Need a new iPhone - any suggestions for cost effective options?

[FrugalSaver]

Last one I bought 3-4 years ago with an AT&T card which gave me a free iPhone.

[dang1]

new iPhone - cost effective. oxymoron

[Cranky]

T Mobile has 8s for <$500. We just replaced dh’s phone.

[GrumpyPenguin]

I've bought my current and last two iPhones used on either eBay or Swappa.  I went with sellers with very high reputations, and had great experiences.  I'd recommend this -- buy maybe two generations behind and you get a great price and another 3-4 years of software support.

[Junglebot]

Mine’s through Tracfone. It cost around $150 (iPhone 6). They have newer models for more.

[Hadilly]

Swappa for me.

[2sk22]

new iPhone - cost effective. oxymoron

Depends on how much you value security and privacy. Now, iOS definitely has its share of vulnerabilities but many Android phones are insecure right from unboxing. See https://www.wired.com/story/146-bugs-preinstalled-android-phones/

[Linea_Norway]

Switch to android, like my DH will do, waiting for black Friday sales.
I am not looking forward to his likely complaining when he starts to compare the new android with his iphone 4. But iphone has become so reducilously expensive and difficult to repair yourself that DH doesn't want to do it anymore.

[GailNYC]

If you do a search for "best used iphone" or "best older iphone" you'll see that many people recommend the iphone 7. I plan on buying one this winter myself, as my 5s is almost out of gas.

[FrugalSaver]

Mine works fine other than the battery not having much life these days

[GHG7F0]

I bought my IPhone 6 last Blackfriday for $99 on Cricket brand new. 6 months later you can unlock and go to Mint or any other low cost provider. While on Cricket I bought the promo cards at Target so it was a affordable 6 months.

[Tabitha]

We bought the iPhone my husband uses by asking when we opened the account if they had older models. Going back 2 or more models = deep discount.

 I replaced my broken phone by buying used from the local celphone repair shop. In looking for used phones I was disquieted by reviews from unhappy customers. Mail order seemed a gamble. I did initially have trouble connecting - the phone was not fully unlocked. I was happy to have a shop to go back to where they had incentive to avoid a return by solving the issue.

[dang1]

new iPhone - cost effective. oxymoron

Depends on how much you value security and privacy. Now, iOS definitely has its share of vulnerabilities but many Android phones are insecure right from unboxing. See https://www.wired.com/story/146-bugs-preinstalled-android-phones/

Always good to be security conscious no matter what phone is used.
https://www.it.ucla.edu/security/resources/security-best-practices/guidelines-for-securing-mobile-devices

Like, who knows what iPhone security vulnerabilities are still undiscovered, hopefully not 2 years running.
https://www.wired.com/story/ios-attack-watering-hole-project-zero/amp

For Android security, best to stick to Google Pixel phones which are updated the fastest

[zinnie]

If you go a few models back you can usually get a refurbished one for a decent price. I don't think I've paid more than $120 and have always had one. Virgin usually has good deals on phones + service. Or go Cricket and buy an unlocked one on eBay to set up w/it.

The price of a new iPhone is horrifying now, BTW. Just looked and didn't know it was that bad!

[kanga1622]

If you do a search for "best used iphone" or "best older iphone" you'll see that many people recommend the iphone 7. I plan on buying one this winter myself, as my 5s is almost out of gas.

I’ve been using my 7Plus for 4 years now. Other than a faster battery drain, this phone is great. I need at least one but possibly two more years before I will upgrade.

[nkt0]

I think i saw AT&T selling iPhone 6s for $99 (probably a refurb). That's the oldest model that will still run iOS 13 (the latest), i believe.

[PlanetDee]

I replaced my iPhone 5c with an 8 a few months ago. Someone said it above, but ask to see what the oldest model is that they have in stock. You'll get a pretty significant discount and still feel like you're getting something new and fun. Then just plan on keeping it until it craps out and repeat the same pattern.

[Dragonswan]

Do you have any credit card points?  I always pay for my travel then use my points to get gift cards.  That's because I can get 5 points per dollar for purchasing flights but only 1 point per dollar for purchasing an iPhone.  So I took the sign up bonus and flight and dining out points and bought $550 worth of Best Buy gift cards.  I then went to Best Buy and bought an iPhone 11 (the regular lower priced model)  with my gift card and only $120 out of pocket (taxes!).  Now I have the latest and almost greatest phone that will be supported by Apple for at least the next four years.  My impetus for purchasing a new phone is when Apple stops updating the iOS.  By the time I need a new phone I should have another set of bonus and points ready to go.

Incidentally my first gen iPad mini finally stopped being able to download from my favorite websites so I had to replace that too this year.  Used the Amex cashback/points I got for buying my groceries.  That card gives me 6% cashback for everything I can buy in the grocery store (including gift cards to other stores).  I didn't spend enough for the bonus and cashback to cover all of it, but I did pretty good.

[aloevera]

If you are open to switching cell providers, Metro/T-Mo has an iphone 7 for $150, 6 for $100. Lots of free Android phones.

https://www.metrobyt-mobile.com/shop/phones

We have a family plan with 4 lines unlimited everything, 15gig hotspot (each line) and Amazon Prime for $120/mo. Google One also.

[EricEng]

Before buying an old model iphone/android check which bands are used in your region for your provider.  Newer phones have a lot of bands not found in older models.  My wife had to give up her iphone 4s long ago because they swapped off the bands it supported.  Especially true if you want to take advantage of Tmobile's new 600 and 700 mhz channels for rural and semi rural 4g.

[meatgrinder]

Mi 9 or Redmi Note 8.  Around $200/$300 with the same or better specs than iphone x.  Both work on mint mobile ($15/month 8GB data).

They are Chinese brands but all phones are made in China anyway. I've been on android for awhile now and don't understand how people pay for the Apple name.

[FrugalSaver]

I found a discount where I can get a brand new iphone8 for $480

Thoughts?

[2sk22]

I found a discount where I can get a brand new iphone8 for $480

Thoughts?

The Apple website shows the 64GB iPhone 8 model for $450 and the 128GB model for $500. In case you are referring to the 128GB model, then you're getting $20 off.

[G-String]

I always get mine free, just need to re-commit for 2 more years to Rogers.  Phone plan costs the same with or without the free phone.

[Syonyk]

Mine works fine other than the battery not having much life these days

iFixit sells battery kits that solve the problem, if you're willing to crack your device open.

For Android security, best to stick to Google Pixel phones which are updated the fastest

Yes... if you're OK with phones that have rubbish hardware that is unlikely to last 2 years in service before failing.

The OS updates are nice, but FFS, Google sucks at hardware lately.