So my son is getting older and we are starting to think about a mobile phone for him. On one hand, I still think he is a little too young at only 11 (and in year 5). But he’s starting to go out more riding his bike (within a limited distance) and such so it would be nice to be able to keep track of him.
As it stands he inherited my old iPad Mini which is cellular so I bought a cheap SIM to let him tap into our data plan… so the step up from that to a phone doesn’t seem to take alot of extra justification (if I can get by with a data SIM in a phone it might be even cheaper month to month??). The thinking at this point is that the phone wouldn’t normally leave home (ie when he goes to school it would stay home) but would be allowed when he goes out or we go away on holidays (much like his iPad). He plays Pokemon Go so a phone is a little easier to handle vs the iPad.
This would also allow us to hand his 5th gen iPod touch down to my younger Daughter who is still using an older iPod Touch with a 30 pin connector that’s stuck on iOS 6.x which means no Apple Music or Spotify for her 
That would save me a few $$ right there.
…
…
…so… It’s bloody expensive to buy an iPhone.
Which leaves me with a couple of options.
- Upgrade my iPhone 6 Plus 128GB to an iPhone 7 Plus and hand the old one down.
Pros: I only have to buy one phone.
(also I get a new phone ;))
Cons: It’s actually an expensive phone.
A good rugged case will be $80 - $100 (for my son)
It’s two years old
The iPhone 7 is bloody expensive (even on a plan vs my BYO SIM plan I’m currently on).
- Upgrade my iPhone 6 Plus 128GB to an iPhone 7 Plus and sell off the old iPhone 6 Plus 128GB and acquire a new phone for my son.
Pros: Two new phones with warranty.
Cons: Two expensive phones.
A good rugged case will be $80 - $100 (for my son)
Even then it’s a toss-up as to which phone as well as outright vs plan.
(for comparison I’m considering a $30 Optus Business BYO plan on my account which gives unlimited calling + 1.5GB data + access to the wider data pool which has always been way more than enough even with his iPad)
The iPhone 5S is $369 (prepaid Optus) so I’d come out in front after selling my old phone (or at least break even with a good case). While it would be a nice new phone with a new battery and new warranty it would also be a year older technology wise than handing my 6Plus down… and I’m a nerd that doesn’t like old things. Also, it’s only 16GB and while that’s probably fine for him… more storage would be very nice.
The iPhone SE is a 6S in a different form factor. I would feel far less conflicted spending cash on that as a phone vs the older 5S. It does come in 64GB but we are now talking $55 / month which is $25 / month more than the SIM only plan and adds up to $600 extra over the term (or $201 more than buying the iPhone 5S outright…) and still cheaper than purchasing the phone outright from Apple.
The iPhone 6S is just getting too expensive (and given my Wife has a 6S I’d probably upgrade her to a 7 and hand that one down).
ORRRRRRRR
I consider the cheapest of all options and that is to buy a ~$200 Android phone and be done with it. He can still use Apple Music and Spotify, it should run Pokemon Go… the only limitation being it’s not going to use iMessages or all the Apps he knows and loves from his iPad… and we are starting to split the eco system up. (damn technology lock in 
). Anything much more than $200 and I may as well just get the iPhone 5S.
(Of course, a 2nd hand unit would save me a few $$ but then it’s a question of what issues I could be buying vs my perfectly good phone (or a new unit).
Plan F: I’ve got an iPhone 3GS sitting here unused. It won’t run anything modern but would work as a phone in a pinch.
Plan G: Do nothing. He has the iPad, can facetime audio if he needs to and it works just fine (if a little bulky) when he’s out.
Half the point of this (long) post was to help me get it all down in my own mind. But I welcome any comments.
