USA/North America $250 device

[Kc7vwc]

I'm looking to 'upgrade' my Moto G5s+ for something....more. It's a solid device, but it's lower-end budget and it shows, especially in the camera department and the huge bezels. 

I'd like a more modern style, with a little bit of a spec bump, but everything I've been pointed to so far trades one feature I already have against another. Or the device is good, but incompatible with the US infrastructure. 

Was eyeing the new Moto lineup, but the G series seems to be nothing more than rebadges of previous generations with a new Android on top and the same horrible cameras. (The G Power doesn't even feature a compass for nav & AR functions)

The One Action seems to have the camera, but battery life sucks balls. And the US variant isn't actually part of Android One so I'm still subject to Moto's lack of security updates. 

And most devices I'm seeing at this price are from 2017/2018, so I'd be at the tail end of their software cycle anyway. 

I won't use Samsung anymore, both for their near monopoly in the US & their horrible bloatware. 

Pixel 2's are apparently worth gold and cost more than the Pixel 3a, which still has large bezels & is outside my price range anyway. 

So for the US market I think that leaves LG, where I honestly can't decipher their product stack, and maybe OnePlus. Though I'm not seeing any 5Ts anywhere & the 6 is still pushing $300 or more. 

 

I'm on AT&T prepaid (soon to be Mint Mobile) so I can't finance a device & need to buy it outright. (And this saves carrier bloat)

Anyone point me in the right direction? I don't know enough of what's out there for non-mainstream devices that will work. 

[GDRRiley]

a used iphone 6s or maybe a 7 could be in that range if you willing to go for apple.

about all I can see for new andriod is the moto G7, z3 or one action.

[Abhinav2003]

4 hours ago, Kc7vwc said:

I'm looking to 'upgrade' my Moto G5s+ for something....more. It's a solid device, but it's lower-end budget and it shows, especially in the camera department and the huge bezels. 

I'd like a more modern style, with a little bit of a spec bump, but everything I've been pointed to so far trades one feature I already have against another. Or the device is good, but incompatible with the US infrastructure. 

Was eyeing the new Moto lineup, but the G series seems to be nothing more than rebadges of previous generations with a new Android on top and the same horrible cameras. (The G Power doesn't even feature a compass for nav & AR functions)

The One Action seems to have the camera, but battery life sucks balls. And the US variant isn't actually part of Android One so I'm still subject to Moto's lack of security updates. 

And most devices I'm seeing at this price are from 2017/2018, so I'd be at the tail end of their software cycle anyway. 

I won't use Samsung anymore, both for their near monopoly in the US & their horrible bloatware. 

Pixel 2's are apparently worth gold and cost more than the Pixel 3a, which still has large bezels & is outside my price range anyway. 

So for the US market I think that leaves LG, where I honestly can't decipher their product stack, and maybe OnePlus. Though I'm not seeing any 5Ts anywhere & the 6 is still pushing $300 or more. 

 

I'm on AT&T prepaid (soon to be Mint Mobile) so I can't finance a device & need to buy it outright. (And this saves carrier bloat)

Anyone point me in the right direction? I don't know enough of what's out there for non-mainstream devices that will work. 

You can go for the Nokia 7.2. It'll fall in your budget and is an overall great choice. Clean software, good cameras, decent battery and it's sufficiently powered. 

I honestly cannot think of any other device since you have ruled out Samsung but you could also take a look at the G Stylus

 

[Donut417]

5 hours ago, Kc7vwc said:

Anyone point me in the right direction

Device wise I dont got anything for you. I swtiched from Android to Apple a while ago and never looked back. But Apple requires...... an investment so not really for everyone. That being said, Mint uses T Mobile's network, so you will need a device that can function of T Mobiles Network. Specifically need to make sure you have bands 4 and 12 support, thats the 4G network bands. 

[freeagent]

A 6S can be had for cheap. I would avoid the 7 if you can. 
 

Check out Swappa, there might be something there for you. Kind of wish I knew about that site before I bought a new phone.

[Commodus]

1 hour ago, freeagent said:

A 6S can be had for cheap. I would avoid the 7 if you can. 
 

Check out Swappa, there might be something there for you. Kind of wish I knew about that site before I bought a new phone.

I'd suggest the exact opposite.  The 6s is on the very tail end of support, and the 7 was better in so many ways (faster, water-resistant, stereo speakers, camera) that losing the headphone jack feels like a tiny sacrifice in hindsight.

[freeagent]

I guess your mics still work. My mics quit working on my original 7, and the replacement I got. My girlfriends still works fine, but it’s never in her pocket. Other than I would still be using my 7 as the battery is still over 85%.

 

https://www.macrumors.com/2019/05/07/apple-class-action-lawsuits-iphone-7-audio-issues/amp/

 

Edit:

 

you can get cheap phones from that swappa site by the looks of it. Not a big deal to bring it in for a battery change if it needs one.

 

[Abhinav2003]

3 hours ago, freeagent said:

A 6S can be had for cheap. I would avoid the 7 if you can. 
 

Check out Swappa, there might be something there for you. Kind of wish I knew about that site before I bought a new phone.

In today's market, can you really recommend a used phone for a budget of $250? That too a 5 year old one?  I mean it makes sense if he was an Apple user and was tied in but I don't feel comfortable recommending that. It's also going to end support. 

[freeagent]

Well if anyone looked at that link I posted you can get all kinds of phones, not just iPhones. I wouldn’t buy a 6s myself.. but I would use my old 5S if I had to. Love that phone.

[EL02]

I would wait for Redmi to announce the note 9 pro, then decide.

[dizmo]

Grab a Z3 Play. Probably the best phone for $229 you can get. Comes with the power pack, so you have killer battery life.

 

[Abhinav2003]

7 hours ago, EL02 said:

I would wait for Redmi to announce the note 9 pro, then decide.

He wants one in North America. I'm not sure if that will be available there. Any clue?

[EL02]

2 hours ago, Abhinav2003 said:

He wants one in North America. I'm not sure if that will be available there. Any clue?

Clearly missed that.

[Abhinav2003]

43 minutes ago, EL02 said:

Clearly missed that.

Yeah. Asian countries are fairly lucky due to the exposure of a great number of devices at that range. North America lacks that heavily

[EL02]

https://www.amazon.com/Xiaomi-Redmi-Factory-Unlocked-Smartphone/dp/B07Y8YWTFL/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=xiaomi+redmi+note+8+pro&qid=1583923267&sprefix=xiaomi+redmi+&sr=8-3

 

Found a redmi note 8 pro on amazon. Reviews seem great.

[Kc7vwc]

21 hours ago, huilun02 said:

Mint/T-Mobile uses GSM network. So you can just buy a GSM model international phone off any of the big retailers and it should work fine.

I've had folks point out that a device might be using GSM standards, but not have a specific band of LTE that is used up here. (I think the international Moto one action was directly mentioned once on Moto's subreddit as being under performing in North America)

Someone said that TMobile operates on 3 LTE bands, with one primary & the others for features like VoLTE & a 'backup' band for congestion or slower data. I'm not sure how true that is, but GSMarena has shown me devices that only have a handful of LTE bands accessible & I'd rather have peace of mind with a fully compliant device. 

[EL02]

Are you buying locally or online?

[Donut417]

2 hours ago, Kc7vwc said:

I've had folks point out that a device might be using GSM standards, but not have a specific band of LTE that is used up here. (I think the international Moto one action was directly mentioned once on Moto's subreddit as being under performing in North America)

Someone said that TMobile operates on 3 LTE bands, with one primary & the others for features like VoLTE & a 'backup' band for congestion or slower data. I'm not sure how true that is, but GSMarena has shown me devices that only have a handful of LTE bands accessible & I'd rather have peace of mind with a fully compliant device. 

T Mobile uses bands 2,4,5,12, 66, and 71 for LTE. I think band 12 is the main band they use. Band 71 might be nice to have as its 600 Mhz, it should have better penitration power at least. Though its not aviable everywhere yet.