Refurbished S8 or something else

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Mike61

110 posts

Master Geek

#257370 29-Sep-2019 12:49

Hi
After some advice on a phone purchase. Currently the wife and I have S5's. We want to upgrade both. Have seen refurbished S8's on Dick Smiths site for $399. Have also seen Mi A3 & Redmi 7 for about the same. Any opinions on these or other $400ish phones?

Mainly use the phones for call, text, web browsing, music and streaming to a chromecast.

Also on prepay and don't want to get a phone on contract.

Cheers

Mike

farcus

1554 posts

Uber Geek

#2326691 29-Sep-2019 12:55

The Mi A3 is pure Android (android one) . . . and has guaranteed updates for three years

hio77

12999 posts

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Lizard Networks

#2326699 29-Sep-2019 13:32

That pricing for S9s isnt too bad.... wonder if they can guarantee a Qualcomm chipset version....

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Mike61

110 posts

Master Geek

#2326775 29-Sep-2019 16:57

Thanks for the replies. At this stage the S8 looks good, but might increase the budget and get something on the never never.

robjg63

4098 posts

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#2326795 29-Sep-2019 17:42

I can't really see how you could go past the Xiaomi mi a3 to be honest. It looks like exceptional value for money.

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frankv

5680 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2327549 1-Oct-2019 11:26

I bought a refurb S7 edge a while back... it died after a couple of months, sent back to seller, came back, problem recurred, at which point I got a refund. But months of intermittent connections or going back to my old S5 while the new phone was at the shop. A royal PITA. I replaced it with a refurb S7 active, which is awesome. Much larger battery, and a built-in hard case guaranteed to survive 1m drops. Downside is that it's a US-market phone and Android updates aren't available in NZ, but I did get all the updates when I was in the USA.

jonathan18

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#2327724 1-Oct-2019 14:03

robjg63: I can't really see how you could go past the Xiaomi mi a3 to be honest. It looks like exceptional value for money.

It does certainly offer a lot for a relatively small sum (seems to be $330sh plus postage at DSE) but, as with all phones at this price point, there are compromises, so it depends on whether they're deal-breakers for the buyer.

I'd acknowledge it has many positives: I'd take the A3's lower-res AMOLED screen over a higher-res LCD; also great that it has band 28, plus a 3.5mm headphone socket, decent enough camera, ok performance...

Some reports the in-screen finger print reader is somewhat slow and sus (what's new? I hate the one on my S10+).

The big one for me, though, is a lack of NFC; an IR blaster but not NFC. What?! If it was for my own use that would be a deal-breaker, but I guess many people don't care about/use Android Pay etc.

Mike61

110 posts

Master Geek

#2327730 1-Oct-2019 14:10

Thanks for the replies. I'm still tossing things up and looking at different options. Im not fussed about nfc or the camera. If I had the money I would probably go for the LG V40 thinq as it sounds like it would be good for music.

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landcruiserguy

765 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2329065 3-Oct-2019 14:37

If it helps the S8 was a great phone. I looked for a used one for my wife but ended up getting a S9 for not much more. Nobody makes screens as good as Samsung and the S8 had the most well tested battery in the industry coming hot on the heals of the Note 7 fireball.

Mike61

110 posts

Master Geek

#2335389 11-Oct-2019 09:42

Thanks again for the replies. Will be putting this purchase on hold as I now have a few other things to sort out first.