Hey all. The title kind of says it all. I'd like to get out of the contract loop, and don't want to spend a fortune on a better handset (I get the S20 is an upgrade but would prefer to pay spend the amount). What's the best option?
I have a contracted Samsung Galaxy S9. What do we think is the cheapest handset upgrade to move to pre-paid?
LColtrainz on 27/05/2020 - 15:03
Comments
Could do, but as I said I'd like to upgrade the handset. Even just a bit of a camera upgrade or next model processor or something so it's not years old tech.
It sounds as though you just want something 'better', but aren't fussed about what that is?
Which component(s) of your current S9 are you not happy with?
"But this one goes up to
elevenS20"There is so little real world difference between an S9 and S20
I'm finding battery life is dropping, and the camera is just okay. Overall it's been pretty good, so I'm not adverse to Samsung. Maybe it just needs a refresh to clear out any junk slowing things down. I just wasn't sure if the tech had moved so fast that there's a longer life, higher quality handset available at a reasonable price (say up to $600) that would be worth getting. From the comments, it's sounding as though there's not.
And thanks for the comments so far, all.
To be honest, upgrading for upgrade's sake is rather pointless with the s9. I personally have an s9+ and it runs as well as the day I bought it, recent updates have made the camera even better with the only downside the battery life.
Years ago 2 years resulted in huge leaps in performance and features, now its just about fine tuning and seeing how high the price ceiling can go.
Value for money in the high end devices has plummeted with the mid range devices doing everything and more than you could ever need for a third of the cost to get the flagship.
I was in a similar boat to yourself and opted to just keep the handset. You save a ridiculous amount of money and there really is little benefit to upgrading, I think you'll find you'd need to spend a fair amount to upgrade over the S9, and not sure it's really worth it.
$150 for 12 months for all the data/calls you need is a hard plan to beat. I'd consider upgrading next year instead, and start doing a 3-year upgrade cycle as that seems like a nicer sweet spot than every 2 years.
I think this is the way I'll go. And I'll just reset the phone to factory settings and it'll feel like a brand new handset!
I think you're unlikely to find much in the way of upgrades to the S9 for 'cheap'. Cost is subjective, so if cheap for you is >$1000 then the world is your oyster. It does not match my definition of cheap.
With that said, some of the budget options out there at the moment are pretty great. As to whether they're better than a S9 I'm unsure.
Some particular models to consider:
Xiaomi (Mi 9/T/Lite)
Oneplus (7/T/Pro)Good luck finding what you're looking for.
The best value is the one you don't buy.
But if you must have an upgrade, it really is just a matter of finding a phone you like at a price you're happy with. There is no universal best option.
For example, lots of people are happy with the Galaxy A51. But that's not really an upgrade over the S9. Maybe you can go for a Pixel or OnePlus. They're cheaper. But are they what you want?
If you're set on the S20, then add a search alert on OzB and wait for a price you're willing to pay.
Get a $14 pre paid plan with moose mosbile, southern phone or spintel and keep your current phone.
You can get unlimited calls and text and 5GB data for that price.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the camera in the s9. I am still using the s8 and the camera is very good for a phone. If you really want better images save your money and buy a camera.Also if your phone is running slow a factory reset will make it like new.
Android is very bad at updating properly, on multiple occasions with different phones I had to factory reset to improve slowness after updates.
Keep the S9 and get a sim-only plan? Your says it all question isn't clear.