New budget phone or older flagship?

[iColm]

So my trusty 1st gen Moto G is really showing its age as of late, with the lack of expandable storage, 1GB RAM, relatively small screen and no 4G to boot my phone has become pretty lacklustre..

 

I'm hoping to finally get a new phone at the end of the month, but as I eagerly researched budget phone (less than 200 euro) I had a eureka moment, why not get an older flagship..? 

 

And here I am, torn between all the choices, like the Note 3, HTC One M8,LG G3 etc. 

 

But here is my problem, I quickly realised (after almost falling for the Note 3) that these phones won't be getting updates, I know the M8 has Marshmallow and the G3 has plans to get it. My problem is I want a phone that'll last at least another year and a half without getting sluggish.

 

So my questions are, should I get a newer budget phone (feel free to recommend one) or go for the older flagship route? Will the older flagships become completely outdated in the next 2 years? Or am I being paranoid? (Because damn I want a note 3 so bad)

 

As a side note, I live in Ireland so prices due to the Euro's state at the moment are pretty dismal... (I'll probably buy from a UK site if they deliver to Ireland)

 

What I want in the phone is:

4g 

At least 2GB RAM 

1080p (preferably)

Expandable storage 

Big ass screen, the bigger the better, I have big hands 

And a strong enough processor to easily multitask for the next year and a bit.

 

If you've any other questions let me know, thanks.

[DaltonM]

DO NOT GET A 16GB PHONE. 

Even with expandable storage this is not enough space.

 

Check out this website swappa.com for good prices on used phones. I got a first gen moto x there and it worked perfectly and I loved that phone.

 

I would say don't get a Note 3 because it's pretty dated at this point. I have the Note 4 and it's great. Nothing slows down or anything (but I do run a custom rom, the OTA 5.1.1 update ruined my phone.

 

You can get a Note 4 for about under $400 that's a good ass deal. 

[ZetZet]

2 minutes ago, DaltonM said:

DO NOT GET A 16GB PHONE. 

Even with expandable storage this is not enough space.

depends on who you talk to. 16GB is plenty for me, don't know what to put there.

[Macronus]

I got this puppy for my girlfriend, super cheap, surprising build quality, only downside is the front camera and battery is not perfect, plus rom is badly designed, Nothing that a custom launcher cant fix.

www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_234307.html

I have a Note 3 that has been going for 3 years now, if thats a choice GET IT ASAP! Best phone I owned from all the flagships I ever owned.

[iColm]

24 minutes ago, DaltonM said:

DO NOT GET A 16GB PHONE. 

Even with expandable storage this is not enough space.

 

Check out this website swappa.com for good prices on used phones. I got a first gen moto x there and it worked perfectly and I loved that phone.

 

I would say don't get a Note 3 because it's pretty dated at this point. I have the Note 4 and it's great. Nothing slows down or anything (but I do run a custom rom, the OTA 5.1.1 update ruined my phone.

 

You can get a Note 4 for about under $400 that's a good ass deal. 

Thanks I'll check the website out, I don't plan on getting that many apps to be honest, I use my phone for media consumption for the most part, that's why I'd love a big screen. 

 

The Note 4 is unfortunately out of my price range, believe me I looked my hardest! But living in Ireland can really suck... 

 

[iColm]

24 minutes ago, ZetZet said:

depends on who you talk to. 16GB is plenty for me, don't know what to put there.

I'd be fine with 16 as long as I could put all my music and pictures into an SD card

 

[iColm]

15 minutes ago, Macronus said:

I got this puppy for my girlfriend, super cheap, surprising build quality, only downside is the front camera and battery is not perfect, plus rom is badly designed, Nothing that a custom launcher cant fix.

www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_234307.html

I have a Note 3 that has been going for 3 years now, if thats a choice GET IT ASAP! Best phone I owned from all the flagships I ever owned.

Thanks I'll have a look at some reviews, although I'd rather get a known brand, or at least ones that have a snapdragon processor.

 

Regarding the Note 3, do you have the Lollipop update? I've heard some troubling things about it .. But the big screen and multitasking capabilities is calling to me

[DaltonM]

26 minutes ago, iColm said:

I'd be fine with 16 as long as I could put all my music and pictures into an SD card

 

As you install apps that can't be moved over if you hit less than 500mb free you wont even be able to get text messages. 

Even my mom hit the limit. And Android takes up at least 4gb right off the bat.

 

You should look into a Moto X 2014 that's a bangin' ass phone. Same for the Droid Turbo (Verizon Exclusive). There's LOADS of chinese phones, but often they don't have 4G, be careful of that. 

 

I suggest any phone with an OLED display because they're too great. I can't even look at my Nexus 7's LCD display. My mom got the V10 and that thing has a hideous sreen. 

[iColm]

30 minutes ago, DaltonM said:

As you install apps that can't be moved over if you hit less than 500mb free you wont even be able to get text messages. 

Even my mom hit the limit. And Android takes up at least 4gb right off the bat.

 

You should look into a Moto X 2014 that's a bangin' ass phone. Same for the Droid Turbo (Verizon Exclusive). There's LOADS of chinese phones, but often they don't have 4G, be careful of that. 

 

I suggest any phone with an OLED display because they're too great. I can't even look at my Nexus 7's LCD display. My mom got the V10 and that thing has a hideous sreen. 

Yeah I was looking at the moto x too.

 

My current phone (8GB Moto G) still has some memory to spare, I would still have over 2 gigabytes of free storage if it weren't for my music and Facebook (which I never plan on installing on a phone ever again) 

[DaltonM]

1 hour ago, iColm said:

Yeah I was looking at the moto x too.

 

My current phone (8GB Moto G) still has some memory to spare, I would still have over 2 gigabytes of free storage if it weren't for my music and Facebook (which I never plan on installing on a phone ever again) 

Personally, I used to hate Touchwiz, but now I can't go back to stock android. But the Moto X is just a great line of phones. If there was a moto X with a stylus, I would be all over that shit 

[iColm]

16 minutes ago, DaltonM said:

Personally, I used to hate Touchwiz, but now I can't go back to stock android. But the Moto X is just a great line of phones. If there was a moto X with a stylus, I would be all over that shit 

If it weren't for the lack of SD card expansion it would be perfect, on that note can you think of any phones similarly specced as the Moto X that has expandable storage? I was thinking the price of the Galaxy S5 may drop with news of the S7 at the end of the month 

[DaltonM]

1 minute ago, iColm said:

If it weren't for the lack of SD card expansion it would be perfect, on that note can you think of any phones similarly specced as the Moto X that has expandable storage? I was thinking the price of the Galaxy S5 may drop with news of the S7 at the end of the month 

Check out this list I made on newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=Property&Subcategory=2961&N=100161551%204017%204024%204018%204093%204019%204025%204020%204026%204027%20600537047%20600239807%20600028628%20600476123%20600028622%20600489392%20600462834%20600469952%20600052266%20600374103%20600541552%20600453181%20600462853%20600491422%20600077253%20600488562%20600472438%20600252343%20601106700%20601106698%20601107472%20600028588%20601106778%20601106780%20601106779%20601106808%20601106801%20601107473%20601106798%20601107474%20601106810%20601106809%20601106797%20600559376%20600553896&IsNodeId=1&IsPowerSearch=1

 

(Lord thats a long URL lol)

 

But it's any phone under $500 with a 5+ inch screen, 32gbs of storage, really the only thing I couldn't define was only phones with expandable storage. 

The Asus Zen Phone is pretty enticing. 

The $200 price point for android phones is BLOWING UP right now. 

Asus Zenphone 2, 5.5 inch screen 4gb of RAM and 64gb built in storage is only $284. You can get the 32gb/3gb RAM version for even less!! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16875220011R

 

Nexus 6 (not the 6P) is also a good Moto-like choice, that goes for $300

 

There's even some LG G4 on there for $300.

 

So you really have lots of options! Check out xiaomi as well as Huawei for their budget phones. 

[iColm]

7 minutes ago, DaltonM said:

Check out this list I made on newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=Property&Subcategory=2961&N=100161551%204017%204024%204018%204093%204019%204025%204020%204026%204027%20600537047%20600239807%20600028628%20600476123%20600028622%20600489392%20600462834%20600469952%20600052266%20600374103%20600541552%20600453181%20600462853%20600491422%20600077253%20600488562%20600472438%20600252343%20601106700%20601106698%20601107472%20600028588%20601106778%20601106780%20601106779%20601106808%20601106801%20601107473%20601106798%20601107474%20601106810%20601106809%20601106797%20600559376%20600553896&IsNodeId=1&IsPowerSearch=1

 

(Lord thats a long URL lol)

 

But it's any phone under $500 with a 5+ inch screen, 32gbs of storage, really the only thing I couldn't define was only phones with expandable storage. 

The Asus Zen Phone is pretty enticing. 

The $200 price point for android phones is BLOWING UP right now. 

Asus Zenphone 2, 5.5 inch screen 4gb of RAM and 64gb built in storage is only $284. You can get the 32gb/3gb RAM version for even less!! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16875220011R

 

Nexus 6 (not the 6P) is also a good Moto-like choice, that goes for $300

 

There's even some LG G4 on there for $300.

 

So you really have lots of options! Check out xiaomi as well as Huawei for their budget phones. 

Thanks, the main problem is delivery to Ireland, I believe ordering electronics from America is pretty much non existent unless you want to pay twice the price in customs

[DaltonM]

6 minutes ago, iColm said:

Thanks, the main problem is delivery to Ireland, I believe ordering electronics from America is pretty much non existent unless you want to pay twice the price in customs

Well you can at least look into the phones you want and pick the top 5 and see what is available to you

[Macronus]

3 hours ago, iColm said:

Thanks I'll check the website out, I don't plan on getting that many apps to be honest, I use my phone for media consumption for the most part, that's why I'd love a big screen. 

 

The Note 4 is unfortunately out of my price range, believe me I looked my hardest! But living in Ireland can really suck... 

 

No sadly because my provider didn't bother to get the update. I am running Lollipop with Unofficial CM 13  So happy with it.

[iColm]

3 minutes ago, DaltonM said:

Well you can at least look into the phones you want and pick the top 5 and see what is available to you

Yeah that's what I've been trying to do, my main concern is the lack of updates, as long as they've Lollipop do you think the phone will be fine for the next year or two? 

[DaltonM]

Just now, iColm said:

Yeah that's what I've been trying to do, my main concern is the lack of updates, as long as they've Lollipop do you think the phone will be fine for the next year or two? 

For sure! I would suggest looking into the XDA developers forums for each phone. People often create custom roms based on versions of android that never come to the phone officially. Honestly I prefer Kitkat because it's more stable and I feel it has less bells and whistles that runs better on more devices. 

[iColm]

1 minute ago, Macronus said:

No sadly because my provider didn't bother to get the update. I am running Lollipop with Unofficial CM 13  So happy with it.

Does the ROM still include all the multitasking and S Pen functionality? I have friend who's always installing ROMS on his phones so I wouldn't mind getting one as long as the phone still runs correctly

[iColm]

1 minute ago, DaltonM said:

For sure! I would suggest looking into the XDA developers forums for each phone. People often create custom roms based on versions of android that never come to the phone officially. Honestly I prefer Kitkat because it's more stable and I feel it has less bells and whistles that runs better on more devices. 

Thanks! Now that's something reassuring to hear, but do apps still get updated on these ROMs? 

[DaltonM]

8 minutes ago, iColm said:

Thanks! Now that's something reassuring to hear, but do apps still get updated on these ROMs? 

Yep! Some apps (like snapchat, Android Pay) block rooted phones so in some cases you might have to use old versions of apps to still use them. But otherwise you'll have access to Google Play store and automatic updates! 

[iColm]

9 minutes ago, DaltonM said:

Yep! Some apps (like snapchat, Android Pay) block rooted phones so in some cases you might have to use old versions of apps to still use them. But otherwise you'll have access to Google Play store and automatic updates! 

Thanks, I'll ask my friend about all that tomorrow. Knowing that I can install a ROM now I think I may get the Note 3, looks like there's a stable 5.1 version with touchwiz

 

Thanks again for all the help! 

[DaltonM]

1 hour ago, iColm said:

Thanks, I'll ask my friend about all that tomorrow. Knowing that I can install a ROM now I think I may get the Note 3, looks like there's a stable 5.1 version with touchwiz

 

Thanks again for all the help! 

No problem!! It's hard to not get excited when looking at roms lol 

If you're going with note 3, it's a good choice because the stylus is the best in the game (at least the whole note line). I use mine every day

[AlanAlan]

You could get a one plus x

[Macronus]

11 hours ago, iColm said:

Does the ROM still include all the multitasking and S Pen functionality? I have friend who's always installing ROMS on his phones so I wouldn't mind getting one as long as the phone still runs correctly

Depends which one you put, you can choose touchwiz ones which include S pen functionality but are a bit heavier on the phone but you can choose to go with stock android ones which by default don't have S pen functionality but you can add it via third party apps. I mean pen still works but detaching and attaching does nothing. You can really play with it a lot! Also 5.1 before upgrade was fine too, no problem.

 

[silentmelodies]

I WOULD STRONGLY ADVISE YOU NOT TO FLASH CUSTOM ROMS!

They are untested 3rd party ROM-s without any warranty, that are:

a) Outdated - Someone releases a ROM and it does not get updated for months -> XDA Developers ROM's

b) Unstable - Changes happen nightly, that means 300MB update every day -> get.cm ROM's.

So if something does not work, crash, or you brick your device, you can use it as a paperweight! 

Manufacturers do not like for people to fuck with their phones.