Might Buy Smartphone in the future, have questions.

Hydralisk

So i might buy a smartphone in the future, i have one atm but it's somewhat old and i might need a new one later.  My question is, do the more expensive smart phones tend to last longer than the cheaper ones?  Like maybe a Moto G 7 vs the Samsung Galaxy S10, versus the Google Pixel 3a. I know there are other phones out there but i just want to know whether or not the more expensive smart phones last longer than the cheaper ones.

JAy3001

Mm, the quick answer is no. The more expensive the phone the more features you get, larger screen size, better processor etc.

As for lasting longer.. again no'ish.. Hardware wise unless you are buying very cheap phones, sub £50 they should last as long as a flagship phone. But here is the bite! The cheaper the phone or furthest away from that manufacturers flagship phone the less likely you are to recieve regular OS updates along with security updates. <--- these are very important in the life of your phone.

Another thing to consider is, Pay as you go phones tend to get almost no updates.

techquest

No, all phones come with their issues and longevity is really down to the build of the product and more often than not the users handling of that product. Some devices are more rugged than others.


Don't know where you got that from PAYG phones are simply another form of contract phone and manufacturers/ISP 's updates are not subject to the type of contract you have your phone on.

dts197

This is misleading. A phone is a phone and will get updated within its cycle whether it's on contract, sim free or pay as you go.

JAy3001

It is not misleading at all and is based on fact. If you look at the potential list of phones on pay as you go they are mid to low spec.

As a general rule you are merely paying for a usage, not the phone. The phone can be/will be branded via the network you purchase so updates will only come through from your network which really has little interest in keeping these phone up to date with OS updates, and only the most extreme of security updates might come through.

There are exceptions to the rule, if you purchase your phones outright and buy a pay as you go sim your updates will come directly from the phones manufacturer bypassing the wait for the network to make its changes before pushing that 'year' late update.

The other exception would be if you find/buy a flagship phone through a pay as you go scheme where you pay large amounts upfront for the phone to stay on a pay as you go sim. This way you will still get updates, although again if it is network branded you will be waiting a lot longer for said updates while they make sure it works with their bloatware first.

techquest

Sorry but I have to agree with dts197's post, "a phone is a phone..........."

It doesn't matter what type of contract you have or what low to high spec phone you have, they all get updates, when necessary, either from the manufacturer or the ISP, end of.

mitch23

based from my experience, a phone's life span isn't correlated with the price. I had an expensive Sony phone before but didnt survive that long because I always took it for granted.

it all depends on the user. phones are like humans, nurture it and it will stay with you.
buy a phone that suits your needs.

Bl4ckGryph0n

It depends on how you define 'last longer'. Electronically there shouldn't be any difference. Ability to install the latest versions of the apps is a totally different matter.

And I agree, it is BS to even suggest that the type of 'contract' on a sim is related to the updates that you receive. It has no bearing at all. Well not unless you buy a package deal with a payg sim/phone where the phone is already out of date...But that is nothing to do with payg in principle.

Steven

And there is a difference between security updates against Android system updates. A phone will continue to function, even when the manufacturer support has moved on.

password1

thats not true with xiaomi.

i have a budget redmi note 5..(2 generations old as the latest is note 7) and i get regular updates. im running the latest Android 9.. super smooth and reliable.

my dad has an older Xiaomi and its been getting updates still..