Dumb phones/dumb electronics

[FNFAN]

Another big issue with any inexpensive Android phone, whether marketed as smartphone or dumbphone is it will have many unpatched security issues.

If you only use it for calls and texts you don't care about being intercepted then it probably doesn't matter a lot.

But if you store anything important on it or use it for any kind of money or security related function its a real bad idea.

Cheapest phones I can recommend without doing research are current Google brand Android phone ie Pixel line think 6A probably cheapest at memoment I'd recommend or iPhone SE. I have both of those.

I would second the recommendation for iPhone SE. I converted to Apple after using the iPhone SE as the issued work phone. I use them as my personal phone and have another, virtually new SE that was a relative's. They're relatively cheap now adays and you can store a decent amount of music on the 32GB model. I usually stream most of my music though. I've been with Patriot Mobile for a couple of years and recommend them as well.

[Welder]

It may not fit exactly with what the OP needs because I don't know the cost of it, and with the caveat that I've got no personal experience with this model, if a person is looking for a ruggedized flip....you might want to check out the Sonim XP3plus. I'm a Sonim XP8 smartphone owner, and have been waiting on their XP10 to come out as a Verizon option, which it recently did, and I'll be switching to it. Sonims are used widely in government and heavy industry....my XP8's battery lasts literally for days. I can charge it on Mondays and Thursdays even after owning it for 3 years. The battery is removable, too. The phone itself is ruggedized; I've destroyed three iphones in Otterboxes with long-distance falls to concrete from manlifts, etc, and I've had no problems with the Sonim. My only complaint with the XP8 is the camera (quality is crap), and that's why I'm making the move to the XP10. The XP8 is also heavy, and I expect the XP10 to be similar, but that's par for the course with the giant battery.

The guys in the Verizon store (and probably other carriers as well) don't even know that Sonims are an option; you have to teach them. Last time I was there, one of the employees walked up to me to ask what my phone was (they have a distinctive hump on one corner for the antenna), and like the others, he thought it was pretty cool but had never even heard of the company.

Anyways, it's unlike me to give glowing reviews of things, because honestly most things in my industry need work to be reliable or 100% useful. A lot of things, like iphones, that work for other people, simply can't hack it. So I'm a big Sonim fan, and if I needed to go back to a flip phone (I didn't own a smartphone until about 5 years ago), I'd absolutely give the Sonim version a try.

[4RNR]

Another big issue with any inexpensive Android phone, whether marketed as smartphone or dumbphone is it will have many unpatched security issues.

If you only use it for calls and texts you don't care about being intercepted then it probably doesn't matter a lot.

But if you store anything important on it or use it for any kind of money or security related function its a real bad idea.

Cheapest phones I can recommend without doing research are current Google brand Android phone ie Pixel line think 6A probably cheapest at memoment I'd recommend or iPhone SE. I have both of those.

I do not use any money or security related functions outside of my house. Im not sure what "security functions" mean but definitely dont use any financial functions outside of my home. I mostly still write checks and have paper billing.

Not sure how much i actually trust these calls or texts to really be secure. At least not in a way that matters. I believe it was Nissan that said they now store all your text massages, sent through the car app, for ever an ever with no option to delete or opt out. Sure probably no one is reading them in real time but they're not exactly secure between me and the person receiving the text.

I would second the recommendation for iPhone SE. I converted to Apple after using the iPhone SE as the issued work phone. I use them as my personal phone and have another, virtually new SE that was a relative's. They're relatively cheap now adays and you can store a decent amount of music on the 32GB model. I usually stream most of my music though. I've been with Patriot Mobile for a couple of years and recommend them as well.

I had a work issued iphone years ago, not sure on the model but they were much smaller. Didnt really care for it enough to go out and buy one. If its free its for me!!

Dont have a music library. Have not downloaded a song in probably 20+ years. The last time i dabbled in music like that Napster was still a thing! But I believe that was burning songs on CDs. I probably listen to 4 or 5 podcasts/shows/programs scattered over 2 apps. And not even to each podcast, just the more interesting sounding ones. Thats it. Thats 98% of my app/function/feature use. So i figure if its possible to load those onto a mp3 player then I really dont need a smartphone

[FNFAN]

Dont have a music library. Have not downloaded a song in probably 20+ years. The last time i dabbled in music like that Napster was still a thing! But I believe that was burning songs on CDs. I probably listen to 4 or 5 podcasts/shows/programs scattered over 2 apps. And not even to each podcast, just the more interesting sounding ones. Thats it. Thats 98% of my app/function/feature use. So i figure if its possible to load those onto a mp3 player then I really dont need a smartphone

The only dedicated MP3 player I've had is one of the micro Apple's about the same size as a 50cent piece. I find the people at TechRadar do a pretty good review. Here is their review. The #2 recommended Sony looks nice. You may find one you like more that is on Black Friday sale. Good Luck!