My journey using an affordable phone and how it made analog living better.
Dec. 8, 2025, 2:37 p.m.
It’s no secret that I have an affordable phone. At first glance, one might wonder why anyone would choose that option. I am here to say that it does have its benefits. An affordable phone does not need to be babied. While it may have lower specs, navigating websites on a phone can still be quite frustrating. However, the utility features have proven to be quite useful.
The benefits of using an affordable phone have been quite pleasant. I paid around $100 for my current device, which allows me the freedom of not having to treat it like a precious object. I take it everywhere in various conditions. Now, consider a more expensive flagship phone with all the bells and whistles. A phone is a device that generally gets taken everywhere, in and out of pockets, which leaves a lot of room for drops. Which phone would be more palatable to replace if it were to break or become outdated: a $100 phone or one that costs around $1,000 (yes, phones are starting to cost this much)? With that in mind, I don’t have to baby my affordable phone as much as I would a more expensive one. If it breaks, I can simply, “New phone, who dis?” But if an expensive phone breaks, that's $1,000 down the loo.(hahahaha)
However, it’s not perfect. It does come with lower specs, ads, and other limitations. As a bit of a power user, I thought these issues would matter more—and maybe they do—but I’ve built the habit of using a laptop for anything beyond calls or texts. Emails can wait, if it’s urgent, I have my phone. Issues may arise if I need to use a feature or an app that's only accessible on a newer flagship phone for work or similar reasons. Some tech security professionals maintain a separate phone for this purpose, sometimes keeping it off and stored inside a Faraday bag, likely next to their desktop or laptop. Therefore, a computer is still necessary, along with a flagship phone for logging into various services, while my daily driver is used for texting, calling and the ever marketing info-tainment videos.
My phone does have some nice utility features that I find quite pleasant. It includes a 3.5mm headphone jack, and it has a “shake to turn on” back-light feature, which is nice. I imagine it can be set for another feature, but in this day and age, who knows? It’s been great since I still have perfectly usable wired headphones. I plan to use those headphones until they start producing static from wear, and then I’ll dispose of them (can they be recycled or repurposed?).