Andrew Hoyle/CNET
With the iPhone 11 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra coming in at over $1,000 and even the “affordable” OnePlus 8 Pro costing $899, I wished to see what stage of telephone I might get with out spending a fortune. So I went on a hunt with $650 of CNET’s cash (thanks, guys!) to see what high quality of handset you may get if you purchase used. I’m primarily based within the UK, so I largely used eBay and a service known as MusicMagpie that buys outdated, undesirable telephones, refurbishes them and sells them on. There are comparable companies within the US comparable to Gazelle. It additionally signifies that the telephones had been paid for in kilos, however I’ve given forex conversions all through for reference.
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Without additional ado, this is what I received.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Amount paid: £120 ($150, AU$230)Originally launched: April 2015Purchased from: eBay, from refurbishing companyAdvertised situation: Grade A, “excellent” Actual situation: Almost as new. No scratches on glass entrance or again, no notable scuffs to steel edging, slight beauty put on to metallic edge round digital camera unit. Screen and headphone jack in good order. MicroUSB energy socket could be unfastened and generally requires cable to be jiggled earlier than it fees. Do I belief it?Despite the slight situation with the charging cable, this telephone performs effectively and all the pieces else is in good working order. I’ve had no sudden crashes or different glitches that may trace at defective {hardware}. I’d don’t have any drawback utilizing this as my foremost telephone.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Amount paid: £56 ($70, AU$110)Originally launched: March 2014Purchased from: eBay, non-public sellerAdvertised situation: “Used”Actual situation: Aside from a few small marks on the top-right and bottom-left corners, only a few noticeable indicators of wear and tear and tear on the telephone casing. Display, charging port and headphone jack all in good working order.Do I belief it?Absolutely. I’ve had no crashes, no restarts and the telephone appears simply as easy to make use of as I keep in mind it being once I reviewed one other mannequin again in 2014.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Amount paid: £50 ($60, AU$95)Originally launched: September 2015Purchased from: eBay, non-public sellerAdvertised situation: “Used — condition is excellent”Actual situation: Minor put on to the rubber backing materials of the telephone however in any other case no main marks to talk of. Screen is scratch-free and works effectively. The battery, nevertheless, appears to have severe points. Multiple instances the telephone has shut down with out warning, regardless of the battery stage being over 50%. The telephone would then flash up a battery empty image and never activate till plugged into an influence supply. At which level it could show the identical battery stage (over 50%) and would let me restart the telephone. On different events, it could energy on solely to instantly shut down once more.Do I belief it? No. It’s troublesome to pinpoint whether or not the problems I’ve seen to this point are to do with an ageing battery (which might be anticipated to an extent in a six-year-old telephone) or one other situation solely. Regardless, having the telephone shut down like it is a main drawback, and I would not be comfy utilizing it, not realizing if it may stop with out warning.It’s a disgrace because the Moto X’s “Pure Edition” Android — a pared-back model of the working system — operates extraordinarily easily for such an outdated gadget, with no noticeable lag as you swipe round. This telephone doesn’t qualify as “excellent” situation and I’ll be making an attempt to ship it again for a refund — watch this area.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Amount paid: £75 ($95, AU$145)Originally launched: September 2014Purchased from: eBay, refurbishing companyAdvertised situation: “Grade B: good condition — The housing may have slight scratches and scuffs; There may be signs of scratches on the screen which may have been picked up from day-to-day usage.”Actual situation: Almost no noticeable indicators of wear and tear and tear on the physique or show of the telephone. Came with a display protector preapplied. The battery has aged, nevertheless. The telephone shut down with out warning and on restart displayed the message: “This iPhone has experienced an unexpected shutdown because the battery was unable to deliver the necessary peak power. Performance management has been applied to help prevent this from happening again.” Do I belief it? Not actually. The warning message is an indication of an aged battery, and the result’s that efficiency shall be throttled on the telephone to cease additional crashes. Or, within the settings, I might decide to place up with extra crashes, with out the efficiency being throttled. Neither is a perfect choice.The “battery health” part within the telephone’s settings says the batter has a most capability of 91% in comparison with when it was new, which does not appear too unhealthy. However, the “unexpected shutdown” message is repeated in the identical settings menu. My choices can be to only put up with the difficulty and proceed with a throttled telephone, or attempt to have the battery changed by Apple or a third-party firm. Apple quotes a worth of £49 ($49, AU$79) for battery substitute which is loads to spend, on condition that the telephone was solely £75 to start with.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Amount paid: £215 ($270, AU$415)Originally launched: April 2017Purchased from: MusicMagpieAdvertised situation: “Good — This product has signs of wear and tear but has been fully tested and is in great working order.”Actual situation: Very minor scratches to the show and a few small chips to the corners of the steel edging. Display itself is in full working order, as is the digital camera, the USB-C charging port and the headphone jack. Do I belief it? In my first few hours with the telephone I’ve discovered zero points with the handset. I’d be completely comfy utilizing this as my foremost handset. What have I discovered?As with something, you get what you pay for. The Galaxy S8 works extraordinarily effectively and comes with the peace of thoughts of a 12-month guarantee from MusicMagpie. But at £215 ($270), it was the costliest of the bunch by far.The Moto X was a giant disappointment, regardless of its low £50 worth. It’s not in working order and I might not have the ability to use this telephone as my foremost gadget. The iPhone’s battery situation is consistent with what’s anticipated of an older battery and the telephone will not less than be completely usable, albeit with throttled efficiency, for a while. Not too unhealthy for £75.Both the HTC One M8 and Galaxy S6 have to this point proven zero points and I’m trying ahead to placing them by way of additional assessments to see simply what you may get out of used telephones at these costs. If you are shopping for used telephones your self, it is value remembering that there are execs and cons nevertheless a lot you spend. An older telephone will price you much less, however aged batteries and different potential {hardware} faults might imply you are probably not getting the cut price you hoped for. It’s additionally essential to keep in mind that these older telephones will not have current variations of Android on board. That not solely signifies that some new apps will not be appropriate along with your telephone, however the telephones might not have essential safety updates that might depart you susceptible.