1st phone recommendations

[superstar84]

We'd like to get ds his first phone over the next few months

We both have iPhones so debating whether to upgrade mine and pass on my iPhone 10 however that does feel a bit extravagant and likely to lead to high expectations next time!

I'd like an iPhone purely due to all the family restrictions that I can place on websites, screen time and contacts etc also the ability to be able to track him does feel reassuring

I'm likely to go for EE as we are fairly remote and has the best signal

Any recommendations that aren't iPhones?

My dads got an iPhone 6 he's offered but it needs a new battery and is unsupported now by Apple

[FixTheBone]

Iphone does make the most sense as you'll be able to easily use parentl comtrols and share itunes subscriptions etc.

music magpie have refurbished iPhone SE 2020 in 'pristine' (and they will be) condition for £350. I'd personally pay the £50 difference and go for a new one.

Other option is something like a xiaomi - some spectacular phones for less than £100., and 5G phones starting at £139

[superstar84]

Would you say an se would be better and be supported for longer than the iPhone 10?

I'm debating whether it's a better option to upgrade my 10 and buy myself a new one and pass this on to him

[FixTheBone]

The 2020 iPhone se has the same internals as the 11 I think, camera not as good, so should be supported for at least a year after the 10. It was released at the same time as the 12 so may even end up being on the same life cycle as that.

[BunnyRuddington]

I'd buy a secondhand iPhone 7 and tell him that if he can prove that he can look after it for a year, you'll consider upgrading.

[superstar84]

The price of second hand older models though isn't very cheap!

I looked at a second hand 10 and it's £349 which is a huge amount for a 3 year old phone

I'd be better buying myself a 12 and giving him mine

I think it be a waste to buy a model that js no longer supported by Apple, even a 6 seems to be £180 ish

[CruelAndUnusualParenting]

Even if it's second hand, a £350 phone for a first phone doesn't seem like a good idea. It will very likely get broken. A £120 Redmi Note 9 is more than enough phone for a first phone. Also, if they have a couple of accidents with iphones you quickly run through a grand's worth of phones.

They don't have to have an Apple phone. My kids don't.

I have an iphone XR for work and I mostly prefer my cheap Xiaomi, although I have to admit that the camera on the iphone is impressive.

[superstar84]

Is there options on other phones to do things like track their location, restrict websites, permission alerts for adding contacts, downloading apps etc?

I don't just want to give him a phone then find he's signing up to all sorts which is why I thought of an iPhone since we have the family restrictions set up

I agree £359 is an absolutely huge amount and would love to find a much more affordable solution

He'll be walking to the bus stop which is about 15 mins then it's a 20 min bus ride on a dual carriageway so he definitely needs to be able to contact us

He's a very naive and trusting boy and I'm nervous!

[Longdistance]

My friend recommended this one www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B089QN2TMN/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_api_glt_fabc_KGRGH9B1W61VA67TV0TD?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21
I will be getting it for dd when she goes to Senior School as she’ll be taking a regular bus (not a school bus) and I want her to be safe.

[CruelAndUnusualParenting]

Android phones have parental controls on downloads and Google Family Link. I couldn't say how they compare to the Apple equivalents.

There are also independent apps you can download. We have Life360, but I don't use it much

support.google.com/googleplay/answer/1075738?hl=en-GB
families.google.com/familylink/