Can I ask what type of phone your teen has (for 14 year old) and roughly how much it cost please?

[Sweepingchange]

We have a phone battle going on at our house atm.

The old phone that dd has inherited from me and previously from dh has died (it was a Huawei); well apparently it doesn't receive Instagram any more which is tantamount to it dying apparently .

We are looking to buy dd a new phone but don't want something outrageously expensive or something that will attract thieves when she comes home from school on public transport.

I would be so grateful for some ideas about models and price ranges please (and all the ones dd has shown me on-line seem very expensive indeed) because I am clueless about this sort of thing and I don't want to be hoodwinked in to buying something that apparently "all her friends have".

Want to go in to this battle informed. We are not doing pay as you go because we run our own business (and live abroad anyway) and phone will be bought as part of office package ifyswim.

Thanks you very much for your help.

[60percentbanana]

Dd aged 17 has an iPhone 6 and pays £20 a month towards it. Dd 14 has the same phone. Dh and I have iPhone 7s which aren't much different really. I don't know what the individual contract cost is but they are £180 a month altogether (for the four above plus my fathers - he is in a nursing home so I pay his bill).

[Freshprincess]

One has an iPhone and the other a Samsung galaxy. iPhone is a 5SE which is a about 3 versions ago. He iPhone 6 was too big to fit in his blazer pocket (thankfully). Galaxy is the most up to date but not the curve one.
£38 per month for both.

I'd also be a bit suspicious of the 'group apps' for schoolwork. DCs school is a technology specialist school and they don't use anything like that. They go to great lengths to make sure that all DCs can equally acccess work so something that requires a smartphone would be out.

[Mumofjustthe1]

Ds 16yo pays for own phone from pocket money. He purchased an iPhone 5 from Cex a store that sell second hand phones. It came unlocked and in the box with allots extras. He tops. Up hos phone with O2 and pays 10 a month which gives him a bundle he is content with. A lot of his friends have more expensive set ups the dp pay for ...... but tbh once they become teens and the social life really kicks off they want to go out all the time. An expensive phone is not something we are prepared to pay for. Tesco do a perfectly good moto g that is a smart phone and the contract is 12 pm all in! But apparently although good enough for me and dd doesn't cut it for ds!

[user1243]

iPhone 5s

[MrsPresley]

My 15yo has a Samsung Galaxy a5. I took it on a contract £24 pm (Vodaphone) unlimited calls/texts ( it was important to me that she is always able to contact me) and 1GB of data, but she mostly uses wifi.

I think to buy the phone only is around £350. I have the same phone, and I love it! But to be honest it's the first decent phone I've ever had, so I'm like a child with a new toy

[SomewhereNow]

DD14 had my old iPhone 4s for a couple of years and I upgraded her at Xmas to an iPhone 5C for £60 upfront (which she paid) and £20 per month plus £5 insurance.

I'm happy for her to have an iPhone for a number of reasons, the main one being that I have always been an Apple user so I understand them. It also offers her other ways to stay in touch with mates such as FaceTime. Most of her friends do have iPhones, generally higher end than hers which I wouldn't necessarily do - 5C is adequate until they stop supporting it with software updates etc.

I guess it is a bit that so many kids have this expensive technology but it's the way of the world these days.

[bringonyourwreckingball]

Dd1 (11) has my old iPhone 5c and a monthly contract with plus net for £7:50 a month. When DH next upgrades she can have his iPhone 6

[par05]

Just got my daughter 14 a Samsung j5, she can get Instagram on it and snapchat! And it cost me 12.50 a month from tesco. All her friends tend to have Iphones though!

[mumto3boysHE]

My 3 DS (18, 17, 16) have a hand-me-down Samsung J5 (DH switched to Sony Experia for the music), £16.50 pm, Sony Experia (not sure of model but not latest) £10 pm, hand-me-down Samsung S-something or other, £10pm
All are through Tesco, with Family freeby-top-up-thingy (they all chose extra data, no surprise there!)

I have the Samsung S7 Edge (love it, love it) but it's playing up. Thinking of switching to One Plus because the spec is excellent and you're not paying for the Samsung name.

All android here...

[Aducknotallama]

DS 15 has an iPhone 7 paid monthly. All his friends have iPhones and have done for a couple of years

[Bloosh]

Mine has an iPhone 5 which was mine. It doesn't work brilliantly and we pay £10 a month at Tesco, which gives very limited 3G. That means she mostly uses social media etc at home - great way to reduce the nastiness tbh.shes the only one of her friends not to have smashed her screen - they mostly have better phones and don't take care of them.

DH is downgrading to a call/text-only phone soon so dd will have his iphone6. We will keep the same Tesco deal, or perhaps add a little more data.

[Sweepingchange]

Sorry was away all day yesterday but just wanted to pop back on this thread and thank everyone for further contributions.

We are still making our minds up and researching the market and will make a decision in due course.

In the meantime though, there is some really, really useful information here so thank you again.

Particularly interesting about different specs and storage capablities thank you PickaChew and ActuallythatsSUPREMEcommander!

And thanks again to everyone else!

This thread has been an eye-opener! The world has definitely moved on ...

[Allthebestnamesareused]

My son 15 bought his iphone 5s with Birthday and Christmas money he saved up . Prior to that he had a 5c which he bought second hand on a selling site but from his old preschool teacher so we knew her.

He has a £10 per month contract with Virgin which gives unlimited texts and lots of call minutes which never get used up but most importantly as far as he is concerned 4gb data a month

[cushiemoy]

Ours both have iPhone 5s, bought outright for their birthdays then we pay I think it's £9 for Virgin SIM only deal.

[leesmum]

Ds1 aged 12 has a refurbished iPhone 5s, he's on Giffgaff and pays £10 a month for 2g data loads of mins and texts. He'll be 13 in October and we're getting him the iPhone 6 but that will probably be a refurbished one too.

[Cocolepew]

My 15yo and 19yo both have Samsung j5 2017. They are contract so not sure what they are to buy.
Both gave up on iphones after having them a few years.
I have the older j5 on contract.

[GoodyGoodyGumdrops]

Ds has a Motorola. IIRC it cost less than £200 up front, and he is on an £11/month contract that gives him as much data and minutes as he needs. He is very happy with it.

[jelliebelly]

iPhone 6 which we bought reconditioned for £250 at Christmas, £10 pm Tesco contract

[AtiaoftheJulii]

14 yo has an iPhone 5S which she got for her birthday - it's £17.50/month on contract for 8GB. She's the only one for which we've got an iPhone, but she's had a couple of iPods previously (one secondhand as a present, then she bought herself a new one when she came into some money) so or seemed sensible.

16yo has a Huawei P8 again on contract, which is a really nice high-specced phone.

[Howlongtilldinner]

Samsung J5 is a lovely phone, nice size screen. I think it takes an SD card too. DS pays £12 per month, but not much in the way of data/minutes. It's Tesco mobile.

The concern is that's it not 'in'!

[CurlyMango]

The both have an iPhone 5s with a contact for two years, unlimited text and calls and 1gb. This is better value than buying outright. Like you I was concern re theft but they all seem to have them.

[cherokeee]

Sweeping it might be too late to be helpful, but just wanted to add another (perhaps minority) view that teenagers especially young teenagers -- do not NEED smartphones. My DS (13) does not have one. He has a simple phone he can use to phone or text me and that's it. I am horrified at the money families spend on devices that are used mainly for banal entertainment and distract children from real socializing, not to mention from doing school work, observing nature, etc. I know my view is old-fashioned but there is mounting evidence of the danger of being "always on" to young people. This obsession with checking social media to see how many "followers" they have is leading to serious mental health problems. People complain about the cost of living, but are willing to pay 360 pounds or more per year PER CHILD so that their children can "like" their friends photos, play mindless games as they journey to and from school, retreat from family conversations when they are at home.... it is MADNESS!
When my son needs to have access to data on-the-go, he will have an old smartphone with a very low data package similar to my own (15 pounds per month) -- which is plenty for accessing emails on the go, occasional access to websites, etc. He can use wifi at school or home for any other data needs. We also will have a strict rule that smartphones (including mine and my husband's) are set on the hall table at home, not taken around the house, and not used after a certain time (9-ish pm).
I should add my son is a very normal 13-year-old, very sociable, has a great group of friends and even though many of them do have various types of smart phones his social life does not suffer from the lack of having a smart phone. And... his friends know that at our house and in our car smartphones are to be put away....

[cherokeee]

didn't intend to scratch through words in last para above!

[Melissa980]

Dont get them and iphone 5 or anything before, mine has an Iphone 7 plus.

[Giddyaunt18]

iphone 4 that will be replaced when contract ends this summer. it was an old one of mine so sim only deal at about £7 per month.