Samsung Galaxy S10 5G for $600 (Refurb) or wait for S21

Is the s10 5g refurbished for $600 a good deal it's in as new condition or would it be better to wait for the s21 which might drive the prices of the s20s down.

Looking at 5g mainly to future proof and to add a 5g capable telstra prepaid sim. Optus network 4g has been really shoddy, 4mbps uploads seem to make video chats really hard.

The phone is for my elderly mum, the important thing is speakerphone and battery life and screen being readable. Had to return the Realme 7 pro since the theming was sub-par as the text size was not uniformly increased e.g. the top status bar stayed really small and the icons etc were hard to read and the phone was a bit narrow (she seems to want a wider phone). Samsung phones in the past have the ability to have bold text and better theming which makes the text way more legible.

I think she has her heart set on either a Samsung or google phone. but she has only every used an old J7. She did however like my s9 when she played with it last year.

Note: there is also a s10 plus for 593 but i thought s10 5g is similar to s10 plus. GSM arena says he loudness of the phone is comparable to realme 7 pro which my mum really liked. very clear to hear things.

Comments

  • what is your current phone? you can wait for S21 and buy a new phone, then give your current phone to the mum. win-win situation.

  • i have a work phone. so it belongs to work unfortunately. its a S9. otheriwse i would def have done that :P

  • Would she need a headphone jack and support for micro SD card? I am sure S21 lacks both of them.
    I think S10 was the last generation to have a headphone jack on S series?

    Also forgive me if I sound like I am adding an option, but I found a tablet to be good device to use alongside the phone.
    My dad has a tablet because he finds everything on the phone to be bit small for his liking, especially for like web browsing and such.

    • Thans Oversimplified.

      Headphone jack is useful I think for those times its hard to hear (she has hearing issues). sd card not so important with 1b onedrive i got her she can just move things to the cloud easily.

      yes a tablet is def something I want to get for her. However if and when she eventually can go out of home (after covid) she will also need a phone. I guess she could carry a tablet too I just thought it might be hard to carry.

      I think an an 8inch tablet is the largest she could hold. She really likes the ipad mini for basic tasks like youtube and internet she used an old mii2 that my wife used to have. But she actually finds it less intuitive than android lol but I'm sure she can learn. Also I dont know much about ipads. Unfortunately, I keep hearing android tablet in the 8inch form factor just aren't great.

      I found I pad mini 4 (wifi+cellular) in "as new" condition on Greengadgets for 450 (with discount). is that a good deal? or maybe a ipad mini 5 (wifi + cellular) in "as new" for 611 (although I think new is 799.

      • I am not sure how iPads go in terms of price, never been someone who followed Apple products that closely. I'd just wait for a bargain, hopefully, something like back to school will be out and there will be bargains on tablets.

        Anyways, yeah, different OSs can be a pain to get used to, I think Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 3 or Tab A 8.0 (2020) would be a nice choice, if you can get hold of them in Australia. I do enjoy using Tab S7, but yes, it is very wieldy and I kinda use it as a 2 in 1 that can kinda act as a laptop.

  • I have the s9+ and it's still doing pretty well.
    I'd wait till the s21, let the prices fall, then snap up an s20 or something similar. Besides the form factor the S10 won't really be a huge upgrade.

    • thanks, Drakesy. My mum has a j7 duos. so a s10 is a massive upgrade lol. but agree im thinking maybe prices of refurbs could drop after s21 is released and maybe some s20s will come onto the market too.

  • Shopping for my dad I asked myself what does he want in a phone? He is 65. In the end decided that software support is also important so got him a Pixel.

    4 things were important to him:
    - Decent camera
    - Good battery
    - Big enough screen size around 6-6.2". Not something over 6.5"
    - Value and pricing

    I think she has her heart set on either a Samsung or google phone. but she has only every used an old J7. She did however like my s9 when she played with it last year.

    The S10 5G is a big phone at 6.7", comming from a J7 (5.50") and liking the sizing of the S9 (5.8") I would say something around 6.2" would be perfect for her, if she isn't used to handling phablets I would first go instore with her like JB Hi-Fi and get some hands on experience with each device that you would consider. Handling comfort I think is very important as well.

    My suggestion:
    - The Pixel 4A 5G at 6.2" is a great phone for the price or go the 4A for something more compact and will be supported for a while
    - A bigger alternative is the 6.5" Samsung S20 Fan edition (FE) is good value as a premium mid ranger (you could probably snag it for under $700 if you shop around), Samsung have been getting better with software support.
    - Go for a slightly older iphone model for ease of use and good software support for many years.

  • +1

    S20 FE 5G

    You've missed some recent deals, but has been had for around $700 recently.

    That would be the way to go. Good size screen, great battery etc

      • thanks i was very close to buying this last time from Samsung store at the reduced price but then read all the comments about screen issue so I got discouraged.

        • Eh, using one now

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