rising cost of smartphones?

[AMD64Blondie]

Just scored a Samsung Galaxy S9,fully unlocked for $268 shipped from Amazon.com.

(It originally retailed at $500 for the 64GB version I just bought.)

 

[killster1]

Just scored a Samsung Galaxy S9,fully unlocked for $268 shipped from Amazon.com.

(It originally retailed at $500 for the 64GB version I just bought.)

sounds like brand new price of 268$! kinda expensive for a s9, you can get a s10 with 128gb for 200-220, and a s10+ for 250ish, a g977u the 5gs10 256gb for 300ish.

 

[CakeMonster]

The S9 is solid, and everyone I know who had it loves it. I upgraded to S20, and I miss the fingerprint sensor placement on the S9 as well as that it fit better in my hand being a tiny bit smaller than the S20.

The only thing missing is a bit of screen real estate that is not filled out, and the RAM. The S9+ for those who have that, has 6GB compared to the 4GB of the S9, and that makes it a tad better for caching running apps and not having to restart them.

 

[manly]

A used S9 in great condition for ~$225 is a good buy right now isn't it? My wife needs an upgrade from the aging S7.

Ever since I bought used S9s for my kids and they are perfectly fine compared to when I bought my S8+ brand new, I don't think I'll ever buy new again. Paying for the latest in this realm doesn't seem all that worthwhile since they're mostly similar year to year.

Just scored a Samsung Galaxy S9,fully unlocked for $268 shipped from Amazon.com.

(It originally retailed at $500 for the 64GB version I just bought.)

Samsung is notorious for locking its Snapdragon-based phones, so custom ROMs are out. In practice, this means that the Galaxy S9 has about 1 1/2 years of support left, with the last year being on a quarterly support cycle. This beats all OEMs not named Apple, but still kind of sucks. You'll most likely need to retire good hardware once software support ends, whether you like it or not. But kudos to Samsung for adding that 4th year; it does keep them in the ballgame when I have to retire my S8 next year.

I don't care that much about the latest and greatest Android OS. I know nobody pays out-of-pocket for OS upgrades anymore, but I'd be willing to pay a nominal fee for extended security support.

 

[rh71]

^ I'm meh on the security aspect of it. It's important but I and many others go beyond 4 years with a smartphone. My S8+ is still great for me. No battery or responsiveness issues. The case I'll have to replace at this point though haha.

 

[mnewsham]

Samsung is notorious for locking its Snapdragon-based phones, so custom ROMs are out. In practice, this means that the Galaxy S9 has about 1 1/2 years of support left, with the last year being on a quarterly support cycle. This beats all OEMs not named Apple, but still kind of sucks. You'll most likely need to retire good hardware once software support ends, whether you like it or not. But kudos to Samsung for adding that 4th year; it does keep them in the ballgame when I have to retire my S8 next year.

I don't care that much about the latest and greatest Android OS. I know nobody pays out-of-pocket for OS upgrades anymore, but I'd be willing to pay a nominal fee for extended security support.

They recently updated the S7 with a security update. Even though officially it hasn't been supported in years.

 

[manly]

^ I'm meh on the security aspect of it. It's important but I and many others go beyond 4 years with a smartphone. My S8+ is still great for me. No battery or responsiveness issues. The case I'll have to replace at this point though haha.

Really, an IT pro who's indifferent about security on an essential computing device? Granted I don't have any truly sensitive data on my phone but I wouldn't want someone to hijack my Google account, for example. My S8 is still pretty snappy (on Android 9, after all) but the battery life isn't what it was 3 years ago. With less than 6 months left on the support clock, I'll have to consider a replacement at some point. If we could unlock the bootloader, I'd probably go the LineageOS route for a while.

For example, iPhoneOS had a pretty bad exploit earlier this year:

iPhone zero-click Wi-Fi exploit is one of the most breathtaking hacks ever

Before Apple patch, Wi-Fi packets could steal photos. No interaction needed. Over the air.

arstechnica.com

They recently updated the S7 with a security update. Even though officially it hasn't been supported in years.

That's great and I do commend Samsung for pushing their flagships' support from the standard 3 years to 4. It doesn't sound like much difference, but I personally wouldn't buy any flagship with 3 year support. As for the Galaxy S7 getting a recent update, that's probably a one-off that won't recur. There probably was some critical security flaw that they wanted to patch, even on an EOL device. Your characterization is also wrong; the S7 had quarterly support until March 2020.

I considered the Galaxy S20 FE during Black Friday, but held off because 6GB RAM sounds a bit limiting for a "flagship" and it's unclear if one can expect 4 years of support from the launch of the FE variant (or from the original March launch of the S20). It's probably for the better as the Snapdragon 888 sounds like a big improvement.

 

[rh71]

Really, an IT pro who's indifferent about security on an essential computing device?

Like a car enthusiast caring little about a recall involving a seat belt tensioner... until it is a critical issue, I'm meh on the care factor.

 

[LewisWillans]

Reason behind the rising cost of smartphones
1. Brand value
2. New tech
3. Import duty

 

[JEDI]

What's with the crazy prices on higher-end smartphones?
($500 and up)..

My Samsung Galaxy J2 does most everything I need(I use it more as a normal phone to make phone calls..)
I don't browse the web that much on my phone,except when I'm at work.

It only cost me (back in Oct.2018) $115 for the phone itself.(no contract.)
I'm using Consumer Cellular for my phone provider.

I know the more expensive phones might have better battery life or a better screen,but for me this works just fine.

One of the advantages of the smaller formfactor for me:the phone fits better in my jeans pocket.

yeah, the costs are WTF?!
When a phone costs 2x of a new laptop!

i just want a basic phone to call/txt and install some apps.
form factor doesnt matter to me. i have a belt clip.

from 2015, phones cost $20 during black friday. (Android 4.3x, 1.5gig ram, 8gigs storage)
3 years later, I had to upgrade because my bank apps required Android 5 as minimum.

got a Android 7 phone for $65 because of walmart clearance.
it had 2gigs ram/16gigs storage.
i thought it'll last me at least 5 years because that's the amount of time i estimate bank apps will require Android 8 as a minimum.

nope.. i ran out of space on my Android 7 phone , and thats with moving part of the apps to sd card.

so now i'm looking at phones with 4gigs ram and 128gig storage because Android 10 no longer gives you an option to move part of the app to sd card.

Got lucky with this year's black fri and got one (Android 10, 4gigs/128gigs) for $75 after coupon (refurb Grade A, and not a scratch on it).

 

[manly]

Good news, many Android phones (from mid-range and up) should be moving to a 4 year support model:

Qualcomm promises three years of Android updates for its entire SoC lineup

The new plan is three years of major OS updates and four years of security updates.

arstechnica.com

It depends on the OEM, so don't expect much from the likes of Lenovo or Motorola.

 

[ultimatebob]

It's actually pretty impressive what you can get for $60 nowadays:

Walmart Family Mobile Samsung Galaxy A01, 16GB, Black - Prepaid Smartphone - Walmart.com

Buy Walmart Family Mobile Samsung Galaxy A01, 16GB, Black - Prepaid Smartphone at Walmart.com

www.walmart.com

I tried one of these, and it's a perfectly usable smartphone. It's probably better than a comparable low-end iPhone from a few years ago.

 

[JEDI]

It's actually pretty impressive what you can get for $60 nowadays:
(

Walmart Family Mobile Samsung Galaxy A01, 16GB, Black - Prepaid Smartphone - Walmart.com

Buy Walmart Family Mobile Samsung Galaxy A01, 16GB, Black - Prepaid Smartphone at Walmart.com

www.walmart.com

I tried one of these, and it's a perfectly usable smartphone. It's probably better than a comparable low-end iPhone from a few years ago.

Do you have to activate with T-mobile?
can you use it for a mvno using the t-mobile network? (ie: Mint mobile)

2gigs ram/16gigs storage.. Same as my unlocked Moto E4 that i bought a couple of years ago that i replaced last month because i ran out of storage.
And that's with moving as much of the apps to sd card as possible.
(See post #60 above)

 

[JEDI]

It depends on the OEM, so don't expect much from the likes of Lenovo or Motorola.

Qualcomm promises three years of Android updates for its entire SoC lineup

The new plan is three years of major OS updates and four years of security updates.

arstechnica.com

Motorola is on Google's 'Android One' partnership plan, which promises 2yrs of OS updates and 3yrs of security patches if the manufacturer agrees to only minimally modify Google's stock Android OS.

so the phone i bought in post #60 (4gigs ram/128gigs storage) came out last year with Android 9. Easy update to Android 10.
and next year i should receive Android 11.

Wonder why Google made a separate agreement with Qualcomm instead of just putting them on the Android One plan?

also, i know Qualcomm makes chipsets for phones (ie: SnapDragon) but what phones do they make?

 

[killster1]

It's actually pretty impressive what you can get for $60 nowadays:

Walmart Family Mobile Samsung Galaxy A01, 16GB, Black - Prepaid Smartphone - Walmart.com

Buy Walmart Family Mobile Samsung Galaxy A01, 16GB, Black - Prepaid Smartphone at Walmart.com

www.walmart.com

I tried one of these, and it's a perfectly usable smartphone. It's probably better than a comparable low-end iPhone from a few years ago.

bought a galaxy s9 for 105$ shipped to give away to a friend.. / tiny crack on the corner and works with verizon / unlocked. I would rather buy a old flagship then one of the cut down versions, worse screen, worse ram, worse modem, worse battery etc etc. but you do have a NEW phone if you care about that.
i wonder what is the next galaxy the s21? s30 heh

wow looked at that 60$ phone and i would say easy pass, 16gb storage with reviewers saying you can not save to a internal micro sd with no options to change? huge bezel HD screen (i wonder if a galaxy s2 has a better screen) , looks like its stuck on some kinda walmart family plan that doesnt have competitive prices (compared to my redpocket verizon)

 

[manly]

Motorola is on Google's 'Android One' partnership plan, which promises 2yrs of OS updates and 3yrs of security patches if the manufacturer agrees to only minimally modify Google's stock Android OS.

so the phone i bought in post #60 (4gigs ram/128gigs storage) came out last year with Android 9. Easy update to Android 10.
and next year i should receive Android 11.

Wonder why Google made a separate agreement with Qualcomm instead of just putting them on the Android One plan?

also, i know Qualcomm makes chipsets for phones (ie: SnapDragon) but what phones do they make?

The SoC is the single most important component of any smartphone. In other words, you cannot have 4 years of software support for a device unless the SoC is supported for that long. It's somewhat of a fundamental flaw in the architecture of Android.

Now since manufacturers assemble handsets, you'll still need their direct involvement to get 3+ years of support and the market reality is that lower-end devices will have the shortest support periods. But this is good news for the people who like to buy "flagship" phones, and probably even mid-rangers that use Qualcomm SoCs will see expanded support periods.

Smartphones are something of an interesting class of electronics. Mainly through strong marketing and the Apple effect, the premier manufacturers have been able to raise their list prices substantially over the past few years. Virtually all other electronics and computing devices have gotten cheaper as time goes by. It's an absolute riot if you compare PC prices of the era before Windows 98 to the past 20 years. The reason I bring this up is IMO, it's a reasonable expectation when you buy a "mid-range" $500 device, that you get 4 years of security updates. SoCs (and particularly Apple silicon) has gotten so fast that it's an absolute waste of resources to be forced to replace phones every 3 years or less.

 

[JEDI]

The SoC is the single most important component of any smartphone. In other words, you cannot have 4 years of software support for a device unless the SoC is supported for that long. It's somewhat of a fundamental flaw in the architecture of Android.

Now since manufacturers assemble handsets, you'll still need their direct involvement to get 3+ years of support and the market reality is that lower-end devices will have the shortest support periods. But this is good news for the people who like to buy "flagship" phones, and probably even mid-rangers that use Qualcomm SoCs will see expanded support periods.

Smartphones are something of an interesting class of electronics. Mainly through strong marketing and the Apple effect, the premier manufacturers have been able to raise their list prices substantially over the past few years. Virtually all other electronics and computing devices have gotten cheaper as time goes by. It's an absolute riot if you compare PC prices of the era before Windows 98 to the past 20 years. The reason I bring this up is IMO, it's a reasonable expectation when you buy a "mid-range" $500 device, that you get 4 years of security updates. SoCs (and particularly Apple silicon) has gotten so fast that it's an absolute waste of resources to be forced to replace phones every 3 years or less.

Yeah, phone prices are increasing instead of decreasing like all other mature electronics.

$500 is mid-range? Yike!
Name a couple.
Want to compare them to my $75 4gig/128gig that I got on this year's black fri.

 

[manly]

Yeah, phone prices are increasing instead of decreasing like all other mature electronics.

$500 is mid-range? Yike!
Name a couple.
Want to compare them to my $75 4gig/128gig that I got on this year's black fri.

These definitions aren't fixed into stone, and there's a huge variety of devices at different price points. Just to throw a few data points out there, here are some recent flagship and mid-range phones.

Flagship
iPhone 12 Pro $999
iPhone 12 $829
Google Pixel 5 $699

Mid-range
iPhone 12 mini $729
Google Pixel 4a with 5G $499

Some would argue the Pixel 5 is more of a mid-range device, and the iPhone 12 is what you might consider a tweener. Another tweener would be a Samsung Galaxy S20 FE for $700 (mostly flagship specs with a few compromises to shave costs).

Note these are all list prices, and Android phones are frequently discounted near the end of a product cycle or around Black Friday shopping.

 

[JEDI]

Mid-range
iPhone 12 mini $729
Google Pixel 4a with 5G $499

Some would argue the Pixel 5 is more of a mid-range device, and the iPhone 12 is what you might consider a tweener. Another tweener would be a Samsung Galaxy S20 FE for $700 (mostly flagship specs with a few compromises to shave costs).

Note these are all list prices, and Android phones are frequently discounted near the end of a product cycle or around Black Friday shopping.

so the pixel 4a has 6gigs ram/128gigs storage, and probably a better cpu.
hm.. the pixel 4 has a better cpu than the 4a but only 64gigs storage?!?

 

[simas]

These definitions aren't fixed into stone, and there's a huge variety of devices at different price points. Just to throw a few data points out there, here are some recent flagship and mid-range phones.

Flagship
iPhone 12 Pro $999
iPhone 12 $829
Google Pixel 5 $699

Mid-range
iPhone 12 mini $729
Google Pixel 4a with 5G $499

Some would argue the Pixel 5 is more of a mid-range device, and the iPhone 12 is what you might consider a tweener. Another tweener would be a Samsung Galaxy S20 FE for $700 (mostly flagship specs with a few compromises to shave costs).

Note these are all list prices, and Android phones are frequently discounted near the end of a product cycle or around Black Friday shopping.

If I recall it correctly - Pixel 4a (mid range phone ) is $350, significantly less if you using google fi (9$ subscription for 2 years =$216 total after which Google will give you new phone and you get to keep your Pixel 4a). Pixel 4a5g (mouthful) is I think $14 a month for two years. And this is in US, I think EU has even better choices from Chinese makers in the same ranges which are even better than Pixels.

 

[manly]

If I recall it correctly - Pixel 4a (mid range phone ) is $350, significantly less if you using google fi (9$ subscription for 2 years =$216 total after which Google will give you new phone and you get to keep your Pixel 4a). Pixel 4a5g (mouthful) is I think $14 a month for two years. And this is in US, I think EU has even better choices from Chinese makers in the same ranges which are even better than Pixels.

Correct, there are tons of phones in different global markets at all sorts of price points. I was referring to U.S. prices for just a few common models. The Pixel model-line isn't easy to classify. At least in the U.S., the 4a 5G for $499 is what I'd term a mid-ranger. The 4a for $350 is a very good deal and kind of straddles the line between mid-ranger and the affordable phones below that. I'm not calling those budget phones, but typically phones in the U.S. around $300 are not mid-rangers.

And you're right, markets that have a full selection of Chinese phones have more price competition. Presumably, those OEMs are willing to accept razor-thin margins because they are in some way monetizing your personal data. You may say that's no different from Google or any other social media company, but not all consumers are comfortable with their data being shipped to China.

 

[JEDI]

If I recall it correctly - Pixel 4a (mid range phone ) is $350, significantly less if you using google fi (9$ subscription for 2 years =$216 total after which Google will give you new phone and you get to keep your Pixel 4a).

how much per month is Fi service?

 

[JEDI]

Motorola is on Google's 'Android One' partnership plan, which promises 2yrs of OS updates and 3yrs of security patches if the manufacturer agrees to only minimally modify Google's stock Android OS.

so the phone i bought in post #60 (4gigs ram/128gigs storage) came out last year with Android 9. Easy update to Android 10.
and next year i should receive Android 11.

Wonder why Google made a separate agreement with Qualcomm instead of just putting them on the Android One plan?

also, i know Qualcomm makes chipsets for phones (ie: SnapDragon) but what phones do they make?

nope, not getting Android 11!

Apparently USA phones are not part of the Android One platform.

Optimized For You: Android 11 coming soon to Motorola Phones – The Official Blog

blog.motorola.com

Only (the same model) phones sold in Europe and Latin America is getting Android 11.
WTF?!