UK Which? - Increasing demand for 'value' smartphones

At Which?, we review over sixty phones a year that will cost you from £99 to over £1,500. However, in the last five months, the most popular reviews read by Which? members aren’t the ones with the highest price tags.

Half of the ten most popular reviews were for smartphones that launched for under £420. The OnePlus Nord 2 5G led the line - landing for £399, and the mid-priced Samsung Galaxy A52s came in third place. Most of the flagship phones that made the grade are older models, which usually see a discount once they’ve been out one year. The cheapest iPhone and the three mid-range Samsung Galaxy A phones beat almost all flagships from Apple, Samsung and Google.

My last 3 phones have been high-value, low-cost Motorola models but, since I’m considering going 5G, I’m tempted by the Samsung alternatives … :thinking:

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:anguished: When I read value phones, I wasn’t expecting prices in the hundreds. My phones have been in the $30-60 range.

I might be missing out on something but for me, I’d have a hard time justifying paying hundreds of dollars for a phone to post here, watch a few videos and play a game or two.

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My phone is #3 on that list but it didn’t cost anything like £410 more like a touch over $300 (£150+). Even though it does handle 5G as far as I know there is no 5G in Australia just 4G and 3G.

I have been very pleased with it, especially the battery life which lasts at least two days and often three.

The Wife and I’s phones (see what I did there) don’t cost a bean, hand me downs from the kids, we’ve no problem being 18 months out of sync with the trend.

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My phone is the iPhone se 4.7 bought last year with a 2yr guarantee
£399.
I see there’s been a price increase!
As I use iPad the phone mirrors it
with FaceTime , messages ,email photos and all apps making it easy peasy to use.

£410 is UK “Price at launch” (2021) - currently the phone is available for £300 on UK Amazon.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Galaxy-SM-A528B-Android-Type-C-Black/

Examples of the current price in Australia seen from the UK are AU$ 573 (£308), AU$ 598 (£321) and AU$ 640 (£344):

Obviously, you got a bargain.

Thank you for looking it up but I am happy with the phone I have however the secret is to buy them from places that sell new phones tied to a network at highly subsidised prices but who unlock them first.

You won’t find that advertised on the net, I can assure you. Tiliphony is not Australian BTW.

Anyway they are an old phone I don’t think you can get them anymore

Best-kept secrets … :wink:

It’s a small world, connected by telecomms … :earth_asia:

There are plenty in the UK … :slightly_smiling_face:

Yeah, but the UK is where old phones and technology go to die.

https://forum.over50schat.com/t/public-emergency-alerts-to-be-sent-to-all-uk-mobile-phones-15-00-bst-sunday-23-april/95883?u=bruce