Recommend a mid-price phone that can handle multiple Google Accounts

Forums › New Zealand Mobile and Wireless › Recommend a mid-price phone that can handle multiple Google Accounts

openmedia

3449 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 877

Trusted

#322851 29-Sep-2025 15:02

My wife's poor Nokia G20 is struggling as she's currently got 4 different Google Accounts on the device. When she opens the phone it takes ages to finish syncing and the performance is overall in the toilet.

She's just on Skinny prepaid so we're looking for an outright phone. Dual SIM or ideally Sim + ESIM.

Motorola G85 appears to be on clearout, but she's been leaning towards Samsung as the Nokia won't play well with her Galaxy Watch, so the A26 5G is another option.

Price range, sub $500 - ideally closer to $300 - this isn't for a power user. She's simply a member of guiding nz and a bunch of other groups.

My main concern is the lag caused by lots of google accounts. Any thoughts?

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

1 | 2

1722 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 993

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#3419784 29-Sep-2025 15:31

Could just be general slowdown rather than the google accounts -- I have an older non-Samsung Android from some years ago and it struggle to perform too and it only has one account.

A modern Samsung A-series should be fine and reasonably priced. Get it from a NZ telco or retailer so it's defintiely the NZ firmware which comes with full support for NZ networks now and into the future. Samsung will provide software/security updates for up to 5 years for phones released this year so would be a good investment to get a modern A-series rather than trying to find a old A-series on clearance.

My work phone is a A-series and works well -- not what I would like for a personal phone but for a low end user it's perfectly servicable.

Most (if not all) Samsung A-series are dual SIM i believe with the option for eSIM as well. If she is a low end user though surely one SIM is enough but the option is there anyway.

SpartanVXL

1498 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 666

#3419786 29-Sep-2025 15:34

General specifications CPU, memory and OS should be enough to base a decision. A decent snapdragon with more than 12GB memory will be a good fit.

openmedia

3449 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 877

Trusted

#3419787 29-Sep-2025 15:37

KiwiSurfer:

Most (if not all) Samsung A-series are dual SIM i believe with the option for eSIM as well. If she is a low end user though surely one SIM is enough but the option is there anyway.

Afraid Dual SIM is a hard requirement - She has a secondary number for "reasons"

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

openmedia

3449 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 877

Trusted

#3419789 29-Sep-2025 15:39

SpartanVXL:

General specifications CPU, memory and OS should be enough to base a decision. A decent snapdragon with more than 12GB memory will be a good fit.

12GB RAM is more than my Nokia G60 and takes it into the $800+ zone - more than double her price point.

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

Gordy7

gordy7
2001 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 505

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#3419795 29-Sep-2025 15:53

Do you get better performance on a desktop computer?

What service are you syncing with the Google accounts?

Gordy

My first ever AM radio network connection was with a 1MHz AM crystal(OA91) radio receiver.

openmedia

3449 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 877

Trusted

#3419797 29-Sep-2025 15:57

Gordy7:

Do you get better performance on a desktop computer?

What service are you syncing with the Google accounts?

No issues on laptops etc.

Main performance issue is that when you unlocking the phone it is effectively unusable for upto 5 minutes until it finishes syncing across all of the google profiles. Usually you get a warning that the UI has timed out or other services aren't responding.

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

Lenovo

Shop now for Lenovo laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

Asteros

363 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 189

#3419801 29-Sep-2025 16:08

I think a budget of $300-$500 is not mid range anymore for phones bought new in NZ. To get a mid range phone for that budget it would have to be on clearance and a few years old. Perhaps you could increase your budget if mid range performance and capabilities are desired?

openmedia

3449 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 877

Trusted

#3419804 29-Sep-2025 16:20

Asteros:

I think a budget of $300-$500 is not mid range anymore for phones bought new in NZ. To get a mid range phone for that budget it would have to be on clearance and a few years old. Perhaps you could increase your budget if mid range performance and capabilities are desired?

Pricing is getting crazy. We're not looking for high end or feature phones. Just a basic phone that can actually handle multiple gmail accounts.

I haven't spent over $400 on a new phone in 10+ years.

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

Gordy7

gordy7
2001 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 505

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#3419807 29-Sep-2025 16:30

Here is what AI says about improving the perfomance of an older phone (Nokia G20 is not that old)

To tidy up an older phone and improve its performance, you should regularly restart it, uninstall unused apps, delete old files and clear app caches to free up storage, and disable or reduce system animations in the developer settings. Staying updated with software and app updates, and opting for lighter versions of apps, also helps. If these steps aren't enough, performing a factory reset can significantly boost performance by restoring the phone to a clean state.

Gordy

My first ever AM radio network connection was with a 1MHz AM crystal(OA91) radio receiver.

openmedia

3449 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 877

Trusted

#3419810 29-Sep-2025 16:35

Gordy7:

Here is what AI says about improving the perfomance of an older phone (Nokia G20 is not that old)

To tidy up an older phone and improve its performance, you should regularly restart it, uninstall unused apps, delete old files and clear app caches to free up storage, and disable or reduce system animations in the developer settings. Staying updated with software and app updates, and opting for lighter versions of apps, also helps. If these steps aren't enough, performing a factory reset can significantly boost performance by restoring the phone to a clean state.

If we disable the additional google accounts the phone is far more usable.

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

Oblivian

7345 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2117

ID Verified

#3419816 29-Sep-2025 16:56

There's 2 things that can impact what you're describing.

Low to no space (cache room) and enabling heavy power saving/optimisation they push.

They should be background syncing on their own accord. Not straight after unlock. To me that suggests aggressive power save turning off background sync until active.

Lego

Shop now for Lego sets and other gifts (affiliate link).

richms

29098 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10208

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3419819 29-Sep-2025 17:04

I have 5 google accounts on each of my dirt cheap xiaomis (redmi 10 and some other one I cant find the details right now that was also in the mid $200) and no problems at all with delays syncing anything. It will periodically show notifications about syncing something but they go away quickly enough and do not slow the phone down.

If I go into social apps that hammer it to cache images, they get slow (instagram, tumblr) but at a normal scrolling speed, no slowdown noticed.

What is syncing with these google accounts that makes it a problem?

Richard rich.ms

KiwiSurfer

1722 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 993

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#3419820 29-Sep-2025 17:06

openmedia:

Asteros:

I think a budget of $300-$500 is not mid range anymore for phones bought new in NZ. To get a mid range phone for that budget it would have to be on clearance and a few years old. Perhaps you could increase your budget if mid range performance and capabilities are desired?

Pricing is getting crazy. We're not looking for high end or feature phones. Just a basic phone that can actually handle multiple gmail accounts.

I haven't spent over $400 on a new phone in 10+ years.

One NZ sells Samsung A-series phones for as low as $189 brand new. Not that I recommend the cheapest but there are pretty much options at every price point.

Oblivian

7345 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2117

ID Verified

#3419831 29-Sep-2025 18:07

You can also Knock down the number of days from default 30 to sync to ~7 for the non personal.

mentalinc

3384 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1023

Trusted

#3419834 29-Sep-2025 18:19

Agree for a few comments above.

But the bit that stands out is the

Main performance issue is that when you unlocking the phone it is effectively unusable for upto 5 minutes

Is the phone being turned off alot, what if she leaves it on all the time?

Has background sync been turned off?

Suggest a quick clean up of a few apps as well, clear the cache etc.

CPU: AMD 5900x | RAM: GSKILL Trident Z Neo RGB F4-3600C16D-32GTZNC-32-GB | MB: Asus X570-E | GFX: EVGA FTW3 Ultra RTX 3080Ti| Monitor: LG 27GL850-B 2560x1440

Quic: https://account.quic.nz/refer/473833 R473833EQKIBX

1 | 2