Don’t even consider poco. I think poco is shutting down its all website and service by December end and it has motherboard issues.
One plus green line issue, my friend has it feels like a cheap phone.
Moto g85 again screen and software update issues, they will give updates so late.
My father has cmf nothing 1 blue color, very good phone for 15k - nice processor, 2 camera in back unlike those ugly phones with 4 cameras, best software super clean and effective, great battery, expandable too.
I think you should go for cmf if you prefer a balanced , clean phone
CMF phone 1 will be my top pick, check GSMArena review. I think its software is good, better than BBK or Xiaomi but UI is kind of subjective. Xiaomi’s OS optimization seems poor compared to others as its phones have consistently low battery life relative to its competitors, again check GSMArena.
If you are in a Tier 1 or 2 city, Nothing might have its service centre already.
Stereo speakers can be ignored in favour of tws/earphones but NFC is an important feature especially if you carry cards to offline shops having PoS terminals with tap & pay feature.
I read the posts. It is truly very scary to buy used phones, especially from OLX or other online marketplaces.
Local dealers can be approached with this issue. Or they will ensure the phone is working reliably.
Ordinary, General, or unsuspecting buyers can get in a fix due to this scam. Yes, I call it a scam. Sellers can buy a phone on EMI, use it for a few days, perhaps for nefarious activities, then sell the device without paying pending EMIs. The buyer will then be on the hook for any activities and the EMI, which will also attract interest and penalties.
If you’re getting a Samsung phone, look out for the Samsung Finance / DMI Finance app as well. This app is usually present when the phone was bought on EMI and there are instalments pending.
I generally used to purchase Redmi / Poco phones because of the great custom rom support for the Qualcomm models. The latest one being Poco F5, and was running it on EvolutionX rom. It runs great, with no issues at all.
But in the recent sale, I got myself the CMF Phone 1 for ~13k, only because of the itch to try the Nothing OS. I am super happy with the phone, no BS in the OS at all, everything in the OS is polished, and the specs are great for the price as well. It does have expandable storage as well, but then you’ll have to sacrifice one of the sim slots. The OS runs much smoother than the Samsung offerings in similar range (got my father a Samsung in the sale).
For me Samsung’s UI is the best but most of their phones are not worth buying because of SoC or price or both. I recently upgraded from S20FE 5G to S23 as my father wanted a Samsung phone but any phone cheaper than S23 is honestly not worth buying. Also S20FE is still better than any sub 25k Samsung phone even though it is stuck at Android 13.
I used a friend’s Nothing 2a & it is good indeed. IMO NP3 should have been launched with 8 Gen 2, would have been a great buy for most people at 35k or so.