![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/random-Android-phones-1.jpg\")
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After a couple of years of trying to get my dad to switch from a battered and bruised iPhone 8, I wondered to myself why. If it ain\u2019t (too) broke, don\u2019t fix it, but I thought about what would be the oldest phone I could actively consider using daily.<\/p>\n
This is not a question intended to be detached from reality, and even saying it out loud feels like the ultimate first-world problem. There are millions of people who will make do and mend or use a phone for almost a decade. Being completely honest, were I not testing out the latest technology on a regular basis, I\u2019d almost certain I\u2019d be in the same boat.<\/p>\n
When doing an inventory check recently, I picked up the Galaxy S23 Ultra<\/a>, and I\u2019ll be honest, it felt great. I figured this could be the phone for my dad, but alas, he has found switching from the button-centric iPhone 8 to on-screen buttons a little tough.<\/p>\n Instead\u2026I felt a kinship with the device. It was my \u201cmain\u201d phone for almost 18 months from launch until the Pixel 9 series launched, and I switched over as my carrier deal came to a close. It probably isn\u2019t a shock that it felt great. Maybe it helps that Samsung hasn\u2019t really done much to properly differentiate the Galaxy Ultra devices for a few years, but the point still stands. It\u2019s fast, smooth, has a superb camera, and although a little dinged up, I still love using it. I\u2019d argue it\u2019s Samsung\u2019s best device of the past 5 years.<\/p>\n \tAdvertisement – scroll for more content<\/p>\n Even when I used my Pixel 7a recently as a test device for various ROMs and updates<\/a>, nothing feels particularly slow or annoying. I\u2019d happily use the 7a day-to-day. That\u2019s only a 3-year-old midranger, so again, nothing really insane. To that end, It helps that we haven\u2019t really seen any major hardware evolution on \u201cslabphones\u201d for, what, like 7 or 8 years? We\u2019re all using the same apps, basically the same screens, and not much else.<\/p>\n We know that people hold on to their phones for longer now than at any other time, which begs the question: what is the oldest phone you\u2019d comfortably use, and what are you currently using daily? Use the poll below and the comments section to give us your thoughts.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Galaxy-S23-and-S25-Ultra-1.jpg\")
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