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Era help me with a new phone for 500 bucks can't justify paying over 1000 any more

Melhisedek

Melhisedek

Member
Oct 27, 2017
320
Well last year has been sucky and it ended with me breaking my s10+ front screen. It is not horrible but I can't stand it and changing the glass costs 300 bucks. So I waited for latest Samsung phone and only one I would consider normally is s21 Ultra. Than I saw the price and I just couldn't do it. Prices are crazy high and I wouldn't have changed my phone as it functions perfectly although battery is starting to hold less charge after 2 years of heavy use.
I have just bought flagships for last 10 years, not every year but almost. So now I'm looking for a new phone with following in mind (in no particular order):

1. battery life
2. big phone (s10+ or larger)
3. good performance (used to it over the years)
4. good camera (have kids and camera is a must)
5. Google maps / Calendar / Messages ( I live in EU )

I saw some people recommend Poco X3 but it has less RAM, still really cheap. I'm no stranger to rooting and flashing other roms if that would perhaps improve performance. I really haven't checked any other brands except Samsung since Galaxy S3 and there are a lot of brands out now.

tl;dr
Can't justify paying big bucks for flagship phones anymore, want some great bang for buck big android phone with good camera
 
Selbran

Selbran

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,570
On Samsung's website, it says you get a $400 trade-in credit towards an S21 with a cracked-screen S10. Is that not something you'd consider or is your phone condition a lot worse?
 
Oldmario

Oldmario

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,145
probably best to get the screen repaired, the S10+ has micro SD, a headphone jack and has a charger with it, the s21 has none of those
 
Muppet of a Man

Muppet of a Man

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,695
Melhisedek said:
Well last year has been sucky and it ended with me breaking my s10+ front screen. It is not horrible but I can't stand it and changing the glass costs 300 bucks. So I waited for latest Samsung phone and only one I would consider normally is s21 Ultra. Than I saw the price and I just couldn't do it. Prices are crazy high and I wouldn't have changed my phone as it functions perfectly although battery is starting to hold less charge after 2 years of heavy use.
I have just bought flagships for last 10 years, not every year but almost. So now I'm looking for a new phone with following in mind (in no particular order):

1. battery life
2. big phone (s10+ or larger)
3. good performance (used to it over the years)
4. good camera (have kids and camera is a must)
5. Google maps / Calendar / Messages ( I live in EU )

I saw some people recommend Poco X3 but it has less RAM, still really cheap. I'm no stranger to rooting and flashing other roms if that would perhaps improve performance. I really haven't checked any other brands except Samsung since Galaxy S3 and there are a lot of brands out now.

tl;dr
Can't justify paying big bucks for flagship phones anymore, want some great bang for buck big android phone with good camera
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
This is what you want: Motorola G Power (64 GB)


$220 USD

(Not sure on the camera quality though, but definitely best bang for buck, especially with the amazing 3+ day battery life).
 
Davidion

Davidion

Charitable King
Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,096
Here in the US, Oneplus phones are always a good deal. Not sure of EU availability
 
Seirith

Seirith

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,311
My cat just cracked my S8 screen this morning by knocking it off my desk. I went and bought an unlocked S20 FE for $549 at Best Buy.
 
KillerAJD

KillerAJD

Member
Oct 25, 2017
267
Alvis said:
Pixel 4a (5G version if you want)
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Got Pixel 4a's for my parents (after a bunch of years using the Motorola G series stuff), and they are both happy with them. They aren't huge phones however, so if the OP's requirement of a larger phone stands (although, not sure how big an s10+ actually is), not sure they would work. Good phones though, and since they are Google phones, they get all kinds of cool feature updates before other manufacturers.
 
RobertM

RobertM

Member
Oct 31, 2017
580
Hey OP, there are services that will replace the glass on the screen if that's the only issue for a fraction of a cost.
 
MrMattatee

MrMattatee

Member
Oct 27, 2017
652
Texas (aka, the upside down)
Resale market is great if you are open to used phones. Purchased my $800 LGV30 when it launched in 2017 on a 30 month payment plan. 18 months later I broke the phone's display and then bought the same model in good condition for $139, with nearly a year of payments left on the broken phone. It helped that LGV30 wasn't a popular phone, but I'll never buy a phone new again.
 
Maligna

Maligna

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,818
Canada
Muppet of a Man said:
This is what you want: Motorola G Power (64 GB)


$220 USD

(Not sure on the camera quality though, but definitely best bang for buck, especially with the amazing 3+ day battery life).
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Can confirm. Motorola phones are great. I have a G8 power. Battery lasts forever. I love all the Moto gestures. I wouldn't be able to function without my twist to open camera or double chop to turn on flashlight. Priced really well for what you get.
 
Kid Night

Kid Night

Member
Oct 27, 2017
475
If you want these things:

1. battery life
2. big phone (s10+ or larger)
3. good performance (used to it over the years)
4. good camera (have kids and camera is a must)
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
You are looking at a flagship phone. If you want <$500 phone brand new, you will have to bend on some of these.

The S10+ is still $1000. I would recommend spending the $300 to repair it, because you still have a top tier phone and spend less than $500.
 
BrickArts295

BrickArts295

GOTY Tracking Thread Master
Member
Oct 26, 2017
13,782
OnePlus 7T is a solid phone for $370 at amazon.
Got it last year and it still feels pretty good.
 
CorpseLight

CorpseLight

Member
Nov 3, 2018
7,666
I have a Samsung A50. Was a $200 phone and it have everything I need. Screen is great, 64GB, everything runs quick.
 
OP
OP
Melhisedek

Melhisedek

Member
Oct 27, 2017
320
Pixel 4a is surely great phone but it is to small for me, OP Nord looks great on paper gonna check that.

Regarding changing the screen, where I live, cheapest I can find is more than 300 bucks just for the screen. Battery and screen would cost me close to 500 so thats why I put that number up. I hoped for that money I could get a better phone than the one I have now, I mean it has been 2 years and this is Exynos CPU which is kinda bad as well.

How are Xiaomi phones? Mi 10T Pro for example?
 
Inugami

Inugami

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,995
Always just get a last gen flagship... you'll get more updates and support than a cheap phone, and at about the same price with likely better specs.
 
Alvis

Alvis

Saw the truth behind the copied door
Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,233
Spain
Kid Night said:
If you want these things:


You are looking at a flagship phone. If you want <$500 phone brand new, you will have to bend on some of these.

The S10+ is still $1000. I would recommend spending the $300 to repair it, because you still have a top tier phone and spend less than $500.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
???

Which one of these would OP be sacrificing by getting a Pixel 4a 5G? Midrangers are great now.

It has the best camera in the market, it's almost as big as the S10, it's fast, and it has a large battery.
 
Kid Night

Kid Night

Member
Oct 27, 2017
475
Alvis said:
???

Which one of these would OP be sacrificing by getting a Pixel 4a 5G? Midrangers are great now.

It has the best camera in the market, it's almost as big as the S10, it's fast, and it has a large battery.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Specifically, good performance, if he is used to the S10+, the Pixel 4a 5g is a big downgrade.

The S10+ is a large screen phone (6.4") The Pixel 4a 5g is smaller (5.8"). Half an inch diagonal makes a big difference on displays. Having a Samsung flagship quality display also makes a big difference.

Point for point, the S10+ beats out the 4a 5g in every category, except camera where the pixel has a very slight edge. Screen size, resolution, ppi, memory, battery size, storage, battery life, processing power, gorilla glass rating, gorilla glass casing etc. are all better on the S10+.

$300 fixes the better phone. ~$500 buys the Pixel 4a, which has significantly weaker specs than their 2 year old Samsung Flagship.

If the OP was buying outright, you'd have a point. The $500 premium for the S10+ over the 4a 5g would not be worth it, but the OP saves money and keeps a better product if he has his screen replaced.
 
Kid Night

Kid Night

Member
Oct 27, 2017
475
As a note OP,: If you trade in your S10+ (with a cracked Screen) you can get the just announced Samsung S21 for $250 ($550 trade in value on your cracked S10+).

www.samsung.com

Galaxy S21 5G 128GB (Unlocked)

Discover the latest features and innovations available in the Galaxy S21 5G 128GB (Unlocked). Find the perfect Phones for you!
www.samsung.com www.samsung.com
 

Jay1V

Member
Oct 28, 2017
516
OP, you can trade in your cracked s10+ on the samsung website for $400 off any s21 phone. That on top of the $20 off preorder promotion, you can get a regular s21 for $380

www.samsung.com

Galaxy S21 5G 128GB (Unlocked)

Discover the latest features and innovations available in the Galaxy S21 5G 128GB (Unlocked). Find the perfect Phones for you!
www.samsung.com www.samsung.com
 
OP
OP
Melhisedek

Melhisedek

Member
Oct 27, 2017
320
Kid Night said:
As a note OP,: If you trade in your S10+ (with a cracked Screen) you can get the just announced Samsung S21 for $250 ($550 trade in value on your cracked S10+).

www.samsung.com

Galaxy S21 5G 128GB (Unlocked)

Discover the latest features and innovations available in the Galaxy S21 5G 128GB (Unlocked). Find the perfect Phones for you!
www.samsung.com www.samsung.com
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Sadly here in Sweden even for a nom cracked screen you can only get 250bucks. Cracked screen about 120 bucks so it is not helping a lot towards new phone 😢

I remember when Poco F1 came out it was a flagship killer with most of the latest tech for fraction ta price. I was hoping for something similar
 
kubev

kubev

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,533
California
Seirith said:
My cat just cracked my S8 screen this morning by knocking it off my desk. I went and bought an unlocked S20 FE for $549 at Best Buy.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
As a cat owner, you should know better than to leave anything breakable on a desk or table. XD

Anyway, in terms of camera, I'd suggest a Pixel phone of some sort. The newer ones are kind of underwhelming in terms of specs, but they still have good cameras. If you want something with better specs, though, then you may be able to find a Pixel 2 or 3 for a decent price.
 
RobertM

RobertM

Member
Oct 31, 2017
580
Melhisedek said:
Pixel 4a is surely great phone but it is to small for me, OP Nord looks great on paper gonna check that.

Regarding changing the screen, where I live, cheapest I can find is more than 300 bucks just for the screen. Battery and screen would cost me close to 500 so thats why I put that number up. I hoped for that money I could get a better phone than the one I have now, I mean it has been 2 years and this is Exynos CPU which is kinda bad as well.

How are Xiaomi phones? Mi 10T Pro for example?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yeah, but where are you getting these quotes from? I can see replacing the whole assembly costing 300, but replacing the glass can be around 100.
 
vixolus

vixolus

Prophet of Truth
Member
Sep 22, 2020
54,621
Everything you request ticks the boxes for a Pixel 4a 5g. It's the phone I have and so far so good. Battery life is great, screen size is great, display quality is good, photo quality is.. well it's a Pixel so it's top tier.

I'd maybe consider a used OnePlus something another in your budget too.
 

SRG01

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,020
Count me in with the ones that suggest you replace your screen. You're running an S10+, which is a pretty good phone already.

I'm rocking an S9, and if it came down to it, I'd probably replace the battery before getting a new phone. It does 99% of what I need it to do, and I don't feel the urge to upgrade.
 
metal

metal

Banned
Nov 26, 2020
1,251
Another vote for Pixel 4a 5g, which is larger and better specs than the regular 4a and is $499 in the US.

Oneplus might have something around that price too.
 
defaltoption

defaltoption

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
11,491
Austin
Melhisedek said:
Well last year has been sucky and it ended with me breaking my s10+ front screen. It is not horrible but I can't stand it and changing the glass costs 300 bucks. So I waited for latest Samsung phone and only one I would consider normally is s21 Ultra. Than I saw the price and I just couldn't do it. Prices are crazy high and I wouldn't have changed my phone as it functions perfectly although battery is starting to hold less charge after 2 years of heavy use.
I have just bought flagships for last 10 years, not every year but almost. So now I'm looking for a new phone with following in mind (in no particular order):

1. battery life
2. big phone (s10+ or larger)
3. good performance (used to it over the years)
4. good camera (have kids and camera is a must)
5. Google maps / Calendar / Messages ( I live in EU )

I saw some people recommend Poco X3 but it has less RAM, still really cheap. I'm no stranger to rooting and flashing other roms if that would perhaps improve performance. I really haven't checked any other brands except Samsung since Galaxy S3 and there are a lot of brands out now.

tl;dr
Can't justify paying big bucks for flagship phones anymore, want some great bang for buck big android phone with good camera
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Hear me out, iPhone XR. New for 499 if it has to be new or even less used, you'll get years of support, it's as fast or faster then most android, 6.1 screen, good battery and your apps. Plus even better you could get an iPhone 11 used for $500 or less or new $599 and it's even better in every category mentioned.

You might think iPhone no freaking way but as a long time android flagship user who has had everything from Google and Samsung from nexus's to notes to pixels to galaxy's, I got an iPhone XR at launch and currently use the 12 and have never wanted android again. The "apple experience" just hits different these days it isn't like 5 or 10 years ago.

Check out some videos on YouTube of what it's like to use iOS vs android these days.
 
Jagernaut

Jagernaut

Member
Oct 27, 2017
758
Melhisedek said:
Sadly here in Sweden even for a nom cracked screen you can only get 250bucks. Cracked screen about 120 bucks so it is not helping a lot towards new phone 😢

I remember when Poco F1 came out it was a flagship killer with most of the latest tech for fraction ta price. I was hoping for something similar
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Are you checking the trade-in prices under the current Samsung promotion?
 
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