[Bibendum90949]

Originally Posted by Mr.Bentley

TL;DR:
I really don't want to move on from this phone as I don't see any similar replacement and similar price point (A good Samsung phone, with S-Pen if possible, haha). If i'm missing any Gem (of a phone), please enlighten me!

IIRC, Note 10 was launched 4 years ago. The game has moved on quite a bit since then. Have a look at S22 Ultra which had major price cuts after the launch of S23 & S24 Ultra. It's still a very capable phone and has almost the same spec as its successors, has an S pen too. Only grouse is, the battery performance isn't so good(for heavy users) despite it having 5000 mAh capacity. I have one since 1.5 years and have not felt the need to upgrade to S24 Ultra.

[Garth]

I am looking for a 5g android phone for my mother. Budget is around 10-12 k. So far I have zeroed in on Samsung M14, Samsung A14, Redmi 12. Any other suggestions?

[bijims]

Originally Posted by Garth

I am looking for a 5g android phone for my mother. Budget is around 10-12 k. So far I have zeroed in on Samsung M14, Samsung A14, Redmi 12. Any other suggestions?

Considering your budget, I would recommend the Poco M6 Pro 5G, it's a rebadged Redmi 12 for a much lower price, the 6GB/128GB variant costs just Rs.10,999 and the 8GB/128GB variant costs just Rs.12,499.

You could also consider the new Samsung Galaxy F15 5G as well, it's a great phone with an AMOLED display and a capable processor.

[d.w.w.]

Originally Posted by hari_rama

Unfortunately my 9R had fell down and has a fine line on display.

Are you sure the green line is because of the fall? OnePlus 9 devices are notorious for their hardware issue creating the green line on display. We had the same issue on wife's OP9 and they took the phone back and gave a voucher for 32K.(the phone was bought for 36K and used for about any year). When I was in the service center there were lots of people exchanging their OP 9 series devices and getting the vouchers. The guy next to me exchanged his 9R for a voucher, i don't remember how much was his voucher, but I remember the lady telling him that if he opt for 10R he will get an extra amount and can buy the phone for just 2.5K. I have to admit, everyone was so happy to return their devices and get the voucher. Only catch here was they were asking for the original charger and cable with the box if available. For people who came with damaged cable, they charged 850 or so before processing the voucher. IIRC the offer was only for Indian customers, so if your phone was bought here, you stand a chance to get it fixed.


Related news article:
https://indianexpress.com/article/te...folio-8885647/

[hari_rama]

Thank You d.w.w for your response.

The mobile had a nasty fall afternoon, immediately I checked and saw no damages (it was sunny outside). At night I noticed the line mark. I assume it's due to this reason only.

But thanks for your suggestion, will try luck with service center as I am coming back to India.

Originally Posted by d.w.w.

Are you sure the green line is because of the fall? OnePlus 9 devices are notorious for their hardware issue creating the green line on display. We had the same issue on wife's OP9 and they took the phone back and gave a voucher for 32K.(the phone was bought for 36K and used for about any year). When I was in the service center there were lots of people exchanging their OP 9 series devices and getting the vouchers. The guy next to me exchanged his 9R for a voucher, i don't remember how much was his voucher, but I remember the lady telling him that if he opt for 10R he will get an extra amount and can buy the phone for just 2.5K. I have to admit, everyone was so happy to return their devices and get the voucher. Only catch here was they were asking for the original charger and cable with the box if available. For people who came with damaged cable, they charged 850 or so before processing the voucher. IIRC the offer was only for Indian customers, so if your phone was bought here, you stand a chance to get it fixed.


Related news article:
https://indianexpress.com/article/te...folio-8885647/

[vivekgk]

How well does the S21FE fare in ints current price range of 30-32K? I have been using it since October, and I like the versatile cameras, the AMOLED screen quality and the performance. The cons are that the screen size is a bit small at 6.4 inches, and the battery life and charging speed are nothing to rave about.

Is the S21FE still a good bargain at the price, or is it now surpassed by newer models or other phones from last year that have got a price cut? I need to recommend a phone for a friend who is gifting it to his wife.

[Torq]

Originally Posted by d.w.w.

... the green line... OnePlus devices are notorious for their hardware issue creating the green line on display.

Contemplating buying oneplus 12. Many colleagues/friends cautioned me against OP due to specifically this reason. Does the issue still persist with newer Oneplus models?

Alternatively, which phone to look for, for great camera performance? Frankly, even OP 12 was stretching the budget. So consider 50k?

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by vivekgk

How well does the S21FE fare in ints current price range of 30-32K?

Is this the 2023 version with Snapdragon 888? If you don't want to recommend a Chinese brand, then S21 FE should still offer good value, primarily because of its cameras. However, I see it listed for Rs. 39,000. Can you doublecheck the price?

Samsung A54 5G at Rs. 33.5k is another option you can look at. This is last year model too, but cameras are rated highly
https://www.91mobiles.com/hub/samsun...a54-5g-review/

[vivekgk]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Is this the 2023 version with Snapdragon 888? If you don't want to recommend a Chinese brand, then S21 FE should still offer good value, primarily because of its cameras. However, I see it listed for Rs. 39,000. Can you doublecheck the price?

Samsung A54 5G at Rs. 33.5k is another option you can look at. This is last year model too, but cameras are rated highly
https://www.91mobiles.com/hub/samsun...a54-5g-review/

Thanks for the response. It is the SD888 version that I have. Price is 29999/- for the 128GB version. The 256GB is priced quite higher. Although I got it for 32K in the sale, now it's 37990/-.

Link on Flipkart

[Candy$Cars]

Originally Posted by vivekgk

How well does the S21FE fare in ints current price range of 30-32K? I have been using it since October, and I like the versatile cameras, the AMOLED screen quality and the performance. The cons are that the screen size is a bit small at 6.4 inches, and the battery life and charging speed are nothing to rave about.

Is the S21FE still a good bargain at the price, or is it now surpassed by newer models or other phones from last year that have got a price cut? I need to recommend a phone for a friend who is gifting it to his wife.

It is still a decent buy, specially it is a rare phone in the 30k price range that comes with a proper telephoto lens. So, if telephoto lens is important than the s21fe is the one (telephoto is important to me so I mentioned this). However, as you mentioned, the battery is its drawback and the sd 888 is old at this point, though still capable but old. It is 3 generations old at this point and so will start feeling sluggish 1-2 years down the line.

If the telephoto is not important, then the Nothing Phone 2 is a very good buy. My friend bought the 256gb White variant for 35k from Flipkart a month back.

You can also checkout the just launched Moto Edge 50 Pro. It also has a telephoto lens and seems like a good option overall.

My pick would be the Nothing Phone 2 if zoom lens not needed and if zoom lens is a deal-breaker then the Edge 50 Pro.

[Candy$Cars]

Originally Posted by Torq

Contemplating buying oneplus 12. Many colleagues/friends cautioned me against OP due to specifically this reason. Does the issue still persist with newer Oneplus models?

Alternatively, which phone to look for, for great camera performance? Frankly, even OP 12 was stretching the budget. So consider 50k?

The 8 and 9 series were notorious for green line issue. Haven't heard green line issue to be prevalent 10 series onwards. My father is using a 10 pro since 1.5 years.

You can look at the Galaxy s23 (the small one). I remember the 128gb was going around 52k during sales. The S23FE also has a good camera setup.

[meerkat]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Samsung A54 5G at Rs. 33.5k is another option you can look at. This is last year model too, but cameras are rated highly

That price is held around there for months now, and the A54 isn't a good value anymore at that price. It is bound to come down soon enough. The new A35 (which is pretty similar to the A54) costs ~30k, and the A55 (with a better processor, a metal frame and some other improvements) is priced around 40k.
.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by meerkat

. The new A35 (which is pretty similar to the A54) costs ~30k

Exactly the same processor/RAM etc. But I didn't recommend A35 because night photo samples look quite bad! Eg:
https://www.91mobiles.com/hub/samsun...xy-a35-review/



Meanwhile, A54 samples look very good. I think they might have messed up with software image processing in A35.

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by vivekgk

I need to recommend a phone for a friend who is gifting it to his wife.

Consider Moto Edge 50 Pro, their curve display phones are gorgeous.
They came with 3 year OS update promise after long time in the mid range/upper mid range phones.

[meerkat]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Exactly the same processor/RAM etc. But I didn't recommend A35 because night photo samples look quite bad! ....

.....

Meanwhile, A54 samples look very good. I think they might have messed up with software image processing in A35.

.... So there is hope that the problem would be fixed with software update. :-)
.