Budget 20-25K Suggest phone to replace my 8 year old nexus 5

[cri_sss]

As title suggest, I'm using nexus 5 phone from 2013 onward and still going alright for my needs but battery is slowing deteriorating after battery replaced 3 years back.

I could not find replacement battery for nexus 5 from LG service center here in Hyderabad. They told LG stopped supplying for the part.

so looking for a successor.

My usage is mostly reading news, emails, MT4 ( trading), banking apps and light media (you tube,music player), good camera, no gaming as i use my gaming laptop.

My intention to use for few more years like my nexus. I prefer to change to custom stable rom and not much into fiddling with new software or even update apps if it running smooth.

budget is up-to 20k but can extend to another 5k if there is service availability of battery or parts in future.

Requirements : I prefer something light weight and also sd support (which is limitation for my nexus 5), dual sims prefer 5G (going to use in overseas), volte

My eyes are on One plus nord ce but not sure how good one plus now a days and no Sd card . Bought Poco M2 pro for mom but i hate the bloatware and bit heavy other wise alright phone. Any brand is find as long as custom ROM availability and battery availability in future.

I'm not in hurry as my Nexus still going alright but looking for a good replacement in the coming weeks.

Q and A template.

1. Budget?
A: Planned 20k but can extend INR upto 25K

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 only

4. Preferred connectivity options? (4G, 3G, 2G etc).
A: 4G good enough. 5G would be an added benefit, when i travel to Australia in coming months. volte is must

5. Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them.
A: No

6. What is your intended use for this phone (internet, camera, multimedia, mails etc.)?
A: Camera, mails, light social media usage, media ( youtube, music player),

7. Single SIM/ Dual SIM?
A: Dual Sim and SD support

8. New or Used? Online or Offline?
A: New. Online preferred but can go shop here if suggested (hyderabad)

9. Any other requirements?
A: Need decent battery backup and can source battery in future. Custom Rom availability as i prefer stock android with good battery and less google apps on my phone.
10. If you have already considered a phone, then please mention the model
A: Nord CE
cheers.

 

[gourav]

Can you wait for the Pixel 5a? It's a few months away, but is likely to fit your needs.

I have Pixel 4a myself. I love the device. But it's a bit old now, specs-wise.

Otherwise there's serious lack of compact or light weight phones in the market currently.

 

[burntwingzZz]

^^^^ the battery capacity & the pricing man ...

since you are comming from nexus , you will feel ****ed up with all other phones due to stupid os`s with bug and maybe add on some chinese phones at certain price range

One good true blue 5g phone with snapdragon chipset in your budget is moto g 5g 21k and stock android all 5g band enabled in the phone (but when it will be restocked idk)
at 22-23 you have one plus CE which will be available for open sales from tomorrow .May be 1 or two bands are supported.

If you don't have an OEM ,chipset preference nor OS preference than there are many mediatek based smartphones with almost all bands of 5 g supported with their manufacturers rom

Phones one could consider are

Mi11x with SD870
Mi10i with SD750
Poco X3 with SD860
pixel 4a with SD730G

mi 11 lite ,with hybrid slot would be a lightweight and it will have a good community support.

And regarding spares don't think about them ,market is in use and throw game. Though mi phones do hold good exchange or return value

 

[cri_sss]

Can you wait for the Pixel 5a? It's a few months away, but is likely to fit your needs.

I have Pixel 4a myself. I love the device. But it's a bit old now, specs-wise.

Otherwise there's serious lack of compact or light weight phones in the market currently.

Thanks for your inputs. If pixel then i can buy when i go to australia as there are more deals than here. Also it goes beyond budget of 30k i assume.
What i dont like is lack of sd card support in pixel and also dont want to tie up with google services or there apps. I try to use less of google based apps and in my nexus i used aosp rom to minimal gapps.
I dont even use google maps instead prefer nokia maps.

If you don't have an OEM ,chipset preference nor OS preference than there are many mediatek based smartphones with almost all bands of 5 g supported with their manufacturers rom

I hate mediatek due to lack of custom rom (aosp roms are my preference) support.

One good true blue 5g phone with snapdragon chipset in your budget is moto g 5g 21k and stock android all 5g band enabled in the phone (but when it will be restocked idk)
at 22-23 you have one plus CE which will be available for open sales from tomorrow .May be 1 or two bands are supported.

will consider moto but is it g60 or g40? one plus merged with oppo.. I thought one plus is independent company seems another Chinese subsidiary.

mi 11 lite ,with hybrid slot would be a lightweight and it will have a good community support.

It seems good at the moment for my requirements but bugger no 3.5mm jack support.. Jackass mi

Out of my budget but asus zenfone 8 seems tick few of my checklist.. Will wait as no rush and my nexus is still going great and best phone LG ever made.

 

[burntwingzZz]

if you are able to wait ,and it seems you take good care of cellphones , and you would be travelling to AUS there there might be chance of new pixel to be launched and a very good chance you might have a layover/halt at singapore .I recommend you to have at look some of the Sony experia /Sharp Aquos r6

Regarding the 3.5 mm situation ah yes ,there are converters , but there are direct usb headphones as well , so i recommend people to just get over it rather than complaining over it.

i understand the simplicity of a 3.5mm jack , but a usb solution is not bad either .People want a wired headphone same could be achieved over usb as well

 

[red dragon]

Phones/ electronics are considerably more expensive in Australia.
Please make sure of the 4G/5G bands used in Australia. I had a Xiaomi phone which worked fine with T Mobile in Europe, but had major network issues after inserting an Indian Airtel SIM as second SIM.

 

[burntwingzZz]

thats why i mentioned singapore and try to buy global variant

 

[gourav]

Thanks for your inputs. If pixel then i can buy when i go to australia as there are more deals than here. Also it goes beyond budget of 30k i assume.
What i dont like is lack of sd card support in pixel and also dont want to tie up with google services or there apps. I try to use less of google based apps and in my nexus i used aosp rom to minimal gapps.

Price-wise, yes, likely to be above 30k. Pixel 4a was 32k, so my guess would be somewhere around 35k for 5a.

SD Card is of course a personal preference, so can't comment on that. However, I don't think Pixel ties you to Google services any more than other Android devices. In my experience, it ties you less, if anything. For instance, in my Realme 7 Pro, there was no option to disable Google's built in apps, I had to use ADB to disable them. But in my Pixel, I can just go to settings and disable them. I always disable Chrome because unless it is disabled, custom tabs from apps do not open in Firefox, which is an absolute necessity for me because Chrome does not support ad blocking addons.

 

[greenhorn]

Why not buy the 4a? Yes it's an older phone, but it's decent at the price. They go for sale on fk for 26k frequently. Chain it with the right cc offer and you can hit 25k. I have one, and battery life is my only complaint.

Even if you wait for the next pixel launch, it's going to be waaay out of his budget

 

[gourav]

Why not buy the 4a? Yes it's an older phone, but it's decent at the price. They go for sale on fk for 26k frequently. Chain it with the right cc offer and you can hit 25k. I have one, and battery life is my only complaint.

At this point, I have to say, OnePlus Nord CE looks like a far better option

 

[Muathaz]

poco x3 pro. wait one week and install arrow os (aosp). you have the perfect device.

it might be a little thick and heavy for your likes though.

the note 10 pro should be better for your needs but i don't know how custom roms run on that. on the poco, arrow os is rock stable.

 

[cri_sss]

Phones/ electronics are considerably more expensive in Australia.
Please make sure of the 4G/5G bands used in Australia. I had a Xiaomi phone which worked fine with T Mobile in Europe, but had major network issues after inserting an Indian Airtel SIM as second SIM.

Thanks mate for the heads up but aware of this as my phone was working fine here. Generally folks talk about Band 28 and nfc as must may be when covering in rural australia otherwise we have similar bands. Don't know the benefits of nfc may be used for payment in cafes and grocery shops without using card i guess.

4G bands

Australia is currently using these LTE bands:
2100MHz (B1) – Telstra (a handful of sites), Optus, Vodafone
1800MHz (B3) – Telstra, Optus, Vodafone
850MHz (B5) – Vodafone
2600MHz (B7) – Telstra, Optus, Vodafone
900MHz (B8) – Telstra, Optus, Vodafone
700MHz (B28) – Telstra, Optus, Vodafone
2300MHz (B40) – Optus

5G/NR​

5G bands
I assume we have similar bands in india too then its straight forward i guess.

3500MHz (n78) – Telstra (from May 2019)
3500MHz (n78) – Optus (from October 2019)
3500MHz (n78) – Vodafone (from March 2020)
2300MHZ (n40) – Optus (from June 2020)
700MHz (n28) – Vodafone (from November 2020)
850MHz (n5) – Telstra (from April 2020)

hats why i mentioned singapore and try to buy global variant

When i looked at airport i dont much price difference but may be if i go to shops in the city i guess. Any recommended shops for bargain phone deals there?

At this point, I have to say, OnePlus Nord CE looks like a far better option

yes , i'm inclined towards it but suddenly mi 11 lite came into picture.. seems good value to me but hybrid sim slot bugger.

poco x3 pro. wait one week and install arrow os (aosp). you have the perfect device.

thanks mate. they are great phones. Bought one for mother poco m2 pro (ofcourse they are repackaged redmi i guess) but feel solid. I feel poco phone are great self defense tool. I can counter atack with them if someone attacks me there I will try arrow os on my MI pad 4 plus . Thank for rom suggestion.