Opinions on these phones?

My 8 year old phone is reaching the end of it's useful life, having trouble deciding on a replacement. I don't need fancy features, just calls, text, and enough internet to get on the GRM forum.

I like my Kyocera Hyrolife, and wouldn't mind staying with the brand, they seem pretty bulletproof.

Option 1: Kyocera Dura Force Pro 2

Option 2: Samsung S10E. Less durable, but way more "powerful" . Maybe wouldn't be out dated as soon?

I have a really affordable plan with Metro PCS and don't want to change it.

I like a small phone (not really possible these days) and find apple products too hard to use.

Thoughts for a techologicly impared person?

Did you get a text message from Metro yet offering you a free phone ?
 

on the T-Mobile side they are offering free phones because they are killing off the 3g network in July , plus they want you to have VOLTE  ( voice over LTE) and most older phones do not have it .

So you might call Metro customer service and ask if your phone will still work after the 3g shutdown.

I've had brilliant luck with the Google Pixel phones I've used.  I recently upped to a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and I love it.  Wicked fast, superb camera, but sounds like overkill for what you need.  The Pixel 2 I just replaced lasted me 4.5 years, which is double what my normal phones typically last.

I strongly suggest buying an unlocked phone outright from a not-major supplier and pick one with the preferred architecture - google, kyocera, samsung, etc.  It's for the same reason you get an ASUS or Lenovo laptop instead of a Dell... bloatware.  The one thing I loved about the Google Pixels was that they used integrated google stuff for things that I already have across multiple platforms.  The Samsung I just got has their own proprietary apps for everything - cloud storage, SMS, file storage, app store, etc.  I'm constantly battling between using Samsung apps and Google apps for things.  I can retro it all to Google, but I have to download apps, set preferences, "always open with" etc.  It's not a bad thing, just seems like I'm adding bloat on top of bloat to get it to operate how I want.

I might suggest a Pixel in a version that suits you.  I think they're up to version 6 or 7, but the Pixel 2 I just replaced is still a fantastic phone if it weren't for the 5-year-old battery only lasting 8-10 hours.  You might be able to get a new Pixel 4 or something from swappa.com for cheap and it will perform very well compared to anything as... um... "experienced" as the phone you have now.

One thing to be aware of... pay attention to the broadcast bands that the phone companies use and what the phones support.  They like to intentionally make old phones partially obsolete by picking a new Tx band that isn't supported by an older phone.  It's not just 3g/4g/5g, it's the subfrequencies that they transmit on those networks.  That's one of the reasons I switched from my Pixel.  Google Fi (primarily T-mobile) started favoring band 41 and my Pixel doesn't support 41.  Funny how they rolled out the use of that band right before they introduced the Pixel 5 which *gasp* DOES support band 41.  It's a [marketing] miracle.

Bought the Dura Force Pro 2 that was 'unlocked' only to find it did not work on my network. Phone would make calls, but no data, internet etc. I don't use that stuff much, but  I do find myself using it more and more.

Returned that.

Watched some videos on the Pixel phones, totally confusing.  Tried using a friends I-phone 12, it's just a mass of screen after screen and no way to tell where you are.

Holy crap this is frustrating.....

Is there a class a person can take to understand a new phone?

Confirmed my phone won't work after July 1, getting down to the wire here.

Pixel 5A. "Midrange" phone with an excellent camera, and about as small as anything you can find these days. My wife has one, and it's been great for her, especially the battery.

I like unlocked Motorola for midrange handsets. I buy them off the shelf at my local Target. Target will also price match the Motorola website if that has a better price.

$139-$249

If you are not using the most modern handset already then any and all will meet your needs. I like the Motorolas with bigest battery that they call "power" models. 

The handset I carry is a couple model years old... Moto G7, Power. 

We really like our 1 Plus phones, easy to use for an internet/tech challenged person like me, but mostly I really like the built in camera......it's really amazing. Even tho I own several really good cameras,  I only use my phone now, for both pics and videos.

I didn't think I would use it for that all that much, but as time's gone on and they've improved so much I really like what I can do with it. 

I also like that it goes on the net really fast, tho I don't use it for that as much as the younger guys do, still it can be really handy.

If you're over 55 T-mobil has a good deal for their phones/service

Four years ago I got an iPhone 8 after multiple Google nexus and brief Samsung galaxy experiment. I did it due to one piece of work related software that wasn't supported on android. It took about a week of WTF and I have never regretted switching over to Apple. Even with my four year old device, Apple hardware is just solid. iPhone SE is basically the same device that I have, just a bit faster. 
 

for android I would recommend Motorola on the quality/features/cost curve. 

One thing to mention is that the Samsung screens are the most expensive to replace if they crack. I've had the misfortune of breaking 2 screens over the years and they were each $300 range to replace.

I had the Pixel 5A and it was a really good phone for me as well. I only got the Samsung I have now because my former job wanted me to be on a Samsung and paid for the upgrade.  

The s10e would be a fine phone. It's simple, easy to use. Would definitely go with that over the Kyocera. I didnt know they still made phones. 

Every time these come up, I say the same thing. OnePlus pro... whatever. No bloat, works on metro (also known as TMobile) killer cameras, tons of fun for the $$$. 7pro should be dirt cheap. I'm on a 9 and it's awesome 

Mndsm said:

Every time these come up, I say the same thing. OnePlus pro... whatever. No bloat, works on metro (also known as TMobile) killer cameras, tons of fun for the $$$. 7pro should be dirt cheap. I'm on a 9 and it's awesome 

Every time I upgrade phones, I look hard at the OnePlus.  They seem like fantastic phones, and they must be because they're always out of stock.

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

I was a long time nexus user. I had to jump into a Samsung because Nexus went out of production. i was never super satisfied with them, so started looking outside. Pixel and OnePlus were on the list- the pro7 seemed a lot better for the value. It's lasted 3 years so far, and my current main phone is a 9 pro. It's got a hasselblad camera on it and can shoot in 48mp still, I believe 4k 60 video (it is limited to a 5min run time) among other things. I'd recommend it to anyone. Pretty damn sturdy too- I've dropped it more times than I care to admit to, and it's taken every hit.