Looking to buy a smart phone with decent specs for my 12 year old son? TIA.

[Rubberman365]

Good afternoonfriends,

It's been awhile since I posted but I am looking to buy a new phone for my 12 year old son as his current unlocked att Alcatel allure that I picked up from Wally last year on clearance for $30 is just too slow & sluggish, plus att won't ever be updating it past 5.0 lp.

I seen that someone posted on Slickdeals that I can get him a brand new LG G5 on eBay for $120 w/ free shipping. Overall it gets decent reviews & but people posted that battery life was not so great along with having GPS problems. Spec wise it beats almost any mid range or budget phone available today. His current phone is a 5.5 in screen phone so I don't think a 5.3 will really bother him as the ram/rom along with screen resolution is better than his current phone. My main worries is if it gets the dreded LG boot loop issues?

I'm also looking at and considering the LG Stylo 3 plus, or the Samsung J7 prime but yet again the G5 beats em in specs. Looking for recommendations on any of these phones or a similar inexpensive phone for my son. Thank you very much & have a wonderful day!!

All the best,
Ron.

 

[tadpoles]

Hi Ron, what's your budget?

 

[Rubberman365]

Hi Ron, what's your budget?

Under $200 but $100-150 is the sweet spot!!

 

[Mooncatt]

I wouldn't worry about the LG bootloop issue. That specific problem only affected the G4 and V10. I don't know a ton about the G5 specifically, but I have been a fan of LG's features for a while now. Unless you're willing to possibly spend a bit more for the V20, I'd go with the G5 from your list.

 

[tadpoles]

I did a quick search on Best Buy and, at that price it looks like the Moto E4 looks good as does the Asus Zenphone Max Plus (I recently got a pair of these for my Mom and sister). I may be mistakenly inferring that you're in the US.

 

[Rukbat]

I had a G5 for a while. Nothing wrong with it, the battery life is about normal, and it's one of the few phones left with a replaceable battery. (I went fot a Pixel 2 instead, but not because of the G5 - it's a nice phone.

(Besides, what does a 12 year old boy use a phone for? Aside from social media, texting and making phone calls, games. And anything in that price range is either going to be a little weak on heavy game playing, or be an older phone. You don't get an S9 or a Note 8 for $200 dollars legally. For social media, texting and phone calls, there's nothing wrong with the G5.)

 

[Rubberman365]

I did a quick search on Best Buy and, at that price it looks like the Moto E4 looks good as does the Asus Zenphone Max Plus (I recently got a pair of these for my Mom and sister). I may be mistakenly inferring that you're in the US.

In US yes & I'll look at Zenphone. Not a huge Moto fan anymore tho.

 

[Rubberman365]

I had a G5 for a while. Nothing wrong with it, the battery life is about normal, and it's one of the few phones left with a replaceable battery. (I went fot a Pixel 2 instead, but not because of the G5 - it's a nice phone.

(Besides, what does a 12 year old boy use a phone for? Aside from social media, texting and making phone calls, games. And anything in that price range is either going to be a little weak on heavy game playing, or be an older phone. You don't get an S9 or a Note 8 for $200 dollars legally. For social media, texting and phone calls, there's nothing wrong with the G5.)

Well even with the G5 it's SD 820 should be pretty decent for games like PugMobile, or Fortnite? I can get one for as low as $70-90 but I'm also considering the ZTE Axon Pro, along with Le Pro 3 & Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge too now.

 

[Rubberman365]

So I'm still considering everything, but I'm thinking about the LG G5 still or even the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge too now, but I'm also haven't ruled out the ZTE Axon 7 or the Le Pro 3 either. #Decisions