I have a 10 year old laptop I found at a thrift store for $15 which is both faster than his phone and infinitely more suitable for programming.

Smartphones and computers are at pretty comparable prices everywhere I've checked; since he owns an (Android) phone laptops can't be that far out of reach.

absolutely, it is huge sum of money, almost a year's living expenses for millions of families​ (I riterate the word, family)