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by amputect 2489 days ago
The "1000 dollar apple phone" thing is such a weird myth.

My wife has been using the iphone 5s for years now, because the later models are too big for her to hold comfortably. It originally came out in 2013. It is still supported by Apple, and hers currently runs iOS 12.4, which came out last month. She is on her second 5s, because she dropped her first one in the lake trying to take a picture of our dog. I use it from time to time to help pull up music or navigation in the car and it runs just fine, it's a perfectly usable phone.

These days, you can get a "renewed" one for less than a hundred dollars, unlocked, straight from Amazon.

Android is the phone ecosystem where you actually need to spend a thousand dollars* on phone hardware, because all of the inexpensive android devices are cheaply made garbage that feel like they should come filled with candy. They are stuffed with manufacturer bloatware (if you're lucky, or malware if you're not), and are obsolete right out of the box. If you spend a hundred dollars on an android phone, I absolutely guarantee you that you will regret it.

I'm not exactly an apple partisan here, I work on android apps for a living, I've used android phones for years, I actually like the Android OS and I want it to thrive, but the current state of the overall android hardware and software ecosystem, outside of the very high end devices that most people frankly can't afford, is just dire.

*- I have a pixel 3 XL, I know a thing or two about spending a thousand dollars to get a usable android device.

2 comments

There are enough cheap to mid range devices that do the job in Android. I dont think you understand the value of even 100$ in a developing country. Most people don't care about updates in this scenario. They want a phone that works. And far more people in the lower strata have access to cheaper Android phones than Apple.
I have a genuine question: what are some of the "cheap to mid range devices" you're thinking of here?

Honest question, not trying to be a jerk, I genuinely want to know.

https://www.digit.in/top-products/top-10-best-phone-under-50...

Keep in mind 5000 Rs is equivalent to around 80 USD.

If you are looking for a brand-new phone in the solidly mid-range for around $250, you can look at pocophone or OnePlus for smaller but still well-known companies making excellent phones. These phones compete in pretty much every way with the more expensive offerings by google or samsung, and have no vendor bloatware.

OnePlus's latest models have become a bit pricier, going on $450, but you can still buy the oneplus 6 straight from them for a good price.

I have xiaomi m1a1 and i think it's well made. The production quality doesnt seem to be issue nowdays.
The best phone I ever owned was a Moto G. Cost me about $200. I currently use a Nokia 6.1. Cost me about $250 a year ago, and regularly gets updates.
Try the Xiaomi Mi A2 or A3 (if good cam is your requirement) or any android-one device in the $150 to $250 price range.