Is It Better To Buy A High End Phone, Long Term, Or Low End, Short Term?

[z123killer]

Is it better to buy a high end phone ($600+) and keep it long term or buy a budget phone ($200-300) and keep it short term 1-2 years? 

[Colexd]

i'd choose high end. (but thats just me idk abt others)

[Spanish Avenger]

I would generally go high end as it will usually be better in a couple of years than the cheap one.  

[Badcat]

High end, but my "long term" is still 2 years...

[astrosheen]

43 minutes ago, z123killer said:

Is it better to buy a high end phone ($600+) and keep it long term or buy a budget phone ($200-300) and keep it short term 1-2 years? 

I'd say it would depend on how well you look after things. If you can then go for it else go for the cheaper ones as if you break it, it won't matter as much

[Zodiark1593]

Last year's high end is typically the best performance/dollar. Anything with a Snapdragon 820/821 would probably qualify.

[maartendc]

On 8/13/2017 at 2:09 AM, z123killer said:

Is it better to buy a high end phone ($600+) and keep it long term or buy a budget phone ($200-300) and keep it short term 1-2 years? 

Well, the problem with both high end and low end is software updates. Most phones dont get updates anymore after 1-2 years anyway, so using a phone after that opens you up to security issues.

 

Also, in my experience your phone is likely to break (screen breaking, battery wearing out, other things just breaking randomly) after about a 2 year period. So buying a more expensive phone to 'future proof' is futile.

 

I think you should only buy an expensive phone if money is no issue. Buying it to future proof is futile, you will likely replace it as quickly as a cheap phone.

[ErrystioT]

I'd get a high end option and keep it for long term. And my long term usage roughly reaches between 3-5 years. My first high-end Android smartphone was back in 2011, that was my Galaxy S2. I used it as my daily driver until December last year, when I switched out to LG V20 because it felt slightly laggy and slow even after installing custom firmware. I normally change phones when it become very laggy to use to the point that it may hinder usage a lot. I would love to keep my S2 (that thing is a tank) if the apps on Google Play don't demand more hardware resources.

[Stagea]

On 8/13/2017 at 2:09 AM, z123killer said:

Is it better to buy a high end phone ($600+) and keep it long term or buy a budget phone ($200-300) and keep it short term 1-2 years? 

If 2 years is short term to you, I'd say $300 phone (if you can afford it, $400). Spending twice that amount and keeping a phone for 4 years isn't a solid plan in my opinion. It might give you a high for the first year or two, but you'd likely regret this move for the last two years of use. Power cells that get cycled daily get pretty poor after a couple of years. You also get to enjoy good support in the form of security updates over those 2 years (versus worrying with an unpatched phone and an obsolete OS down the line... unless you're getting a Nexus). A 4 year old flagship is something like an iPhone 5 or a Nexus 4 (not many of them are running well now). Imagine using that today versus say a Galaxy A7 (2-year old mid-range). The latter is clearly less dated and is probably in a better condition.