[mxh]

After a poor experience with expensive mobiles I'm thinking of investing between 8k to 15k on my next phone and change it more frequently. Pretty much all phones start having problems after 1.5 years nowadays so I'm thinking of replacing my phones more quickly rather than buying a super expensive phone and struggling later. What are the best phones I should be considering in this range, and do you think it's a good idea to buy a cheaper phone and change more frequently?

[mukul32]

Originally Posted by sairamboko

Thanks Arindam! I am now confused with OP3 and Samsung Note 4. The note 4 is 2 years old now but still having great specs. Flipkart is running a discount on note 4 and it's priced at ₹27k now. Totally confused between these. Also thinking to wait till Aug 15th as there might be some offers.

The Note 4 simply isn't worth it at the moment. It will be two generations old soon, has outdated hardware, and the fingerprint scanner on it is the inaccurate Swipe type. Also the pre-S6 Touchwiz is quite bloated and taxing on the hardware, and it won't get any updates after the current Marshmallow. Hence today it just doesn't make sense to pay that kind of money for it. Yes, if you needed that S-pen that badly it could've made a good choice (rather the ONLY choice) but not except for that.

The OnePlus 3 is better in all aspects. Better hardware, newer technology, more equipment, cleaner and newer software, and way more future proof than an old Samsung flagship can ever be.

Originally Posted by mxh

After a poor experience with expensive mobiles I'm thinking of investing between 8k to 15k on my next phone and change it more frequently. Pretty much all phones start having problems after 1.5 years nowadays so I'm thinking of replacing my phones more quickly rather than buying a super expensive phone and struggling later. What are the best phones I should be considering in this range, and do you think it's a good idea to buy a cheaper phone and change more frequently?

Yes, today it actually makes more sense to buy mid range phones and change quickly. The reason is that budget phones have become better than ever before, and technology is evolving faster than ever before.
Today a sub-15k phone will give you what you choose from a good quality 1080p screen, almost flagship level hardware, quality cameras, fancy looking metal builds, and what not. Further, the flagships themselves don't offer THAT much more over it. At least not anything that you can't live without.

Also, technology used in smartphones is evolving like crazy. Software is getting better and better, and phones get outdated within a couple of years. But that's at least something you can take care of through modifications. What you can't change is the hardware. And that keeps getting better too. We've had fast charging, biometrics, mobile payment services, better camera tech and what not coming up in the last couple of years. And this applies mostly, if not entirely, to budget phones as well.

Just take the average 2016 phone in the 10-15k price range, and it'd get you a 1080p panel, 64 bit chip, LTE, at least 16 gigs of storage if not more, and an 8mp+ main camera that at least shoots good looking photos in good light. That's what you'd get for certain, and many devices would offer much more. Compare that to the average 2012 solution and you'll see how far we've come. These would be flagship specs back then! In 2012, 15k would give you nothing but WVGA TFT displays, mediocre hardware, unusable storage, and crappy cameras. You had to pay through the nose to get a good smartphone experience. Today, you get a good smartphone experience at just about any price point, and you pay more only if you want it as good as it gets.

The only thing to take care of while getting a budget phone today however, is to choosing the right model. There's just so much fragmentation in that segment, one could go mad in confusion.
Buying a phone in that price point requires a good amount of searching and analysis today. The biggest mistake you could make its putting your money in a phone for a gimmick, or an individual feature only you find good. 'This phone looks so sleek', 'That phone has THIS big battery', 'This phone has THIS 'feature' ' , 'Somebody from my circles has this phone too' can no longer be reasons to put your money down. It could end up being a disaster.
Apart from that, yeah, affordable is king today.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by mukul32

The only thing to take care of while getting a budget phone today however, is to choosing the right model. There's just so much fragmentation in that segment, one could go mad in confusion.
Buying a phone in that price point requires a good amount of searching and analysis today. The biggest mistake you could make its putting your money in a phone for a gimmick, or an individual feature only you find good. 'This phone looks so sleek', 'That phone has THIS big battery', 'This phone has THIS 'feature' ' , 'Somebody from my circles has this phone too' can no longer be reasons to put your money down. It could end up being a disaster.
Apart from that, yeah, affordable is king today.

(PS: To mods, 30 min limit expired, please merge the two consecutive posts.)

Disagree - tech is now so affordable that just about any phone has acceptable performance. Just as you only said, in 2016 the most affordable phones are really well put together in terms of spec etc. The only difference today is between getting awesome and okay performance, vs the past, where a bad selection would get you a horribly laggy phone that was a constant pain, or would be a serious compromise in specs.

[mukul32]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Disagree - tech is now so affordable that just about any phone has acceptable performance. Just as you only said, in 2016 the most affordable phones are really well put together in terms of spec etc. The only difference today is between getting awesome and okay performance, vs the past, where a bad selection would get you a horribly laggy phone that was a constant pain, or would be a serious compromise in specs.

Don't look at it only performance wise. Performance is only one part. Battery life, ease of operation of software, durability, size are also some of the other factors that still largely influence user experience.
Due to the online shopping trend highly prevalent, it is difficult to get a direct idea of how a device would fare.

A device could still prove to be too big/small for one's convenience (highly likely with increasing screen sizes these days), something bought for aesthetic appeal could prove to be useless in terms of battery life, something else bought for its aesthetic appeal could prove to be useless in terms of durability, the UI might sometimes prove to be a mess (however I've observed this is the part people care about the least), most of the companies are very bad with service; the list is endless.

And still these are just the fundamentals. Going in further, I've seen people facing specific problems with stuff as little but critical as missing features/options in daily utility apps, problems with charging and connectivity, placement of buttons, and what not. As variety of devices increases, so do the problems.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Remove the screen protector.

There is no screen protector .

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by sairamboko

Thanks Arindam! I am now confused with OP3 and Samsung Note 4. The note 4 is 2 years old now but still having great specs. Flipkart is running a discount on note 4 and it's priced at ₹27k now. Totally confused between these. Also thinking to wait till Aug 15th as there might be some offers.

While I haven't used the Note 4 extensively, I have had the chance to play around with it a bit. In my view, there is no comparison between it and the One Plus 3. The latter is a superb package , and the more I use its, the better I like it. There are yet a ton of features which I am to explore and use, but the overall seamless user experience, as well the as the superb hardware package leaves me with a smile on my face every time I pick up the device. Not to mention the bloat free Android experience, which is such a huge change from the Samsungs I have been using the past three years.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by mukul32

Don't look at it only performance wise. Performance is only one part. Battery life, ease of operation of software, durability, size are also some of the other factors that still largely influence user experience.
Due to the online shopping trend highly prevalent, it is difficult to get a direct idea of how a device would fare.

I hear what you say. In a way I would say those are what we jokingly call first world problems on social media!


My only point is:

Cost of bad decision in 2012 (pain in daily experience) >>
Cost of bad decision in 2016 (pain in daily experience).

Of course, customers are themselves now more demanding, and expect more - but the absolute gap between the best decision and the rest, has reduced significantly.

e.g think of the gap in lagginess between MotoG in Feb 2014 vs the others, at its price point. That was huge compared to today.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by harry10

There is no screen protector .

Does the screen have a Matt finish?
That is it.

[smartindboy]

Originally Posted by mxh

After a poor experience with expensive mobiles I'm thinking of investing between 8k to 15k on my next phone and change it more frequently. Pretty much all phones start having problems after 1.5 years nowadays so I'm thinking of replacing my phones more quickly rather than buying a super expensive phone and struggling later. What are the best phones I should be considering in this range, and do you think it's a good idea to buy a cheaper phone and change more frequently?

I was in the same boat after the screens of two phones shattered.

Redmi Note 3 - perfect, feels and acts as premium with all bells and whistles.
If you are ok with a 5 inch phone, go for lenovo vibe K5 or K5 plus.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by sairamboko

Thanks Arindam! I am now confused with OP3 and Samsung Note 4. The note 4 is 2 years old now but still having great specs. Flipkart is running a discount on note 4 and it's priced at ₹27k now. Totally confused between these. Also thinking to wait till Aug 15th as there might be some offers.

Got a 4 for my wife a few days back and damn did i feel envious :P My moto x force looks like a plain jane next to it.

Had a nice time setting it up for her. The fingerprint scanner is instant. Good camera and that dash charge is just awesome. Just wish it had a memory card slot for my FLACs and i would have also bought one.

[sairamboko]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

Got a 4 for my wife a few days back and damn did i feel envious :P My moto x force looks like a plain jane next to it.



Had a nice time setting it up for her. The fingerprint scanner is instant. Good camera and that dash charge is just awesome. Just wish it had a memory card slot for my FLACs and i would have also bought one.

How's the note 4 after the MM update? How's the battery backup?

Edit : the main reason I am planning to switch from my iPhone 6s is it's pathetic battery life. Doesn't last me a day!

[poloman]

Smart phone scenario is going crazy it seems. My love hate relationship with Mi4 for 1.5 years ended with the phone exhibiting the same issue of yellow patches reappearing for which the screen was replaced once. Sold it and got a Samsung S7. Thought if you are paying through the nose you will get a perfect one. I was wrong and what I got after paying close to 49K is a phone with non uniform tint. Now I learn it is a common thing in AMOLED displays and widespread in Samsung phones. Lot of reviews are available on the XDA developers forum. My fault that I did not do a detailed study.I am pretty sensitive to the display, but now stuck with the phone since there is no guarantee that you will get a good one since most Samsung phones have this issue. Also MIUI was miles ahead of Samsung touch wiz in user experience at least to me. Lot of intuitive and useful features were embedded in MIUI. The only good thing about Samsung is the HW which is blistering. The display is extremely good for viewing videos and similar color rich experiences.
Another crazy thing happening is the non availability of so called popular phones like Redmi note 3, Mi Max, ZuK Z1 etc. I don't know why these models are launched with out enough buffer stocks. Was looking for a Redmi note 3 but this phone in all flavors is sold out most of the times. Even flash sales are not happening.

[sairamboko]

Originally Posted by poloman

Smart phone scenario is going crazy it seems.

Exactly the same situation I am in. Instead of S7 I am in iPhone 6s. The availability of Xiaomi products is somewhat frustrating.

[naveenroy]

And I finally got the Mi Max - a mega 6.44 inch screen! I was a little on the fence about purchasing it but after I got it and have used it for a few days, I feel it was a good buy. No, I have still not installed my SIM on it and started using it as my regular mobile. So will post up my short review here soon after I do that.

But first impression - that 6.44 inch screen is superb. Battery life is great and it really doesn't feel too big!

[Mortis]

Originally Posted by harry10

There is no screen protector .

Maybe there is a plastic protector over the camera lens ? Some phones have them. If not and its really bad then send it back