Smartphone For 10 K Below 6 inch capable of rough usage

1. Budget? 10k
2. Display type and size? Full HD+ display , Screen size should be <=6
3. Dual sim? Yes
4. Preferred choice of brand? None
5. What camera option you want (flash, front facing camera)? Not too important, need both front and back cameras, front flash is great to have.
6. Preferred operating system? (Android, iOS,Stock Android etc). Android
7. Preferred connectivity options (Dual 4G,802.11AC or 5Ghz wifi). Needs 4G support.
8. Primary use of handset (multimedia, camera, internet, gaming etc)? Multimedia, internet, hotspot
9. Any specific mobile phones in consideration? None
10. Any other info that you want to share - 3 or 4GB RAM

Hi, Need to buy a phone for my father. This will be mainly be used for calling and whatsapp. No fancy stuff required. Just a good sturdy rugged phone required. Something less prone to breakage like plastic back instead of glass will be preferred. Need this info urgently as planning to buy on FK / amazon sale on 15 - 16.

Anyone?

W

Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1(don't update to pie,at least not without researching comments on gsmarena/xda forums first) but front cam is just average(may be even a bit below average).

Redmi Note 7S(will need to do some tinkering to turn off as much ads as possible in MIUI)

Realme 3(not so good OS functionality/UI but maybe it won't matter to your father,also both front & rear cameras are just average & inferior to above two).

whitestar_999 said:
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1(don't update to pie,at least not without researching comments on gsmarena/xda forums first) but front cam is just average(may be even a bit below average).

Redmi Note 7S(will need to do some tinkering to turn off as much ads as possible in MIUI)

Realme 3(not so good OS functionality/UI but maybe it won't matter to your father,also both front & rear cameras are just average & inferior to above two).

Thanks. I want to stay away from Realme. Meanwhile, i found Nokia 6.1 Plus available on 11,999 (1199 discount on HDFC Cards) & Xiaomi Mi A2 on 9999 + CC discount. Both are android one devices. Can you advice on these?

+1 to Max Pro M1. My father is using it. Enable camera2 API and install gcam from xda.

SaiyanGoku said:
+1 to Max Pro M1. My father is using it. Enable camera2 API and install gcam from xda.

Is it android one?

jackal_79 said:
Is it android one?

No but UI is stock android. And for his usage, Oreo is more than enough. I don't know if Pie update is stable or bug free. He was using Honor Holly 2+ earlier.

W

Read quite a lot of comments on flipkart for max pro m1 & it seems pie update is a definite no for majority of users.Also it seems like for many people asus updates solve one issue while creating another issue.

@SaiyanGoku how frequently the phone is updated(asus firmware updates) as somebody commented that earlier jio native video calling was working but after some update it was gone(aka need to use 3rd party app like google duo).

I am now leaning towards Note 7S with some initial tinkering to reduce Mi ads as much as possible(read that some tools are available on xda capable of it without needing root) & use gcam.It also gives the flexibility of using some stable custom rom in future.

W

jackal_79 said:
Thanks. I want to stay away from Realme. Meanwhile, i found Nokia 6.1 Plus available on 11,999 (1199 discount on HDFC Cards) & Xiaomi Mi A2 on 9999 + CC discount. Both are android one devices. Can you advice on these?

A big no to Mi A2 unless camera is the most important usage(even more important than battery/other aspects). nokia 6.1 plus is good but still feel a bit overpriced even at this price for the hardware it offers.

whitestar_999 said:
@SaiyanGoku how frequently the phone is updated(asus firmware updates) as somebody commented that earlier jio native video calling was working but after some update it was gone(aka need to use 3rd party app like google duo)

Don't know about the updates since it is with my father at my hometown. Last time I checked, jio video calling was working fine (July 11).

W

^^So what is your take on Note 7S now assuming asus updates may be problematic.I think MIUI with majority of ads turned off should be usable enough for an average person & typical tasks on phone.

whitestar_999 said:
^^So what is your take on Note 7S now assuming asus updates may be problematic.I think MIUI with majority of ads turned off should be usable enough for an average person & typical tasks on phone.

Instead of 7s, I'd go with 7 Pro, root it and then nuke whatever MIUI adware is present (if replacing MIUI with custom rom is problematic).

whitestar_999 said:
A big no to Mi A2 unless camera is the most important usage(even more important than battery/other aspects). nokia 6.1 plus is good but still feel a bit overpriced even at this price for the hardware it offers.

Camera is not that important. What exactly is wrong with mi a2? Note 7s is more than 6 inch. So what else is there?

jackal_79 said:
What exactly is wrong with mi a2?

No 3.5mm jack, small battery and not worth the current price.

W

jackal_79 said:
Camera is not that important. What exactly is wrong with mi a2? Note 7s is more than 6 inch. So what else is there?

I think you are overlooking the screen size to body ratio in newer phones compared to older ones.e.g. As per gsmarena Zenfone 2 laser 5.5" model screen has 6" height while Note 7s has 6.27" height,that's just a difference of 6.9mm.Check the physical dimensions,not the screen size(unless you mean you are ok with 5.5" screen on a phone with height 6.1").

whitestar_999 said:
I think you are overlooking the screen size to body ratio in newer phones compared to older ones.e.g. As per gsmarena Zenfone 2 laser 5.5" model screen has 6" height while Note 7s has 6.27" height,that's just a difference of 6.9mm.Check the physical dimensions,not the screen size(unless you mean you are ok with 5.5" screen on a phone with height 6.1").

OK. But i was talking about overall size of the phone. My father is currently using a motorola 3 yr old model which fits in his hand (i don't remember the exact model). So i think it would better suit him if its a 5.8 inch screen. are there any redmi models like that? i hadn't checked redmi as people told me that redmi phones start having problems after a year or so.

W

6" inch screen is the minimum nowadays.You can lower your budget & go for a lower end model as these still usually have less than 6" height.

whitestar_999 said:
6" inch screen is the minimum nowadays.You can lower your budget & go for a lower end model as these still usually have less than 6" height.

Well, only Nokia 6.1 plus fits in this scenario. How about Redmi 6 Pro?

W

Note 5 also seems good.

Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro Review

Something worth noting is that the Redmi 6 Pro does not support dual 4G VoLTE, which means that only one SIM can connect to a 4G network at a time.

@SaiyanGoku which one you would recommend(note 6 pro 4gb or note 5 4gb) as based on ndtv gadgets reviews,note 5 4gb seems better but flipkart overall ratings suggest otherwise(I skipped youtube reviews as these models are a bit older so thought by now a general consensus would be known to people having friends/relatives using such phones).

whitestar_999 said:
Note 5 also seems good.

Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro Review

@SaiyanGoku which one you would recommend(note 6 pro 4gb or note 5 4gb) as based on ndtv gadgets reviews,note 5 4gb seems better but flipkart overall ratings suggest otherwise(I skipped youtube reviews as these models are a bit older so thought by now a general consensus would be known to people having friends/relatives using such phones).

Neither. They are too old to be considered. Long term software support may suffer and they would have older battery since they were produced earlier.

W

Then I guess only option from Redmi worth considering with less than 6" height is Redmi 7A but cameras are average.

Since 7S is going on sale with 1k discount + another 10% SBI CC discount in FK, it's better to opt for this. Regarding MIUI Ads, just root it and flash custom ROM.

W

^^Issue here is phone height should not be more than 6"(lesser the better).

He was using a moto G5 earlier. Not much important to stay updated. Main requirement is to have a good phone that he can use for another 2 to 3 years. I guess nokia 6.1 plus looks very promising now.