Cellphones of the month - Feb 2024

Desmond

Desmond

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As mentioned in another thread, it's time to finalize the nominations for the Cellphone of the month for Feb 2024.

Since there were only two nominations for two categories, I guess the winners are obvious.

Samsung S24 Ultra
All rounder - Above 50k

samsung-galaxy-s24-ultra-5g-sm-s928-0.jpg


- Top smartphone if money is not an issue nor the size/weight. Has a top class display, cameras, a great battery life even though not the best nor the fastest charging, a stylus & 7 OS upgrades as key features, all of which are not available in any other flagship. Android has finally went past the 5 OS update policy that Apple promises, one area where Android has never taken a lead over Apple. Luckily no Exynos segregation for S24U. One UI is the best android skin IMO. - @omega44-xt

Oneplus 12R
All rounder - Under 50k

oneplus-12r-1.jpg


- Reviews are not out but phone seems very similar to the Oneplus 11R which I was able to get a hands on. So great display, charging, battery life, primary rear camera & selfie cam for the price. Ultrawide camera is good enough but not great. 8 Gen 2 is an excellent chip & considered bit more efficient than 8 Gen 3 as well based on some limited testings available online. 3 OS updates are promised, UI seems cleaner than other BBK companies, although will rate One UI above it. This will be a good no nonsense phone for most people who want a flagship killer kind of phone. Unless S23 or S23+ gets near 50k, I don't see this being replaced as my choice. - @omega44-xt

Thank you @omega44-xt for your nominations and insightful comments.

Images courtesy of GSMArena. Because we still don't have outgoing links, I will have to embed these for now.

Phone info links:
www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s24_ultra-12771.php
www.gsmarena.com/oneplus_12r-12727.php
 
thetechfreak

thetechfreak

Legend Never Ends
OnePlus R itself on the outside looks good. Decent display and specs. The main issue is the price. No one in their right mind should pay Rs.40,000/- for this phone. It's just a BBK group phone at the end of the day.

Desmond said:
Android has finally went past the 5 OS update policy that Apple promises
Click to expand...
Have they actually made good on this or just "promised" cause 0% of android OEMs ever deliver. Not even google with their pixel/nexus
 
omega44-xt

omega44-xt

Gear up ...
Desmond said:
What exactly is the 5 OS updates policy?
Click to expand...
5 OS updates, so S23 launched with 4 OS update policy, so should get updates till Android 17 as it launched with A13. S24 launched with A14 & 7 OS update policy, so till A21.

thetechfreak said:
OnePlus R itself on the outside looks good. Decent display and specs. The main issue is the price. No one in their right mind should pay Rs.40,000/- for this phone. It's just a BBK group phone at the end of the day.


Have they actually made good on this or just "promised" cause 0% of android OEMs ever deliver. Not even google with their pixel/nexus
Click to expand...
Not sure why you feel OP11R was bad or 12R is bad. 10R was definitely bad. NP2 was the only competition for 11R at 40k segment last year. The iQoo Neo 9 pro is priced better vs 12R, has some bloat pre-installed. So what is your recommendation at 40k price segment?

Google had 3 OS update policy first, later Samsung jumped to 3 OS policy like 2-3 years back. Both delivered on this. Samsung jumped to 4 OS update policy last year, then jumped to 7 OS policy this year. People had reservations when Google announced 7 OS update policy but with Samsung also doing the same, they have much more faith. Phones like OP 12 will get 4 OS updates, which is a new high for them, but IMO they need to push to 5 OS updates. 7 OS updates might feel too much but when you are spending 80k+, it is good to have.

Samsung is promising 4 OS updates on phones starting from M34, which is commendable but M34 has too weak SoC to receive such a long support. Similarly S24 has "just" 8GB RAM which might not be great after 4-5 years. 6 years back, flagships had 4GB RAM, till S9. 4GB RAM is bare minimum for android phones these days, ideally need 6GB RAM, so 8GB RAM might be in a similar situation in 4-5 years.
 
thetechfreak

thetechfreak

Legend Never Ends
omega44-xt said:
Samsung is promising 4 OS updates on phones starting from M34, which is commendable but M34 has too weak SoC to receive such a long support. Similarly S24 has "just" 8GB RAM which might not be great after 4-5 years. 6 years back, flagships had 4GB RAM, till S9. 4GB RAM is bare minimum for android phones these days, ideally need 6GB RAM, so 8GB RAM might be in a similar situation in 4-5 years.
Click to expand...
after reading this part, I am 100% sure none or most of the phones mentioned will receive such long support. The android builds are only getting heavier as time passes (with more bloat).
 
omega44-xt

omega44-xt

Gear up ...
thetechfreak said:
after reading this part, I am 100% sure none or most of the phones mentioned will receive such long support. The android builds are only getting heavier as time passes (with more bloat).
Click to expand...
Time will tell. But Samsung will continue losing market share to Apple if they don't do it. Already Exynos is putting a dent on sales & I know people who jumped from S21 series to iPhone 13 because of heating & battery life, such people will never return back to Android.

S24's exynos is better but still inferior to TSMC made SoCs.
 
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