Perhaps it has to do with the fact that a $50 smartphone introduced in 2021 is in no way anything special or novel. Cheaper usable smartphones have been around for years. The billions are not getting anything they haven't had for years.
This is classic PR, inventing a fake reason why a profitmaking move is somehow altruistic.
It works on many such as you because many such as you are steeped in the middle class world of $300 flagship phones every couple years and were unaware that decent sub $50 phones have been around for years.
Even a pretty nice phone like a Google pixel or Google pixel 2 can be had for about $100 used. They work great still and only have issues because of intentional choices by Google to prevent security updates. It's only a policy thing, no technical cause -- custom ROMs allow latest Android to be used just fine.
I can't express my contempt for big companies creating an artificial problem, then trying to get credit for partially fixing it.
PS: I relied on the $40 moto G for a few years without issues except "kind of slow". I upgraded to a used Google pixel off eBay for $100 a few years ago. I'm a software engineer and use plenty of popular apps. The forced upgrade treadmill is totally artificial. Just look at the specs on the Google pixel 2 vs pixel 5 sometime. No practical difference, just a bunch of marginal gimmicky stuff like 4 cameras, fingerprint readers that are on the screen instead of the back, etc.
Wholeheartedly agree — I’ve owned a pixel one for the entire lifecycle of the phone. The problem with the pixel one right now is that they no longer get security updates — any tips with regard to that?
Thanks, that’s amazing. I have some fondness to the phone as I swapped out the screen two times, finger reader and battery. Manual updates will just be another thing I do to keep the adventure going :)
MotoG at $40 off contract was probably a clearance sale, and not available in millions of units. I can't think of an HD screen phone at this price point - can you post some links?
The 300m people Jio is hoping to migrate from 2G to 4G with this phone will now be able to use essential apps such as those needed for Covid vaccination registration, job searches and digital payments. Hence this is hugely empowering.
I find your comment a little disheartening, sorry. You could buy on a black friday sale, or eBay - but so what? The target segment for this phone makes less than $300 a month.
Dude. I literally bought the aforementioned moto G twice, new, a least a year apart (cracked the screen and it was cheaper to replace than fix). I bought it at the Verizon or TMobile store (I forget which) both or at least one of the times. Just do some quick googling and you'll find brand new phones for under $50 today. It wasn't a one off deal. The world is awash in cheap smartphones and has been for years and you have no idea because of your social class haha.
I find your lack of effort "a little disheartening" as you say. It's like you don't want to believe it's cheap and easy to get a decent new phone for very little.
I went to the trouble of doing what you were too lazy to do. I don't have time to do more pointless googling but Verizon prepaid sells a no contract $55 smartphone today. You can likely get better deals if you shop around at all, or are in a cheaper market than the USA. I'm not going to engage with you further, do your own work. https://www.verizon.com/smartphones/orbic-maui-prepaid/?cmp=...
I did search unlocked phones before commenting; couldn't find a comparable phone. The link you posted comes with a 60-day lock period.
The cheapest phone in India with an HD display comes in at around 25% higher than what Jio phone will sell for (if the $50 turns out to be true).
Disclosure: I did work with Jio (as a consultant) on software for their older JioPhone, running a version of Firefox OS. It sold about 70 million units.
Add: Perhaps my Google fu is lacking, but I am not able to validate "decent sub $50 phones have been around for years". With these specs, that is. I can't find anything on Amazon, Walmart and TMobile under 50.
Maybe there's been a little inflation then, we've had a lot of that lately. I bought my moto Gs years ago. I think you're losing the forest for the trees here.
This is classic PR, inventing a fake reason why a profitmaking move is somehow altruistic.
It works on many such as you because many such as you are steeped in the middle class world of $300 flagship phones every couple years and were unaware that decent sub $50 phones have been around for years.
Even a pretty nice phone like a Google pixel or Google pixel 2 can be had for about $100 used. They work great still and only have issues because of intentional choices by Google to prevent security updates. It's only a policy thing, no technical cause -- custom ROMs allow latest Android to be used just fine.
I can't express my contempt for big companies creating an artificial problem, then trying to get credit for partially fixing it.
PS: I relied on the $40 moto G for a few years without issues except "kind of slow". I upgraded to a used Google pixel off eBay for $100 a few years ago. I'm a software engineer and use plenty of popular apps. The forced upgrade treadmill is totally artificial. Just look at the specs on the Google pixel 2 vs pixel 5 sometime. No practical difference, just a bunch of marginal gimmicky stuff like 4 cameras, fingerprint readers that are on the screen instead of the back, etc.