Divide the total cost by how many years of OS updates are given by the manufacturer.

I paid NZ $469 for my current Samsung A31 almost four years ago, I wasnt fussed about the camera but wanted a 3.5 mm jack and lots of storage. Its now looking fairly shabby but still works well. I'll use it until its dead and get another phone around the $400 mark. Midrange, not top end, but not a budget phone either. It needs to do a number of jobs (play music, navigation, web surfing, record rides and hikes, camera, find cheap gas, tell me how much UV dosage I'll get at any particular time, weather, messaging on 3-4 apps plus calls of course) and be reasonably robust. Style and status dont come into it, I dont care about any of that

For me its 250-350. I can usually get a 1 or 2 generation older flagship device at that price, refurbished.

Somewhere between 300-500 Prioritising getting a decent chipset over the rest of the features, because having all the gimmicks doesn't matter if the phone feels slow after a few years of updates.

My work phone is nice (~$700 new?), so I use that for camera when possible.

My personal phone is an entry level "free" phone. Through Google Fi, and for this one you pay up front, with bill credits for the next year (I think?) which covers the cost

so basically I give Google Fi a $200 loan where the "interest" is a cheap phone. No complaints, it's not premium but it works.

$2,000,000,000

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I typically buy a new flagship on sale and hold it for 4-5 years. Buying a new $300 phone means you start with mid-range performance and go down from there over time. This means you'll either have a really slow phone for the last year or two or you'll need to replace it sooner.

Pixel A series for $300 is a good deal, or just deal with the OnePlus models. I don't use my mobile much anyway

Value is subjective.

When the Pixel 7 came out it was incredibly good value for money. Buttery smooth, high quality cameras, best quality android experience $500. Unbeatable, and made the A series not worth it that year.

This year I'd probably say the pixel 7a.

I wouldn't spend more than 300 bucks

Yeah, just find a phone that was cutting edge 3-4 years ago. get it used off amazon or wherever for like $200-300. I bought my Samsung Galaxy S10 like 4 years ago, it still runs amazingly well.

Under $300 IMO, that gets you a used flagship model from 1-2 years ago that isn't too much different from the current models.

I use apple phones, but i usually run 3-6 years behind.

Currently have an 11 , I think they are up to 14. I don’t really see what the new models do.

Still the thick end of 250 quid.

I don’t know what people who spend 1000 tell themselves.

The best value smartphone on the market is the Fairphone 5. 70 euros per year, amortized over 10 years. Compare with a cheap, slower, but more expensive to repair Samsung A14, which would only last 2 years before the battery starts dying, and cost 85 euros per year over that time.

I spent £250 on my Motorola G73 and am very happy with it

250€ because I spent that much 18 months ago and still super happy

I tend to limit myself to max €100 per expected year of use. It's just a phone to me. My Nokia 6.1 was €300 and is still working. Main requirement is the availability of an alternatuve rom for it.

I prefer older used flagships. It's hardly depends on the use case though. I don't care about camera, games or what so ever. Phone, messenger and maybe a handful of apps for social and homelab. So for me it's max 100€

My general rule of thumb when getting a cheap device:

• want the cheapest device even if it has dubious ads and tracking: xiaomi
• want a relatively cheap device and ok with first party ads/promotion and tracking: low end Samsung

The thing with cheap device is it's not guaranteed to have 3rd party roms available, and even if one exists, it's not guaranteed how long they'll be maintained, so it's not a factor when I'm trying to get a very cheap device.