Other (RANT?) There's really no market for midrange/low-end compact phones in India, is there?

sid41299

sid41299

Disciple
And no I'm not talking about a shrunken-down flagship, even those are fairly expensive, I'm talking proper midrange, with something like an SD6xx SoC, or at least lower end 7xx, for those sweet endurance numbers. Forget iPhone Mini-tiny, I don't think there's any mid-range phone on sale that's even close to my 6.1 in size. My sister was forced to replace her Moto X4 a few months ago so she got a Moto G40, and not a day goes by where she doesn't complain about the weight and size. I do understand the socio-economic reasons for why massive dinner plates with bloated batteries and tablet screens are the market trend in India, but that still doesn't mean I like it. No sir, thank you, I'm holding on to my 6.1 for a little longer.



(A side note, I'm kind of nitpicking the market here, because other than the camera, this Nokia 6.1 is quite literally the perfect phone for me, AND I got it for 8K(!!!) when they cut the price after the announcement of the Nokia 6.2, so really I'm not going to be able to find a phone just like it)
 
I was thinking the same thing.

You get midrangers with oversized batteries and midrange CPU. 2 day battery life with these.

You get higher-end compact or close to with the latest CPU but a lousy battery. Lucky if you even make it through the day with one of these. Sony's earlier Z compacts were exceptions with their endurance mode which was just a CPU limiter.

But you cannot get a compact midrange with midrange CPU and matching battery that would beat the higher end compact in terms of endurance.
sid41299 said:
(A side note, I'm kind of nitpicking the market here, because other than the camera, this Nokia 6.1 is quite literally the perfect phone for me, AND I got it for 8K(!!!) when they cut the price after the announcement of the Nokia 6.2, so really I'm not going to be able to find a phone just like it)
Click to expand...
That price rings a bell. Not sure of the model but my uncle was saying how one of my cousins picked out a Nokia for him around that price and he likes it.

For 8k I was really wondering what sort of phone this is, its too damn cheap isn't it. Since he only needs it for cell calls, WhatsApp and the odd zoom call I suppose its fine.
 
Last edited:
You should've got LG v30+ when it was on sale for 12-13k around two years back. If only the screen didn't break I would've still kept using it.
Also there's no compact midrange mobile market anywhere, not just India i think.
 
Compared to the 6.5-6.7 inchers they're pretty compact. And my point is not just about the size but the way it feels in the hand, like it's nothing. After using that, everything else feels like a brick.
 
I'd say the S20FE is easier to hold than the V20. It's more narrow and when I wrap my thumb and middle finger around I can get them to touch.

No way to do that with the V20 with its 16:9 aspect screen. But there are other things I prefer about this aspect compared to the S20FE.

Will just have to get used to a thinner aspect now.
 
blr_p said:
That price rings a bell. Not sure of the model but my uncle was saying how one of my cousins picked out a Nokia for him around that price and he likes it.

For 8k I was really wondering what sort of phone this is, its too damn cheap isn't it. Since he only needs it for cell calls, WhatsApp and the odd zoom call I suppose its fine.
Click to expand...
It's actually a proper mid-range device! I got it at a "clearance" price. but it launched at around ~24K, and until battery health became a issue it was even great for long sessions of CoD Mobile
rockstah said:
Also there's no compact midrange mobile market anywhere, not just India i think.
Click to expand...
True, but remember, Indian mid-range is not the same as global mid-range. Phones like the Pixel 6a, the Mini iPhones, the Zenfone 8, and the infamous Xperia 5 line are much better value propositions internationally than in India.

(Also Sony, Panasonic, and Sharp have great compact midrange phones, but I'm not counting those because they are pretty much tailor-made for the Japanese and sold only in Japan.)
 
Last edited:
blr_p said:
How about the pixel 5. Is that available ? decent battery and not too big. Seems too good to be true.

Compare Google Pixel 5 vs. Apple iPhone 13 mini vs. Apple iPhone 12 mini - GSMArena.com

www.gsmarena.com www.gsmarena.com
Click to expand...
Nope, 4a (which my dad uses) was the last Pixel released here, and now 6a. IIRC 4a 5G, 5, 5a, 6, and 6 Pro never released here. I was actually really excited for the 5, especially for price cuts as the 6 neared launch. But then I got to know that Google does not offer international warranty, so I felt it was too much of a risk (and $700 is hardly mid-range).
 
Not compact but I have a similar gripe with lighter phones. I would prefer smaller phones, but lighter phones are the priority for me.

Bought Mi 11 Lite NE 5G from another forum member as it's the lightest phone in the market at 160 grams. It's almost perfect for me except they switched the Indian units with a shitty OLED screen with black crush issues. But I would happily take a shitty screen if it's a lightweight phone like this.

I don't think I'll ever see another phone launch at 160 gram weight again. It's just so annoying that every phone is a 200 gram brick. As someone who suffers from carpal tunnel, a 159 gram phone is amazing to use.
 
SangeetDev said:
Not compact but I have a similar gripe with lighter phones. I would prefer smaller phones, but lighter phones are the priority for me.

Bought Mi 11 Lite NE 5G from another forum member as it's the lightest phone in the market at 160 grams. It's almost perfect for me except they switched the Indian units with a shitty OLED screen with black crush issues. But I would happily take a shitty screen if it's a lightweight phone like this.

I don't think I'll ever see another phone launch at 160 gram weight again. It's just so annoying that every phone is a 200 gram brick. As someone who suffers from carpal tunnel, a 159 gram phone is amazing to use.
Click to expand...
Moto Edge 30 clocks in at 155g but you are right, lightweight phones are pretty much missing
 
ibose said:
Moto Edge 30 clocks in at 155g but you are right, lightweight phones are pretty much missing
Click to expand...
Nice. That is a nice phone that I missed. Quite similar to the Mi that I've got, but I hope more phones follow suit. I really enjoyed owning iPhone 6S. I hope lightweight phones make a comeback.
 
SangeetDev said:
I don't think I'll ever see another phone launch at 160 gram weight again. It's just so annoying that every phone is a 200 gram brick. As someone who suffers from carpal tunnel, a 159 gram phone is amazing to use.
Click to expand...
The last phone I remember weighing that much was the Galaxy S4 back in 2014. I ended up going with the Galaxy K zoom which with the case weighed in at 240gm. For the first week, I could feel it pulling my trousers but after a week I got used to it.

The Japanese market has lighter phones. But i'm not sure if they would work on our 4/5G networks though.
 
Same here, holding on to my S7 as can't find a good compact replacement, Zenphone 8 would have been perfect if it was available here.
 
UserRG said:
Zenphone 8 would have been perfect if it was available here.
Click to expand...
www.flipkart.com

ASUS 8z ( 128 GB Storage, 8 GB RAM ) Online at Best Price On Flipkart.com

Buy ASUS 8z online at best price with offers in India. ASUS 8z (-2A-BLACK, 128 GB) features and specifications include 8 GB RAM, 128 GB ROM, 4000 mAh battery, 64 MP back camera and 12 MP front camera. Compare 8z by price and performance to shop at Flipkart
www.flipkart.com www.flipkart.com
It was available. Probably discontinued for the Zenfone 9 launch or lacklustre sales.
 
Most of the market is covered under mid/low it's just your expectation that is not satisfied within lowrange even though they offer what they best can under that range Xiaomi will be covering this.
You need to know how now budget range is ez 20k and mid ranger 35k.
 
What falls within 5inch is considered as a compact phone and it has been out fashioned by almost 7in touching screens which the concept altogether.
Reason: Public gets fooled easily and falls for almost anything esp. in phone market thus 5.5in and now 6in+.
The day isn't far away when we will see 13inch phones and people might permanently ditch laptops.
 
I think ppl have gotten used to the current phone size for gaming/watch content. Compact phone market is basically those who don't have such activities as a priority or have alternatives like ipad/laptop for that.

Zenfone 9 looks good, and if Asus could make a mid range version of it (and actually release it in India) everyone would be happy but it seems like they only care about the Rog series here.
 
Back
Top