Dude. I literally bought the aforementioned moto G twice, new, a least a year apart (cracked the screen and it was cheaper to replace than fix). I bought it at the Verizon or TMobile store (I forget which) both or at least one of the times. Just do some quick googling and you'll find brand new phones for under $50 today. It wasn't a one off deal. The world is awash in cheap smartphones and has been for years and you have no idea because of your social class haha.

I find your lack of effort "a little disheartening" as you say. It's like you don't want to believe it's cheap and easy to get a decent new phone for very little.

I went to the trouble of doing what you were too lazy to do. I don't have time to do more pointless googling but Verizon prepaid sells a no contract $55 smartphone today. You can likely get better deals if you shop around at all, or are in a cheaper market than the USA. I'm not going to engage with you further, do your own work. https://www.verizon.com/smartphones/orbic-maui-prepaid/?cmp=...

I did search unlocked phones before commenting; couldn't find a comparable phone. The link you posted comes with a 60-day lock period.

The cheapest phone in India with an HD display comes in at around 25% higher than what Jio phone will sell for (if the $50 turns out to be true).

Disclosure: I did work with Jio (as a consultant) on software for their older JioPhone, running a version of Firefox OS. It sold about 70 million units.

Add: Perhaps my Google fu is lacking, but I am not able to validate "decent sub $50 phones have been around for years". With these specs, that is. I can't find anything on Amazon, Walmart and TMobile under 50.

Maybe there's been a little inflation then, we've had a lot of that lately. I bought my moto Gs years ago. I think you're losing the forest for the trees here.