profile

⚡The CR8TR Newsletter

🤔 Which XL Phone to Buy Refurbished? We Tested The Best

Published 3 months ago • 1 min read

GD Phone Nerds!

If you're shopping for a big-screen, high-end flagship phone, and you don't want to spend $1000 the ONLY way to get one is buying refurbished.

This is what I do, and have done since the mid-2000s.

And right now, two of the best options on the (refurbished) market for power players are the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL.

But which is the better phone. Not just when it comes to specs but with things that actually affect ownership of the device like reliability, trade-in value, and long-term usability?

Today, we’re answering that (and a whole load more):

  • The Price Trap: Why the “cheaper” option might cost you more
  • The 2031 Problem: One phone is guaranteed to work, the other… isn’t
  • Ecosystem life: When ecosystem lock-in is worth it (and when it’s not)

If you wanna cut through the BS and get the best possible option right now, read the full comparison guide here - it covers literally everything.

If you want my advice on which to go for, I'd recommend the iPhone 15 Pro Max for the three very simple reasons:

  1. Performance, pretty much across the board, is superior.
  2. Apple's Pro Max models are still the best for still photography and video capture.
  3. I've never owned a Pixel phone (and I've owned nearly all of them) that has lasted longer than 3 years without breaking.

That's a spoiler. But I get that some of you might not be interested in reading a full article and just want the outright verdict.

Any questions, just hit reply!

Peace.

Richard

⚠️ STOP OVERTHINKING, START SHIPPING

Most great ideas die in a Google Doc because the "technical stuff" feels like a final boss you’re not ready to fight.

You think you need to learn Python, understand DNS propagation, or hire a dev just to get a landing page live. 📉

Spoiler alert: You don’t.

​Hostinger is the cheat code for non-technical founders.

The "No-Code" Alpha Move

If you can describe your business in a sentence, you can build a website. It’s the ultimate leverage for people who want to spend their time building a brand, not debugging code.

  • The AI Builder: You explain the vision, the AI handles the architecture. It’s like having a senior dev on speed dial for the price of a coffee. ☕
  • Frictionless WordPress: They handle the security, the speed, and the maintenance. You just handle the growth.
  • The "Day One" Price: Starting at £1.99/mo. In the world of SaaS, that’s basically a rounding error for a professional-grade setup.
​

Unit 25129, London, LONDON W1A 6US
​Unsubscribe · Preferences​

⚡The CR8TR Newsletter

By Richard Goodwin

We help new creators build sustainable, authentic brands in a world drowning in AI slop.

Read more from ⚡The CR8TR Newsletter

GD Tech Nerds. Let’s talk about iPads. I’ll be honest: I don't personally carry one. But I know your sofa is currently being held hostage by one, or your kids are using a cracked Air 2 as a glorified Frisbee. Whether it's for work, mobile gaming, or keeping the peace in the backseat, there is one golden rule you should live by: Never pay full price for a new iPad. Why? It’s simple: iPads aren’t built like phones. A three-year-old iPhone starts to feel its age, but a three-year-old iPad is...

6 days ago • 1 min read

GD Tech Nerds. A Pro Max model iPhone from Apple is hella expensive. You're looking at $1200 for the base model option. And for a lot of people right now, that's just too damn much. But $500? That's doable. It's actually downright reasonable. Case in point: the iPhone 15 Pro Max now comes in around the $500 mark and it is still a BEAST of a phone. The only caveat? You don't get the latest model and the phone is refurbished. But you save close to $800 versus buying new. Also, and this is key:...

17 days ago • 1 min read

GD Tech Nerds. Cheap Android phones are LEGION. On paper, they look fine. But once you unbox one and start using it, the cracks start to appear. Camera modules that look high-spec on paper turn out to be potatoes in practice. The software is full of bloatware and lags and hangs. And then, if you make it 12+ months into ownership, you'll find out that, no, there are no more Android updates for you. This isn't new, either. Android phone makers have been doing this for years. It is one of the...

28 days ago • 1 min read