[diyguy]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

POCO M3 is a VFM choice at this price.

Originally Posted by Oxy

Redmi Note 10 if you can wait till 16th March.

Thank you dailydriver and Oxy, his phone has miraculously come on today after a day in a bag of rice. Have to check if everything functions normally, am sure there will be some damage to maybe camera, speakerphone, mic etc. For now, i probably dont have to shell out.

[ashvek3141]

Hi folks,

A friend of mine is looking for a decent Android phone under 15k, since her Samsung J5 screen conked off.

Any reccomendations please? This segement is crowded like crazy & there are varying specs from the same manufacturer for every 1-1.5k of price increments.

Her primary phone is an iPhone 7 and is doing well, expect the poor battery(which is ok). It’s due for a battery replacement neway.

So a secondary android phone is what she is looking at.

Kindly suggest.

Thanks!

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by Oxy

Redmi Note 10 if you can wait till 16th March.

Originally Posted by dailydriver

POCO M3 is a VFM choice at this price.

Originally Posted by diyguy

his phone has miraculously come on today after a day in a bag of rice.

I spoke too soon. His phone died (maybe he took it out too soon from the rice bag), samsung service quoted 10k to fix it. Any idea if the Samsung M12 will be any good? Prices seem to start at 10k, so i am guessing a decent config should be max 14k or so.

[Behemoth]

Another good Value for money choice is the Realme 7 - the 8Gb 128GB storage variant with 5000mah battery is available for 17k on Flipkart. They also have lower variants 6/64 which is around 15k.
realme 7 (Mist Blue, 128 GB) and 90Hz display.

https://dl.flipkart.com/dl/realme-7-...oduct.share.pp

Realme is also part of the BBK group which owns Oppo/Vivo/ Oneplus phones.

[BackInTheFold]

Hi Android mobile gurus,

It's time for me to replace my 4.5 year old OnePlus 3 (yes - I do hold on to phones for that long )

I briefly considered switching to the dark side aka iPhone 12, but decided against it simply because of my familiarity with Android and portability.

My phone is primarily used for calls, messaging, work (MS Office apps/email) and browsing/reading. I'm neither a gamer nor an avid photographer. International roaming capability would be an important need.

Though I'm not a mobile power user, given how long I tend to hold on to phones and my preference for well built devices, I've usually bought the flagship models and kept them for multiple years.

Keen to hear your thoughts on the models I should consider. I'm not keen to spend S21'ish money. Should I just buy the OnePlus 9 when it comes out?

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by BackInTheFold

Hi Android mobile gurus,

It's time for me to replace my 4.5 year old OnePlus 3 (yes - I do hold on to phones for that long )

I briefly considered switching to the dark side aka iPhone 12, but decided against it simply because of my familiarity with Android and portability.

My phone is primarily used for calls, messaging, work (MS Office apps/email) and browsing/reading. I'm neither a gamer nor an avid photographer. International roaming capability would be an important need.

Though I'm not a mobile power user, given how long I tend to hold on to phones and my preference for well built devices, I've usually bought the flagship models and kept them for multiple years.

Keen to hear your thoughts on the models I should consider. I'm not keen to spend S21'ish money. Should I just buy the OnePlus 9 when it comes out?

Well, I would recommend the OnePlus Nord 12GB/256 GB version as that comes under 30K and is still great value for money. My wife has been using it for almost 6 months now and it is quite a smooth phone.
(I am still using my Oneplus 6t since past 2 years and am happy with that).
Performance wise, for my requirements, the Oneplus 6T is working well and the only area where I feel my wife's Nord is better is on screen smoothness and refresh rate and on the camera quality. For all other purposes, my Oneplus 6t with 8GB/128 is still perfect.

I am also planning on the One Plus 9, but going by the past oneplus 8 Launch, I expect that the three versions will likely be 45k (Oneplus 9E), 50K (Oneplus 9) and 60k (Oneplus 9 Pro). At these prices I may consider the 9E if it offers good value for money. Somehow I don't see myself spending upwards of 50K on a mobile as it is easily prone to damage and loss (though I haven't broken a single mobile screen in my past 15 years of mobile usage and haven't even lost a phone )

[BackInTheFold]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

Well, I would recommend the OnePlus Nord 12GB/256 GB version as that comes under 30K and is still great value for money. My wife has been using it for almost 6 months now and it is quite a smooth phone.

Thank you. Knock on wood that your streak continues.
Given that I'll be retaining the phone for a bit, 5G support would also be a consideration. Does that rule out the Nord?

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by BackInTheFold

Thank you. Knock on wood that your streak continues.
Given that I'll be retaining the phone for a bit, 5G support would also be a consideration. Does that rule out the Nord?

Nord is one of the first few phones that was already 5G ready when it was launched (but the launch of 5G network in India still is unknown and it may take some time for Indian networks to scale up). The range of 5G is even lesser than 4G in terms of distance transmission from tower and trees block the signals, so there has been lot of opposition to 5G globally as they need to increase the number of Towers drastically and also cut trees which block the signals. Honestly if you ask me, what we need is good 4G speeds and good quality of calling, which the mobile networks are still struggling to deliver.

One more plus point of the Nord which I missed mentioning earlier is the Dual Front Selfie cam (with this you can really capture a much wider selfie with much less distortion). It is quite a useful feature and gives better selfie clicks even for large groups. Nord is one of the very few phones which I have seen with this feature.

[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by BackInTheFold

It's time for me to replace my 4.5 year old OnePlus 3 (yes - I do hold on to phones for that long )
..International roaming capability would be an important need.

Considering these points itself, I'd say buy an iPhone. iOS 14 significantly bridges the learning curve between iOS and Android. You will feel at home in no time. A lot of my friends have struggled to get 4G in the US on OnePlus phones bought in India due to the different frequency bands American service providers use.

Besides, iPhones are known to age better than any Android phone out there.

[Bhupesh_2628]

Samsung Galaxy A50 just received Android 11 & One UI 3.1 update.

[hellmet]

PSA:
I would highly recommend staying away from Nokia phones. We bought a 6.1 plus 2 years ago and it has been nothing but trouble. Charging port issues within warranty and out of warranty. Then faulty OTA updates that brick the phone requiring service center visits.

The most recent OTA update bricked the phone again, and the service-center doesn't even have the recovery-software version required to unbrick it. Nokia is yet to provide an update the recovery software that service centers use.

Not to mention that the number of service centers in the whole of Hyderabad are only 3, and complaints to Nokia via email about this device have been totally unhelpful and loopey.

Stay away. This is not the Nokia of yesteryear.

[RJK]

Originally Posted by BackInTheFold

Hi Android mobile gurus,

It's time for me to replace my 4.5 year old OnePlus 3 (yes - I do hold on to phones for that long )

I briefly considered switching to the dark side aka iPhone 12, but decided against it simply because of my familiarity with Android and portability.

My phone is primarily used for calls, messaging, work (MS Office apps/email) and browsing/reading. I'm neither a gamer nor an avid photographer. International roaming capability would be an important need.

Though I'm not a mobile power user, given how long I tend to hold on to phones and my preference for well built devices, I've usually bought the flagship models and kept them for multiple years.

Keen to hear your thoughts on the models I should consider. I'm not keen to spend S21'ish money. Should I just buy the OnePlus 9 when it comes out?

Hey!
Good to know someone like me, used the One Plus 3 since 2016 until Jan’21. The phone is still doing ok, battery is a little weak but the camera was lacking, so changed and bought an iPhone 11. Couldn’t justify the iPhone 12 price to myself. As you stick with phones for long, your strategy is bang-on & OP phones are hard to beat on value ( manufacturers origin not withstanding). To me that was a deal breaker & hence didn’t even look at OP - however the OP9 looks promising. Data transfer will be seamless as well with One Plus Switch.
I personally avoid all Samsung phones, after having used a few phones, just don’t like them, that’s just my choice and opinion.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by Gansan

I have received the phone back after part replacement. I will have to check it for at least a week.

The phone (M30s) has since received Android 11 and Ui updates. It now looks and performs much better than before, feels almost like a different phone.

[sukhoi]

Originally Posted by BackInTheFold

It's time for me to replace my 4.5 year old OnePlus 3 (yes - I do hold on to phones for that long )

I briefly considered switching to the dark side aka iPhone 12, but decided against it simply because of my familiarity with Android and portability.

My phone is primarily used for calls, messaging, work (MS Office apps/email) and browsing/reading. I'm neither a gamer nor an avid photographer. International roaming capability would be an important need.

Though I'm not a mobile power user, given how long I tend to hold on to phones and my preference for well built devices, I've usually bought the flagship models and kept them for multiple years.

Keen to hear your thoughts on the models I should consider. I'm not keen to spend S21'ish money. Should I just buy the OnePlus 9 when it comes out?

You could consider the upcoming Samsung A72 (probably would get launched tomorrow). We have an A71 in the family and it is a good device (initial days but no complaints so far). I am also looking to replace my old phone (Samsung J7) and am eyeing the A72. Based on leaked specs, it would get a 90Hz refresh rate and an IP rating too (things which were missing in A71). It is rumoured to be launched in both 4G and 5G models. With Samsung now supporting 3 generations of OS upgrade, that should help with keeping the phone fresh (OS perspective) for longer. Not very sure of international roaming capabilities so do check on that once please.

Originally Posted by RJK

Hey!
OP phones are hard to beat on value ( manufacturers origin not withstanding). To me that was a deal breaker & hence didn’t even look at OP - however the OP9 looks promising.

Same boat, OP 9 is expected to be a very good option with much improved cameras post the association with Hasselblad, however country of origin makes me reconsider (personal choice). Hence am left with primarily Samsungs of the world and my experience has been good so far *touchwood*.

Cheers,
S

[BackInTheFold]

Originally Posted by sukhoi

You could consider the upcoming Samsung A72 (probably would get launched tomorrow).

Thank you. I'll keep an eye out for the A72.

Originally Posted by RJK

Hey!
Good to know someone like me, used the One Plus 3 since 2016 until Jan’21. The phone is still doing ok, battery is a little weak but the camera was lacking, so changed and bought an iPhone 11.

Thanks for your note. I'm glad that I'm not the only one who retains phones for a while.

I haven't completely crossed off the iPhone yet. If I do get one, it'll likely be the 12, given my habit of retaining phones for a while.

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

Considering these points itself, I'd say buy an iPhone. iOS 14 significantly bridges the learning curve between iOS and Android. You will feel at home in no time.

Thanks - great to know that the transition is easier with iOS 14. I've used my OP3 in most continents without any real issues but with some twiddling. It'd be great if international roaming works seamlessly.

Originally Posted by Behemoth

Nord is one of the first few phones that was already 5G ready when it was launched.

That's very helpful to know.

Since I'm caught up with work for the next few days, my plan is to watch the A72 and OP9 launches. I too am not very hot on an entirely Chinese-origin device. Equally, I'm not a fan of Apple's walled garden (or should I say orchard ) approach and have therefore generally preferred Android devices. Interesting conundrum.

I'll keep you all updated on my thinking and choice. Thanks again for chipping in.