Budget 20-25K A phone that can do two things well

cellar_door

cellar_door

Adept
Ok so my Oneplus 7 is pretty much on the way out. I need a replacement. My two primary requirements are -

1 Great screen, I watch a lot of videos on it. 120Hz is not needed but a big, pretty display would be an absolute requirement.
2 Camera. I understand budget is a limitation here. But something that is not a downgrade on the Oneplus 7 I have.

Other add ons that would be nice but arent critical - 3.5MM jack, 5G, IR, fast charging battery

Things that dont matter at all - Gaming, I dont play at all on the phone. Storage, one drive is more than enough.

What I looked at - Pixel 6a. It would stretch to outside of my budget. Poco X5 pro - Word of mouth on this seems to be atrocious. What else would you guys recommend?
 
Solution
cellar_door
Since I saw so many recommendations for a Pixel 6a I stretched my budget and got that.

Only had it for a day but first impressions -

Fast charge aint exactly fast lol.
Heats up like a mofo.
Stock android is nice and crisp.
Screen is great. Dont care about the 60hz only, its perfect for what my requirements are.
Camera is shockingly good.
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Pixel 6a & Nothing Phone 1 are my recommendations for most people. Both are good phones overall with 6a being more camera centric, but NP1 is good for the price.

I will avoid Xiaomi because of OS, not as refined + slow updates + low number of updates. I think phones at this price range will get at max 2 OS updates from Xiaomi. 6a & NP1 are 1 year old phones, but they have 3 OS updates in total, so still relevant.

Check gsmarena reviews & other reviews. NP1's intial OS had a lot of bugs, but android 13 update solved most of them.
 
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6a would work well for your use case though the issue I see with it is the fact that the screen is considered small (at least for me) since 6.5+ would be bigger. Perhaps a Xiaomi or OnePlus Nord 2T would be good? Or the Moto series? Others might have a better idea. Good luck OP! :)
 
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rajanmehta said:
Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G
www.mi.com

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G Specs: 50MP Sony IMX 766 Camera + OIS, MediaTek Dimensity 1080 5G, 120Hz Pro AMOLED Display, 67W Turbo Charge.
www.mi.com www.mi.com
Click to expand...

This is actually pretty nice and fits all the criteria.

Any major negatives I should be aware of? And quality of the camera?

EDIT Both 6a and Nothing are outside what I am looking to spend. I could push it a little more but unless its a major upgrade I would rather stay within 25k.
 
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Nothing phone 1 with the recent new updates and android 13 is a worthy contender, very smooth UI, decent cameras and a good design (preference).
BBK companies are no more worth it anymore, bad software, no optimisation, late or no updates, overall bad idea.
 
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OMEGA44-XT said:
Pixel 6a & Nothing Phone 1 are my recommendations for most people....
Click to expand...
OMEGA44-XT said:
I will avoid Xiaomi because of OS, not as refined
Click to expand...
Which phones have you used from these two brands?

I have a Pixel 4a and my wife has a Xiaomi. At least in my experience, Xiaomi OS is definitely more refined. My pixel is 2 years old and I have felt like a beta tester for Android all this time. The number of bugs I encounter are far beyond what one would expect in a phone from Google.
 
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As others mentioned, Nothing Phone 1 seems a better option given your requirements. I would have suggested Moto Edge series, but their camera can be a let down for you. So NP1, seems your best bet. Avoid those Poco and those BBK brands. They have become pathetic with respect to softwares. Unless, you are opting for their top end models, only then you can expect some decent upgrades.
 
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gourav said:
Which phones have you used from these two brands?

I have a Pixel 4a and my wife has a Xiaomi. At least in my experience, Xiaomi OS is definitely more refined. My pixel is 2 years old and I have felt like a beta tester for Android all this time. The number of bugs I encounter are far beyond what one would expect in a phone from Google.
Click to expand...
I have used pixels of friends. My relatives have Xiaomi. For most people, stock OS is better. 6a had a lot of issues at launch, so did NP1. Android 13 update solved issues for both of them, hence can recommend it. My flatmate recently bought 6a, upgraded from OP6.

As a power user myself, I will never buy a phone with stock android for myself because of the lack of features vs Samsung's One UI or even Chinese ones. I used to own Nexus 4 but rooted it & installed custom ROM within a week of purchase. For most users, the complains I have with stock android doesn't apply. Whereas MIUI or heck even budget Samsung phones push a lot of unnecessary notifications & stuff. Not to forget lower number of OS updates & slower updates for Chinese. Xiaomi & Moto are very slow in terms of updates. BBK is doing better than them honestly.

I use S20FE 5G, bought 1.5 years ago at 35k. A13 is its last OS update, hence not recommending it.
 
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Redmi 12 Pro is an excellent choice, but I'd say look towards having a phone with Snapdragon at the least, since:
* Better community support in general. Rather useful if you want newer Android or updates after Mi stops providing them.
* Usually have gcam ports. This one would be a real advantage if you do use the camera often.

However, if display matters over all else, perhaps Samsung A series can be quite good, if it fits your budget.

I'm not suggesting anything since most Chinese phones at this range don't have amazing screens, and many good ones are probably outside the budget. HOWEVER, purely hardware wise IQOO 9 SE seems like a good phone, but since I've never used IQOO before, idk how it'd perform. There's also Mi 11 Lite 5G which has IR and NFC.

Also, IR is pretty rare and wireless charging at this price range is almost non-existent.

Good luck, OP!
 
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Since I saw so many recommendations for a Pixel 6a I stretched my budget and got that.

Only had it for a day but first impressions -

Fast charge aint exactly fast lol.
Heats up like a mofo.
Stock android is nice and crisp.
Screen is great. Dont care about the 60hz only, its perfect for what my requirements are.
Camera is shockingly good.
 
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Solution
The AI will take some time to analyse your usage patterns so it will be warm or hot atleast for a few days. Then it should normalise.
But yes, phone will heat up when using camera, video recording, especially 4K. You should be fine with 1080 60fps.
Fast charging is kept to a minimum so that battery life prolongs. Apple does the same.
 
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cellar_door said:
Since I saw so many recommendations for a Pixel 6a I stretched my budget and got that.

Only had it for a day but first impressions -

Fast charge aint exactly fast lol.
Heats up like a mofo.
Stock android is nice and crisp.
Screen is great. Dont care about the 60hz only, its perfect for what my requirements are.
Camera is shockingly good.
Click to expand...
I observed it heating up when I was setting up my friend's 6a. After that the temps seemed fine for me for normal usage.

18W charging is surely not very fast these days. Should have been at least 25W like Samsung, but you can't get everything you want even in flagship phones these days.
 
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Yeah I think I noticed the heating more because I was using it without a back cover/phone case. Seems ok now.

I still cannot get over how good the camera is. My last three phones have been Galaxy 9+, Oneplus 7 and Samsung Galaxy 20FE. And this is easily better than all three of them at a lower price.

Anyway, thanks guys. Mods can lock this thread if needed. :)
 
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