[General Questions and Answers] Nemgathos:
I have always wondered whether there is some kind of “budget phone XDA Developers community” which gathers people who just want to buy a decent phone for less than USD 250 (as at: 1st November 2022) and use it as long as they can, preferably for at least (four to) five years before they are thinking about buying a new model.

My current phone, a Motorola Moto G5, is such a phone. Back in 2018, I spent about EUR 120-150 on it and I am running LineageOS on it from then on. Time, however, is leaving its marks on the phone and the power button is hardly working anymore. Furthermore, LineageOS 18.1 seems to be the last release for that model and building a newer version of LineageOS from scratch every month in order to get the latest Android security updates can be pretty cumbersome (if someone does not compile and upload the latest versions of LineageOS for that specific device regularly so that they can be downloaded as an over-the-air update (OTA update) at least once a month). Also, the internal storage capacity of 16 GB is a bit outdated nowadays.

I have asked what current phone would be a good budget phone but I did not get an answer yet. Then, I stumbled across an interesting phone which is very similar to my old Motorola Moto G5: The Motorola Moto G22. I thought that it is a budget phone that other people might be interested in it as well but there is not a subforum on XDA Developers that deals with this model. So, I posted to the “*** New Device Forum Requests ***” thread but there are many devices requested by different users. This makes it unlikely that the Motorola Moto G22 will be picked as a candidate if only very few people vote for it.

I am interested in a phone like the Motorola Moto G22 because it meets certain criteria when it comes to “decent budget phones”. These factors, I would like to point out, come into play when I am thinking about buying a new phone:

The phone must not cost more than USD 250 (as at: 1st November 2022).

The release date of the phone must not be more than one year in the past.

There has to be a possibility to disassemble the phone and replace the battery (even if this means removing glue, etc. manually).

There has to be a possibility to buy a replacement battery for no more than USD 20-50 (as at: 1st November 2022).

A robust case and screen protectors for the phone have to be available in order to prevent it from getting damaged. (After all, it should serve its owner for many years.)

LineageOS, as one of the most widely spread custom ROMs for Android phones (as at: 1st November 2022), should be available throughout its lifecycle.

The internal storage capacity of the phone has to be at least 64 GB (as at: 1st November 2022).

The cameras should be able to make better pictures and videos than the ones of the last budget phone.

The display resolution should be at least as high if not higher than the one from the last budget phone.

If you can come up with some other good points that matter to many “smart spenders”, please post them to this thread.

The Motorola Moto G22 seems to be a good phone when it comes to fulfilling these points:

The phone costs EUR 150.

The release date of the phone is 2nd March 2022.

The phone can be disassambled.

A replacement battery can be purchased for USD 23.

A robust case and screen protectors are available.

(LineageOS is not (yet) available for the device.)

The internal storage capacity of the phone is 64 GB.

The cameras are better than that of the Motorola Moto G5.

The display resolution is lower than that of the Motorola Moto G5. (This is something that I can deal with. It may, after all, lead to a longer battery life.)

I suppose that I am not the only one thinking in such a manner. Who else is sharing the same values like me when it comes to budget phones? Spending as little and using them for as long as possible.

Every year, at least one great budget phone is released by one manufacturer. Developing custom ROMs for at least one of the new models every year and maintaining these efforts for at least (four to) five years can give every like-minded person the possibility to “join the club” whenever they choose to do so without having to wait until next year when a new great budget phone may be released and may be supported in such a way.

What do you think of all this? Would you like to join such a “community” or “club” because you share its views and values?