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I have a family friend that is 70+ yr olds. Unfortunately, the best deal I could find for him via his AT&T prepaid plan was a $70 Huawei Ascend XT2 @ Walmart (l
by da02 8y ago
I have a family friend that is 70+ yr olds. Unfortunately, the best deal I could find for him via his AT&T prepaid plan was a $70 Huawei Ascend XT2 @ Walmart (locked to AT&T). It's performance is great: fast charging, long-lasting battery, 2G of RAM, and intuitive UI (despite being Huawei's custom modifications of stock Android).
What are the best alternatives (in terms of security updates and privacy) for Android phones with 2G of RAM and $100-$200 unlocked? The Ascend XT2 is so great for non-power users, that I'm even willing to overlook Huawei's awful practices for my next phone. All other phones are either too expensive or never have official security patches released for the OS.
- HiroshiSan 8y agoLook into xiaomi
- m3nu 8y ago+1. Xiaomi is quite hackable. For any phone, look into the available builds on XDA before buying: https://forum.xda-developers.com/xiaomi https://forum.xda-developers.com/xiaomi
- pdimitar 8y agoYour best bet is Xiaomi. Go to gsmarena.com and click on the advanced finder and apply your filters. You will be sorted in no time.
- culot 8y agoAre there many low-end Xiaomi phones that support AT&T? https://www.frequencycheck.com/carrier-compatibility/p5vW4/at-t-united-states/devices?commit=Search&q%5Bdevice_brand_id_eq%5D=171&q%5Bfull_name_cont%5D=xiaomi&q%5Bs%5D=release_date+desc&utf8=%E2%9C%93 https://www.frequencycheck.com/carrier-compatibility/p5vW4/a... I thought they were mostly not useful for US carriers?
- pdimitar 8y agoActually, oops. I heard they do not support the US frequencies before but forgot. Sorry.
- da02 8y agoI have a Xiaomi Redmi 4G (codename: Dior) that is 3+ years old. It works on T-Mobile. That chart is helpful. I would also read the reviews of the phone and check if the phone says "Global Edition" or "Global Version" to also check compatibility. I use the Mokee ROM. It gets regular updates. But, the Huawei Ascend XT2 feels much faster with a longer-lasting battery.
- da02 8y agoThanks. Which phones are your personal favorites in the sub-$200 range?
- HiroshiSan 8y agoI recommend checking out https://bit.ly/2RIt4MF https://bit.ly/2RIt4MF I've purchased multiple xiaomi's from them and their customer service is fantastic, I've always received my phones within 9 days. Check out the note 6 pro, 4gb ram 64gb storage. Also look into the /r/xiaomi subreddit as there's a ton of information on compatibility and satisfaction.
- da02 8y agoThank you very much. That helps me a lot. Which ROMs do you install on them? Or do you just use the official ROMs that come pre-installed?
- culot 8y agoThe display on that model is remarkable for a low-end device. A solid alternative would be a Moto E5 Plus. A more stock/typical Android experience, with a huge battery. It has another gigabyte of RAM, which should be a tangible upgrade. You could get an LG Stylo 4 for a little more, but it has lesser build quality and the display is so-so. I don't think either will get many updates though. The LG will probably receive a few security updates, the Moto might die without ever receiving another update. There's the Samsung J7, which will receive 5x the updates as the LG and Moto combined, and even might get major version updates, which neither of the aforementioned will receive -- definitely no major version updates for the Moto, but is not totally unheard of for LG's low-end, just unlikely. I've not used the J7 though. Probably similar performance, just the dunno about the display. Samsung definitely has a far better track record for security updates that either LG or Moto.