Longevity of used phones

Jul 27, 2021
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I need to buy a new phone and I'm in a dilemma between going for a new budget phone or a better, used phone.

I'm fearful of used phones, because back around 2016/17 I bought a used Samsung Galaxy II and in about 2 years time the phone became slow to the point of unusability. It took like 15 sec to open the list of apps or the pull down menu.

So, I'm wondering, suppose I were to buy a used phone that was released sometime in the last 3-4 years, could I count on that phone to work for the next 5 years? And by work I mean work smoothly and not become unbearably slow like my Galaxy II?

I don't play games on my phone, I only use undemanding apps like Google Drive and Google Keep (note taking app).

I haven't narrowed down my choice of phone, so I'm curious about used phones released in the last 3-4 years in general, but let me also name a specific example: Asus Zenfone 5. Could I trust that one to last me 5 years?
 
The problem that you're likely running into is updates to the apps you rarely (if ever) use taking up the phone's limited storage space and limited available memory. Shutting down, disabling, or removing unused apps MIGHT extend the performance life of your device, but these were never intended to last more than a couple of years. Manufacturers WANT you to purchase a newer and "better" phone every couple of years, so they limit the functionality of most of what they produce.

-Wolf sends
 
I need to buy a new phone and I'm in a dilemma between going for a new budget phone or a better, used phone.

I'm fearful of used phones, because back around 2016/17 I bought a used Samsung Galaxy II and in about 2 years time the phone became slow to the point of unusability. It took like 15 sec to open the list of apps or the pull down menu.

So, I'm wondering, suppose I were to buy a used phone that was released sometime in the last 3-4 years, could I count on that phone to work for the next 5 years? And by work I mean work smoothly and not become unbearably slow like my Galaxy II?

I don't play games on my phone, I only use undemanding apps like Google Drive and Google Keep (note taking app).

I haven't narrowed down my choice of phone, so I'm curious about used phones released in the last 3-4 years in general, but let me also name a specific example: Asus Zenfone 5. Could I trust that one to last me 5 years?

The Samsung Galaxy 2 came out in 2011, it's not really odd that 8-9 years later it's running slower in applications. Probably the best cost to performance is to get something from last two generations for a higher end model, or a good lower range new one like a Moto G7, Moto G Power, Samsung A21, etc...