Mid range Android Mobile Phone and Chipset

[xiaofan]

Pls recommend a few models

Budget is important. What is your budget?

 

[shortbirdlonghair]

Budget is important. What is your budget?

Mid end since I'm in this thread

 

[xiaofan]

Mid end since I'm in this thread

From here for around S$600 budget.
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/threads/mid-tier-phone-to-recommend-preferable-under-600.6787224/
Pricing info is based on Shopee 30-Oct-2022, you can see that quite some of them use higher end chipsets.

Google pixel 6a (this may be higher than S$600 unless on offer, seems to be the most recommended model)
OnePlus Nord 2T 5G (S$629 for 8GB/256GB version, Dimensity 1300)
OnePlus Ace 5G (S$599 for 8GB/128GB version, Dimensity 8100-MAX)
Poco F4 5G (S$599 for 8+256GB version, S$549 for 6GB/128GB version, SD870)
Samsung A53 5G (S$598 for 8GB/128GB version, Exynos 1280)
Poco X4 GT (S$509 for 8GB/256GB version, Dimensity 8100)
Redmi Note 11T 5G (S$629 for 8GB/128GB version, Dimensity 1200-Ultra)
Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G (S$569 for 8GB/256GB version, Dimensity 920)
Realme GT Master (usually out of stock, SD785G)
Samsung Galaxy A52s (usually out of stock, SD785G)

 

[caterham7]

Mid end since I'm in this thread

when we ask budget, we mean what max price u are willing to pay

e.g. $200, $300, or $400, etc.

 

[caterham7]

From here for around S$600 budget.
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/threads/mid-tier-phone-to-recommend-preferable-under-600.6787224/
Google pixel 6a (this may be higher than S$600)
Samsung A53 5G
Poco X4 GT
Realme GT Master
Samsung Galaxy A52s

fyi p6a was flash sale on shopee $549

there is also a courts promo code BOO to try

 

[xiaofan]

Mid end since I'm in this thread

Just a quick check on Shopee.

5G phones Around or Below S$400
Samsung Galaxy A33 5G (Exynos 1280)
Poco X4 Pro 5G (S$399 for 6GB/128GB, SD695)
Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G (S$399 for 6GB/128GB, SD695)
Samsung Galaxy A23 5G
OPPO Reno5 Z 5G (S$399 for 8GB/128GB, Dimensity 800U)
OnePlus CE 2 (S$459 for 8GB/128GB, Dimensity 900), maybe down to S$360
OnePlus CE2 Lite (S$399 for 8GB/128GB, SD695), maybe down to S$310
OnePlus Nord 2, maybe down to S$316

5G phones Around or Below S$300
Poco M4 Pro 5G
Poco M4 5G
Redmi 10 5G

 

[8-lane]

Mid end since I'm in this thread

Ya.. wat is ur budget for the new phone? Cos different ppl may have different POV when it comes to wat mid-range phones (or their prices) are...

 

[8-lane]

Just a quick check on Shopee.

5G phones Around or Below S$400
Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
Poco X4 Pro 5G (6GB/128GB)
Poco M4 Pro 5G (8GB/256GB)
Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G (6GB/128GB)
Samsung Galaxy A23 5G
OPPO Reno5 Z 5G

5G phones Around or Below S$300
Poco M4 Pro 5G
Poco M4 5G
Redmi 10 5G

Let me add 3 more for phones ard or below $400 - OnePlus Nord 2 ($316 )..... Oneplus Nord CE 2 Lite and Oneplus Nord CE 2....

 

[xiaofan]

Let me add 3 more for phones ard or below $400 - OnePlus Nord 2 ($316 )..... Oneplus Nord CE 2 Lite and Oneplus Nord CE 2....

Added.

 

[8-lane]

Just a quick check on Shopee.

5G phones Around or Below S$400
Samsung Galaxy A33 5G (Exynos 1280)
Poco X4 Pro 5G (S$399 for 6GB/128GB, SD695)
Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G (S$399 for 6GB/128GB, SD695)
Samsung Galaxy A23 5G
OPPO Reno5 Z 5G (S$399 for 8GB/128GB, Dimensity 800U)
OnePlus CE 2 (S$459 for 8GB/128GB, Dimensity 900)
OnePlus CE2 Lite (S$399 for 8GB/128GB, SD695)

5G phones Around or Below S$300
OnePlus Nord 2
Poco M4 Pro 5G
Poco M4 5G
Redmi 10 5G

Oneplus Nord CE 2 can get at $360... Nord CE 2 Lite at $310 and I think u added in Nord 2 wrongly... it should be around and below $400

 

[xiaofan]

Oneplus Nord CE 2 can get at $360... Nord CE 2 Lite at $310 and I think u added in Nord 2 wrongly... it should be around and below $400

Updated. I am not so good at finding lobangs, but recently I got the Poco M4 Pro 5G for my father-in-law at S$259 (10.10 offer).

It is a pity that Realme Official Global Shop stopped operation in Singapore recently.

 

[wwenze]

From here for around S$600 budget.
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/threads/mid-tier-phone-to-recommend-preferable-under-600.6787224/
Pricing info is based on Shopee 30-Oct-2022, you can see that quite some of them use higher end chipsets.

Google pixel 6a (this may be higher than S$600 unless on offer, seems to be the most recommended model)
OnePlus Nord 2T 5G (S$629 for 8GB/256GB version, Dimensity 1300)
OnePlus Ace 5G (S$599 for 8GB/128GB version, Dimensity 8100-MAX)
Poco F4 5G (S$599 for 8+256GB version, S$549 for 6GB/128GB version, SD870)
Samsung A53 5G (S$598 for 8GB/128GB version, Exynos 1280)
Poco X4 GT (S$509 for 8GB/256GB version, Dimensity 8100)
Redmi Note 11T 5G (S$629 for 8GB/128GB version, Dimensity 1200-Ultra)
Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G (S$569 for 8GB/256GB version, Dimensity 920)
Realme GT Master (usually out of stock, SD7785G)
Samsung Galaxy A52s (usually out of stock, SD7785G)

Pixel 6a is best if you don't look at the screen
Poco F4 is best if you don't use the camera
A53 is best if you don't use the phone

 

[8-lane]

Updated. I am not so good at finding lobangs, but recently I got the Poco M4 Pro 5G for my father-in-law at S$259 (10.10 offer).

It is a pity that Realme Official Global Shop stopped operation in Singapore recently.

Ic.. I think that's an alright price. I bought my Realme 9i from the Realme official shop that's based in HK on Lazada some time ago... now they no longer sell any stuff but the Realme official shop that's based in sg is still selling stuff on Lazada.

 

[xiaofan]

Ic.. I think that's an alright price. I bought my Realme 9i from the Realme official shop that's based in HK on Lazada some time ago... now they no longer sell any stuff but the Realme official shop that's based in sg is still selling stuff on Lazada.

Yes Realme still have official shops in Ladada and Shopee but they only sell very limited stuff. They do not even sell any mobile phones now.

You can compare the two in Lazada.
https://www.lazada.sg/realme/?q=All-Products&from=wangpu&langFlag=en&pageTypeId=2 (still exist, no phones now)
https://www.lazada.sg/shop/realme-global-official-store/?path=index.htm (no more)

Or in Shopee.
https://shopee.sg/realmeofficialacc#product_list (still exist, no phones now)
https://shopee.sg/realmeglobal.sg (no more)

 

[SibehHL]

I personally felt that phones are not just about hardware & specs. The UI & security updates too played an important part and whether it suits the user's daily routine. Some current big brand UI can be quite troublesome and some mid to lower end models have hardly any updates say 1 yr after purchase.

High specs / latest GPU / big RAM / advanced AMOLED screen are lost to folks who only checks messages / make calls / listen to music / use payment & banking apps etc, phone security & long term updates are probably more important to them.

By the way, I use to own the Realme X and it's a good & simple phone. Simple UI and had maybe 3-4 updates after I bought it. Unfortunately no NFC so abandon it eventually.

 

[xiaofan]

I personally felt that phones are not just about hardware & specs. The UI & security updates too played an important part and whether it suits the user's daily routine. Some current big brand UI can be quite troublesome and some mid to lower end models have hardly any updates say 1 yr after purchase.

High specs / latest GPU / big RAM / advanced AMOLED screen are lost to folks who only checks messages / make calls / listen to music / use payment & banking apps etc, phone security & long term updates are probably more important to them.

I agree.

I think Xiaomi (hopefuly including Redmi and Poco) is probably not too bad (they keep updating MIUI even though the base Android OS may not be updated).

Just wondering which models listed here will only have hardly any updates after just 1 year? I think even Oppo/Realme/Oneplus will do better than that. I just checked my Realme X50 5G (released on July 2020, with Android 10 and Realme UI 1.0) and now it has Android 11 and Realme UI 2.0, with Android security up to August 2022.

And just wondering which big brand UI is quite troublesome?

 

[SibehHL]

And just wondering which big brand UI is quite troublesome?

Definition of "Troublesome" I would say can be personal. For example, I felt that Samsung UI is crap, they added too much on top of stock android. I also dislike the fact that Chinese phone makers install bloatware which one cannot uninstalled.

Currently, the Eco system of iOS and Google (Pixel) is what I like best. Again, it is a personal feeling but that decides which phone I will buy end of the day and not the hardware or specs.

As for updates, if one is satisfied with Android 11 & Aug's patch while in Oct/Nov then it's OK. As I keep reiterating, it is what the individual's expectation of the phone that makes it a "good or bad" phone, not anything else, I guess.

 

[xiaofan]

Definition of "Troublesome" I would say can be personal. For example, I felt that Samsung UI is crap, they added too much on top of stock android. I also dislike the fact that Chinese phone makers install bloatware which one cannot uninstalled.
Currently, the eco system of iOS and Google (Pixel) is what I like best. Again, it is a personal feeling but that decides which phone I will buy end of the day and not the hardware or specs.

I agree that UI is very personal. I am okay with all major UI, be it iOS or Android (EMUI, Realme UI, Color OS, MIUI).

I am also cross platform on the PC OS side (Windows 10/11, macOS and Debian/Ubuntu Linux (Gnome/XFCE or simple UIs).

Personally I think Oppo/Realme global version is okay in terms of bloatware, a bit less than EMUI and MIUI.

Another thing, if you buy iPhone or Google Pixel, you are already buying high end or higher-mid-end phone already, so you can not exactly say you are not buying based on good hardware spec in the end.

 

[SibehHL]

Another thing, if you buy iPhone or Google Pixel, you are already buying high end or higher-mid-end phone already, so you can not exactly say you are not buying based on good hardware spec in the end.

Using P6A right now and 3A XL previously.

Comparing the hardware & specs with POCO X4 Pro 5G (in reality a Redmi Note 11 pro 5G??) which I owned briefly between the 6A and 3A XL, the POCO phone specs is probably better than both Pixels.

Anyway, my P6A is an imported Japan set costing mid $400 after vouchers from Shopee and i saw today the US pricing for P6A has dropped to USD299. Do note I am not saying Hardware & Specs are unimportant, just that it is not the only thing to consider.

I agreed with you that iPhones are pricey unless one buy them used. But can't beat them on support & updates, my spare iPhone 6sP bought 2016 are still receiving regular updates and I brought it to Apple Singapore last year due to software issues and they reinstall the iOS for free. Don't think i will get this type of service with the Pixels.

 

[xiaofan]

I agreed with you that iPhones are pricey unless one buy them used. But can't beat them on support & updates, my spare iPhone 6sP bought 2016 are still receiving regular updates and I brought it to Apple Singapore last year due to software issues and they reinstall the iOS for free. Don't think i will get this type of service with the Pixels.

I totally agree. In my family, my wife will only use iPhone (6S+ 128GB, 7+ 256GB, X 256GB and now iPhone 14 512GB). Other than the 6SP+, the 7+ and X are still alive. I used iPhone 6S 128GB (after Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE+) as my main phone for three years (switched to Huawei P20) and it is still alive but not used. So I can say the quality and software update are top-notch. We also use iPad 2018/2019 and Mac Mini M1 at home. Apple ecosystem is for sure good.

That being said, I figured out that I could save money and still enjoyed the mobile phone after switching from iPhone 6S to Huawei P20. After three years of using P20, I further downgraded my budget for Android phones to below S$500 as they are still good enough. I am using the S$399 Realme X50 5G now. To me there is no point buying high end Android phones as I am not that particular about camera and not into gaming.

Similarly I have downgraded the phone spec/budget for my parents-in-law --> one from Oppo R11S to Realme 7 5G; the othe from Huawei Nova 5T to Poco M4 Pro 5G.