At a loss - what do I need to look for?

Albermarle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6678556/at-a-loss-what-do-i-need-to-look-for

(Online Curry's doesn't even have a designated smartphone category.)

That is probably because the only phones they sell are smartphones.

Non smartphones are something of a niche market.

Acer321

Buying Your First Smartphone

PHK

OP, something to be aware of.

You can buy the phone and the SIM separately.

The SIM will have a plan associated with it that.

You can either pay for the service as you use it (so much per text, minute of calling and bit of data) or you can pay them a monthly/yearly amount to buy a bundle of calls, texts and data. The former is generally more expensive than the latter unless you make only a couple of short calls each month.

WhatsApp uses data, so you'll want a bundle that allows you to use data outside the home. The thing to remember is that while WhatsApp messages don't use much data, if one of your friends calls you on WhatsApp or sends a voice or video message then you'll use more data.

As data is now relatively cheap, I would recommend that you start with a plan at about £5 a month or something like 1p mobiles yearly plan at £55. You might find these on offer on the MSE deals page.

As for the phone, these are no longer locked to a specific network so you can buy it anywhere.

Make sure that it supports 4G calling, often called VoLTE (most smartphones on the market now do). Personally, I would avoid the very cheapest as you may become frustrated with how slow they are (you tap the Phone icon and the screen takes ages to show the keypad) and they will have a shorter life. If you go for a phone in the Samsung A series then you'll have support for around five years. The G series from Motorola has a couple of years of support. Alternatively, a second hand iPhone 14 or above will have support for a good few years.

chrisw

The physical shops such as Tesco mobile or O2 are always a good starting point and you can always go back and ask for advice as often as you like. They may not necessarily be the cheapest or have the best signal for you, but you can always switch further down the line once you've got to grips with it all.

Albermarle

Alternatively, a second hand iPhone 14 or above will have support for a good few years.

Just for info, a refurbished iphone 14 will cost £300 to £350 . It should get full software updates for another 3 years and another year of security updates after that. It will still be usable after that but maybe not 100% secure so not really for things like banking apps.

Cisco001

i would suggest samsung A17 4G. £120 from EE. Mainly due to software support.

there used to be a £110 samsung A17 5G from Giffgaff. They are OOS now.

And i would agree with others, you should at least something with few GB per month.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cheap-mobile-finder/sim-only/lebara/

Maegi

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82091235#Comment_82091235

I'd suggest the Samsung Galaxy A26/A27 or A36/A37 spec level.
The lower Samsung Galaxy A16/A17 can have performance issues.

General_Grant

Thank you to everyone who has offered advice.

I did visit a Tesco Mobile area and came away with some printed leaflet. It had had to be a quick visit and one question I asked was whether a phone she was showing me would work with an eSim. She had no idea.

Anyway, I'm taking things forward.