this post was submitted on 04 Jun 2026
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With the writing on the wall and Android becoming a locked down ecosystem this year, I'm planning to transition to a cheap Android phone.Wondering if anyone knows some good safe options that will have many years of security updates.

I'm looking to spend less than $300 and I just want to text, call, and be able to hot spot with it. I'm planning to take my laptop with me more for work and just use my phone to connect to the internet with my laptop, rather than using as many Android apps. My laptop is Linux so I can have much more control and alot of the cool Android apps have Linux counterparts.

I've been thinking about using my phone less and I believe that if I move to using my laptop more, then I will spend less time on the internet which would be great for phone addiction and being more present.

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[โ€“] TheAlbatross@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

I was just looking into this. I'll parrot the other commenter and say the Samsung Galaxy line of a few years ago are solid gets and you can reliably get one for around that price point. I'll add on Nothing phone's previous models, too. Get em both from a reseller, not the brand store. Pixel devices have privacy focused 3rd party OS's that are supposedly easy to use, but I haven't looked into it.

Fully Linux phones are not quite there yet for the general marker or the price point you want.

If you're outside the US or in the US and on Tmobile, you can look into Xiaomi or other Chinese devices, just double check that the radio bands actually work with your carrier. Service is better around cities, from what I saw when looking into an Oppo folding device then deciding to keep my Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. I'm not sure how they work with hotspotting.

Double check the models as some have SD card slots, some do not, if that matters to you.