Buying mobile up front and sim only deals

jimjames

WSB said:

Quick one.  Is it worth buying a phone that is 5G?

If you want to keep it long term then definitely. If you use it abroad even more so. Other countries have much more 5G coverage than the UK but even here there will be 5G you'd miss out on if you only have 4G available.

WSB

Frozen_up_north said:

WSB said:

Quick one.  Is it worth buying a phone that is 5G?

Why not? While the UK is only installing 5G at a snail pace and EE (maybe others) appear to be bolting 5G radio kit onto 4G backbone, which gives no latency or speed advantage, technology moves on.

Regarding which phone and where to buy, John Lewis is generally a good place as they are often cheaper and offer a 2 year guarantee on mobile phones.

Ok great, thanks for the advice.
I'm considering buying an Samsung Galaxy A16. In Tesco store this is £174 bought outright but on Amazon (new) I can get it for just over £100.  Just a bit concerned this Amazon deal could be a bit too good to be true?

Also, as I tend to keep my phone for years, having one that will eventually be able to use 5G would be handy.
Have seen that some A16s for sale are labelled 5G and some not? Not sure whether this is an omission or not though.
Essentially, is there only one model of A16 (colours aside) or are there 4G and 5G variants?
Many thanks in advance.

Frozen_up_north

If you check John Lewis, the A16 5G version is £169 and the 4G version is £139

Don't forget these include a 2 year warranty and are free delivery.

On Amazon they are £169 with a £16.01 discount added at checkout. They appear to include a 3 year warranty, not sure how that works. Note that is from Amazon themselves, not a backstreet dealer selling through Amazon (which is cheaper but buyer beware).

flaneurs_lobster

There is an A16 and an A16 5G variant. Difference? 5G and about £30.

Just take care when buying from Amazon, not unknown for "grey" imports to be sold there. Often there is no issue with a phone intended for a European country other than UK  but there can be problems with warranties when the seller is not actually Amazon. The listings can be less than clear and occasionally just wrong. Check the product code (SM-....) not just the model number.