[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by civic-sense

At 70-75K they give their best proc, a stellar display, a superb camera (that gives more usable photos per hundred than any camera out there), a fast, fluid and bloat free software and 5 years of guaranteed OS updates on the very same day the new OS versions are launched. Tell me any android flagship that come even close.

Yes, the pro max is expensive at 1.25L. But what does the Galaxy ultra cost?

My Xperia 1 ii will toy with both the 12 and the Ultra, plus it has Zeiss Optics, 4K screen, dynamic vibration system for games/music/movies and most important, a notch or bindi free viewing experience. Cost 90k but worth every cent.

Yes it isnt available here but just saying that an Android flagship not only comes close but destroys Apple and other Androids combined.

[nibedk]

Originally Posted by civic-sense

I know it is an age old debate, yet I think I should chime in with my objection. Take the iPhone 12, for example. At 70-75K they give their best proc, a stellar display, a superb camera (that gives more usable photos per hundred than any camera out there), a fast, fluid and bloat free software and 5 years of guaranteed OS updates on the very same day the new OS versions are launched. Tell me any android flagship that come even close.

Yes, the pro max is expensive at 1.25L. But what does the Galaxy ultra cost?

I worked with Apple products for 3 years and there wasn't one single product other than ipod and watch that I have liked. Even the watch is too costly for what it provides. With the advent of music in digital format and being available online easily even ipod is out of my shopping list.

I would rather have a proper camera in my hand. One can get a Sony mirrorless full frame camera for the money an Apple charges for the pro. With proper care the camera can last over a decade and one can buy at least two good lenses from the money saved by not buying apple products for a decade.

Given a choice the first thing I would ditch is the smart phone. Just because of the era we are in where being digitally connected is very important we have no choice

Samsung provides equally premium experience and Google Pixels provide camera and software experience on par with Apple if not better.

Does Apple make good products? They make some of the best products and I agree to it having worked with them closely. But inspite of that the price doesn't justify what they offer. On top of that business ethics are questionable. No point providing 5 years upgrade when they do everything possible to make the customer buy the next product available.

For the same money one can have 3 different phones over a period of 6-8 years and given a choice I would have the option of owning different phones every 2-3 years than being stuck with a phone for 5+ years.

I exchanged each of my Android phone after 3+ years and in perfectly working condition. Since I use stock android phones didn't notice much performance issue till I got rid of them. They were @ 80-90% of the original performance which I am ok with.

[sairamboko]

Originally Posted by nibedk

I worked with Apple products for 3 years and there wasn't one single product other than ipod and watch that I have liked...

I would say whatever suits one, go with it. I had the opposite experience of you. Android phones didnt work for me properly. Heating or poor battery backup issues. Later I jumped to iphone 11 and now with the iphone 12. Apple's ecosystem works well for me with iphone , homepod mini, airpods and watch. Its been smooth sailing for me so far. However I do have a spare android phone which is redmi note 10 pro max. Even though it has 120hz refresh rate , the OS is not smooth. However the display and the screen is high quality. I use it for media consumption mainly. I understand this is not a fair comparison, but this is what keeps me away from android - lags & stutter. The last best android I used was the Samsung Note 9. Sadly had to replace it after i broke the display twice!! With the slew of new launches in android, I feel its going to be difficult to chose a better android phone. I guess more choices leading to confusions. I will continue to use my iphone as primary (as the cost to exit the ecosystem is also expensive ), and the android for media consumption for now.

Edit - I also feel if once afford both iphone and android, then its good to buy both and enjoy the best of both the worlds

[SgtRepeat]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

My Xperia 1 ii will toy with both the 12 and the Ultra, plus it has Zeiss Optics, 4K screen, dynamic vibration system for games/music/movies and most important, a notch or bindi free viewing experience. Cost 90k but worth every cent.

Yes it isnt available here but just saying that an Android flagship not only comes close but destroys Apple and other Androids combined.

Sony can't be taken seriously in the smartphone world anymore. According to Sony Netherlands, the Xperia 1 III is getting one major Android update and two years of monthly security updates.

This is terrible, especially for an expensive phone that you would want to keep for three or more years.

The Xperia 1 II's 4K resolution is a battery guzzler & its feeble 4000 mAh battery doesn't help. Both the S21 Ultra & the iPhone 12 have much better battery life. Several people prefer a punch hole camera rather than have a black bar occupying considerable screen estate.

The only thing the Xperia 1 II has going for it is the 3.5 mm headphone jack.

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by SgtRepeat

Sony can't be taken seriously in the smartphone world anymore. According to Sony Netherlands, the Xperia 1 III is getting one major Android update and two years of monthly security updates.

My XZ is still functioning flawlessly as the beater phone of the house, with 1.5 days battery backup and after 5 years, the 1 ii gives me close to 2 days without a charge though I do charge it by the end of the day.

To me updates are a gimmick, 99.99% of the functions of Android are consistent since the KitKat days, that's all I'll ever need.

I'll still vehemently hold on to my opinion that notches and punch-holes are an absolute crime against media consumption, people have an extreme bias against Sony and incredible bias for Samsung though in quality, both are polar opposites, Samsung being vastly inferior i.e., the Samsung feels like a plastic hollow case while Sonys feel like a granite slab, only owners will know this, the rest will read tech specs and buy the lesser brands.

[SgtRepeat]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

I'll still vehemently hold on to my opinion that notches and punch-holes are an absolute crime against media consumption

If you're watching any content that is in the 16:9 HD aspect ratio (which is the international standard format of digital television), the notch or punch hole completely disappears within the black bars at the left & right sides of the content.

If your Xperia is giving you close to two days of usage without a charge, you will get around 3 days with the same amount of usage with the S21 Ultra.

As for the 4K vs 2K issue, the S21 Ultra handles it better here as the Xperia 1 II caps Netflix at 1080p & Amazon Prime at 720p, which completely renders its 4K feature useless.

The S21 Ultra, meanwhile also has a 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate, and this is something that you can never go back from after having used it. It's buttery smooth and a phone with a 60 Hz refresh rate just feels ancient in comparison. 60 Hz is fine as long as you have never experienced 120 Hz.

There are lots of people who would have loved to buy a Sony phone in 2021, but can't because Sony has exited the Indian market & doesn't have any authorised mobile phone service centres in India. Maintenance & spare parts are a big part of owning a phone, especially with a lot of us having the tendency to drop our phones every now & then.

Originally Posted by dark.knight

Samsung feels like a plastic hollow case while Sonys feel like a granite slab, only owners will know this

As for this, I would respectfully disagree. Please hold a S21 Ultra, which weighs 229 gm and is a solid hunk of gorgeous Gorilla Glass Victus on the front and back. I daresay it's built better than the Xperia 1 II.

Also, not many know about the DeX feature that Samsung flagships have that allows you to extend your device into a desktop-like experience on your TV or computer. It's an extraordinary feature that no other smartphone provides.

[IamNikhil]

Despite having a stellar line-up of phones, Samsung has unfortunately not been able to solve a lot of niggles. Screen-freeze, lagging, hanging issues are common from the 15-20k ones to the ultra premium offerings as well! OnePlus on the other hand is relatively seamless, however even they seem to have lost the plot these days as far as pricing is concerned. They captured the market by force with the 5T and 6, since then they have moved away from their price bracket to try and enter the premium category. Personally know many people who held back from buying a OnePlus just because it has broken the 50k barrier.

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by IamNikhil

Despite having a stellar line-up of phones, Samsung has unfortunately not been able to solve a lot of niggles. Screen-freeze, lagging, hanging issues are common from the 15-20k ones to the ultra premium offerings as well! OnePlus on the other hand is relatively seamless, however even they seem to have lost the plot these days as far as pricing is concerned. They captured the market by force with the 5T and 6

Completely agree, Samsung (even the S21 Ultra owned by my friend) is the king of freezing, sluggishness and overall poverty spec experience, even at the flagship level, poor build quality as well.

Even though I will never buy Chinese brands, I can't knock OnePlus for build quality and smoothness, leagues ahead of Samsung, the OP9 with Hasselblad looks like a phone deserving of a 6 figure price, not to mention that it has a proper Snapdragon chipset and not the slug Exynos. I'll recommend this as the flagship to buy out of everything the Indian market has to offer today.

[livelyyoungman]

Fellow BHPians have a quick question - How is Pocco X3 Pro? Planning to get this for normal use - Call, Text, Social, Browsing, good battery life. Any other suggestion is also most welcome

[avi550m]

I'm looking to replace my Samsung M30s with something lighter and with a better camera and smoother UI. My upper limit is 30k. So far, I removed the Mi 11X, IQOO 7 etc. as they are just too heavy and large (close to 200g).

The Google Pixel 4a is sometimes on sale on flipkart for 27k, and I really like its true-to-life photos. Worries are the smaller battery and lack of service centers, and if I can get used to a smaller 5.8 inch screen after using a 6.4 inch one. If it was 6 inches it would be perfect.

The Realme X7 Max is 179 grams and slim and powerful, but I really can't stand Realme's heavy handed camera processing, which saturates everything. Otherwise at 27k it suits most of my needs, and Realme UI apparently is very fast and snappy.

The Oppo Reno 6 5G has launched for 30k, with a 2k CC discount. It looks great, is slim, but I can't find any reviews of it, the only reviews are for the Pro version.

I will wait for the Nord 2, but the prices seem to start at 32k, and after OnePlus botch with the Nord CE (tons of bugs reported by users), I'm a bit apprehensive about picking it up. Still, if its like the X7 Max but with Oxygen OS and a good camera setup, I don't mind stretching that 1-2k more.

What do you guys recommend and have you owned any of the phones listed.

[sayyam.gaur58]

Hi, I've been using OnePlus 7 for two years which is now crippled with a buggy update of Android 11. Recently, while playing games, the phone is lagging a lot and producing strange sounds which shows overheating as the the CPU is throttling. I'm looking to change it with a phone under 25k. Is Galaxy A52 a good alternative, I know it's a downgrade but atleast I'll be getting a reliable phone. My heart goes out to pixel 4a but the battery capacity is putting me off. It will go on sale for around 27k. It's like choosing between heart (rapid - pixel 4a) and mind (honda city- a52)

[whencut86]

Originally Posted by avi550m

The Google Pixel 4a is sometimes on sale on flipkart for 27k, and I really like its true-to-life photos. Worries are the smaller battery and lack of service centers, and if I can get used to a smaller 5.8 inch screen after using a 6.4 inch one. If it was 6 inches it would be perfect.

The Pixel 4A is almost at par with the Nord when it comes to battery life. The optimizations in native Android OS without any bloatware makes it last a day easily. So battery wise it should not be an issue if you are okay with charging every night.

https://www.androidauthority.com/goo...el-4a-1047299/

From a servicing point of view, you have to call/email their support. They will arrange for a pickup from home and charge you 500 initially. They will send an estimate and if you are okay with it they will repair and send the phone to your home. The 500 gets adjusted with the repair costs. If you are not okay with the repair estimate, they send the phone back to you but you don't get back the 500 paid for inspection. Fairly seamless and this happens within a week.

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

.

I'll still vehemently hold on to my opinion that notches and punch-holes are an absolute crime against media consumption, people have an extreme bias against Sony and incredible bias for Samsung though in quality, both are polar opposites, Samsung being vastly inferior i.e., the Samsung feels like a plastic hollow case while Sonys feel like a granite slab, only owners will know this, the rest will read tech specs and buy the lesser brands.

I would respectfully disagree about Sony vs Samsung quality. The last Sony I owned, the Xperia Z1 (it was a proper flagship at that time, the phone that launched their design language for premium phones) hardly worked for just 2 years or so. Its back glass or maybe the battery bulged and then randomly it would switch off. I almost missed my current job interview because of that phone.

My current Samsung S9 is still going strong even after 3 years. Yes there are some lagginess sometimes but it's manageable. Its dependable. Its also solidly built, there's no issue at all with build quality. Other people in my circle who own Samsungs are also satisfied with their phones.

[IamNikhil]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

Completely agree, Samsung (even the S21 Ultra owned by my friend) is the king of freezing, sluggishness and overall poverty spec experience, even at the flagship level, poor build quality as well.

Even though I will never buy Chinese brands, I can't knock OnePlus for build quality and smoothness, leagues ahead of Samsung, the OP9 with Hasselblad looks like a phone deserving of a 6 figure price, not to mention that it has a proper Snapdragon chipset and not the slug Exynos. I'll recommend this as the flagship to buy out of everything the Indian market has to offer today.

Spot-on! Samsung and their fixation with Exynos is really quite appalling. I have been using the OnePlus 5T since 2018 and trust me, it's been seamless...the UI is niggle-free and works like a charm. Just recently the battery has started showing some age, but that's expected anyway. Have been wanting to upgrade, but the price of the flagship devices is a little hard to shell out. I'd rather get the battery of the existing phone replaced, so it'll be as good as new. After doing some cursory research, point to note is that despite being a Chinese brand, OnePlus commands a decent resale value, as compared to competition.

[Caffeinated]

Originally Posted by avi550m

I'm looking to replace my Samsung M30s with something lighter and with a better camera and smoother UI. My upper limit is 30k. So far, I removed the Mi 11X, IQOO 7 etc. as they are just too heavy and large (close to 200g).

The Google Pixel 4a is sometimes on sale on flipkart for 27k, and I really like its true-to-life photos. Worries are the smaller battery and lack of service centers, and if I can get used to a smaller 5.8 inch screen after using a 6.4 inch one. If it was 6 inches it would be perfect.

What do you guys recommend and have you owned any of the phones listed.

Pixel 5a is in the works and might come to India around September. Its rumoured to have 6.2" display, better processor, better camera than 4a and small bump in price. It can be worth the wait.