Suggestion: Need 5G SmartPhone

My existing Phone Redmi Note 3 32GB 3GB RAM bought on July 2016. Rs.11999/-
(Now Hectic to Use for Regular Usage, Poor Signals, Apps not updating...Some apps are not compatible to install.)

Need to buy for Diwali offer or the New year offer. I don't have any Credit Card...Only DC.

1. Budget?
12k to 15k... If good features and futuristic will Extend

2. Display type and size?
No Ideas... Anything will be future proof

3. Dual sim?
Yes, if possible, an additional memory card slot is required.

4. Preferred choice of brand?
Existing phone is Redmi...sentimentally fixed in Redmi or Same like good User Interfaces

5. What camera option you want (flash, front facing camera)?
No Idea...Anything Normal Usage and Good Pic Quality

6. Preferred operating system? (Android, iOS, Stock Android etc).
Android or Anything Good UI or Without Bloatware Good

7. Preferred connectivity options (Dual 4G, 5G, 802.11AC/5Ghz, wifi).
Dual Sim 5G, Good WiFi, Bluetooth lattest version

8. Primary use of handset (multimedia, camera, internet, gaming, etc)?
Heavy Browsing, Live News Channels,Youtube Videos, Multitasking , and maybe some light gaming.

9. Any specific mobile phones in consideration?
Redmi..other no ideas

10. Any other info that you want to share
Good battery... Good after-sales services... Need Future Proof for 5 years

Which one will consider 8GB+256GB or 8GB+128GB?

@thetechfreak
@omega44-xt
@TigerKing
@TheSloth
@SaiyanGoku
@RumbaMon19
@Desmond
@Nerevarine
@Zangetsu
@quicky008

Hi shreeux!

Sorry I have not used Redmi interface so can't really recommend on that but check this thread,

*geek.digit.in/community/threads/sm...h-call-recording-without-announcement.212591/

most of the recommendation will be same I think.

About storage, it depends on you, i am fine 128GB but i heard people asking 1TB nowadays. So you need to decide on this.

CMF Phone 1 will be my top choice, can also consider Moto G85. Don't have high expectation from after sales.

All major phone brands have UI better than Xiaomi at this point. Xiaomi's power tuning at software level is not as good as others as well IMO.

At this price, 6 + 128GB for stock android phone is fine. 256GB is a must beyond 30k IMO.

Poco X6 was selling under 15k during Dushera sales ofcourse after card offers.

If you can't use any card offers, then these should come in your budget
Samsung M15
Poco X6 Neo
Realme P1

Since you're ready to extend your budget, you can consider these
Samsung M35
CMF 1
Moto G85

nac said:
Poco X6 was selling under 15k during Dushera sales ofcourse after card offers.

If you can't use any card offers, then these should come in your budget
Samsung M15
Poco X6 Neo
Realme P1

Since you're ready to extend your budget, you can consider these
Samsung M35
CMF 1
Moto G85

Flipkart show...POCO X6 Neo 5G (Horizon Blue, 256 GB) (12 GB RAM) ₹15,999 only...Out of Stock :-(

shreeux said:
Flipkart show...POCO X6 Neo 5G (Horizon Blue, 256 GB) (12 GB RAM) ₹15,999 only...Out of Stock

FK Dushera offers has ended, right? See if you can grab it in Diwali offer. BTW, under 15k was 8GB variant.

nac said:
FK Dushera offers has ended, right? See if you can grab it in Diwali offer. BTW, under 15k was 8GB variant.

I mean,
8GB ₹12,999 only
12GB ₹15,999 only
for 3k extra 4GB

Any difference usage in 12GB?

shreeux said:
I mean,
8GB ₹12,999 only
12GB ₹15,999 only
for 3k extra 4GB

Any difference usage in 12GB?

I don't think there would be any noticeable difference wrt performance with 12gb, after all the chip is not super powerful to make use of the extra 4gigs, if anything useful for the premium you pay, it's just get extra 128gigs of storage.
I wouldn't give too much weightage on UI, as we will eventually get used to in a week or so.

Didn't you flashed a10 custom ROM for note 3?

TigerKing said:
Didn't you flashed a10 custom ROM for note 3?

No Idea how to do it...

TigerKing said:
Didn't you flashed a10 custom ROM for note 3?

Just checked...Looklike complicated...if goes wrong

shreeux said:
Just checked...Looklike complicated...if goes wrong

Initially we feel that way, join your model's telegram group. I am sure there would be ton load of discussion and people will guide you on how to flash custom ROM safely. After going through, if you feel comfortable doing it, you can go ahead and do it. Else ditch it.

I am using Redmi 4, 2+16GB variant. It was too laggy even for basic use. I flashed mine about 2yrs ago. I tried different ROMs initially before settling.

Of course you need good amount of time to understand/discuss about how to flash and backing up data, importing them back (you may not able to back up everything like some app data). Since I use this phone mainly for calls and texts, I don't bother about any other apps, the only thing I needed to backup every time was contacts.

nac said:
Initially we feel that way, join your model's telegram group. I am sure there would be ton load of discussion and people will guide you on how to flash custom ROM safely. After going through, if you feel comfortable doing it, you can go ahead and do it. Else ditch it.

I am using Redmi 4, 2+16GB variant. It was too laggy even for basic use. I flashed mine about 2yrs ago. I tried different ROMs initially before settling.

Of course you need good amount of time to understand/discuss about how to flash and backing up data, importing them back (you may not able to back up everything like some app data). Since I use this phone mainly for calls and texts, I don't bother about any other apps, the only thing I needed to backup every time was contacts.

ok...Bank and UPI apps will work safely....Any threat?

shreeux said:
ok...Bank and UPI apps will work safely....Any threat?

I don't use for those things. But when I was checking custom ROMs back then some said they couldn't install banking apps for some reason, some said there is a fix and some said there are some ROMs didn't have those issues. So it's kinda mixed. You have to check for your device. I use the smartphone more like a feature phone, just for calls and texts.

After Samsung A16, I see Moto G75 is offering 5 yrs of OS update. Don't know if it will make it to India, if it does may be it would be priced around G85 :unsure:

Samsung is known to give long OS support, and Moto is on the other extreme. Now both of them are offering long support, can we expect others would follow suit?

nac said:
After Samsung A16, I see Moto G75 is offering 5 yrs of OS update. Don't know if it will make it to India, if it does may be it would be priced around G85

Samsung is known to give long OS support, and Moto is on the other extreme. Now both of them are offering long support, can we expect others would follow suit?

Will be good if others do. Not much innovation in smartphones + prices are increasing. I bought my S20FE 5G for 35k in 2021 (was 25k in 2022), there are still no smartphones under 35k that can outmatch it in all aspects, usually come short in camera quality & UI (subjective but for me, One UI is the best UI for now but Nothing seems promising). Samsung phones like S23FE have bad SoC.

If core speed is your consideration, Poco F4 should do good at about 18000 (- bank discount upto 1750 or so). You'll also feel at home with Redmi like interface, but no memory card, your 256GB internal is all you have.
If Redmi makes you comfortable, you can consider Poco M6 Plus or M6 Pro, it has microSD slot.

My overall suggestion would be Realme 13, good performance, microSD slot, all conditions ok. But I'm not aware on the bloatware situation.

If budget can be increased for a futuristic long term phone to around 23k, then you get Nord CE4, it has microSD and Snadragon 7 Gen 3, and enough software updates in pipeline. I have suggested this to 2 people, both purchased and are happy.

Realme P1 5G also ticks all your boxes, and its a phone with good performance with a Dimensity 7050.

DO NOT PURCHASE M55s or F55, they're rare, but defective phones by Samsung. Rest are ok.

NOTE: I came to note that this thread isn't being updated by thread starter. Please update if you got a phone.

Samarth 619 said:
NOTE: I came to note that this thread isn't being updated by thread starter. Please update if you got a phone.

Nope...

shreeux said:
Nope...

What are you waiting for? Just curious

Probably he decided to get it later. All the offers are gone. Next decent offer time would be around Republic day offers. Don't know if anything good would be available around Christmas or New year.

CMF 1 is available @ 15k, he can still pick that up. Offers ain't as good as Dushera, but still a decent one. The best one can get in this budget now.

omega44-xt said:
What are you waiting for? Just curious

As usual...Postponed :smile:

nac said:
Probably he decided to get it later. All the offers are gone. Next decent offer time would be around Republic day offers. Don't know if anything good would be available around Christmas or New year.

CMF 1 is available @ 15k, he can still pick that up. Offers ain't as good as Dushera, but still a decent one. The best one can get in this budget now.

Most credit card offers are good.
Lets await any new release or price drop

shreeux said:
As usual...Postponed

Most credit card offers are good.
Lets await any new release or price drop

Mid range new releases will be in Feb-Apr with android 15 pre-installed

omega44-xt said:
Mid range new releases will be in Feb-Apr with android 15 pre-installed

If it's Poco or Redmi budget models, they may still come with Android 14

shreeux said:
Lets await any new release or price drop

Next gen Redmi Note series will drop around Pongal time, can hope for Poco clones too around the same time. Even after new launches, I don't think we can expect any better deals (for the existing models) than the ones we saw last month.

omega44-xt said:
Mid range new releases will be in Feb-Apr with android 15 pre-installed

Now even YouTube has kicked out... To change my phone :smile:

Any new release expected?
or
Still CMF Phone 1 is no.1 priority to buy or any alternative?

shreeux said:
Now even YouTube has kicked out... To change my phone

Any new release expected?
or
Still CMF Phone 1 is no.1 priority to buy or any alternative?

CMF phone 1 still good under 15k

omega44-xt said:
CMF phone 1 still good under 15k

Like 8GB...For future proof
why only sale in Flipkart? I am not trusty make nervous...read so many fake delivery

shreeux said:
Like 8GB...For future proof
why only sale in Flipkart? I am not trusty make nervous...read so many fake delivery

Exclusivity deals

omega44-xt said:
Exclusivity deals

CMF by Nothing Phone 1 (Blue, 128 GB) (8 GB RAM)
Flipkart shows... - 16,999/-
Amazon shows - 16,095/-...Review section...not warranty covered for Amazon

shreeux said:
CMF by Nothing Phone 1 (Blue, 128 GB) (8 GB RAM)
Flipkart shows... - 16,999/-
Amazon shows - 16,095/-...Review section...not warranty covered for Amazon

Yes, FK is the only official seller of Nothing phones, FK has exclusivity signed. Same for Moto. Amazon has exclusivity for Oneplus.

CMF has 2k discount for all cards, 14.4k including charger for 8+128GB variant. I guess it's as best as Dushera/Diwali offer price.
Nothing 2a got a price cut to 18k with card offers.
Recently launched Vivo T4X and Realme P3 looks impressive for the price. To a point I am tempting to buy :hyper:

nac said:
CMF has 2k discount for all cards, 14.4k including charger for 8+128GB variant. I guess it's as best as Dushera/Diwali offer price.
Nothing 2a got a price cut to 18k with card offers.
Recently launched Vivo T4X and Realme P3 looks impressive for the price. To a point I am tempting to buy

Vivo T4X honestly looks good for a vivo phone, surely its UI is inferior to Nothing, Moto or Realme, but still seems very practically for many (definitely better than Xiaomi at this point but do expect ads & bloat).

omega44-xt said:
Vivo T4X honestly looks good for a vivo phone, surely its UI is inferior to Nothing, Moto or Realme, but still seems very practically for many (definitely better than Xiaomi at this point but do expect ads & bloat).

I am in an assumption that UI experience of all Chinese phones in this budget would be pretty much the same. Didn't know Realme would be better in that regard.

nac said:
I am in an assumption that UI experience of all Chinese phones in this budget would be pretty much the same. Didn't know Realme would be better in that regard.

Among UI, I'd rate it as Samsung (only for flagships, budget phones are weak) > Nothing > Pixel > Moto > oppo/OP/Realme > vivo/iQoo > Xiaomi > everything else

omega44-xt said:
Among UI, I'd rate it as Samsung (only for flagships, budget phones are weak) > Nothing > Pixel > Moto > oppo/OP/Realme > vivo/iQoo > Xiaomi > everything else

Bloatwares and Ads are there in all phones in this budget be it Moto or Samsung or Chinese phones. Most are uninstallable and ads can be turned off or so they say. Only the number of apps differs. Exception is CMF as it comes with ZERO bloatwares.

View attachment Android no of bloatwares - Mobile brands.png

Even 10k Moto with its light skin is snappy, can't say the same with One UI. Their budget phones like M06/M16 are laggy. Pixel and OP are not in this budget, so we can leave them out. With Poco there are apps can't be removed like Getapps, Mi Coin. I am assuming there will be similar/some apps in other Chinese brands as well.

I am not able to find spare parts cost for CMF phone. In online discussion one claims it costed him over 5k for screen replacement and another says it costed him under 4k for the same. So it's pretty unclear. Looks like it's a multi brand service centre and the quotes are different in different service centre/cities.

Moto and Realme spares are ridiculously expensive. The cost of board of Moto phones costs more than the phone itself. The is one hell of a red flag to be aware of.

nac said:
I am not able to find spare parts cost for CMF phone. In online discussion one claims it costed him over 5k for screen replacement and another says it costed him under 4k for the same. So it's pretty unclear. Looks like it's a multi brand service centre and the quotes are different in different service centre/cities.

Moto and Realme spares are ridiculously expensive. The cost of board of Moto phones costs more than the phone itself. The is one hell of a red flag to be aware of.

Finally...Which one we go for Best value for money ?

I am a very light user and looking at sub 15k phones. Generally I am price sensitive, tend to go for cheaper option and prefer not to hit the roof of my budget. I don't know this time how it's gonna go. I am not in hurry to get one as I have two working phones (one severely damaged screen - Redmi 4 and a Nokia C1-01 feature phone).

Everyone has their own set of priorities and they will gauge what's "best" in their own way. My best may not be your's. So you take the information and decide which one will be best for you.

This is how my list is right now. My top 2 candidates.

All are base variants.
CMF is interesting esp at current price of 13.5k incl. charger, but after sales and repair cost are not clear.
M35 is the next best option @ 15k incl. charger

Vivo T4X is good @ 14k but,
- No glass protection
- No memory card slot, I think this is cheapest phone that doesn't support memory card. Last time when I bought I wanted a dedicated memory card slot, this doesn't even have a hybrid slot.

- No secondary noise cancellation mic. Even some sub 10k phones have that. I don't know how much this would be an issue.

P3 is extremely appealing, other than repair cost it's the best @ 15k. Raw performance wise, design, camera, display, battery, price on all front this scores good in its price segment.

At current offers, Nothing 2a with EMI offers can get it for about 16k which is one helluva price for a 20k phone
Vivo T3 at it's cheapest price @ 15.5k incl. offers.

At this pricing my hands are itching to get one right now.

nac said:
I am not able to find spare parts cost for CMF phone. In online discussion one claims it costed him over 5k for screen replacement and another says it costed him under 4k for the same. So it's pretty unclear. Looks like it's a multi brand service centre and the quotes are different in different service centre/cities.

Moto and Realme spares are ridiculously expensive. The cost of board of Moto phones costs more than the phone itself. The is one hell of a red flag to be aware of.

i went to motorola service centre to get power button of G5S+. the girl of reception asked the tech guy sitting behind and then in low volume told him how will i tell this when all he requires is a button. she then told me in a guilty tone that it comes with the entire back panel and will cost around 5500.

nac said:
Bloatwares and Ads are there in all phones in this budget be it Moto or Samsung or Chinese phones. Most are uninstallable and ads can be turned off or so they say. Only the number of apps differs. Exception is CMF as it comes with ZERO bloatwares.

View attachment 23165

Even 10k Moto with its light skin is snappy, can't say the same with One UI. Their budget phones like M06/M16 are laggy. Pixel and OP are not in this budget, so we can leave them out. With Poco there are apps can't be removed like Getapps, Mi Coin. I am assuming there will be similar/some apps in other Chinese brands as well.

Agreed. Samsung's One UI is good only for S series phones (or Fold)

nac said:
I am not able to find spare parts cost for CMF phone.

View attachment noth.jpg
Nothing's spare parts price list

nac said:
View attachment 23167
Nothing's spare parts price list

Its expensive or average price...compare to others?

shreeux said:
Its expensive or average price...compare to others?

It's good

Just that it would be good and authentic if they have published this in their website instead of someone who posted a photograph of a printed sheet somewhere online.

What about the Infinix 50x 5G release on April 3rd

shreeux said:
What about the Infinix 50x 5G release on April 3rd

This brand is not in my radar. Few years ago I didn't considered BBK electronics phone, today I do. I don't know if I will ever consider Transsion phones, at least not until I start to hear good about their phones.

shreeux said:
What about the Infinix 50x 5G release on April 3rd

Ignore, pay bit extra for CMF phone 1 or buy Moto G64

omega44-xt said:
Ignore, pay bit extra for CMF phone 1 or buy Moto G64

Nowadays, 3 to 5 years of updates are most of the phones...CMF phone 1 still one update left

shreeux said:
Nowadays, 3 to 5 years of updates are most of the phones...CMF phone 1 still one update left

If you mean OS update, except Samsung no one is giving more than 2yrs in this budget. Moto is worst, it gives only 1 OS update. G85 got 2 OS update, but that's above 15k, there was a sub 10k model from Moto with only security update and no OS update.

Looks like CMF Phone 2 could be just around the corner.

nac said:
If you mean OS update, except Samsung no one is giving more than 2yrs in this budget. Moto is worst, it gives only 1 OS update. G85 got 2 OS update, but that's above 15k, there was a sub 10k model from Moto with one security update and no OS update.

Looks like CMF Phone 2 could be just around the corner.

Lets...wait more mobiles release next month

shreeux said:
Lets...wait more mobiles release next month

In this budget, not many. May be 2 - 3 devices.

I have a list of shortlisted devices, some of 'em will see it's successor in the coming months like CMF 2, M36, Moto G66?, Narzo 80?.

CMF 2, it would be more of iterative upgrade and likely to be priced higher as it's already been 3yrs since their first phone launch, I don't think they will keep their profit margin to zero - negative. Hoping atleast it will come under 15k during offer time.
M36, again more of an iterative upgrade I guess and would they keep the same pricing? :Fingerx:

Narzo 80, P1 and Narzo 70 were identical last time, can we expect the same this time too?
Z9X/T3X already got an upgrade.

Tail end of the shortlist
Moto G46/G66?, not much hope here, the least I wish them to offer longer OS support
M06/16, I may tend to go for cheaper option. I like these for their long term support, so the reason still in the list.
Poco's clone of Redmi 14, but's that's in 3rd quarter. They have for 3 iteration keeping the same SD4 in this line, will they see any big bump this year? :Fingerx:

nac said:
CMF 2, it would be more of iterative upgrade and likely to be priced higher as it's already been 3yrs since their first phone launch, I don't think they will keep their profit margin to zero - negative. Hoping atleast it will come under 15k during offer time.

But CMF still sit in 5000mah battery...Most of the models reached 6000mah...Upcoming Iqoo Z10 7300mah battery

shreeux said:
But CMF still sit in 5000mah battery...Most of the models reached 6000mah...Upcoming Iqoo Z10 7300mah battery

5 amps is good enough, I feel. Yeah, it's good that there are devices coming with higher capacity. Z10/T4 would be out of the budget.

shreeux said:
But CMF still sit in 5000mah battery...Most of the models reached 6000mah...Upcoming Iqoo Z10 7300mah battery

Yes, CMF Phone 2 will be 5000mah but the UI is well optimised. Vivo & iQoo have inferior OS to Oppo/OP/Realme.

Realme P3 is already in market & 6 Gen 4 should perform similar to Dimensity 7300 IMO, slightly worse than 7s Gen 3. Realme claims 750k in Antutu whereas NP 3a scores 830k. Can consider it IMO if you want a new phone.

Who would've thought to hear this from Poco!!!

View attachment pococ.png

Saw this article. What does this mean? There are many budget phones launched in the last year or so with 4GB with update promise of 2yrs or more. They won't get Android 16 full version? What would happen to Samsung's 4-6yr OS update policy? Sure there are good amount of buyers bought it thinking they would get 4 or 6 OS update from Samsung.

gsmarena.com/here_are_googles_new_minimum_ram_and_storage_requirements_for_android_phones-news-67387.php

nac said:
Saw this article. What does this mean? There are many budget phones launched in the last year or so with 4GB with update promise of 2yrs or more. They won't get Android 16 full version? What would happen to Samsung's 4-6yr OS update policy? Sure there are good amount of buyers bought it thinking they would get 4 or 6 OS update from Samsung.

gsmarena.com/here_are_googles_new_minimum_ram_and_storage_requirements_for_android_phones-news-67387.php

Realistically expect 8GB RAM to be the minimum requirement these days if you plan to use your phone for a few years. Samsung has cheap weak phones with 6 OS update promise, not sure how those will run smoothly after 2-3 updates considering their SoC is weak even for 2025.

omega44-xt said:
Realistically expect 8GB RAM to be the minimum requirement these days if you plan to use your phone for a few years. Samsung has cheap weak phones with 6 OS update promise, not sure how those will run smoothly after 2-3 updates considering their SoC is weak even for 2025.

At this rate, who knows what would be the minimum requirement of RAM/storage for M16 when it gets it's last update of Android 20.

Many highly doubts how the Samsung devices will handle all those updates as they are already weak even todays standard. Main reason for considering Samsung is their long OS support, if there is a good possibility that they could even screw that up then I don't see the point of paying more for weaker device.

Look like the link I posted is wrongly interpreted the source. Actually the source said "may become mandatory" from next Android version. So nothing concrete wrt to 4GB min requirement from A16.

Pixel 6A came with 6GB, and it's estimated supported is 5yrs i.e, till 2027, we're good for next 2yrs with 6GB :Fingerx:

From 7A to 9A all come with 8GB, and 9A has support for 7yrs. With 8GB we good for next 7yrs :Fingerx: