr]

Because mobile OSes are not mature yet, each major version of both Android and iOS bring a lot of new features to the table.

On the Android side, here is what I am looking forward to in Android M:

1. Better permissions for apps. Prior to Android M you have to use a Xposed module to do this.

2. Doze, which should FINALLY fix the major battery problem (wakelock) that has plagued Android since day one

3. Google Now on Tap seems awesome, the next big leap for assistant apps.

4. Android M should fix how Android handles removable storage.

A phone that is not getting updates gets none of that.

Sure, but if you're happy with your phone today, new stuff shouldn't make you less happy. Everything(mostly, kinda sorta) gets better over time, and you're locked into your purchase until you make another purchase. Same thing. You don't get hardware upgrades when a new phone gets released.

That said, I'd like to see everything with more flexibility, but this is the system we're stuck with using, so I don't worry about it. There's little I want to improve on my S5, the main thing being control, but nobody's giving that anyway.

 

[mmntech]

Lol. I did buy the S 2 because of that actually. Was sick of the iOS treadmill. How ironic that the S2 is now useless and the 4S from the same time period runs a modern OS.

It wouldn't have bothered me as much, but Canadian telcos were still using 3 year contracts at the time. When iOS 4 came out, I wasn't eligible for an upgrade yet. If I hadn't been able to downgrade, I would have had to buy a new phone at full price. Really soured me off Apple for a while.

 

[lopri]

AFAIK even the Nexus 4, the Nexus 7 (2012), and the Nexus 10 are not going to be updated to 6.0.

 

[lopri]

To the OP: What kind of deal ($$$-wise) are we talking about here?

 

[jhu]

Yes and no. CorkyG is right in that you'll likely be fine if it fits your needs and has a good price. I'm just anxious about OS support -- like most Android vendors, Samsung tends to abandon upgrades after a couple of years. You may be stuck using Lollipop for the rest of that Galaxy S4's lifespan. If you're comfortable with that, it's okay... just be aware that you may never get Marshmallow or other new releases.

Since my first smartphone, I'm never buying a phone that can't be bootloader unlocked precisely for this reason.

If the Galaxy S4 is bootloader unlocked, I wouldn't hesitate at all to get it at this time: can always install a third party ROM for updates.

 

[prarthana-cs]

To the OP: What kind of deal ($$$-wise) are we talking about here?

On dollar terms, it is around 215$ plus 10% discounts

 

[prarthana-cs]

Why does a phone need updates? If it does what you want today, a newer version isn't gonna make it less functional. The time will come when it isn't supported by new basic programs, but that's generally well into the future. My S5 is still on KitKat, and it'll remain there for the life of the phone; hopefully >3 years.

I second your thoughts. I agree that updates bring some patches and others enhancements. However, if the factory loaded OS can keep the phone running good now it should do it same for next 2-3 years.

I see that for most of them UPDATES are the deal breaker here. Apart from updates anything on the hardware that might be a concern ? (Does Samsung give same importance to manufacturing a s4 i.e. build quality even today like when they released it as a flagship )

 

[Chocu1a]

Why does a phone need updates? If it does what you want today, a newer version isn't gonna make it less functional. The time will come when it isn't supported by new basic programs, but that's generally well into the future. My S5 is still on KitKat, and it'll remain there for the life of the phone; hopefully >3 years.

My Note 3 is still on 4.4.2 KitKat & will remain there. Last rootable version on Verizon. Still works great & I don't care about any of the under the hood changes made by Lollipop or Marshmallow. Every single app I use still functions like it is supposed to,

 

[Jinny]

sure why not? i have an LG g2. aside from no microSD what more cna you ask for?
it has an ir blaster, nice screen, 2 gb ram,3rd party roms. and i get 7 hours screen on time for my usage.

it runs for about 100 bucks.

 

[soccerballtux]

tuff to manage the bloatware but otherwise yes

 

[SwampDog35]

I am in the same boat. Long story short, both mine and my wife's phone went for a swim. Hers came back to life. Mine not so lucky. I have an emergency phone (droid RAZR HD) but I am in the market for each of us a newer phone. Any suggestions on a year or two old phone?

 

[Bman123]

I don't know how much cash you have to spend but I would buy a new moto g before I'd buy a s4 that's not getting updated anymore.