Need some smartphone recommendations in 30-40k range.

setanjan123

setanjan123

In the zone
So I am finally planning to upgrade from my POCO F1. Targeting the upcoming Big Billion Sales.

1. Budget?
30-40k. Have some wiggle room if absolutely worth it.

2. Display type and size?
OLED 90Hz minimum.

3. Dual sim?
Not needed

4. Preferred choice of brand?
Samsung, Motorola, OnePlus, Pixel , Nothing etc. Basically brands that offer mostly clean UI.

5. What camera option you want (flash, front facing camera)?
I am not a photography expert so whatever offers the best point and shoot experience with good results with or without gcam mod.

6. Preferred operating system? (Android, iOS,Stock Android etc).
Stock or lightly skinned Android.

7. Preferred connectivity options (Dual 4G,802.11AC/5Ghz(not 5g mobile network) wifi).
5G, Dual band WiFi.

8. Primary use of handset (multimedia, camera, internet, gaming etc)?
Heavy Browsing, Social Media , Videos, Multitasking , and maybe some light gaming.

9. Any specific mobile phones in consideration?
Here is what I have narrowed down : Samsung S21 FE Snapdragon Edition, OnePlus 11R, Pixel 7a , Nothing Phone 2, Moto Edge 40 family.

10. Any other info that you want to share
Good battery backup and reasonably fast charging expected. Also brands with generally good after sales service preferred. I am willing to wait a few months if something really good is coming.
 
omega44-xt

omega44-xt

Gear up ...
Wait for sale.

Target OP11R & NP2, potentially even OP11 might fall to 45k.

NP2 has a lightly skinned UI over stock android, Oneplus no more has it.

Avoid S21FE SD because S888 is made at Samsung fab, so similar issues with energy & thermal efficiency as Exynos variant. Avoid S23 FE for the same reason, it will have 8 Gen 1 or Exynos. 8+ Gen 1 is made at TSMC, so that's efficient. Cameras & UI are top notch for sure though. Same issue with Pixel 7a/7/7 pro. Pixel 7 pro is rumoured to drop to 45k.

1695785168622.png

Check GSMArena to get some idea.
 
OP
setanjan123

setanjan123

In the zone
omega44-xt said:
Wait for sale.

Target OP11R & NP2, potentially even OP11 might fall to 45k.

NP2 has a lightly skinned UI over stock android, Oneplus no more has it.

Avoid S21FE SD because S888 is made at Samsung fab, so similar issues with energy & thermal efficiency as Exynos variant. Avoid S23 FE for the same reason, it will have 8 Gen 1 or Exynos. 8+ Gen 1 is made at TSMC, so that's efficient. Cameras & UI are top notch for sure though. Same issue with Pixel 7a/7/7 pro. Pixel 7 pro is rumoured to drop to 45k.

View attachment 22577
Check GSMArena to get some idea.
Click to expand...
Is Oneplus UI as heavy as say MIUI? I like the 11R because it's the complete package and also comes with a charger.
I am not sure about Nothing as they are a new brand and I don't care for their gimmick.
Pixel is really attractive for obvious reasons but battery life and after sales are a concern.
 
omega44-xt

omega44-xt

Gear up ...
setanjan123 said:
Is Oneplus UI as heavy as say MIUI? I like the 11R because it's the complete package and also comes with a charger.
I am not sure about Nothing as they are a new brand and I don't care for their gimmick.
Pixel is really attractive for obvious reasons but battery life and after sales are a concern.
Click to expand...
Oneplus' UI is basically Color OS of oppo. There are many comparisons & such available online, check those & make your mind. It is heavy. I will rank One UI at the top among android UIs, then stock based UI like Nothing (didn't use personally, but looked fine on reviews) or Moto, then Chinese UI from Xiaomi & BBK. I personally don't like stock android of Pixel because of how barebones it is. Realistically I will try to avoid leaving Samsung (stuck with them for 6+ years now). Old Oxygen OS was top tier for me, but alas they shut it down.

Nothing's founder is the same as Oneplus, who left just before OP went downhill. I guess the gimmicky lights are just to make them stand out, that's all. NP1 had software bugs initially after launch but was solved by Dec 2022, post that the phone started getting recommendations. It has decent service presence, better than Pixel. Check for yourself in your area.
 
OP
setanjan123

setanjan123

In the zone
omega44-xt said:
Oneplus' UI is basically Color OS of oppo. There are many comparisons & such available online, check those & make your mind. It is heavy. I will rank One UI at the top among android UIs, then stock based UI like Nothing (didn't use personally, but looked fine on reviews) or Moto, then Chinese UI from Xiaomi & BBK. I personally don't like stock android of Pixel because of how barebones it is. Realistically I will try to avoid leaving Samsung (stuck with them for 6+ years now). Old Oxygen OS was top tier for me, but alas they shut it down.

Nothing's founder is the same as Oneplus, who left just before OP went downhill. I guess the gimmicky lights are just to make them stand out, that's all. NP1 had software bugs initially after launch but was solved by Dec 2022, post that the phone started getting recommendations. It has decent service presence, better than Pixel. Check for yourself in your area.
Click to expand...
Yeah there does seem to be Nothing service center in my city. Let's see what the price drops too. I guess it won't be too much as its a new phone. Wish it came with charger in the box. I also completely forgot that the S22 family is also going to be on sale and comes with SD Gen 1. I am eyeing the S22+ . The base S22 battery life isn't too good.
 
Last edited:
omega44-xt

omega44-xt

Gear up ...
setanjan123 said:
Yeah there does seem to be Nothing service center in my city. Let's see what the price drops too. I guess it won't be too much as its a new phone. Wish it came with charger in the box. I also completely forgot that the S22 family is also going to be on sale and comes with SD Gen 1. I am eyeing the S22+ . The base S22 battery life isn't too good.
Click to expand...
Avoid S22 line up because of inefficient SoC.
 
OP
setanjan123

setanjan123

In the zone
Ended up with the Nothing Phone 2. I guess only time will tell whether my decision of prioritising clean Android pays off or not because I would be lying if I said the OP 11R didn't provide a compelling alternative.
The phone is very very snappy. Just rips through everything. I think this easily rivals my iPad in smoothness minus the longer animations on iOS. I still do miss a feature or two from MIUI. One being able to lock apps in memory. Although with how fast apps open on this it's not a major concern. But I definitely think they should add the best features from all the different skins while keeping things light.
One thing I don't like is how the case and charger is an extra purchase. They are a young company and definitely not in premium tier yet. That takes years. They should really focus on being more vfm. They arguably need to do more than the original Oneplus did because the Android landscape has way more competition now.
 
omega44-xt

omega44-xt

Gear up ...
setanjan123 said:
Ended up with the Nothing Phone 2. I guess only time will tell whether my decision of prioritising clean Android pays off or not because I would be lying if I said the OP 11R didn't provide a compelling alternative.
The phone is very very snappy. Just rips through everything. I think this easily rivals my iPad in smoothness minus the longer animations on iOS. I still do miss a feature or two from MIUI. One being able to lock apps in memory. Although with how fast apps open on this it's not a major concern. But I definitely think they should add the best features from all the different skins while keeping things light.
One thing I don't like is how the case and charger is an extra purchase. They are a young company and definitely not in premium tier yet. That takes years. They should really focus on being more vfm. They arguably need to do more than the original Oneplus did because the Android landscape has way more competition now.
Click to expand...
Competition & VFM phones in android are getting scarce now vs 2-3 years back. If look closely, Samsung's phones are not worth buying because of core issue of SoC (except S23 line). BBK releases same lacklustre phones within all their brands (OP, Realme & iQoo, oppo & vivo were always a bad value). Xiaomi has no compelling phone beyond Poco F5 & their cheaper phones like Redmi Note are a worse value these days.

My S20FE's camera still holds well. Recently compared it against Poco F5 side by side, F5 was easily worse. My cousin didn't feel Samsung M34 was an upgrade in camera front over old M51. Cousin ended up buying OP Nord 3 but feels even that is not as good as my phone for main rear camera quality (no side by side comparison).

Nothing's approach seems to be about offering a relatively premium phone at not so premium price. Even I hope their software gets better with time.
 
TigerKing

TigerKing

Wise Old Owl
Rank (Nano Review)SD TSMC
48 Gen 2
78+ Gen 1
97+ Gen 2
23870
32865
38782G
42778G+
44778G
67695
744 Gen 1
Rank (Nano Review)MTK TSMC (good ones)
12Dimensity 9000
20Dimensity 8100
29Dimensity 8020
53Dimensity 1080
56Dimensity 7030
60Dimensity 7020
 
Jokumar

Jokumar

Broken In
I need a phone for my friend and he seems to have getting confused between these 3,

Samsung Galaxy A54 5G

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 2023

Samsung Galaxy A73 5G.


He's requirements battery & camera as he is a heavy X and WA user and camera for work purposes.
 
omega44-xt

omega44-xt

Gear up ...
Jokumar said:
I need a phone for my friend and he seems to have getting confused between these 3,

Samsung Galaxy A54 5G

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 2023

Samsung Galaxy A73 5G.


He's requirements battery & camera as he is a heavy X and WA user and camera for work purposes.
Click to expand...
Honestly none of them are good values. Former 2 are overpriced as well as have poor SoC, A73 is just grossly overpriced, should be under 30k (even considering the Samsung tax). It has been OOS for sometime.

Among those 3, A73 should have the best battery life because other 2 suffer from inefficient SoCs made at Samsung fab (S888 is made at Samsung fab). Samsung fab made SoCs overheat, esp on 5G & battery life drop moving from WiFi to 5G is much bigger vs phones with 8+ Gen 1, let's say.

If your friend is a die hard Samsung fan, get A54. S21FE has the best hardware among them, but the worst battery life as well.

Among other phones available, OP 11R & Nothing Phone 2 will be my recommendation around 40k.

1698806096454.png


Above S21FE is exynos one but I expect similarly low battery life on S888 version as well. S888, S888+ & 8 Gen 1 are not good SoCs from Qualcomm. Read stuff already mentioned on this thread.
 
powerstarprince

powerstarprince

In the zone
Which is better, the S21 FE (Exynos) vs S21 FE 2023 (Snapdragon)? The Exynos variant costs a bit cheaper than the Snapdragon variant.
 
omega44-xt

omega44-xt

Gear up ...
powerstarprince said:
Which is better, the S21 FE (Exynos) vs S21 FE 2023 (Snapdragon)? The Exynos variant costs a bit cheaper than the Snapdragon variant.
Click to expand...
I will buy neither because of Samsung fabbed chips. What prices though?

Around 33k for 256GB S888 S21FE is a good deal if you really want Samsung's UI & are willing to live with lower battery life (say not much usage on 4G/5G as you mostly use it over WiFi & no gaming). Android 15 should be its last android OS. One UI is the best UI in android IMO. I will not leave One UI but right now I consider that no Samsung phone below S23 is worth buying for me as an upgrade to S20FE 5G. Con of S23 is obviously the price.

S23FE has an inefficient SoC as well, so I will rather recommend S21FE S888 for cheaper as you save 20k or so.
 
Jokumar

Jokumar

Broken In
omega44-xt said:
I will buy neither because of Samsung fabbed chips. What prices though?

Around 33k for 256GB S888 S21FE is a good deal if you really want Samsung's UI & are willing to live with lower battery life (say not much usage on 4G/5G as you mostly use it over WiFi & no gaming). Android 15 should be its last android OS. One UI is the best UI in android IMO. I will not leave One UI but right now I consider that no Samsung phone below S23 is worth buying for me as an upgrade to S20FE 5G. Con of S23 is obviously the price.

S23FE has an inefficient SoC as well, so I will rather recommend S21FE S888 for cheaper as you save 20k or so.
Click to expand...
S21fe 888 is available for 35k, with 4 years upgrade!
 
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