One of our jackals has an ancient Android phone that needs to be replaced, and needs our help.
Wyatt would love to draw upon the collective wisdom of the Balloon Juice community and cast the widest possible net in order to thoroughly research options before making a decision.
One thing is absolute: He wants to stay with an Android phone and a laptop running Windows 10.
In his own words:
I’m not working and don’t have a gazillion $$$ for a high end model, but still want to do as much research as possible to find the best available model for my budget. I also need to buy a laptop, though the smartphone is my first priority.
Fellow jackals, when you want to find a thorough/authoritative review of a new smartphone, laptop, tablet, or software program are there any sources that you would consult in addition to the ones listed below?
CNET, ComputerWorld, Consumer Reports, PC Magazine, PCWorld, Techradar, Tom’s Guide, Wirecutter, and ZDNet
Suggestions for specific hardware are also most welcome and appreciated!
Craig
I have a Pixel 3a. Great camera. Not too big,or too small form factor. Cheap. Works great.
Baud
Not my phone but the new Google Pixel 4a is listed at $350, has a headphone jack, has a good camera, and will be updated for at least three years, which is good in the Android world.
wmd
Figure out your budget. Look for deals on phones that were introduced 12 months or 18 months ago. Read reviews.
Generally September/October is launch time for new phones. So last year’s flagships should see a price drop in the coming weeks. Lower end phones will see some of that as well.
Chetan Murthy
Can’t speak to Winders laptops, since I use a Chromebook. But for Android phones, I’m a big, big, big fan of the “shitphone”. I always buy the model from two years ago, and the typical price is $200-250. It usually lasts 2-4yr, and I’m happy with that compromise.
https://medium.com/matter/shitphone-a-love-story-a44e66434807
My last phone was a Nexus 5X, and my current phone is a Moto G7. Happy with both. I don’t take a gazillion photos, vids, etc, but do use bluetooth, take some pics, and use the phone to access the Net when I’m on the move. It helps that I have Google Fi, and I get my phone’s OS directly from Google.
I don’t know what I’d get today, but when I got this phone, it was basically my top pick, b/c (a) price, (b) OS from Google, (c) Google Fi support.
Steeplejack
What is the freaking budget?! There are options at every price point. Give us something to get us in the ball park.
Also, do you have a cell-phone service provider already? If you do, do you want to stay with them?
Baud
You can also see what they recommend at the android subreddit.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/
Another Scott
What’s your budget? Pick that first.
What’s your phone service provider and how much data do you use? I’m very happy with Fi, it’s (almost) always less than $30/mo for me, but I use hardly any data that isn’t on WiFi. Fi was great when I went to Japan – it Just Worked. I have an LG V35 that I’ve been happy with.
If you want to save some money on a 6-12 month old phone model, check out Swappa.com You can often find new-ish phones for much less than list price. eBay is another place to check (I got J’s iPhone XS off eBay).
I’ve been very happy with Lenovo notebooks. I’m typing on a 16 GB i7 ThinkBook 13s that I got for around $1k. They often have sales, but they turn over models pretty quickly too.
HTH a little. Happy hunting!
Cheers,
Scott.
Rich Webb
I picked up a Moto G Power from Consumer Cellular a few months back. Does everything I need it to and runs for 12-14 days on a charge (down to 10-12 now with the COVID app running Bluetooth all the time). They’ve got other choices, running up to $1000 which is kinda nuts.
CC is aimed at a … er … “mature” demographic and that’s me!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Chetan Murthy: The problem with buying an older phone is that Android updates(including security updates) are limited after the 3rd year and stop altogether after the 4th year. They’re getting better but it’s still a problem with Android*.
*I use an Android phone.
M. Bouffant
Stay the hell away from Lenovo/Motorola products. (Same corporate parent.) I bought a Lenovo IdeaCentre A340 in July 2019, had to have a new hard drive installed in March ’20. My moto e5 developed a faulty headphone jack & stopped recognizing my SDCard w/in a yr. of purchase.
Baud
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Samsung just announced that they are doing 3 years of OS updates and one more year of security updates.
cain
Very dissatisfied that he didn’t ask for a Linux option .. I mean we work hard here on GNOME.
Chetan Murthy
@?BillinGlendaleCA: (1) this is part of why I get a phone that Google supports directly — in the hope that they’ll keep the OS up-to-date longer
(2) but it’s so much cheaper, I figure, that makes up for having to replace it more-frequently.
This latter part is key to the “shitphone” idea.
Baud
@Chetan Murthy:
The new iphone SE is $400 and apple does support their phones for a long time.
Another Scott
@?BillinGlendaleCA: 3 years of updates? Ha!
Seriously, only Pixel (and maybe high-end Samsungs) will get 3 years of updates in the USA. My LG V35, that I got from Google Fi, is still on 9.0 with the February 2020 security update.
:-/
It’s annoying, and it’s a big reason to get a Pixel, but there are millions (billions?) of Android phones out there running old versions of the OS. And Android tablets are even worse when it comes to updates.
But, honestly, it’s not a big deal. If really wants updates, the best way (short of getting a Pixel) to get them is to buy a high-end phone and trade it in (or sell it) every year or 18 months on a new high-end phone. Most of us don’t have that luxury.
My $0.02. :-)
Cheers,
Scott.
guachi
I am so proud. I have changed reality. I was reading a NYT article about Trump’s campaign spending by Maggie Haberman and Shane Goldmacher. I noticed a typo, replied in a tweet to Haberman’s tweet about the article, got a ‘like’ from Goldmacher, and the article was changed straight away.
I HAVE CHANGED REALITY!!!
I am prouder of myself than I should be.
Chetan Murthy
@Baud: As that article I linked-to describes, and as my sister (who works in mobile app development concurs) the problem is that over time, as new OS versions come out, both iOS and Android run slower and slower on older phones. Sure, Apple says the phone is supported. But over time, it gets worse and worse. And eventually an update bricks your phone.
The idea of buying a shitphone is: you don’t care about the phone going obsolete: you just buy a new one. It’s cheap enough that you just don’t care.
Gvg
Don’t wait too long to upgrade. I hate change and kept my last phone until it started to have issues. When I went to upgrade, ATT had trouble moving my phone contacts and calendar over to the new phone. It was so old, they didn’t have the equipment anymore. I got lucky it that they whispered one repair shop had bought their old transfer equipment and for 20 would do it. I resolved not to go that long again. I bought a phone that was the last years model then, the S8 plus which was not the low end. I like the much larger screen. Older eyes you know. Good camera. Water resistant, impact resistant, but I still put an otter box on right away. It has expandable memory. I haven’t needed yet because it came with 64gb, but apple doesn’t do expansion and charges high for memory.
i bought off eBay new from a seller with well over 10,000 sales. The prior one was also eBay. I’ve bought iPads too always new, never risked used as I don’t know enough.
Baud
@Chetan Murthy:
You’re right about that. I have an iPad and it’s frustratingly slow now. I’ve seen it happen with other people with iPhones also.
Martin
@Baud: Yep, the original iPhone SE is about to get its 6th major OS upgrade plus all security patches along the way and still runs really well on the newest OS.
Chetan Murthy
@Gvg: I don’t quite understand: when I get a new phone, all my apps, setting, contacts are migrated automatically? I mean, that’s the point of using Android, isn’t it? Sure, I have music I put on the phone’s storage, and that isn’t migrated. Maybe there’s data in some of the apps’ local storage that isn’t migrated? But even photos end up in Google Photos pretty quick, so …. still don’t follow.
BSR
@Baud:
THIS! The Pixel 4a is the best Android phone at anywhere near this price point right now. Not exciting, not flashy. Supremely competent, running vanilla Android, with years of updates directly from Google in the future.
There’s no other comparable phone at that price. Just go get it!
Another Scott
@Martin: Don’t get it wet.
J had an iPhone SE that she loved but it got damp in a sudden downpour and never worked right after that.
Apple left a lot of money on the table by not bringing back a similarly sized SE when they recycled the name…
Cheers,
Scott.
Mary G
@guachi: Wow! Hell has frozen over. I used one of my freebies on that article, and it was so worth it. Twitler’s campaign has blown through $800 million for very little bang for the buck.
?????
Martin
@Another Scott: Current iPhones are all water resistant.
burnspbesq
I have nothing to contribute to this discussion (all Apple all the time), but here’s some fascinating guitar playing to test your new phone’s audio system (note: I own a Collings OM, but I can’t make it sound like Julian can).
https://youtu.be/YqA8tfc89Bo
Steeplejack
@guachi:
? Maybe now you can work on the content!
NotMax
When it comes to a laptop, there are several considerations to help narrow the field.
1) What uses or tasks will you be asking it to perform? Primarily web surfing and e-mails and text reading/editing or still photo manipulation? Graphics or video design/work? Gaming?
2) Will it be mostly sitting in one spot or will you be lugging it around (weight does matter)? If mostly staying put, does it have a port for an ethernet cable?
3) What (and how many) peripherals might you be planning to connect to it?
4) Is a backlit keyboard important to you?
5) Will it be used outdoors with any frequency (i.e. screen glare or lack thereof)?
6) Although it might seem superfluous today, or tomorrow, the time will arrive when you’ll be glad you chose one which includes an HDMI port.
7) Have you perhaps found yourself squinting to be able to make out detail on others’ laptops (screen size and also graphics card versus integrated chip are factors here).
8) Will you be using it to stream TV or movies?
9) Is there a case color you absolutely don’t want to be looking at for years?
10) Any mobility issues regarding hands or fingers (keyboard size and tactile response then considerations)?
11) If doing a lot of Zooming, an external camera will beat any that come with a laptop (as well as allow for optimal positioning to avoid the fisheye effect), so don’t let claims about built-in cameras sway you.
Probably a dozen more but those first come to mind. Also, these days, opt for a laptop with a solid state drive.
Another Scott
@Martin: Yes. But you were talking about the original SE. It wasn’t.
And, IIRC, many Android phones were water resistant before Apple saw the light (iPhone 7 was their first in 2016, Motorola had the Defy in 2010). ;-)
Cheers,
Scott.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Another Scott: Yeah, my Note 8 is running Android 9, and will stop getting monthly security updates soon.
syphonblue
Pixel 4a. Don’t even question it, just get the 4a.
miroker
I have purchased many refurbed items from newegg and they usually come with at least a 90 day warranty. Desktop I got back in 2005 just crapped out a couple of months ago.
PsiFighter37
Why even bother with a laptop nowadays. I bought one of these super-mini PCs, and I can transport it anywhere, with much more computing power. As long as your hotel room or AirBNB has a big TV, it is a far better deal. I am speaking as someone who used to customize / max out their desktop PC at home as much as possible.
Redshift
Another recommendation for a Pixel. I still have my Pixel XL (first generation Pixel) and I still love it. Great camera, solid all around. I get tempted by the newer models, but I have to admit there isn’t anything I need that this one doesn’t do.
PeakVT
I’ve had good luck with used Dells from this place, both desktops and laptops. They currently have some laptops in stock for $250. Similar stores in your area might have good deals, too.
The Pale Scot
I have Visible, subsidiary of Verizon, seems decent, I don’t use phones much though.
Here is a ZTE Blade A3 Prime unlocked for 79 bucks. Doesn’t get more disposable than that
Redshift
No advice on the laptops, I’m afraid. The only one I’ve bought recently was where light weight and fairly low cost were there only considerations. (We were getting a secondary machine for travel and Ms. Redshift’s classes, whenever those are in person again.)
laura
I have a Samsung A20 and love it bc I am an old. Way more affordable at $199.00 than the Galaxy (some number) at around $700 and change.
frosty
I went to the Dark Side and got an Apple SE (same size as the 5). I’ve had two HP notebooks with the 11+” screen and I’ve been happy with them. The latest is a 360 that can be used as a laptop or tablet. Touch screen. None of which I wanted but I like the options.
HDD not SSD but it works for me. Over a year old, who knows whats on the market now.
Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)
Try Dell Outlet for a refurb laptop with an as new warranty.
Last month I managed to snag an Inspiron 5585 Ryzen 7 with 8GB RAM/256GB SDD and an IPS screen for $465 before tax.
They come and go though so check back often if you’re looking for a particular model or configuration.
As for a phone, I have a Pixel 3a XL and love it.
If you can find one cheaper than a 4a, go for it otherwise get the new Pixel 4a.
If you’re really on a budget and need a working phone super cheap, I have a Nokia 6.1 that I’ll let go for $50 shipped USPS.
Details at Facebook, PM on FB if interested.
https://www.facebook.com/dziliak1967/posts/947097592401228
WaterGirl
Wondering if you guys have any suggestions related to this part of Wyatt’s request?
Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)
Interconnection.org and their low income/non-profit client subsidiary connectall.org are also a good source of refurbished laptops if you don’t mind one that’s at least 3-5 years old.
2 years ago I got a killer deal from them on a 2 year old Dell desktop that worked fine.
JaneE
Phonearena.com has reviews and things, and you can sort by manufacturer, carrier, etc. You can’t beat pixels for update currency, and the 4a is new and $349.
frosty
@Another Scott: Exactly. The old SE fits (barely) in a Levis watch pocket. My #1 specification LOL.
Steeplejack
@PsiFighter37:
You need to take a keyboard and mouse, too, right?
Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)
@WaterGirl:
Ars Technica.
Ars Technica Review of the Pixel 4a
patrick II
@Mary G: The underlying problem is that they are trying to put lipstick on a pig. They can complain about the messenger all they want … but they are trying to reelect Donald Trump.
guachi
@Mary G: That’s the wrong version. “Stationary shops” should be “stationery shops”. It was changed almost immediately after my tweet.
Steeplejack
@WaterGirl:
Android Central, Android Authority.
NotMax
@WaterGirl
Mostly gonna be repetitious to the ones listed but could take a gander at:
Digital Trends
The Verge
patrick II
@PsiFighter37: Are you using an HDMI cord to the TV? Or a usb stick?
Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)
@Another Scott:
I haven’t seen many phones sold with it recently, but the “Android One” program phones from Nokia and other brands are guaranteed 3 years of security updates.
My 2 year old Nokia 6.1 came with Android 8 Oreo and now has Android 10 w/ the August security update.
I replaced it last year with a Pixel 3a XL because I wanted a better camera, not out of any concern for security patches.
patrick II
I was still using my Note 2 until last year. I finally gave it up because replacement batteries were useless. There are freeware operating systems you can update your phone with. Back up your phone first.
Right after the Note 10 came out I found a note 9 for $ 360. my fingers are too fat to type so I Prefer to write with my S-Pen as I am doing here.
–
Mary G
@guachi: I had read it earlier and left the tab open. Congratulations on getting a response from the FTFNYT, even if only one letter!
Gvg
@Chetan Murthy: the apps or whatever they use to do that weren’t compatible as far back as my phone was. I don’t have enough tech knowledge to explain what I don’t understand. All I can tell you is nope. It definitely wasn’t automatic and it wouldn’t work.
The Moar You Know
Moto G or Google Pixel. I had a Moto G which I liked very much, but today would probably get the Pixel.
Another Scott
@WaterGirl: Notebookcheck.net is good.
But if one is really looking for a low-cost PC, a review site isn’t really going to help much because they rarely review low-cost machines.
My $0.02.
Cheers,
Scott.
WaterGirl
I haven’t seen an answer yet on what his budget is.
TS (the original)
@NotMax:
Should be top of the list. I gave up on laptops because regardless as to what I do they seem to get slower & slower after a few months use. But my latest desktop (HP all in one) has a solid state drive and it is magic. I was loath to give up the old Win 7 desktop machine because of issues with win 10 lap tops – but this is magic. Boots in 30 seconds, runs like a dream. Almost 12 months later – no change.
guachi
@WaterGirl: I would check none of those.
An Australian YouTuber (Tim) from Hardware Unboxed has a good review of recent AMD laptops with recommendations for what to get.
The short version: Don’t get an Intel laptop. Get a laptop with an AMD Ryzen 4000 series processor as they are vastly superior to Intel parts.
This is a link to gaming laptop reviews https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM7Qgxnfu04
JaySinWA
@Gvg: @Chetan Murthy:
Some people don’t configure a Google account for their phones or don’t sync them so they depend on transfer software. The Google backup makes application restoral less painful in some ways, but I still lose messages and downloads, and transfer software can interfere with the Google restore.
Also some users fall in love with apps that don’t get updated to support later versions. I talked to a tech savvy user who used certain email software functionality that had stopped updating. Android updates would remove it and he would go through workarounds to get it back. Backwards compatibility is limited.
Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)
@guachi:
If you can find one, that is.
When I was looking last month, almost no one had Ryzen 4000 series laptops in stock, and when they did they were either too expensive or came with crap TN screens.
Unless you game with one and/or use it primarily hooked up to an external monitor, I’d rank having an IPS screen over Intel/AMD.
My old Dell 5570 had decent specs and I used it with an external KB & monitor, so the crap display didn’t matter until I started to use it as a laptop.
Even looking at it dead straight on, the display was brighter and color shifted at the bottom of the screen.
That’s why I sold it and bought the 5585 I mentioned earlier.
A Ghost to Most
I just got a Moto 7g play for my wife for $168 from Verizon. Good phone for the price.
Another Scott
@JaySinWA: LG’s transfer software is very good, but I had to use “SMS Backup +” to get my text messages onto my LG V35 when I was setting it up.
Yeah, it’s still more painful than it should be to move to a new phone.
Cheers,
Scott.
Bruuuuce
@WaterGirl: I like the reviews at Ars Technica and Gizmodo, though mostly the units they review are higher-end. But Giz does do a quarterly or semi-annual Best Laptop For Every Need post, and they do include budget models.
JaySinWA
@Another Scott: I used a Motorola/Lenovo ADB message backup process that then could not restore, and then I discovered it only did SMS and not MMS so it was pretty much pointless
ETA it did remove some of the time to get from Android 8.0 to 10
Mr. Kite
@PsiFighter37: Dude some people like to hang in coffee shops* pretending to work and your solution has some practical problems.
* nb. Before Times language
WaterGirl
Thanks everybody, for all the recommendations and sources for good information. I’m sure it was all very helpful to Wyatt.
JaySinWA
@Mr. Kite: Nowadays some people work from cars or even socially distant transit. So built in batteries do have their point.
JaySinWA
My not quite crap phone is a refurb Moto G6 I bought about 9 months ago for about $60 from Tracfone. It will be unlockable by the end of the year (unfortunately it is unlikely to be whitelisted by Verizon but should work on any GSM carrier and many Verizon MNVOs. Buying slightly older and cheaper works for me, and the Tracfone service costs are fine for my light usage.
I got nothin’ for current Windows Laptops.
RaflW
@guachi: Did you get the stationery error fixed?
That made me nuts.
Another Scott
It would be good if Wyatt would pop in and give us a bit more information. ;-)
Assuming he wants something good but inexpensive:
https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-l/thinkpad-l13/p/20R3CTO1WWENUS0/customize?
i5 L13 Win10 Home – $630 + tax and shipping.
https://store.google.com/product/pixel_4a
$349 or $14.54/mo for 24 months.
If one wants to save on the phone, something like a mint LG G6 is worth considering for $129 + tax and shipping.
https://swappa.com/mobile/buy/lg-g6/unlocked
HTH a little.
Cheers,
Scott.
Ruckus
@wmd:
Android phones usually run out of upgradability long before they reach retirement age so getting one that is already half way there will be cheaper but may not be the best buy. I found this out personally with my last phone, an android by a company that was bought out about middle of it’s life and as Android moved on and my phone didn’t the usability and stability of it became less and less till it was bordering on totally useless. I got about 4 yrs out of it and had to replace it.
Mai naem mobile
I got the galaxy 4,5 and 7. I still have all three in working condition(switched to 5 for the screen size and the others for memory size.) From 5 on I’ve been buying refurbs on 1saleaday or Groupon and you wouldn’t know the difference. You have to get the top two refurb levels. I guess the rest of them look beat up. Using a Note 9 currently which I love. I also love the size of the memory. I haven’t gone through my videos and pics in a while and its not even close to full. I’ve spent the money on a 3 layer otterbox case for each phone and I think this is what saves my phones. I’m not abusive with my phones but I think I would ruin them from moisture issues if I didn’t have the case.
Bill Arnold
Original iPhone SE here. Don’t know how much longer it will get updates. Use headphone jack because I’m old school. Small size is fine(/nice too), though many mobile aps/web sites waste a lot of screen real estate.
For laptop, I’ve been using refurbished Lenovo thinkpads, with the red mouse nub between the G and H keys. (Touch typist; I turn off the touchpad, and very occasionally plug in an external mouse or cordless mouse.) They run Windows fine; mostly I use Linux(debian). One nice thing about Lenovo thinkpads (maybe newer models too) is that they are end-user repairable; there are service guide pdfs that cover replacement of pretty much everything; generally only a very small phillips head screwdriver (sometimes a flat) is needed. I keep the pre-install windows SSD and replace the SSD with a new SSD drive to install Linux on.
One got rained on in a heavy sudden downpour while I was carrying it, and stopped working, but swapped the drive to an identical replacement (down to the full model number) and it worked.
Scott Alloway
@Chetan Murthy: Agree. I have some kind of Android phone that runs on the AT&T cheapo $28.xx month plan for phone and text. Phone cost me $38. Every 12 months or so I have to replace it because I drop it, a tree limb smacks my pocket, it falls in the toilet or some sort of incident (all true). It’s a phone. Go cheap unless you need bells and whistles. And I use wi-fi at home or hot spots to go online with the phone. At home, the Mac setup is different. Housenet is wi-fi and ethernet, according to the box. Four active Macs with three printers and Comcast. Been doing stuff (publications, web, etc) since 1986. Started with Pagemaker 1.6 putting out a tabloid newspaper on a Mac Plus and now use Quark, Indesign and all that other fancy crap. A phone is a phone. A computer is a tool. Hey, I’m a 70-year-old grump, as she-who-must-be-obeyed sez.
Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)
@Ruckus:
Upgrades/Security updates have long been the Achilles Heel of Android devices.
My guess is that Qualcomm’s refusal to update the BSP’s for their SoC’s after a certain period of time is the reason why even Google is only able to offer 3 years of guaranteed updates.
Since Apple designs their own chips, iPhones don’t have that problem.
janesays
I have a Pixel 3XL that I effectively got for half price a couple months after it was released. Google Fi had a promo in December 2018 where if you bought two Pixels on a shared account, you would get an $800 bill credit applied to your Google Fi account about two months later. The XL was $900 and the other person on my account went with the regular Pixel for $800, and we split the credit 50-50, so I basically got a $900 phone for $500.
The Pixel 5 is going to be launching in a few weeks, and supposedly it’s going to see a price drop to $699. There’s only going to be one version (no XL), which will be larger than the regular Pixel and smaller than the Pixel XL models of previous years. 8GB RAM and 128GB storage capacity (non-expandable), but not the fastest processor available (still really fast, but not on par with the next Samsung Galaxy phone). 5G ready. Two cameras in the back, one wide angle, one standard.
Anyway, my Pixel 3XL is getting near the end of its life cycle and I’m thinking about upgrading to the Pixel 5, but I’ll probably wait for a few reviews and for a holiday sale before I take the plunge.
TriassicSands
If you have $350 plus tax, then a Pixel 4a would likely be your best choice, especially if the phone’s camera matters. Three full Android version updates and no bloatware — i.e., a clean Android installation.
Otherwise, consider looking at a Nokia with Android One (same clean Android installation as with Pixels).
Ruckus
@Chetan Murthy:
I’ve had the same problem with Android. At a certain point it’s just a box that can not be upgraded and that becomes more and more useless. I’ve not seen that with Apple as their lifespan seems to be much longer. One person’s experience.
Well maybe not. I have a friend who has a 9 yr old iMac that has just run out of upgrades. She may purchase a new box but that one has been running perfect for 9 yrs. That’s better than some cars.
Ruckus
@Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman):
Exactly.
Android phones are not bad, my original was pretty good in fact, but it ran out of usability way too soon. It wasn’t that the phone didn’t work all of a sudden but once the upgrades stopped and changes were made to the system, you were screwed. Sort of an MS/PC issue, which I ran into staying with an old OS that worked and didn’t crash (I think XR) like a lot of MS crap does. But they stop supporting it and build in updates that seem to specifically turn a problem into a must update hardware situation.
Audio
@Craig: I’ve got one too, but the 4a is really tempting; bigger screen in a smaller form, and latest camera tech.
Brachiator
I am so sorry that I missed this thread. Some great tips.
FWIW, in addition to the Wirecutter, I look at these reviewers on YouTube
Mobile Tech Review
Just Josh
The Tech Chap
Andrew Marc David
I think the Pixel 4a is worth a look. Understand there may be a Pixel 5 soon.
Laptops. This might be interesting.
Lenovo Ideapad 5 14 with AMD Ryzen 4700U Processor
TriassicSands
A Pixel 5 would be about twice as expensive. You may be thinking of a 4a with 5G capability, which is due out later this year.
Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)
I just upgraded my Pixel 2 to a Pixel 4a. Highly recommend. Newegg.com sells referbs at decent prices and generally (pre-Covid) had purchases at your house in 3 days.
LarryB
I have had good luck buying the flagship Samsung phone from 2 years ago on Ebay. S8’s are currently going for < $300, and S10s for < $400. Pro tips:
Sanjuro58
Asus VivoBook 15 series of laptops. I bought one new online in late March for $439 dollars (Amazon) and now the same model with twice the disk storage is $648. I use it all day 5 days a week for work. Since Covid hit, I have been working from home and it has been a really great laptop for someone used to a desktop and two monitors. Has 16GB RAM and AMD cpu. If want web links you can email me.
sam
One word: Tracfone. Unless you’re doing over 2-3 Gb of cellular data (most of the time data is over a nearby wifi connection) this is WAY cost effective. Right now I just upgraded to the Galaxy J3 Orbit. Had to upgrade because they keep threatening to shut off non-VoLTE access. The Orbit has 5.0 screen, 8/5 Mp cameras, 16 Gb memory so holds dozens of apps. Cheap 256 Gb microSD card for data. All of $25 (NEW) on line and another $8 for the case/protector combo on EBay. Seriously, this has been a mature technology for years now, nothing changes that dramatically year to year. I take the grand I save each year and take my wife out someplace nice every month. These folks that get $1000 phones and $100 cases every year and a $100 bill every month are cray-cray.
xjmuellerlurks
I am a Samsung fan. I had an S4 years ago and now have an A50. The A series is the “value” line. You can still get an A20 cheap, depending on the provider. $150 at Walmart for a prepay. Good quality, good screen, good camera, decent storage. USB C charger. My brother in law has a V series LG which is also a decent inexpensive phone. I had an early V model and didn’t care for it, but the newer V series is much better.