Ideally 5g but if not at the bare minimum 4g volte capable. I hate the idea of buying any of them tbh but my phone is legit starting to die (hardware related, not worth fixing because I bought it for $50 through a promo and it fucking sucked then too but it was usable) but even if I fixed it it barely supports volte and every carrier in my area literally requires it now.
My initial thought was to pay extra and buy something sanctioned but I doubt I would screw anyone over but myself and I might as well just buy something functional and solid that I can distract myself with for a year or two and leave this hellhole.
Thoughts?
depending on your hardware strategy an older/cheaper iphone is a good choice. all of the ones you'll get new support 4g and volte and they have great parts availability and are super familiar to places that repair phones.
so if you keep things till they literally can't be repaired anymore or do your own work they're top tier.
the main downside is that youre tied to apples ecosystem. as a linux user for over twenty years that seemed like a dealbreaker but it's not. it's a phone.
you won't trust your phone anymore (not that you should no matter the manufacturer). you'll look like a normal person. that parts nice.