Our ATT store flat out told us that they don’t have the best prices on their phones and they don’t give as high of a trade in as Apple.
We’re Apple people here so my vote would be for an iPhone. Best customer service hands down.
^And easiest to use. And you get to trade in your old phone effectively reducing the price.
Apple store is the best place to buy a new IPhone if you are trading in an old model. Everyone in my family has bought their latest phones at the Apple store. The nice thing is they also are good about transferring your data to the new phone. In the past we had bought from Costco but with the trade in price it made the most sense to go to the Apple store.
My friend who is not tech savvy bought from the ATT store because they were very helpful with teaching her to use the IPhone when she switched from Samsung. Whenever she has a problem she pops into the ATT store and she has a couple of guys who are happy to help her.
As far as Androids and storage, my almost 2 year old Pixel 2 is 64GB, standard version. So it’s not like they’re doling out Gbs like they’re gold.
So if you’re looking for a bargain, maybe a Pixel 3a. Sort of their bargain version, but Pixels are great. Best phone i’ve ever had hands down.
I have an iPhone (just got the new 11 on the 20th to replace my 6s 16GB that was becoming obsolete) for a specific reason (medical related), but if I didn’t need it, I’d like to think I’d get a Samsung again. Of course, I also now have an apple watch and Car Play and other things that might make me reluctant to switch back.
There are two reasons why I needed a new phone: battery life and storage. Both are easily replaceable/increased with a Samsung but expensive/impossible with an iPhone.
Iphones are great for a lot of things - and I have to admit, I love imessage with read receipts (vs texting), but they are not for people who want to use a phone for a LONG time.
“An advantage of newer phones is that the remaining support window for security software updates is longer.”
For sustainability reasons among others, Apple has made a big push to make their phones more durable and support them for a much longer period than before.
Apple just released IOS version 13 five days ago. My iphone 6s is STILL being supported and it still works great! I’ve tried my millenial’s iphone Xr and I can’t see anything meaningful that it can do the my 6s can’t.
Reports are that Apple will still support my 6s for two more years. By then, I’ll be ready to upgrade to a refurbed iphone 8 on the internet (with warranty). Maybe a 10 if I’m feeling flush. I’ve bought a dozen unlocked refurbed phones over the internet before (kids are great for losing or breaking phones) and never had a problem. And even Apple itself will sell you a refurb phone for cheap. No tech skills required – the folks at the phone store will do the swap and set up for you.
But if you must buy new, I’d recommend going over to team iphone. As noted, their phones last and are supported for a long time. 5-6 years of support is now standard for Apple. So an iphone 8 (introduced in 2017) should give you at least four years. An 11 should be good for six years – you’ll probably lose or break it before then. As part of their sustainability push, Apple now has a pretty nice trade-in program so long as you stay within the iphone silo. For sure, the last place you want to buy a phone is at the cell phone store. BYOD (bring your own device) is the only way to go.
“To me, being non-techy is even MORE reason to go with a major carrier who has a brick and mortar store you can walk into for help.”
MNVOs (mobile network virtual operator) have plenty of physical stores. My customer experience and experience with Cricket has been far better than I ever got at the ATT store. Even though Cricket is owned by ATT and uses ATT’s network. So it is ATT – just costs way less and is easier to deal with.
YMMV.
There is (was) an advantage of buying from the Apple store - the phones come unlocked. Even though I am an AT&T user, I buy the Verizon version. The Verizon version (at least for the iPhone 6/7/8 models) works for China. (Not sure if the later models work at all).
Some do, some don’t. Though I have not found any need to go into a cell phone store. All of the cell phones that I have bought were either from the web or Target or Walmart.
I ended up choosing Apple for my first smartphone b/c I had the original iPad, then switched from a desktop to a Mac so they would sync. When it came time for a smartphone, I decided I wanted everything to sync easily.
If you decide on an iPhone, do you have a Sam’s Club membership? I just replaced three iPhones last Friday. S19 and I have both had the iPhone 6 forever. Neither of us cares about the latest model, just one that works. Both of our phones have been slowly starting to lose functionality. D23 had the 5 still and could no longer access Safari and a few other problems. When the 11 came out, I started comparing pricing b/w Apple, Verizon (my carrier) and Sam’s Club. Verizon had a 2 for 1 deal with iPhone XR but when I read the fine print, it said I had to upgrade my plan which would have significantly increased my monthly bill, basically I wasn’t really getting a free phone.
I don’t know how long the deal is running but at Sam’s Club, I got a $150 gift card for each phone…so I got $450 for buying the three phones through them. We buy all our gas there and shop there 1-2x per month, so this was a good deal for us.
I noticed they were also running some deals on Android phones as well so either way, I would check out Sam’s if you have a membership.
S19 and D23 got the XR, while I decided to splurge and get the 11. I will keep it until it dies (as will my kids.). This is only third iPhone. I would’ve actually kept the 6 longer but the GPS no longer worked. I use that daily b/c I do a lot of driving in traffic in areas I’m not familiar with so I was going nuts without it.
I bought a new iPhone a few weeks ago at the Apple Store. I used to buy at Costco and keep the old phone in case a kid lost or broke a phone but now they are on their own. Costco offered me $42 on my old iPhone 6s. Apple gave me $150. Costco would not trade in old iPads. I had two older models that Apple gave me $65 and $55.
As far as keyboards, I use Siri more often than I used to. Things I never thought about using voice to text like long recipes that would take forever to type out, esp on my phone.
I have been using Apple products for years and love how everything syncs. If you live near an Apple Store, their training sessions are really helpful.
Check the return policy wherever you decide to buy. And bring it back if it is not working for you. It can be a pain but better than suffering for years with a phone you hate!
My issue in terms of upgrading is the size of the new phones. I do not want a bigger phone. I don’t want to look like I’m holding an IPad mini up to my ear. I love my phone…I think it’s a 6se…it was small enough to fit in my old phone case…which I also loved.
I wish Apple would make that size phone again for those of us who aren’t interested in a larger phone.
@thumper1 I agree. I went from the 6 to the 11 and it is bigger but not huge. My daughter had the SE which is the same size as a 5 and I forgot just how tiny it is. I actually appreciated a slightly bigger size but would never get the Pro. The XR and 11 aren’t that much bigger than the 6 but noticeably bigger than the SE for sure. I do hate how Apple changes some features as supposed improvements -like I suddenly can’t charge my phone and use corded headphones anymore due to the design of the newer phones. I now have to buy a special accessory (note, I will not use wireless EarPods, don’t like them).
If OP is price driven and not into the tech frills, that store rep may have realized there’s no sale to be made.
Not the right sales mindset, though.
So I am a bit of a tech nut. So that means nothing with an I in front of it ?.
I went from my One Plus 3 (yes I am even on their forum) to a Pixel 3a for me and my wife. She had a Motorola z 2 force.
She wanted a great camera (Motorola camera are pretty good) and I dropped mine one too many times ?.
We both went to the Pixel 3a with the Amazon deal for $100 off. But currently it’s $399.00 but the news Pixel 4 is coming out very soon so the 3a(or 3a xl (larger) is going to go on sale.
It has basically the same camera as its big bother the Pixel 3(no a). Which is hands-down the best camera on the market. In comparison tests the 3a is extremely close. She is more critical then I am and she is simply blown away with the results we get camera wise. Phone wise it’s fast (I don’t game) plus since it’s a Google phone I get all the updates first like Android 10 and all the fixes first.
For the One Plus 6t as mentioned, the new OP7t is coming out like any day now. So the other phones will go on sale. I will tell you not to buy it. If you buy direct from them from China(like I do) , there are multiple update and bugs etc. If you buy from t-mobile they are usually not fully unlocked phones and DON’T get the latest updates. Plus more expensive then the Pixel 3a. The 3a is super simple to use and set up. It’s just works.
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/google-pixel-3a,review-6452.html
Sorry. Then their just not that techy… Lol… @thumper1…?
I bought a Galaxy 10 in May. They now come in different levels, like a Honda Accord comes in DS, EX depending on trims and electronic, for the phone it’s the camera? Anyway, I was told the guts were the same in all the models, just the camera(s) are different.
I got it at Costco and it was about $150 less than the list price, so just over $500. The one thing I don’t like is that the charger has the ‘new’ plug and all my other Samsung things have the old plug, so now I have to have 2 different chargers (old car one doesn’t work anymore).
No real advice for the OP as I’m like @thumper1. I’ve been hanging on to my iphone 5 because it actually fits on my hand. I stopped by the apple store and the smallest phone they offer now is the 8 and it’s bigger than the one I have now. I don’t know why they can’t keep even one small phone in the offering.
Looks like the newer Nokia (HMD Global Oy) phones are Android One phones, which get monthly security updates for three years. The lowest cost one is the 6.1, at $200-230. The more current 7.1 is $280-300.
I still have an iPhone 6 and don’t want to give up my headphone jack. (I have wireless but like to use my wired ones, too.) We’ve always bought phones at Costco since they have good prices and throw in some extras. I’ve had my battery replaced twice, and it’s still going strong. I love that it’s easy to sync across iPad and MacBook Pro.