Cheaper Samsung Galaxy phones

[helenhelen]

I am in need of a new phone (currently using a borrowed one) and am wondering what people think of the cheaper Samsung Galaxy models? They seem pretty inexpensive but I wonder if you get what you pay for...?

[Pawprints1986]

When buying off eBay and probably amazon too, gotta be prepared for the possibility that you may have gotten a clone, made to look the same but with crappier actual specs... Especially the common flagship models.. Could be why the amazing price if it's not full of scratches and dings

Just as a heads up in general 🙂

[Solo]

I'm looking for an S4 5 would be great

[Solo]

Yeah I'd like to see that one how long you going to keep that glass phone for I can order an Android 9 128 gigs of memory and 8 gigs of RAM for under $100 fully waterproof dustproof girl eyeglass

[Solo]

Well all I can suggest is everyone in the community come together and start swapping out parts and helping each other out everything's cheap from China

[fdrcamb519]

You can get tons of them out there for a cheap price, make sure screen is good, and not beet up. And good price.

[coleeeeee17]

They are decent. I have a Samsung A line version for work. It's okay. It has a decent battery. About (3000Mah)

I would look at the Motorola Moto G7 power series if you like apps and updates and a strong battery. I personally have an Asus phone. The Max plus line. One of the most durable phones I have owned.Big battery phone at 4000Mah. If apps, big battery and updates are not important I would look into unlocking a $150 or less prepaid phone. 

This is my personal opinion and I have owned six phones since 2012.

[Pawprints1986]

@Yukon1 I only last year moved up to an s7 from an s2 equivalent 😂😂 with root and tweaks I kept it working a looooong time! It got to the point of ram not being enough and it would crash on me, so decided it was finally time

Don't know what I'll do next time I need a new one. Not a fan of the notches  or curves reality either but love Samsung lol... We'll see what they do I guess eh ?

[Yukon1]

If you don't mind an older yet still powerful phone, I have bought all my Galaxy phones on eBay a year or two after they come out. An S9 will currently run you around $300-$400 unlocked and can do everything the newest phones can do.

I currently have an S9+ and am very happy and plan to keep it for the next two to three years. 

[jimbobs]

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@mpcdesign wrote:

@jimbobs,

The way I look at buying technology, buy what you can afford. 

...

Maybe, am a lame one here. I tend to keep my phones for about 5-6 years, before going all out on a new phone. 

...

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I agree with your sentiments.  Nowadays too many people appear to make buying decisions based on "wants" rather than "needs" and there are many suppliers happy to exploit that.  Having the latest and greatest is a pretty expensive business nowadays.

I don't believe I have ever actually purchased a cellphone in my life despite having used them from the beginning.  Between employer supplied phones, hand-me-downs and subsidized phones from service providers, I have always had a phone - sometimes the latest and greatest, sometimes just something purely functional.  In the future, I will probably buy used or refurbished. Unless, of course, PM comes up with something 😀

[Pawprints1986]

Banking apps also have fingerprint integration now 🙂

[will13am]

@Pawprints1986 , fingerprint ID is only for device unlocking.  If the OS is too old to support ongoing app updates, you become vulnerable.  Out of an abundance of caution, I don't use my phone for critical functions such as banking.  

[Pawprints1986]

@will13am just had to be careful that's all. I never did any banking or anything from that device, not until I got my newer device that supports fingerprint ID 😉

[CannonFodder]

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@will13am wrote:

Wow, this discussion is having a following!  I see people talking about decade old Samsung phones running on gingerbread.

C'mon now - it's ONLY 9 yrs. old, NOT a decade! 😉  🤣 

  Would anyone use a PC running on windows 98se?

I expect those people likely do exist..... somewhere.....

  @darlicious , you have become quite the Umidigi A5 pro spokesperson.

From what I've read, both here, via @darlicious , and on another forum, it seems to be a really good bang-for-the-buck option.

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[jimbobs]

Umdigi A5, Samsung A5?  Naming coincidence, I think not!

My better half has a good grandfathered plan with Fido and occasionally gets phone offers from them.  In the meanwhile, she has a personal source of used iPhones.  We try to capitalize on this scenario and pass on any good phones left over to others.

[will13am]

Wow, this discussion is having a following!  I see people talking about decade old Samsung phones running on gingerbread.  Would anyone use a PC running on windows 98se?  @darlicious , you have become quite the Umidigi A5 pro spokesperson.  Covid-19 has derailed the tech sector, well pretty much all sectors.  There's almost no buzz about any phones, flagships, budget or otherwise.  

[Pawprints1986]

@mpcdesign you're like me... I'll run and tweak my devices right into the ground lol. I only last year had to stop using a galaxy s2 equivalent, it was beginning to freeze up constantly and couldn't even find a still supported browser anymore... I generally feel like it still works so why get rid of it. I still use it now for YouTube videos and such, that still works of all things in the partially supported browser remaining! Lol 

I know this is just random but I just had to say, there are others like you 😁

[mpcdesign]

@jimbobs,

The way I look at buying technology, buy what you can afford. Nowadays, with this Covid19 happening, people getting laid off, the economy looks like it going to be tanked, and so on, buy what's necessary for the time being. 

There will be a time where we are back to work, blowing our money back at the fine dining establishments like McDonald's and Burger King, (ok, I know, it isn't the 5-star Michelin establishments!, but we are with Public Mobile for a reason!), buy a phone that will last at least a few years. 

Maybe, am a lame one here. I tend to keep my phones for about 5-6 years, before going all out on a new phone. Granted the first few phones that I bought were relatively cheap. My last one was an Asus Zenfone 3 in 2017. I paid about $400, but if I average the phone out from 5-6 years, that phone is roughly $67-80 per year while having it. 

What works for you is the only thing that matters.

[Pawprints1986]

I have an S7... and an older S5 neo that i use as a tablet... on both Ive removed everything I dont use except necessary system apps, this saves on battery and space. for others i use greenify so that way apps dont run unless im actively using them (the phone will do this but it takes days, i prefer instant), its possible with some tweaks to greenify system apps too that you dont use often but that run (say the calculator for one)...

Totally your call of course but there are methods of debloating your device 🙂

[ashleyskye]

Are you considering used phones as well?

[jimbobs]

I have a Samsung A5 for the last 24 months.  It has great battery life and will last a number of days with light use and a full day with heavy use.  Over the time I've had it, it's fallen a number of times but still looks pretty good for a two year old phone.  Given my history, I'd have no hesitation in recommending any Samsung A series phone.  The only thing I'd like is a better camera, not because there is anything wrong with the one in the A5 but simply because newer models have better cameras. 

[helenhelen]

charging every 2 days is not bad at all. I am currently using an old iPhone that needs charging everyday, sometimes more...

[darlicious]

@CannonFodder  Hopefully you have nimble fingers.....my biggest beef on my phones approximately 5 inch screen is the gobblygook I type on a regular basis.

[CannonFodder]

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@darlicious wrote:

@CannonFodder  You must have gotten a heck of a deal on yours.....if $130 for a brand new A5 pro makes you hesitant to purchase.

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I wouldn't be looking at an A5 Pro anyway..... although I like its' larger battery, and slightly better specs, I'd rather have a phone with a screen <6", and I actually like the size of my wife's S5 Neo, at 5.1". That, and $130 is only on those occasions of Amazon's Lightning Sale, OR from Aliexpress.

[darlicious]

@CannonFodder  Well I tried my best effort.....it might the time to look at a new phone. You must have gotten a heck of a deal on yours.....if $130 for a brand new A5 pro makes you hesitant to purchase.

[CannonFodder]

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@darlicious wrote:

@CannonFodder  Additionally.......

Solutions: If you have Chrome installed, fire it up and choose Settings > Developer tools and then uncheck Enable Tilt Scrolling.

No Chrome installed.... in fact, very little extra stuff installed, due to issues.

Some people have reported huge battery savings by turning off LTE in Settings > More settings > Mobile networks > Network mode. There’s a theory that if you don’t have LTE in your area, the battery drains faster because the phone keeps searching for it. Having Wi-Fi turned on all the time can actually help because it uses a lot less power than connecting to a mobile network, but you have to be in range of a Wi-Fi network or the search for a connection will have a similar draining effect

Doesn't apply here - only turn on data when I need to, which is rarely, and the same for WiFi.

Some people believe that Samsung’s preinstalled apps could eat a lot of battery life even if you’re not using them.

That SEEMS like it could be a possibility, which is why I've looked into it.... somewhat.

Some users reported success after disabling their Samsung account

Don't have one.....

and various Samsung apps. Go to Settings > Applications manager and choose the All tab then disable Samsung Account, Samsung Backup, Samsung Apps, Samsung Cloud Data Relay along with anything else on the list you don’t use.

Tried that, and some of them you can't do anything, other than turfing cache and/or data, and when you try to disable them, and/or uninstall them, you can't.

The disabled apps drop to the bottom of the All list so you can always enable them again if you encounter any problems.

Maybe these steps will help you out?

Again, I appreciate your efforts, but it appears to be a lost cause..... 😟

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[CannonFodder]

@darlicious  While I appreciate the hints, I expect none of that will make a significant difference, i.e. I don't appear to have a "device maintenance" setting. I do have "Power Saving", but there's no choices in it - it's either on, or off. I'm aware of adjusting screen brightness, and timeouts, etc., but those don't apply in this case, because 1.) I have the screen adjusted to the brightness I want it at, 2.) there's no need for a screen timeout anyway, because I make a point of turning it off by hitting the power button when I'm done using it, and most importantly, 3.) as previously mentioned, I have the phone in Safe Mode, which disables anything that came after a factory reset, which means the issue is either a bad update, or updates, or an app that's the culprit..... thought I had it narrowed down, but it appears I didn't. 🙄 

[darlicious]

@CannonFodder  Additionally.......

Solutions: If you have Chrome installed, fire it up and choose Settings > Developer tools and then uncheck Enable Tilt Scrolling.

Some people have reported huge battery savings by turning off LTE in Settings > More settings > Mobile networks > Network mode. There’s a theory that if you don’t have LTE in your area, the battery drains faster because the phone keeps searching for it. Having Wi-Fi turned on all the time can actually help because it uses a lot less power than connecting to a mobile network, but you have to be in range of a Wi-Fi network or the search for a connection will have a similar draining effect

Some people believe that Samsung’s preinstalled apps could eat a lot of battery life even if you’re not using them. Some users reported success after disabling their Samsung account and various Samsung apps. Go to Settings > Applications manager and choose the All tab then disable Samsung Account, Samsung Backup, Samsung Apps, Samsung Cloud Data Relay along with anything else on the list you don’t use. The disabled apps drop to the bottom of the All list so you can always enable them again if you encounter any problems.

Maybe these steps will help you out?

[darlicious]

@CannonFodder  Do you have a device maintenance setting? If so go to battery and set the power saving mode to mid or low. Adjust the brightness of your screen to further save power. Reduce your screen time out to 30 seconds or less to further save on battery power.

[CannonFodder]

@gblackma  Thanks for the feedback on the A3S! 👍  When, and if, I go for a new(er?) phone, I'll keep an eye on that one, for 3 reasons..... 1.) my phone needs are relatively low, 2.) it's cheap, and 3.) I'm cheap! 😉  😆 

[gblackma]

@CannonFodder other than the battery. It's a great phone. Well made, great call quality and she likes it. Which is all that counts in the long run. So other than my perceived bias on my part about the battery. It's all good.😁