Android phone - 9K to 12K

[BhargavJ]

1. Budget - Rs. 9000 to 12000
2. Display type and size - ~ 5"
3. Dual sim - Yes, with Volte
4. Preferred choice of brand - Any
5. What camera option you want (flash, front facing camera) - Not important, all phones have a good enough camera for my needs
6. Preferred operating system? (Android, iOS, Windows Phone, etc) - Android
7. Preferred connectivity options (3G, 4G ready) - 4G (should support Jio Sim without using Jio4GVoice app)
8. Primary use of handset (multimedia, camera, internet, gaming etc) - Normal use - calling, Whatsapp, and most importantly, as a hotspot (using Jio data on laptop)
9. Any specific mobile phones in consideration - see below
10. Any other info that you want to share:

1. I have an old Yuphoria Yu5010 phone which I want to give in exchange. My choice upto some extent depends on the price I get in exchange. In the ongoing sale on Amazon, I have checked the prices and features of some of the phones along with the exchange price I'll get. For some phones, the exchange price is only Rs. 876, but for some other models, it is considerably high.

2. If possible, I'd like a phone with a removable battery. I think only the Lenovo phones I've mentioned below have that - I haven't checked myself, I used the Phone Finder feature on the GSM Arena site.

Moto E4 Plus (Iron Gray, 32GB)
3 GB RAM - 32 GB Storage - 5000mAH battery - 12 + 5 MP camera (rear + front)
1.3GHz MT6737 quad core processor
Price: Rs. 8,999 - Rs. 876 in exchange = Rs.8,123
*www.amazon.in/Moto-Plus-Iron-Gray-...re_thirteen_browse-bin:8561101031|8561102031#

Moto E5 Plus (Black, 5000 mAh Battery)
4 GB - 32 GB - 5000mAH - 12+5 MP camera
Android 8.0 Oreo OS with 1.4GHz Snapdragon 430 Octa-core Processor
Price: 11,999 - 2876 in exchange = Rs. 9123
*www.amazon.in/Moto-Plus-Black-5000...ure_thirteen_browse-bin:8561101031|8561102031
Pros - Great battery and best exchange price.

Moto G5S (Lunar Grey, 32GB)
4 GB - 32 GB - 3000mAH - 16+5 MP camera
1.4GHz Snapdragon 430 octa-core processor
Price: 10,080 - 876 in exchange = Rs. 9,204
*www.amazon.in/Moto-G5S-Lunar-Grey-...ure_thirteen_browse-bin:8561101031|8561102031

Moto G5s Plus (Blush Gold, 64GB)
4 GB - 64 GB - 3000mAH - 13+13 MP camera
Android v7.1.1 Nougat operating system with 2.0GHz Snapdragon 625 octa-core processor
Price: 11,999 - 1876 in exchange = Rs. 10,123
*www.amazon.in/Moto-Plus-Blush-Gold...ure_thirteen_browse-bin:8561101031|8561102031
Pros - SD 625 proc - better nm tech. Second best exchange price.
Cons - Smaller battery compared to E5 Plus, and I don't need a front 13 MP camera

Redmi 5 (Black, 64GB)
4 GB - 64 GB - 3300mAH - 13+5 MP camera
Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 octa-core processor
Price: 10,999 - 876 in exchange = Rs. 10,123
*www.amazon.in/Mi-Redmi-5-Black-32G...e_seven_browse-bin:8561132031|8561133031&th=1

Lenovo K8 Plus (Venom Black)
3 GB - 32 GB - 4000mAH - 13+5 MP camera
2.5GHz MediaTek MTK Helio P25 octa core processor
Price: 8348 - 1109 in exchange = Rs. 7239
*www.amazon.in/Lenovo-K8-Plus-Venom...ure_thirteen_browse-bin:8561101031|8561102031

Lenovo K8 Note (Venom Black, 4GB) with New System Update
4 GB - 64 GB - 4000mAH - 13+5 MP camera
2.3GHz Helio X23 10-core processor
Price: 12,478 - 876 in exchange = 11,602
*www.amazon.in/Lenovo-Venom-Black-S...enovo,p_n_feature_seven_browse-bin:8561133031

I compared the P25 processor with the X23 one:
≫ MediaTek Helio P25 vs MediaTek Helio X23 | CPU comparison

The best one I think is Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 but it is not availabe on Amazon, only Flipkart (I also get another 10% discount by using SBI card on Amazon)
4 GB - 64 GB - 5000mAH - 13+5 MP camera
Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 Processor
Price: Rs. 12,499 - 1000 = 11,499
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 (Black, 64 GB) Online at Best Price Only On Flipkart.com

The highest discounts are available on the Moto ones, but I've read people recommending against those. I like the Lenovo ones, but they have Mediatek processors. I'd like others to comment, or recommend other ones I may have missed.

 

[SaiyanGoku]

Get Zenfone Max Pro M1. Moto is a lost cause, nobody even cares about lenovo phones anymore. And Xiaomi has too many similarly priced phones with different hardware and same crap MIUI.

 

[omega44-xt]

If you are ok with the size, just get Asus Zenfone. It is the best choice for that price. You might not get rid of the current phone but you get a great phone for similar price to others.

Lenovo & Moto E series aren't worth it. Moto, in general, is expensive now & their OS updates are very slow (or update) even though they are using close to stock android, which was their advantage a few years back.

 

[BhargavJ]

I have decided to go in for the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 phone - the 3 GB RAM 32 GB storage one. I'll get it at Rs. 9599 after exchanging my old Yuphoria.

I have earlier exchanged a phone on Amazon, and the delivery guy was in a real hurry and so he just checked the IMEI and took the phone and left. I hope it is the same with Flipkart. The phone I have isn't damaged, it works, but I think there is a line in the middle of the screen which shows up at times, when the screen is displaying something bright. This doesn't happen when the display is dark. Maybe it is a line on the plastic screen on the display, I don't know. Is it possible that the delivery guy may reject the phone on this basis? Anyone ever encountered such problems, especially with Flipkart?

The phone was earlier on Cyanogen, but some time back I factory reset it, made a backup via TWRP and installed another ROM. Do I have install the previous image, or is it okay if I just factory reset the phone at present to the default state of the current ROM, and return the phone?

 

[omega44-xt]

Flipkart & Amazon says that display should be without any issues & phone should work in general. If you are unlucky & the line appears when the delivery guy uses it to check IMEI, he might reject it. I doubt the guy would notice if the phone has a custom ROM.

I have heard some bad reviews of flipkart exchange where the phone was rejected even though it was working & display was fine as well. So just be aware of it as Flipkart isn't anywhere near Amazon in terms of customer support.

 

[BhargavJ]

I hope nothing happens and the delivery guy just accepts it, because if he doesn't, I will be left hanging, since the Amazon sale also ends today, and the mobile I have ordered will be delivered on Friday.

Edit: I'm attaching an image taken by another mobile. You can see there is a multicoloured line next to the 'e' of device.

 

[Navinxn]

Xiaomi(Redmi), Honor, Realme also have a lot of choices at your requirements.

 

[BhargavJ]

Forgot to update: Flipkart rejected my mobile because of display problems. The delivery guy took quite some time, like ten minutes or so, to check the mobile - especially the display, looking at it from various angles - and finally said he couldn't accept it. He said that the company has become really strict with accepting old phones in exchange, specially with the quality of the display. He said it is the same with all other online sites. Can anyone who has recently purchased a phone from Amazon, giving the old phone back in exchange, confirm this? Because last year, I had got a Redmi 4 from Amazon, and the delivery guy didn't even spend a full minute; he just checked the IMEI no. and then gave me the new mobile.