this post was submitted on 05 Jan 2024
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I saw this post and wanted to ask the opposite. What are some items that really aren't worth paying the expensive version for? Preferably more extreme or unexpected examples.

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[โ€“] Asudox@lemmy.world 33 points 11 months ago (6 children)
[โ€“] ribboo@lemm.ee 27 points 11 months ago (4 children)

100% the other way around for me. My phone is the one thing I own, I use the most. To have a more fluid experience is worth a couple of hundred dollars. The hourly price difference is minuscule.

[โ€“] Asudox@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago

Yeah, it's subjective.

[โ€“] weeeeum@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I have found that most mid tier phones and high end ones are pretty similar in practical performance and use. Even cheap phones around 300 or 200$ are pretty good nowadays and there's not much of a reason to get a really expensive one anymore. Expensive Phones simply haven't innovated much in the last couple years while cheap phones have gotten better and better, which is why phone sales are at a 10 year low right now.

[โ€“] Mango@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

My super phone is excellent and does everything I expect it to. My roommates's cheap phone somehow has worse versions of each app we install. He had to find something very specific to cast to the Roku. The type c to HDMI adapter does nothing with his phone. For some reason a mech game we play straight up wouldn't let him use certain core features until half a year later. Also for some damn reason, texts barely make it through to his phone. I gotta hit 'switch to SMS/MMS' all the time after sending him something that fails to send.

[โ€“] GentooIsBased@lemmy.ml -3 points 11 months ago

Or you could save the money and get a life \j

[โ€“] fruitycoder@sh.itjust.works 16 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Agreed. I've gotten expensive android phones, and I know plenty of people with expensive apple phones, but they all go to crap. A cheap phone last about as long and does 90% the same stuff and into photography or gaming, both of which have better alternatives at the high-end phone price ranges.

[โ€“] Bwaz@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Or get several models previous, bought used. I had a Pixel 3 I bought for very little on ebay.... Now I have a Pixel 7, from a deal with my wireless company (which will of course cost me over time). And at least for my use, I can't say the 7 is any more useful or nice to work with than the 3.

[โ€“] ridethisbike@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I bought my pixel 4xl at the end of 2019 used and it's still going strong. There was an issue that affected the batteries that Google fixed under warranty, but other than that I see no reason for me to need to get a new phone for a couple more years. It's plenty snappy and the camera is still good enough.

[โ€“] miss_brainfart@lemmy.ml 2 points 11 months ago

The only argument would be software support. Getting newly discovered flaws fixed would be ideal, but many manufacturers don't do that for nearly as long as we should reasonably expect them to.

[โ€“] meekah@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

I think the same about my pixel 5, minus the battery haha

[โ€“] nicerdicer@feddit.de 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

A cheap phone last about as long and does 90% the same stuff

This is true. You can get an almost equal performance out of a cheap phone. But I learned that more expensive or high-end phones recieve more software updates than cheaper entry-tier phones.

For instance, I own an LG K8 (Model LG-M200E) from 2017. The battery still holds enough charge (although it is designed to be replaced), the camera works, the touch display still responds properly - but it only recieved one update (Android 7 --> Android 8) in 2018. I wouldn't consider it secure and I certainly don't have my online banking on the phone. Meanwhile it gets very hot and slow when I use Google Maps. Unfortunately, there is no way to replace its operating system with an alterntive OS, linke Grephene OS or Lineage. None of the many alternative operating systems offer suppert for this specific model.

My next phone will propably be mid-price ranged.

Edit: typos

[โ€“] MrMusAddict@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I guess with all things, depends on the financial position of the customer.

If you're stretching yourself to get any phone, then yeah, diminishing returns for forking out $800+ for a flagship.

That being said I've owned multiple phones in each price category, and can say that the best phones are unfortunately among the most expensive.

[โ€“] teichflamme@lemm.ee 1 points 11 months ago

I've owned phones across all price ranges and had a different experience.

Don't get the cheapest one, but a used Pixel or OnePlus that's 2 years old works the same way as the newest Galaxy 12345.

[โ€“] the16bitgamer@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

I think we need to define cheap.

Cheap as in a used iPhone that still works. Agreed

Cheap as in a new Android phone with Android Go and the bare minimum specs that will keep it going. Hard disagree unless you are using it as just a dumb phone.

[โ€“] GentooIsBased@lemmy.ml 0 points 11 months ago

I agree. I use like a $20 flip phone.