Not looking for me personally, so leaving the specs/features open, and generally interested in what people might recommend.
Imo there’s almost always some surprising budget phones floating around to learn about. Only condition I might add is that preferably they’re from 2022-2023, and if not, mention their release year to help know its version/update situation.
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I’ve been pretty happy with my Motorola moto g series phones over the last several years.
Pixel 6a, 7a
in that segment i always go to the moto g series, the current iteration (between 200 and 300€) is more than fast enough for me and they come with an unlockable bootloader and have normally a good custom rom support.
I would normally have agreed, but the last one I bought was TERRIBLE. I think it was 2022 version and they had problem sourcing chips, I think they used a Mediatek chipset and performance was unuseable.
Probably still good recommendation as long as you steer clear of 2022 version.
That sounds good, I’m currently using a Redmi Note 8 which is still good but it seems its successors aren’t that well suited for custom ROMs. So when this one dies I’ll look into those
seems its successors aren’t that well suited for custom ROMs
what do you mean?
If you mean budget=cheap, that’s not cheap. Cheap is <$100. The range $200-$400 should get you advanced models; almost flagship. Samsung will have a lot in that range, for example.
I agree that cheap would be <$100, but when it comes to smartphones I was thinking in terms of something that would be considered more performant, and that that might have you looking more at options over $100. I may be whiffing on some decent cheaper models though, so feel free to mention them!
Budget in the title was for the range mentioned, but not meant to exclude anything cheap or cheaper, by any means.
This has always helped me: gsmarena.com Advanced Search (mobile)
Get a previous gen / 2 gen Pixel. They are often on sale especially this time of the year.
Pixel 6a was on sale for about $299CAD during Black Friday.
Remember seeing this mentioned in another thread and ngl I was surprised to see it (and then not surprised that they were sold out some places, lol).
Pixel 7a was only around $350
A Pixel 7/7 Pro/7a renewed is right around that price range on Amazon right now. They have good hardware and 4 years of updates left, 5 for the Pixel 7a. You can’t go wrong with any of them.
I’ve been using Xiaomi phones now. They’re Redmi Note phones are fully featured phones with good hardware. The camera leaves something to be desired but HDR high refresh, fast SoC make up for that.
The android distro is very bloaty so I’d recommend installing a custom launcher for it, the added settings and battery optimizations are really good though.
https://m.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_redmi_note_13_pro+-12572.php Cost 120eur, 180eur, 240eur for 13, 13pro, 13pro+ respectively.
Just be aware with Xiaomi phones that you might be restricted for certain things.
My memory’s not great, so I can’t remember if it was unlocking the bootloader or root, but Xiaomi locked it behind an account. You can’t unlock without setting up a Xiaomi account that includes, from memory, your email address, phone number, and date of birth.
I’ve read that newer phones are going to be even more locked down, but I don’t know if there are going to be workarounds.
It’s unfortunate yeah. A lot of data goes to Xiaomi instead of Samsung, Google and Apple. Rooting is more of a hassle than on other phones but definitely possible.
That’s still a trade off I’m willing to make to get a mid-range phone for half price of a comparable Samsung.
I’ve found the article I mentioned earlier. It’s the bootloader that currently needs a Xiaomi account to unlock.
https://xiaomiui.net/how-to-unlock-xiaomi-bootloader-and-install-custom-rom-7098/
I’m sure that I’ve read that they are going to restrict rooting and bootloader unlocking though, probably on here somewhere. I just can’t find the post.
Just be aware with Xiaomi phones that you might be restricted for certain things.
You can’t unlock without setting up a Xiaomi account that includes, from memory, your email address, phone number, and date of birth.
Your memory really is not great, and you can use throwaway emails to deal with registering/receiving codes from them.
Poco F5. Great 120hz oled hdr 10+ screen, insane soc for the money(snapdragon 7+ gen 2), amazing fingerprint sensor on the power button instead of those shitty underscreen ones. And yes, even samsung s23 underscreen one is shitty in comparison, both in terms of speed and precision.
I dont understand why so many android phones force an objectively inferior experience on their users with those underscreen fingerprint sensors. And it isnt a small thing, it is something that you use dozens of times per day.
If you really care about photographs, then get a pixel. But i dont, i care about performance, so poco phones always offer best value for money(and the f5 actually has decent cameras too).
Alternatively, during Black Friday, you could buy really cheap oneplus 10t or 9 and 9pro(for around 350-450€). Also old sony flagships can be sometimes found at a significant discount.
Hah! Not OP, but thanks for the review. I’ve been looking for a cheap device for my daughter. Her only requirement is that it has a good CPU because she hates that her crappy tablet can’t play roblox worth a damn. This looks like it might be exactly what I’m looking for!
almost no chance you will choose this but: HTC U11 LIFE with android 8.0 oreo (for more info go to the Amazon page)
I just bought a new Motorola Moto g. It’s shockingly good for the money.
I got a used pixel 4a for $160 last year. I don’t really care about being on the latest android version, and security updates will keep coming for a few years at least
A Poco f4 cost usd $200 where I am from. Kinda a no-brainer at that price.
Poco F3 is 300 dollars at most(often goes for even lower) has a 120 hz screen and supports many custom roms includin /e/OS (the one I am using) has a snapdragon 870 meaning this bad boy will emulate most anything even some switch games.
https://fi.google.com/about/phones/pixel-8-pro?pli=1
$700 back when you join Fi with Unlimited Plus
or
$500 back when you join Fi.
Retail price: $999Ah yes, the old contract model.
yup, but price and recommendation for phone were the criteria provided.
