New cheap-ish mobile

[defblade]

I've had a quick flick back through the last month, and not a lot wiser except for adding the Pixel 3a back onto the list...

My G3 is about 3.5 years old and recently has started shutting down from time to time with "low battery", when the battery hasn't even hit the red (has happened from maybe 40% downwards). Annoying, to say the least.

As you can guess, I'm not exactly a power user - WhatsApp, texts, Google maps, Waze, Strava, Zwift, weather, puzzle games and occasionally even phone calls! I don't take lots of pic, either... never been happy with the low light results on the G3 at parties etc, so improving that would be nice



I don't take lots of pic, either... never been happy with the low light results on the G3 at parties etc, so improving that would be nice (or possibly inevitable as the tech has moved on?)

Drawn to the G8 Power as I don't use it a lot and I like only charging every few days, but it's a chunky lump.

Likely longevity and support quite important, too, as I don't usually chop and change faster than battery failure forces me (previous HTC was nearly 5 years old and the new Chinese replacement battery was no better than the OE it replaced)... the G3 won't run modern Android, so I can't easily sync it with my Windows10 PC; I think this points to the Pixel 3a?



Looking in the £2-300 range, plus or minus.

Also on the list:
Samsung A41 or A51 (I can get a small discount, 15%, on these)
Another version of the G8?
Realme 6 or 6i
Pixel 3a

Not keen on buying into Huawei as it seems politics may eventually come before function there... even if my wife and daughter are both happy with theirs.

Any thoughts/comments/things I've missed?

Thanks in advance!

[defblade]

manracer said:

nikaiyo2 said:

iPhone SE?

A touch over budget, but will still be working in 6 years, with full support and security updates, unless you break it.

Something tells me that someone who shortlists only android handsets aroun 2-300 quid, doesnt want a £400 entry level iphone.

I could be wrong... but....

The Mad Monk said:

I take it you want Android - not Apple?

It'll be a cold day in Hell before Apple get any of my cash...


The older Motorolas are kinda tempting, but I'm already finding my G3 is stuck with its old OS, so I'd like to be at least on top of the curve a bit buying this one, rather than possibly starting behind it already.

More research suggests that waiting a few weeks might be a good idea - the Pixel 4a due sometime soonish; the OnePlus Nord coming in a couple of weeks, both of which might suit well.



Anyone got the Realme 6i at all?

[defblade]

AJB88 said:

Get the Pixel.

Talking at work today... mentioned possibly replacing the battery in the G3, but (a) doing that didn't make much difference in my last phone and (b) it still won't run up-to-date Android, so I'll still be missing the pairing with Windows 10... I said that if the phone could be connected to W10, I'd already have the back off... which crystallises what I really want out of my phone, which is to be able to some of the latest features... so Android update support becomes the most important issue (given I don't push the boundaries otherwise, and all the cameras are better than mine already).

So the Pixel rises to the top, I think the xl will be fine for me with the argos price mentioned above.

Next choice...

...with the 4a due anytime between May and October (so far....), and the 3a/3a xl technically discontinued, but still widely available, do I grab one now at full price, or wait for the 4a to launch (and maybe buy that is the price is the same) and hope to get a clearance one cheaper... but maybe miss them completely???

Edited by defblade on Saturday 11th July 16:33

[defblade]

nmd87 said:

329 is already a clearance price for the XL. It was 469 originally and then 399. I know this as I bought the 3a standard edition for 329 for the wife about 7 months ago. I don't think think you'll get a better price on the XL, but who knows.

AJB88 said:

I'd get it now while price is low.

Think I'll just wait until Monday - seen in a couple of places that it's the next "possible" 4a announcement date - it's be just my luck to miss the new version by 24 or 48 hours... and then it'd be cheaper, too!

[defblade]

stevoknevo said:

There was speculation that the 4a was going to undercut the price of the new iphone SE - equally there is speculation it won't be released at all due to the 5 being due for release in October. Or it could be unveiled on August 3rd (latest rumour!)
If you can I'd say to wait it out, the 4a will be more up to date/last longer/get longer updates than the 3a (4a is rumoured to have 6gb ram and UFS2.1 storage versus the 3a's 4gb and eMMC storage) The 3a is a very good phone but I feel it is overpriced now, even at the much reduced cost from release price.

Too late! 3a XL delivered same day from Argos, although I'm waiting on sim/case/screen protector before I start to use it.
The 3a still has the best part of 2 years of updates coming as a minimum and with the 4a release heading ever backwards, I spent the morning reading more reviews then took the plunge.
I can't imagine that any phone in the price range I started with (which is more-or-less my monthly discretionary budget) will be terrible and I'll have forgotten that little £30 over by the end of the month

Thanks for the pointers folks, especially ukfan for the Argos tip