Help. Buying my first smart phone. Need buying tips.

I currently own a used 64 gb iPhone 5s that was given to me to replace my flip phone. It's my first smart phone so I've never done any comparison shopping or deal making to get a new phone via some kind of plan upgrade or however else people do it. All my previous phones were also free as they were simply given to me at the store when I had to switch sim cards.

With all that said it's my understanding that carriers are no longer giving out free iPhones or subsidizing iPhones to switch plans or upgrade plans. I may be wrong on that, but it's what I was told at the mall when I tried to buy an iPhone. What do people do when they want to buy a new iPhone? Do they just pay the full price for the phone? Are there secret discounts at select shops? Are there deals throughout the year and I should wait for some specific date? Any help would be appreciated.

NOTE: I need a headphone jack to keep my phone charged so I'm assuming I can't buy anything newer than an iPhone 7. I'm always listening to music/podcasts while charging my phone at work and car.

I don't know about that, i just saw a commercial for sprint giving a free iphone if you switch to them. Most people get phones free or cheaper with a cell plan, I would be surprised to see that change as phones are way overpriced.

Also get an android, iphones suck IMO

You should probably just get an iphone since android sucks.

I've closed the loop.

Of course since you need the charging port you probably shouldn't buy the newest iphone. In that case you are unfrotunately doomed to use an android phone. People who care about phones usually go out there and buy the model they want. I've bought the last several smartphones I've owned at full price basically because my carrier didn't have a decent deal on phone upgrades and I wanted those phones specifically.

If you don't care about phones all that much, and I can only infer that since you've just recently started using smartphones you don't really care about them, then I would probably ask your phone service provider about what deals they have on lower model smartphones. It's difficult to get the hottest new thing out there for free even when signing up for a plan - like you're not getting the new Samsung A8 or whatever - but I'm sure they'll be able to hook you up with some type of lower make phone with an upgrade. They quite literally put android on anything these days.

You seem like a person that doesn't really care about the latest and greatest, so check out budget phones. I mean you can get a new phone comparable to the iPhone 5 for $100 or so now (they'll all be android phones if that matters to you).

Just research budget phones and see which ones have what you want.

I usually just buy a new 1 or 2 generation behind iPhone for full price so that I don't have to deal with contracts. They are cheaper than the latest model and work fine for what I need it for.

I probably end up paying more initially but I keep the phone for years.

i think everything depends on your service provider and your tolerance for monthly payments. granted i'm not super well-versed on the current offerings of the major carriers, but it's my understanding that most of the big ones still offer some version of the 'subsidized phone' model, but bear in mind that there's no such thing as a free lunch- if you're paying less for the phone upfront, you're still paying off the value of the phone in monthly installments. it might be worth a quick gander at a guide like this.

i'd start with: what provider do you want to go with. then see what phones they have available. or alternatively lock in how much you're willing to pay a month, and then shop around if you're in a major urban area.

i can tell you that personally i got my first smartphone roughly a year ago- i had previously been rocking a data plan ipad and a cheap pay-as-you-go flip phone to be frugal. however, verzion eventually got too annoying to deal with, so i went with google's project fi (they have a very straightforward, very fair and easy to manage fee structure). that dictated that i get a nexus 5x (their cheapest supported phone which i got for around $250 all in)- and while the phone isn't amazing, for the basic browsing, texting, and email that i do it's more than enough power.

There are only three good phones on the market, an iPhone, Moto X and the Pixel; I wouldn't buy anything else. Phones are boring now dude, it's something I care less and less about and use less and less each year; don't stress too much about it. If you can't afford a more expensive phone, get the Moto X, if you can, get the Pixel or iPhone. Don't worry about the apps and games too much.

If you can afford it, I would recommend the Google Pixel. It's a super top of the line android phone that not only looks good and uses a USB - C charger (so its easy to get that bloody charger in the phone. No flipping it around going why isn't it going in!). It also has a head phone jack.

Also the Nexus phones are pretty awesome if that's to expensive. Personally I don't care for iphones so I can't recommend them. Android based phones are so much more convenient in my opinion but to each their own I suppose. Best of luck duder in what ever you choose!

@humanity: Nice Burn !

For reference my current plan that I pay $55.06 is...

2GB
Mobile Share Value 2GB with Rollover Data
Includes Rollover DataSM and Unlimited Talk & Text.

You can grab a Sony Xperia XA for $170 without contract and it should do anything you want it to, i.e, phone, social, browsing, mail, GPS. Then get a contract that is not screwing you over on the subsidy. Take the money Apple and Samsung are overcharging you and spend it on a Switch.

If you need your mobile phone as a status device, then forget what I just said. Depending where you need to represent, either get the latest Apple device, or take 10 of them, dip 'em in gold and hang them from your neck Mr.T style for extra street cred.

If you wanna stick with an iPhone, the iPhone SE is pretty good. Same form factor as your old iPhone 5, has a fingerprint sensor and solid performance. I've had mine for over a year and it meets all my needs. Screen could be higher res, but it has a headphone jack so hey.

I second this opinion!

Are there times when deals are more likely to be happening on phones? Are Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals a thing for phones? My phone has the potential to die any day now (the screen becomes unresponsive at times and batter drain is extremely fast), but if I can hold on until special days I'm willing to do that.

LG V20/V30

Galaxy Note 8 (2017)

OnePlus 5

Google Pixel 2

Here the process I would use.

1. Go to your cell provider's online site to see what phones are offered.
2. Then do some research on those phones, look at reviews from well respected sites
3. Then make your choice based on 'your' desires or needs

Asking here is only of limited utility in most cases. Ninety-nine percent of "duders" here get a phone once every two years. So getting some opinions from folks that review phones all year round from review sites in key. This is especially true of smaller brands less expensive from china that are often coming off the same assembly line as other big brands.

I'd start by reading The Wirecutter's articles. They have a guide for Android, budget Android, and iPhones. Their articles are also written for a non-techie audience, so even if you don't know much about phones they should be helpful.

As for the subsidies, you should be able to get an iPhone SE or a variety of mid-range Android phones for free (or close to it) if you renew your contract. That depends on your carrier though. I've been buying my phones outright for years now, so I'm not the most knowledgeable about phone subsidies.

@golguin said:

US phone contracts are just beyond me. I have no idea what any of those three things mean. 2GB as in you only get to use 2GB of data a month?

I work for a phone carrier. All phone carriers suck.

Yes 2GB of data per month. I'm usually near wifi at work or home so I rarely use that 2GB of data.

Just follow my guide:

1. Don't buy an Apple device... never, ever.

2. PROFIT

Republic Wireless. 20 dollars per month for unlimited talk, text, and of course wifi + 1GB of data. 2GB will cost 30 dollars. If you don't stream music or video, you can easily get away with 1GB a month. There's no contract, and there are several phones to choose from, starting from a little below 200. I'd suggest a Moto G4 or G5 Plus, but do your research and get what is best for you.

Consider buying an used phone if you can, you might save a noticeable amount.

There are a ton of great Chinese phones on the Android market these days (oneplus, Axion, etc).

The search is over. I bought an iPhone SE refurbished for $270 . Will arrive on the 12th.

https://www.groupon.com/deals/gg-apple-iphone-se-smartphone-gsm-unlocked

OnePlus 5 just came out, cheaper than other smartphones while having best hardware. No bloatware either, pure Android experience.

ZTE Axon 7 and OnePlus both are super good budget(ish) options that are powerful and good looking!

This topic is now 2 months old and I think has served it's purpose and is now just attracting spam. If the OP still needs phone buying advice and needs this to be reopened just send us a PM.