This article contains an affiliate link that I am SO excited about. I have been waiting to share this digital detox option with you for months and I am thrilled that you can discover it here. If you make a purchase through my link I will receive a commission and you will have access to a $25 coupon through my unique code. Read on!
It happens to us all. We finally have all the apps set up the way we want them, time limits included. We sport a radiation-blocking case and we proudly profess to our friends that we do not have a 5G phone. And then tragedy strikes. The phone dies for the final time. We need a new phone. Or do we?
Our consumeristic society puts pressure on us to buy newer, shinier products all the time. Big tech companies want us to think that everyone is buying a new phone…everyone has a phone one “generation” newer than ours. The truth of the matter is, they don’t. Back at the end of the summer I decided to upgrade to a phone that had a better camera. I read lots of articles on each iPhone model and figured out which not-so-new phone I wanted. In the course of my research I started being able to identify iPhone makes and models by glancing at the shape, size and camera set up of others’ phones. At church, in the grocery store, at the mall, in my own studio I came to realize that most people tend to sport a phone 4-5 years “out of date.”
Not-So-New Phones
In the course of my research to find a phone with a better camera (but still without 5G) I found a company called BackMarket (this is not the affiliate link I mentioned). BackMarket sells refurbished phones. They will also buy your old devices. I figured out that the last iPhone model to be incapable of 5G (which is what I wanted) is the iPhone 11. I purchased the 11 Pro because it sported the best camera and I paid less than half of the original price of an iPhone 11 and a quarter of the price of the newest iPhone on the market. So far I haven’t tried selling any items to BackMarket simply because I’m paranoid that some of my information might still somehow be linked to those old devices. I’m sure I’ll stop worrying about that and sell them soon enough.
Buying a used phone is definitely a good idea because you can save so much money and customize your phone by purchasing a make and model of your choice rather than the newest option. However there are other alternatives to buying a used phone.
Not-So-Smart Phones
There are lots of other companies out there that sell a smart-phone alternative. “Dumb phones” a.k.a. flip-phones are widely available through BackMarket and even through Amazon. This is a great option if you really just want a device to text and call people. No internet, no social media, no calculator or other convenient apps, just a phone. One word of caution, this is a great option if you are a self-sufficient driver/navigator and can get yourself around without a navigation app. If this is going to strand you in some less-than-prudent situation you may want to consider the following option… the WisePhone.
The WisePhone, developed by Techless is neither a smart phone or a dumb phone. It is a wise phone. It can connect to the internet to download music and photos but it does not have an internet browser. It does have a flashlight, a navigation app, a camera and photo app and a calculator. The home screen boasts a plain white background with the names of each app in a list like a table of contents. It’s a great option if you’re looking for something dumber than a smart phone and smarter than a dumb phone. And, if you use my promo code TheGreatDivorce2024 you’ll receive $25 off your purchase!
At the end of the day don’t despair if you have to purchase a new phone. Do some research, ignore the lure of the punchy ads and stay focused on what you are particularly looking for in a new (or not-so-new) phone. And if you’ve already found other tricks for purchasing a device please share in the comments below!
One thing I forgot to mention in the article! If you don’t want to use wireless headphones/earpods you should check to see if the phone you’re buying has a port for headphones. My iPhone 11 Pro does not have a way to plug in headphones so I try to only talk on speaker phone most of the time so I don’t have to use a wireless headphone option.
Great options! When I updated my phone recently I was so happy to see an option to turn OFF the 5G and enable the 4G. Maybe some phones still have this option available!