Budget 25-30k Mid range phone - wait or buy now

M

mallik

Adept
I have had bad luck with phones recently. Lost the One Plus 6 in the sea in Goa, and now had the LG G8X snatched.

So, I am in the market again for a new phone. I travel a lot, so a smaller, lighter phone would be handy. I had a good experience with G8X, apart from its fingerprint sensor (hit and miss) and perhaps the camera (not bad but not great either), everything else was beyond expectations for me. But I have also been considering the iPhone SE 2020 and the Pixel 4A, for they have great cameras, and I work in travel, where a good camera is a major plus.

So, please help me decide.

Questions:-
1. Budget?
A: INR upto or around 30k

2. Preferred display size, type and resolution?
A: 5-6" , bright screen
3. Preferred operating system? (Android (with version), iOS, Windows Phone etc).
A: Android 11, iOS 14

4. Preferred connectivity options? (4G, 3G, 2G etc).
A: 4G good enough. 5G would be an added benefit, but not necessary

5. Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them.
A: don't know. Have a Realms X2 pro which my girlfriend is using and loves. So, open to options if build and camera are good.

6. What is your intended use for this phone (internet, camera, multimedia, mails etc.)?
A: Camera, mails, social media, and some RPG (low resource games)

7. Single SIM/ Dual SIM?
A: No preference

8. New or Used? Online or Offline?
A: New. Online preferred, as I stay in Mussoorie

9. Any other requirements?
A: Need decent battery backup
10. If you have already considered a phone, then please mention the model
A: LG G8X, iPhone SE 2020, Pixel 4A.

Thank you all!
 
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If I were to choose between iphone Se and pixel 4a, then go for the latter. This is based on your use case mentioned. While SE gives you iphone at affordable price, it's primarily meant for casual tasks. That battery could let you down if you decide to push it.
Also you mentioned camera is a plus for you, so between the two, I think P4a would do a relatively better job than SE. The cam of SE also gets the job done but somehow I think P4a is ahead.
 
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depends on use case poco f3 would be best , but new samsung a series come with some good features like a52 including ip67 rating , headphone jack , gg5, better brand and better stock camera and 4 years of updates as samsung promises now. Poco will have better raw power at cheaper price but a samsung should be considered as well esp if you travel a lot better ip rating could be useful with better camera. I havent checked a series properly tho myself but there ar efew variants i think.
 
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I would say wait if you can, Samsung S20 FE with Snapdragon 865 is launching soon, Xiaomi Poco K40 [M11i/X in India, maybe] maybe coming to India soon, and also the Poco X3 Pro will launch in India tomorrow.
 
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desiibond said:
Yeah. X3 pro comes with amazing specs. For that price, I believe one can live with LCD display. Good luck trying to get one in flash sales :D
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Strangely while everyone says it's hard to get lucky in flash sales, I have always been able to get one when I needed to, starting from Moto G back in dat. Luck continued with mi3 which I ordered for a friend. Same with poco f1, and a few other phones which I got for parents and wife.

Admittedly though i haven't tried my luck in the past 2 years. Has the situation gotten much worse. Typically if I used to get on the platform 2 min before the sale starts, I used to get it without fail. Does this not work any more?
 
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Thank you for the help everyone. I decided to go for the Pixel 4a, as I had to get phone urgently, for my work. Happy with it, till now. Small and lightweight, this phone fits in my pocket! How I have missed phones this size.

The camera is good, but sometimes there seems to be over processing. I don't game on the phone much, so the 730G processor is good enough for me. Battery lasts around a day with moderate tasks, but really drains out when I use GPS. Charges decently fast too, so overall satisfied with this purchase
 
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Tejas01 said:
If I were to choose between iphone Se and pixel 4a, then go for the latter. This is based on your use case mentioned. While SE gives you iphone at affordable price, it's primarily meant for casual tasks. That battery could let you down if you decide to push it.
Also you mentioned camera is a plus for you, so between the two, I think P4a would do a relatively better job than SE. The cam of SE also gets the job done but somehow I think P4a is ahead.
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Samsung's galaxy a52 looks like the perfect fit for your need! I'm planning to buy one for my dad. I researched a lot and found out about how companies like Xiaomi, Realme, Oppo, and other hype brands cut corners and decided to go for a Samsung as they at least have to maintain a certain standard.

Oh and also if you can wait a month l that would be great as Flipkart and Amazon summer sales a pretty close.
 
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Ok I am looking for another phone ( not for me thankfully), in the same range (25-30k). This is for a cousin, who lost his One Plus Nord, and needs a new phone.

Looking for a balanced phone, camera not really a priority for this. Some decent specs, good screen, gaming performance, decent camera and battery. What are my options?

Here is what I think are options, in no particular order:
1. Pixel 4a/5a (If he can stretch his budget)
2. Poco F3
3. Xiaomi M11/lite
4. One Plus Nord CE

Any other options? Would like to hear other people's opinions.

Thanks!
 
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mallik said:
Ok I am looking for another phone ( not for me thankfully), in the same range (25-30k). This is for a cousin, who lost his One Plus Nord, and needs a new phone.

Looking for a balanced phone, camera not really a priority for this. Some decent specs, good screen, gaming performance, decent camera and battery. What are my options?

Here is what I think are options, in no particular order:
1. Pixel 4a/5a (If he can stretch his budget)
2. Poco F3
3. Xiaomi M11/lite
4. One Plus Nord CE

Any other options? Would like to hear other people's opinions.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Sorry for my ignorance but poco f3 hasn't been launched in India, right? (I think Mi 11x is a rebranded poco f3)

Neither pixel 5a has been launched in India. Even if it does pixel has poor support in India.
 
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mallik said:
Ok I am looking for another phone ( not for me thankfully), in the same range (25-30k). This is for a cousin, who lost his One Plus Nord, and needs a new phone.

Looking for a balanced phone, camera not really a priority for this. Some decent specs, good screen, gaming performance, decent camera and battery. What are my options?

Here is what I think are options, in no particular order:
1. Pixel 4a/5a (If he can stretch his budget)
2. Poco F3
3. Xiaomi M11/lite
4. One Plus Nord CE

Any other options? Would like to hear other people's opinions.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Realme X7 Max 5G seems like the best phone at that price. Or Oneplus Nord 2 if they prefer stock android. Nord CE would be a downgrade.
 
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MkMkB said:
11 lite or Pixel 4a.
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Pixel 4a if you can get it same price as mi 11 lite
mohit9206 said:
Realme X7 Max 5G seems like the best phone at that price. Or Oneplus Nord 2 if they prefer stock android. Nord CE would be a downgrade.
Click to expand...
Better to go for mi 11x, it has sd 870 whereas realme x7 max 5g has dimensity 1200. Developers mostly optimise for snapdragon chipsets also iirc gcam only supports snapdragon chips.
 
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MkMkB said:
I guess that will only happen during sales like Diwali. The lowest pixel 4a went was for 26,999. With card discounts price will go down further but it will apply to both 11 lite and 4a.
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Pixel will have longer updates than mi. Also pixel makes do with even with not so powerful processor. Their camera is a yardstick against which other phone cameras quality is measured. But the battery is smaller. Also, pixel doesn't have very good after sales support in India(I can't personally verfiy this as I have only read about this online). Pixel is also relatively compact phone. There is great custom rom support for pixel(also for mi but slightly better for pixel). Mi has bloatware ridden ui. If one wants to save and have same performance don't go for mi 11 lite go for poco x3 or moto g60 or g40, all these have nearly same processors (730g or 732g). Pixel shines in camera department and software experience. Maybe because it has poor support in India and because it is overpriced, it hasn't beaten every phone from 15k to 25k. At 20k pixel will be unbeatable. But close to 30k, there are many decent competitors performance wise, mi 11x, iqoo 7 or even samsung a52 which also has ip67 rating and its camera maybe at par with pixel. If you can get pixel sub 25k then it will be a great deal(ofcourse if luck is good and the phone doesn't suffer from hardware issues).
 
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