BrickInTheWall
Broken In
Best recommendation for 40-50k price point? Is OnePlus 8T worth it?
The Complete Smartphone Buyer's Guide
omega44-xt
Gear up ...
OP 8T is good if you value OP's UI, better gaming performance, fast updates & some OP additions like the alert slider. Also has 5G but Indian 5G roll out seems to be 2 years away (maybe the government will speed up auctions).
For others, my recommendation is S20 FE for 41k. It is Samsung & has better cameras than 8T. One UI vs Oxygen UI is a personal preference, I prefer One UI & Oxygen OS is taking cues from One UI as well. Although I will agree that Oxygen OS is a bit faster but not noticeable unless you compare side by side. My S8 is still running well after 3 years but surely feels slower compared to say OP 6.
S20+ at 50k can be considered as well, better telephoto cam than S20 FE, better built & bigger curved display.
BrickInTheWall
Broken In
Actually went for ROG 3. Really got worried with all the display issues I keep hearing + IDK mediocre Cam and inferior processor I guess?
omega44-xt
Gear up ...
OP 8T has relatively inferior cam than flagships but I'd say ROG phone 3 & 8T have similar cam performance with 8T having better night shots because of OIS. ROG is a pure gaming phone, that's it. Good battery life as well for sure but bulkier than other flagships.
S20 FE/S20+ have flagship grade cameras, so easily one of the best cam phones out there (not the top, but close to it). Processor not as good for gaming definitely.
BrickInTheWall
Broken In
I really didn't like shelling money for Exynos based Samsung phones tbh. Yeah, I get Camera is a tradeoff there but frankly it's okay I feel. I really like the ROG 3 so far. Plus the processor should be relatively futureproof for a while I guess.
Seen some shots on 8T, really not that impressed. It's comparable if not better IMO with ROG 3. Lack of OIS is a sucker though, but it's alright.
Do you really think 8T is a bit better choice overall?
RumbaMon19
Feel Pain.
How much can you wait? S21 is coming in january and benchmarks say that it has a better processor i.e. Exynos 2100. Also, it will be 5NM and hence power efficient and will not oveheat.
omega44-xt
Gear up ...
My main gripe against ROG 3 is its design, just too bulky & flashy. If you don't care about camera, the cam is fine for you on ROG 3. I still feel 8T is a more balanced phone if you care about gaming. If you don't play heavy mobile games, I see no issue with S20 FE (unless you like fast android updates). Oxygen OS is starting to look like One UI. I rate both those UIs as top android UIs, even over stock (because of lack of features), but that's my personal taste.
I have personally stopped caring much about android updates as the changes are not huge. My S8 is still running android 9 & I don't feel its missing something huge, hence not upgrading considering price & size of phones.
omega44-xt
Gear up ...
If you feel confident enough to root & install custom ROMs, you should be able to research about a good phone with good dev support. Check xda forums for each of the good phones under 15k. Generally, Xiaomi has good support in budget devices, esp those with Snapdragon SoCs. Mediatek & Exynos doesn't have good dev support.
Generally for near 15k, some good phones are Realme 7, Moto One Fusion+, Poco X3 & Samsung F41/M31. Upcoming sales & card discounts will lower prices of phones like Poco X3.
RumbaMon19
Feel Pain.
^^ you see Xiaomi and many other brands, have started giving mediatek under 15k category. Is it to prevent users from rooting there devices?
omega44-xt
Gear up ...
I would say MTK SoCs are just cheaper compared to Qualcomm. Companies don't like rooting but are not completely against it like Apple's jailbreaking stance.
I was hoping for a phone that is officially supported. The problem with unofficial roms is that you're usually at the mercy of a single developer. Most of the times, security is compromised in these unofficial roms.
I got permission to officially unlock the bootloader of redmi note 3 but was never able to do it successfully with mi unlock tool. I'll check if the process is easier for other brands. Thanks for the recommendations.
RumbaMon19
Feel Pain.
Unisoc chip is good for calling etc., but will not survive for more than 2yrs. These unisoc ones have 28nm fabrication so are not battery efficient. and have a tendency to slow down after some time.
Also, dont expect to get it at exactly 4200. the delivery boy while inspecting are told to deduct minimum 10-20% every time. So even if your phone has just a single scratch on it, he will deduct 400-500. this happened with me. my phone had a scratch at back, and he deducted 600 rs even though scratch was not that great.
omega44-xt
Gear up ...
Depends on budget & other requirements. Fill the questionnaire maybe.
RumbaMon19
Feel Pain.
That brand is not good— neither in software(has ads and privacy) and has bad build quality. It is worse than Xiaomi.
Better go for Samsung if it is to be given to elderly as it has better build and ads can be disabled in setup.
omega44-xt
Gear up ...
Get Poco M2 for 1k more, much better.