Mid range Android Mobile Phone and Chipset

[eyz]

any recommendation for 600 phone with bigger screen?

 

[xiaofan]

Redmi Turbo 3 (Snapdragon 8s Gen 3) review. Not so sure if will come to Singapore or rebrand as a Poco brand phone.

 

[xiaofan]

Realme GT NEO 6 SE (Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3) review.

 

[chaiscool]

Realme GT NEO 6 SE (Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3) review.

Redmi Turbo 3 (Snapdragon 8s Gen 3) review. Not so sure if will come to Singapore or rebrand as a Poco brand phone.

Both design so similar haha

Seems like redmi for gaming and realme for camera.

 

[xiaofan]

Best Mid-Range Android Phones Early 2024:

Google Pixel 7a, Google Tensor G2
OnePlus Nord 2T, Mediatek Dimensity 1300
OnePlus Nord 3, Mediatek Dimensity 9000
OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite, Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G, Exynos Exynos 1380
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE, Exynos 2200 for internation edition
Nothing Phone 1, Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+
Nothing Phone 2, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
Vivo V29, Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G
Vivo V29 Pro, Mediatek Dimensity 8200
Honor 90, Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 Accelerated Edition
Poco X4 GT, Mediatek Dimensity 8100
Poco F5, Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2
Poco F5 Pro, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
Poco X5 Pro, Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus, Mediatek Dimensity 1080
Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus Mediatek Dimensity 7200 Ultra
Xiaomi 13T, Mediatek Dimensity 8200 Ultra
Realme GT Master Edition, Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G
Realme 10 Pro Plus, Mediatek Dimensity 1080 - version 1, or Mediatek Dimensity 920 - version 2

Another more up-to-date version for Spring 2024. It is good to see my old Poco X4 GT is still on the list.

Google Pixel 7a
OnePlus Nord 2T (&3)
OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE
Nothing Phone 2a
Nothing Phone 2
Vivo V30 & Pro
Honor 90
Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus
Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G
Xiaomi 13T
Poco X6 & Pro
Poco F4 GT
Poco F5 & Pro

 

[xiaofan]

It is interesting the reviewer list Poco X6 and X6 Pro as Poco F5 and Poco F5 Pro in the best budget camera phones.

Pixel 7a
Nothing Phone 2a
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
Samsung Galaxy A34 5G
Poco X6 & X6 Pro
Poco F5 & F5 Pro
Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 5G vs Pro vs Pro Plus
OnePlus Nord 2T
OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite
Motorola Moto G84
Motorola Moto Edge 40 Neo
Vivo V30 & V30 Pro

 

[xiaofan]

any recommendation for 600 phone with bigger screen?

Not so sure how big the screen you want. New phones are often having 6.6 inch screen of similar size.

Samsung Galaxy A55 is a new phone which may be quite popular, 6.6 inch screen.
https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_a55-12824.php

Xiaomi Poco F5 Pro has 6.67 inch screen with faster HW spec.
https://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_poco_f5_pro-12257.php

 

[leonaheidern]

problem is very few of these phones have esim and beyond two years software updates.

except google pixel but it seems 8 is like not great compared to 7

 

[xiaofan]

problem is very few of these phones have esim and beyond two years software updates.

except google pixel but it seems 8 is like not great compared to 7

1) Samsung new A3x/A5x series should have more than three years or 4 years support.
https://security.samsungmobile.com/workScope.smsb
https://endoflife.date/samsung-mobile
https://www.androidpolice.com/samsung-four-year-update-list-android/

4 years for the following A series phones

• Samsung Galaxy A55 5G
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
• Samsung Galaxy A34 5G
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
• Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
• Samsung Galaxy A73 5G

2) Xiaomi Poco F series usuually have about three years of support even though Xiaomi only says at least two years.
https://trust.mi.com/misrc/updates/phone

Poco F2 Pro was released in May 2020 and it has been in EOL list since mid-2023.
Poco F3 was released in March 2021 and it is expected to be in the EOL soon (still more than three years)

 

[xiaofan]

The idea for me is simple, if I use a high end phone (eg: I use iPhone 6S 128GB for three years as the main phone from Sept 2015 to Dec 2018) for three years only or even 4 years, then there is no issue to use a mid-range phone at 1/3 the price for two years.

Therefore I have lowered my budget of Android phone to S$400 and the plan is to use it as a main phone for two years. Then it can be used as a backup phone or just put it aside.

My main phone history:
Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE (2013 to 2014, then passed to my wife) -- Samsung Galaxy Galaxy S4 LTE+ (2014 to 2015, then passed to my mother in law) --
iPhone 6S (2015 to 2018) -- Huawei P20 (2018 to 2021) -- Realme X50 5G (2021 to 2022, then passed to my son) -- Poco X4 GT (Dec 2022 to now).

 

[hkchew03]

The idea for me is simple, if I use a high end phone (eg: I use iPhone 6S 128GB for three years as the main phone from Sept 2015 to Dec 2018) for three years only or even 4 years, then there is no issue to use a mid-range phone at 1/3 the price for two years.

Therefore I have lowered my budget of Android phone to S$400 and the plan is to use it as a main phone for two years. Then it can be used as a backup phone or just put it aside.

My main phone history:
Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE (2013 to 2014, then passed to my wife) -- Samsung Galaxy Galaxy S4 LTE+ (2014 to 2015, then passed to my mother in law) --
iPhone 6S (2015 to 2018) -- Huawei P20 (2018 to 2021) -- Realme X50 5G (2021 to 2022, then passed to my son) -- Poco X4 GT (Dec 2022 to now).

Depends if you need performance and camera, often a 2yo flagship level phone will still win a mid range phone in camera and possible also it's screen. This is considering there are no failure within and after that 2 years. I use to buy mid range previously, but now stick to China flagship store to it's price. For something that we use daily for couple of hours, it quite worth paying higher price.

 

[xiaofan]

Depends if you need performance and camera, often a 2yo flagship level phone will still win a mid range phone in camera and possible also it's screen. This is considering there are no failure within and after that 2 years. I use to buy mid range previously, but now stick to China flagship store to it's price. For something that we use daily for couple of hours, it quite worth paying higher price.

Indeed everyone will have different use case and different preferences.

I do not have high requirements for camera myself and I do not play games either. On the other hand midrange phones are actually okay with many games if you are not that particular about frame rates or high resolution. There are midrange phones with good cameras as well, probably you will have to raise the budget a bit higher than my budget of S$400.

BTW, I do not want to buy China version of mobile phones myself since you need to install Google stuff by yourself. I know for certain models it may not be so difficult to do that. Still this is just my personal preference.

 

[1982-1994]

Midrange phones of the usual Xiaomi/Samsung brands do not have appealing design normally (thick bezels)

I'm not a camera person but it is good to have it when I want to take some shots of a nice view
Plus a high PWM OLED display protects the eyes while enjoying the crispy resolution


Special mention, Huawei mate 20 is still a good phone despite it was manufactured almost 6 years back
Best LCD phone with USB3.1 ,FM radio, NFC, rear FGPS ,bought it at $170 last year ,slim and compact too

 

[xiaofan]

For those who like Google Pixel, Pixel 8a may be worth the money since it will be supported by Google for 7 years until May 2031. On the other hand, in the Singapore context, I believe very few people will use a phone as the main phone for more than 4 years.
https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/4457705?hl=en#

Challenger price:
8GB/128GB -- S$799
8GB/256GB -- S$899

Usually there will be offers from online stores from time to time.

 

[xiaofan]

Tech Spurt recommendation for mid-range phones for Summer 2024. No surprises that Samsung Galaxy A35/A55, Google Pixel 8a are in the list. These three are probably the choice if you want long term support for software updates.

There should be no surprises that Xiaomi and Poco phones are in the list as well, like Poco X6 and Pro, Poco F6 and Pro.

0:37 - Google Pixel 8a --> Google Tensor G3 CPU
2:10 - Samsung Galaxy A55 5G --> Samsung Exynos 1480 CPU
4:24 - Samsung Galaxy A35 5G --> Samsung Exynos 1380 CPU
4:55 - Samsung Galaxy S23 FE --> Samsung Exynos 2200 CPU
5:24 - Nothing Phone 2a --> Mediatek Dimensity 7200 Pro CPU
6:47 - Nothing Phone 2 --> Qualcomm SM8475 Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
7:23 - Vivo V30 & Pro --> V30: Qualcomm SM7550-AB Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 CPU; V30 Pro: Mediatek Dimensity 8200 CPU
8:56 - Honor 90 --> Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 Accelerated Edition CPU
10:39 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus --> Mediatek Dimensity 7200 Ultra CPU
12:10 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G --> Qualcomm SM7435-AB Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 CPU
12:52 - Xiaomi 13T --> Mediatek Dimensity 8200 Ultra CPU
14:34 - Poco X6 & Pro --> Poco X6: Qualcomm SM7435-AB Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 CPU; Poco X6 Pro: Mediatek Dimensity 8300 Ultra CPU
15:35 - Poco F4 GT -- Qualcomm SM8450 Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 CPU
16:42 - Poco F6 & Pro ---> Poco F6 is using Qualcomm SD8s Gen 3 CPU. Poco F6 Pro is using Qualcomm SD8 Gen 2 CPU

 

[Tenpai]

Tech Spurt recommendation for mid-range phones for Summer 2024. No surprises that Samsung Galaxy A35/A55, Google Pixel 8a are in the list. These three are probably the choice if you want long term support for software updates.

There should be no surprises that Xiaomi and Poco phones are in the list as well, like Poco X6 and Pro, Poco F6 and Pro.

0:37 - Google Pixel 8a --> Google Tensor G3 CPU
2:10 - Samsung Galaxy A55 5G --> Samsung Exynos 1480 CPU
4:24 - Samsung Galaxy A35 5G --> Samsung Exynos 1380 CPU
4:55 - Samsung Galaxy S23 FE --> Samsung Exynos 2200 CPU
5:24 - Nothing Phone 2a --> Mediatek Dimensity 7200 Pro CPU
6:47 - Nothing Phone 2 --> Qualcomm SM8475 Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
7:23 - Vivo V30 & Pro --> V30: Qualcomm SM7550-AB Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 CPU; V30 Pro: Mediatek Dimensity 8200 CPU
8:56 - Honor 90 --> Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 Accelerated Edition CPU
10:39 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus --> Mediatek Dimensity 7200 Ultra CPU
12:10 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G --> Qualcomm SM7435-AB Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 CPU
12:52 - Xiaomi 13T --> Mediatek Dimensity 8200 Ultra CPU
14:34 - Poco X6 & Pro --> Poco X6: Qualcomm SM7435-AB Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 CPU; Poco X6 Pro: Mediatek Dimensity 8300 Ultra CPU
15:35 - Poco F4 GT -- Qualcomm SM8450 Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 CPU
16:42 - Poco F6 & Pro ---> Poco F6 is using Qualcomm SD8s Gen 3 CPU. Poco F6 Pro is using Qualcomm SD8 Gen 2 CPU

I like tech spurt, he has that dry brit wit and unbiased in his reviews

acherly as you grow older, midrange phones with decent security updates will suffice

if want good photos, get a compact camera

i used iphones to shoot but even they can be wonky

 

[xiaofan]

Poco X6 Pro was a popular choice in this forum. I have upgraded from Poco X4 GT to Poco X6 Pro (12GB/512GB version) in the end of 2024. My daughter is also using Poco X6 Pro now (8GB/256GB version)

Let's see if the new Poco X7 Pro to be a popular choice in this forum or not. It has the new MediaTek Dimensity 8400 Ultra (4 nm) chipset vs the older MediaTek Dimensity 8300 Ultra (4 nm) in the Poco X6 Pro.
https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=13582&idPhone2=12717

 

[SibehHL]

Poco X6 Pro was a popular choice in this forum. I have upgraded from Poco X4 GT to Poco X6 Pro (12GB/512GB version) in the end of 2024. My daughter is also using Poco X6 Pro now (8GB/256GB version)

Can check out the Sharp Aquos series too. Saw the phones in Challenger, the R9 is especially attractive selling at around 450 on Shopee.

 

[xiaofan]

Best budget phone from Tech Sprout (Early 2025).

Nothing Phone 3a (Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, 4 nm)​

CMF Phone 1 (Dimensity 7300, 4 nm)​

Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G, Mediatek Dimensity 7300 Ultra (4nm)​

Poco F6 ( Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, 4nm) --> Poco F7 (upcoming)​

Poco X6 (Snapdragon 7s Gen 2, 4 nm) & Poco X6 Pro (Dimensity 8300 Ultra, 4 nm)​

--> Poco X7 (Dimensity 7300 Ultra, 4 nm) and Poco X7 Pro (Dimensity 8400 Ultra, 4 nm)​

OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite 5G​

Motorola Edge 50 Fusion​

Motorola G85​

Motorola G35​

Motorola G05​

Samsung Galaxy A35 5G (Exynos 1380, 5 nm)​

Samsung Galaxy A36 5G? (Snapdragon 6 Gen 3, 4 nm)​

HMD Fusion​

 

[xiaofan]

Best mid-range Camera phone from Tech Sprout (Early 2025).

Pixel 8a (Google Tensor G3, 4 nm) --> Pixel 9a (Google Tensor G4, 4 nm)​

Nothing Phone 2a (Dimensity 7200 Pro, 4 nm) & 2a Plus (Dimensity 7350 Pro, 4 nm)​

--> Nothing Phone 3a (Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, 4 nm) and 3a Pro (Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, 4 nm)​

Samsung Galaxy A55 5G (Exynos 1480, 4 nm) --> A56 5G (Exynos 1580, 4 nm)​

Samsung Galaxy A35 5G (Exynos 1380, 5 nm) --> A36 5G (Snapdragon 6 Gen 3, 4 nm)​

OnePlus 13r ( Snapdragon 8 Gen 3)​

OnePlus Nord 4 (Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3, 4 nm)​

OnePlus Nord CE 4 (Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, 4 nm)​

Motorola Edge 50 Neo​

Xiaomi 14T (Dimensity 8300 Ultra, 4 nm)​

Vivo V40 (Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, 4 nm) & V40 Pro (Dimensity 9200+, 4 nm)​

Huawei Nova 13 Pro​