Replacement for iPhone 5s?

July 31, 2018 4:55 PM

My current phone is slowly falling apart so I'm in the market for a new(ish) one. I'll likely go second-hand since I can't afford something super current. What models should I look for? Apple and Android both welcome.

My current phone is an iPhone 5s. I've also used HTC, Samsung Ace, and Huawei in the recent past. Of those lot I found HTC and Huawei very buggy and slow, the Ace was ok but not great, and the iPhone was fine until recently (the battery depletes fast & the headphone jack just broke, and there may be issues with the antenna).

I'm online a LOT. My main used apps are Facebook, Twitter, Chrome, Gcal, Clue, Google Maps, Spotify, Instagram, WhatsApp, and YouTube. I like listening to music on my commute. I wasn't fond of Apple's Mail app and have an email address for work that's super wonky when I try to forward it to my Gmail so I use a third party email app. I do like the look of Android emojis WAY BETTER than Apple's. I play games sometimes but not super often and usually not anything massive.

I switched to Apple initially because a lot of apps I wanted to use didn't have Android versions but that's less of a concern now. I liked the size of the 5s and hesitate on going much bigger than that but I realise smaller phones are hard to find.

I'm in Australia but even the phones you get as part of a provider plan are expensive. I have a budget of about $300.

Thanks!

posted by divabat to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)

you can probably get an iphone se used for not that much, and it has the same form factor as the 5, but with an updated chip. they are still available new, but it's been out a while, so probably people have upgraded by now.
posted by koroshiya at 4:58 PM on July 31, 2018 [1 favorite]

^^Came to say that. iPhone SE is super cheap used, $125 USD, and is somewhat future-proofed despite it's low price.
posted by Vhanudux at 5:01 PM on July 31, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: In Australia even refurbs of the iPhone SE are more than double that price.
posted by divabat at 5:13 PM on July 31, 2018

Wow, you're not kidding! I hope this isn't unhelpful - but could you buy a phone from the States via eBay, and ship to AUS?
posted by Vhanudux at 6:21 PM on July 31, 2018

Best answer: I just upgraded from an iPhone 5c to an iPhone6, used, not refurbished, and am very happy with it. Switched because of battery power and slow speeds. The 6 has a couple more tricks and the battery is good. Still has a headphone jack, which I like, and because it was used I was able to afford a lot more memory.
posted by SLC Mom at 7:07 PM on July 31, 2018 [1 favorite]

How about a used OnePlus phone? They make solid hardware with good specs and aren't as expensive as most big brands.
posted by dobbs at 8:17 PM on August 4, 2018

I got an SE when I upgraded from a 5s, and have been happy with it.
posted by rmd1023 at 1:12 PM on August 8, 2018

Response by poster: A friend was selling their iPhone 6 so I got that! Going great so far.
posted by divabat at 4:10 PM on August 9, 2018