But almost all of them are 'upgrades'!!
Well, no multitasking features like Android Go versions and anything older than Android 6 is a deal breaker for me.
I have, like, 3 to 4 options to go on. 5 or 6 if not buying a new phone counts.
So... I can play it safe. Get the same brand within the upper limits of my budget. Finally use that cloud storage from that particular brand account, faster transition, easily found repair centers, etc.
BUT! It's over priced for it's specs, cannot unlock it's bootloader, and barely get it future proofed.
Or, get a new phone. With the specs I actually like. Can be have it's bootloader unlocked.
BUT! Not guarantee it will endure in the next 4-5 years as it's not as durable. May brick when I updated it. And definately costs my upper limit budget.
Maybe, get an optimized low end phone. Definately cheap, like half of my budget. May had to cut down my screentime for good.
BUT! No more multitasking. No more games. No more other stuff that I may ended up passing up for the entire next 4-5 years.
Another route is, well, risky. Get the phone with specs I want for a fraction of the price. Like, ⅕ of the original price.
BUT! OF COURSE IT'S POSSIBLE SCAM!! And that it's high likely a cheap inauthentic imitation.
Maybe I could swap. That's an option for me.
BUT? I don't like it.
The same with, well, not changing my phone at all. Oh, sure who knows, another 2, or over 5 years? But still.
I want future proofing specs and guaranteed to not brick or breakdown for 4-6 years.
I don't need anything fancier. No flagship phones because I cannot afford that.
A minimum of 6/64GB. My phone is a 4/128GB. Never spent my ROM over 100GB; provided those files belongs to me and not something from work.
Ideally, I'd get a 8/258; but I don't actually need that amount of storage that high.
Let's see... GPU? I want compatability, processing, and good frame rates.
Graphics? Don't care. No art rendering, no high def. movie. No 'immersive gaming'. I'm fine with just 360p or something not too bright by default... Or one that doesn't brick stuff.
Camera? Don't care. Could care less if it's one of those basic ones. Well, as long size 10 font is eligible on a fully fitted zoomed out A4 picture.
Sounds? Don't care. Well, it could've been better if I never had to switch to loudspeaker whenever I had to talk to someone with it.
4G? 5G? Don't care. If that's relevant to better wifi speed and mobile data internet access, sure. Except, nah.
I went to stores and looked at the phone units. Listed what's available within my budget and eliminated those that do not meed the basic specs.
I did asked people around. Bugged my relatives, bugged people online...
I did my research. Watched and read reviews...
I'm still in this dilemma.
Oh well.
I have until Christmas to decide.
Hopefully there will be sales discount for phone units till then.