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Comment by porphyrogene | Hacker News Reader

I just bought a brand new iPhone SE for about $160. It's tiny, fast, inexpensive and miles ahead of my not-that-old Samsung in terms of usability. I will probably never use its full computational capacity so there is nothing attractive about the newer, more powerful phones. It also has a 3.5mm audio port!

I agree that it is absurd to pay $800 for a phone that lacks features I want and has features I don't want. So I didn't. It's that easy.

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I just bought a $160 Android One phone from China. Headphone jack, dual sim, 256GB SD, FM radio, IR blaster, tiny notch & chin with a really respectable IPS panel with great colors & saturation, receive at least the next 2 major Android versions & monthly security updates, 12 hour screen on time battery life, works fine with T-Mobile & ATT in USA, camera that would easily compete with mid-range 2018 phones with a portrait mode that actually works better than I've seen on any other phone.

Why are people buying these $1200 phones that have taken away pretty much everything?

This is all great. What are those next two major Android releases include that I need?

Also, how can I remove the Google surveillance code from the phone? I just dont like that they trac my location, record my conversations and inject spam into almost every “product” they got.

Comparing any Android device to iOS is hard because the the former is a data collection device with some features reminder of a mobile phone while the latter is a mobile phone primary designed and build for the best UX.

Most of this is opinion, so I'll answer the legitimate questions.

>What are those next two major Android releases include that I need?

These are future releases, so not sure. Android 9 'Pie' should be available soon and the features included in that can be researched with your preferred search engine.

>Also, how can I remove the Google surveillance code from the phone?

You can install a third party ROM if you'd like. LineageOS doesn't come with Google Play Services.

>Comparing any Android device to iOS is hard because the the former is a data collection device with some features reminder of a mobile phone while the latter is a mobile phone primary designed and build for the best UX.

Use what you like. I personally find iOS to be terrible with ergonomics, UX, and just plain everyday features. You can't open zip/rar files, can't download MP3's, can't play m4a's, can't play .webm's, there's no file management system. I can do pretty much everything my laptop does on my $160 Android, but not on a $1400 iPhone.

To be fair, it's not just you and your Apple. My employer pays for my phone contract - so normally every 2 years I select the shiniest thing, dripping in features. This year.. no, just switched to a cheaper monthly contract as it felt "wasteful" upgrading just for the sake of it. (Original Pixel XL - so not that old, but can't really thing of anything it lacks (and it has a headphone jack))

Where did you find a new one? Did it include Apple warranty?

This[1] is the one I bought. It is now sold out from that particular seller. It was $180, not $160 as I said before. Being on AT&T seems to give the widest array of purchase options in terms of carrier lock.

The box was sealed, serial number was valid and unused (Apple can confirm this) and the warranty is valid as well. Buyer beware, there are some sketchy sellers on Amazon but if it is "fulfilled by Amazon" I would expect no issues with a return.

1. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075X4DCW3/ref=oh_aui_deta...

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