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Phones are very expensive right now if you insist on buying the latest and greatest from a company. But if you’re like me, you’re just not going to spend $ 1,000 of your hard-earned dollars on a phone when you know there are alternatives that offer almost as much for a little less cash.
Fortunately, there are are some cool phones you can buy just around the $ 400- $ 500 mark. The Pixel 3a is still a good buy, Apple’s iPhone SE 2020 is super cheap for a new iPhone, and Samsung still sells the nightly hit of 2019, the Galaxy S10e. I tried them all, not only did I pick them up and look at them, but I logged in with all my accounts and really used them, and for my money the Galaxy S10e is the clear choice if you want 90% of a flagship phone at 50% of the price.
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I just can’t iOS
I will tell you a secret: I like the iPhone. I always have. Apple makes great hardware, and when it comes to the basics of what a smartphone should look like, such as communications and entertainment, the iPhone nails it. Most of the time, those basics are exactly what I want from my phone.
But then there are the other times; Maybe I want to watch a video while checking messages or doing silly things on Twitter. Maybe I am “talking” to several people at once and need good notifications. Or maybe I want to open an application that I hardly ever use and enjoy the link with Google’s huge library of online services. In those moments, you love having an Android phone in your hands.
They are icons. In a grid With a folder called “junk” because you can’t make it disappear.
Apple knows that too, and iOS is slowly getting things like better notifications or widgets, and it has allowed Google to load apps that help it connect its Google services securely. That’s a big deal, and it’s not some kind of admission of defeat by Apple – it’s about offering customers the best features they really want.
The iPhone SE 2020 is a great phone, especially if you use a MacBook or iPad or both. Apple has a gem with iMessage, and the hardware itself feels good. But in 2020 I just can’t deal with iOS.
The best Galaxy S10
Samsung’s Galaxy S10 line was a phenomenal success, but everyone seems to forget what I think it was best Galaxy S10: the Galaxy S10e.
With the S10e, you get a phone that’s oversized, has an amazing display, great cameras, incredible build quality, and all the features you’d expect from a Galaxy flagship plus a flat panel instead of that curved waterfall offering that many people hate. It is truly the only Galaxy S10 that I was interested in having.
Not Perfect To begin with, it’s already a year old, which means it won’t have the longevity of a 2020 model. When you compare that to the iPhone SE, which should receive approximately five years of updates and support, that’s not something you can just discard.
Ask yourself if you are really going to keep a cheap phone for five years. Spoiler: you are not.
Except you probably can. If you are like many people, including myself, you will never use a phone for more than a couple of years. Buying a phone with an interest-free financing plan makes it super easy to upgrade, and when you only spend half the amount of a flagship, the payments add up to what basically changes your pocket every month. That makes it easy not to worry about five years of updates, but I still can’t ignore that Apple will give them to you, and Samsung won’t. It is not as important as it is supposed to be for most of us.
The cheapest iPhone has a more powerful processor than the more expensive Android phone.
There is also the entire processor. The iPhone SE has a chip that’s roughly two times more powerful than the Galaxy S10e’s Snapdragon 855 found in North American models. With that said, you won’t really see the difference during daily use. The Galaxy S10e will do whatever you ask without getting stuck or doing anything that makes you wish you had a chip that’s twice as fast.
The A13 Bionic protects the future of the iPhone SE in a way that the Snapdragon 855 does not.
This is important when it comes to preparing for the future: one day there will be a game or application that needs more power than the S10e, but that day will not come very soon. By then, you will be using a different and newer phone. Apple putting the A13 chip into the iPhone SE is surprising and important to Apple’s supply chain, but the excess is excessive and either phone offers the power you need to work, communicate, or just play with your phone.
Android 10 seals the deal
When it comes to the hardware or the camera or the fingerprint sensor or any other physical On both the iPhone SE and Galaxy S10e, you can’t go wrong in any way because they are both great. I’d choose the iPhone simply because I like the top and bottom bezels to hold the phone with my old, twisted fingers, but you might want to experience the full screen of the S10e. As I said, they are both great.
Sorry, but Android is just better.
But the big difference, and what makes the Galaxy S10e my choice on the “cheap” phone line is Android. Android 10 brings some great privacy and security improvements and runs beautifully on the S10e’s hardware. Also, Samsung adds some significant additions in areas like camera app or HD Bluetooth codecs.
I don’t even use half the Android features on the S10e, but the ones I love and need the most make the phone a pleasure. I can tap my security key on the back of the phone to log in to my work email. I can speak in a great family group chat directly from the notification. I can switch between Google’s personal and work services with a single touch. This is the kind of thing that makes Android a much better option for me, which is why I think the Galaxy S10e is the best phone in this price range even though it’s not new.
You can’t really say that the Pixel 3a (or the 4a, which is coming very soon) or the iPhone SE or Galaxy S10e is a bad choice. But if I didn’t have phones coming and going all the time because of my work, I know the S10e is the one I would buy because I can use them. If you’re not fully entrenched in the Apple App Store or iMessage, I think you might like the S10e more as well.
The best “cheap” phone
Samsung Galaxy S10e
The best of Samsung at a great price.
The Galaxy S10e offers everything the Galaxy S10 family does, at a lower starting point. You’ll love the great screen, dual rear cameras, and great performance.
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