What would you say is the best value second hand iPhone right now?

xKratosx · 7 Sep 2023 at 00:03

Hi, I'm looking to upgrade my iPhone X (only recently bought it, and the charging port isn't very reliable unfortunately) and wondering what the best value phone is? I was set on a Pro model for OLED (night browsing), but noticed that from the 12 onwards the regular versions have it too, so I'm currently thinking either an iPhone 11 Pro 256GB or an iPhone 12 128GB would be a good option? I really like the 14 Pro but for now it's out of my price range, ideally I don't want to spend any more than £300 but can stretch to £400 or so for the right phone. Thank you

ChrisD. · 7 Sep 2023 at 07:01

I used a base 13 for a while and it was perfectly fine. I’m sure a 12 or 11 would be also.

Deleted member 77746 · 7 Sep 2023 at 07:33

iPhone 11/iPhone 12/iPhone 13

LiE · 7 Sep 2023 at 09:16

A used 13 will push your top budget to about £450, but I think that would be worthwhile. It will give the longest support as it has the same chip as the iPhone 14.

Otherwise an iPhone 12 would be comfortably in budget.

uvarvu · 7 Sep 2023 at 09:39

Given that the X isn't getting iOS 17, the 11 series has two years of updates left right? How long do you want to keep your phone for? Whatever you buy might need a new battery so you'll need to factor that in as well.

Feek · 7 Sep 2023 at 09:56

xKratosx said:
and the charging port isn't very reliable unfortunately)

Have you de-fluffed it? It's amazing how much gunk can accumulate in that socket and cause a poor connection.

Silent Bob · 7 Sep 2023 at 11:44

I bought a "good as new" iPhone 12 from Mozillion for £420 about 6 months ago as a temporary phone until the 15 comes out. Although I'm debating whether to keep hold of the 12. The 12 has 5G and magsafe which were the main draw for me. The chip is only 1 gen behind the 14 so not a massive benefit of upgrading.

xKratosx · 7 Sep 2023 at 21:34

Thanks so much guys, lots of good options then

The 12 does look great tbh, though I don't think I'd ever need the speed of 5G (honestly, I'm lucky just to get any internet at all here) the other features are nice. Good shout on support for the 11 likely ending in a couple of years... I'm very much a buy it and keep it until it practically dies kinda guy.

Also, great shout on de-fluffing the charging port - I haven't done that yet (will now) but right after I posted this a random vertical green line appeared on my screen! Not having much luck buying phones from Facebook Marketplace tbh... that's two duds now, might try a proper refurbished one.

xKratosx · 11 Sep 2023 at 23:33

Any recommendations for a place to get a good second hand phone btw pls? Ideally I'd like to be able to return it if I have problems like I have (dodgy battery, dodgy screen etc)

ZXSpectrum · 12 Sep 2023 at 05:46

Mozillian get good reviews and feedback. They were doing some good iPhone 14 deals but will probably be a bit better after the new phone announcements.

englishpremier · 12 Sep 2023 at 12:38

xKratosx said:
Thanks so much guys, lots of good options then The 12 does look great tbh, though I don't think I'd ever need the speed of 5G (honestly, I'm lucky just to get any internet at all here) the other features are nice.

I remember thinking that about 3g when I could happily get 80Mb/s, then when 4g became more common 3g just degraded to Edge speeds.

xKratosx · 12 Sep 2023 at 22:54

ZXSpectrum said:
Mozillian get good reviews and feedback. They were doing some good iPhone 14 deals but will probably be a bit better after the new phone announcements.

Thank you!

LiE · 13 Sep 2023 at 13:14

xKratosx said:
Any recommendations for a place to get a good second hand phone btw pls? Ideally I'd like to be able to return it if I have problems like I have (dodgy battery, dodgy screen etc)

Loop Mobile, TheBigPhoneStore and Mozillion I've used and returned with no issues.

xKratosx · 13 Sep 2023 at 17:20

Thanks so much, I’ll take a look!

xKratosx · 14 Sep 2023 at 00:04

Sorry to bump this but I’ve found a mint:

iPhone 14 Pro 128GB for £700
iPhone 13 Pro 128GB for £450
iPhone 12 Pro 128GB for £350

I’m tempted by the 12 since I’m quite dropsy and might smash it, and it would be less painful to break the cheap one. But also like the others for the 3x zoom and island

SpartaP · 14 Sep 2023 at 04:37

The 13 pro is my pick. Good phone, arguably better battery longevity (a lot of 14 pro owners suffering with fast battery health degradation) and you'll have the benefit of the 120hz display over the 12.

xKratosx · 14 Sep 2023 at 21:26

SpartaP said:
The 13 pro is my pick. Good phone, arguably better battery longevity (a lot of 14 pro owners suffering with fast battery health degradation) and you'll have the benefit of the 120hz display over the 12.

Thank you! I'm definitely intrigued by the 120hz display, unfortunately the phone I saw earlier is a dud though

Going to hold off and hope that prices of the 13 Pro drop a little and I can get a good one for ~£450.

matt1 · 17 Sep 2023 at 07:18

xKratosx said:
Sorry to bump this but I’ve found a mint:

iPhone 14 Pro 128GB for £700
iPhone 13 Pro 128GB for £450
iPhone 12 Pro 128GB for £350

I’m tempted by the 12 since I’m quite dropsy and might smash it, and it would be less painful to break the cheap one. But also like the others for the 3x zoom and island

I’d go for the 13 pro from this list

Reuben klang · 17 Sep 2023 at 08:28

matt1 said:
I’d go for the 13 pro from this list

So would I. Although I suspect that’d you’d be able to get a 14 for much cheaper than that now seen as it’s only the 128 and only £200 more gets you a brand spanking new one.

goldy6660 · 17 Sep 2023 at 09:55

It's a balance of newness, feature support and cost.13 isn't a bad shout but depends on how many years you want it for. Most only have a expected life of 2 years now