[SPARKled]

Lost my Honor 6X on a train journey and since then was looking out for its replacement. Now having a new Jio sim in addition to my Airtel 4G sim made it a chore to carry 2 phones, as dual volte phones were just not mainstream, even about 6 months ago. So my next phone had to be a budget phone with dual Volte standby. For me high end expensive phones are just a waste a money for my uses and I just don't think it's a wise thing to spend 40k upwards just for a slightly better camera which IMHO is the only thing that high end phones have that's better than a budget phone.

Anyway to cut the long chase short, my budget contendors were the Asus pro M1 and the Redmi Note 5 Pro. But even the Note 5 pro does not have dual Volte standby. So Asus was the first choice for me and I even managed to get one over those idiotic sales at Flipkart. But somehow Flipkart bungled that order and I had to cancel it after about a week. In the meantime I went through many YouTube videos and found another phone sold by Amazon the Realme 1 made by OPPO. The reviews were glowing and for the price of 4 GB 128 GB Asus with a Qalcom 636 Soc, Realme offered a 128 GB, 6 GB with a Helios P60. An ICICI credit card deal made it an even sweeter deal.

So last 2 weeks with this phone have been brilliant. Extremely fast performance with both Jio and Airtel working seamlessly at the same time.

[para_7k]

Originally Posted by SPARKled

So last 2 weeks with this phone have been brilliant. Extremely fast performance with both Jio and Airtel working seamlessly at the same time.

What do you feel about the absence of Fingerprint sensor. This is my only gripe of otherwise an excellent device.

[SPARKled]

Originally Posted by para_7k

What do you feel about the absence of Fingerprint sensor. This is my only gripe of otherwise an excellent device.

Yes I did think it will bother me but the face detection works very well and the absence of a finger print sensor hasn't been felt by me.

[sagpatel]

Originally Posted by roby_dk

I am planning to buy Huawei P20 pro 128 GB after getting positive reviews on the camera. Has anyone experienced the camera of this phone?

Its a very good phone but overpriced in India. And Huawei is using Kirin 970 chipset for almost all their phones ranging from Rs 20000 to Rs 65000. Only differentiating factor is triple camera setup (which should be great) and the AMOLED FHD+ screen on p20 pro. At this price point i would not buy it because you are getting a 2017 chipset in 2018.

[roby_dk]

Originally Posted by sagpatel

Its a very good phone but overpriced in India. And Huawei is using Kirin 970 chipset for almost all their phones ranging from Rs 20000 to Rs 65000. Only differentiating factor is triple camera setup (which should be great) and the AMOLED FHD+ screen on p20 pro. At this price point i would not buy it because you are getting a 2017 chipset in 2018.

Thanks, but what should I buy then I need the best camera phone not interested at all in hardware and other gimmicks as I hardly use anything. My usage will be limited to calls, FB and Whatsapp with lot of pictures. I don't like to carry DSLR's. BTW will never buy an iPhone.

Edit: Can we buy phones from AliExpress I checked the 256GB version is priced at 49k. Not sure if these phones will work in India without any iteration.

[civic-sense]

Originally Posted by roby_dk

Thanks, but what should I buy then I need the best camera phone not interested at all in hardware and other gimmicks as I hardly use anything. My usage will be limited to calls, FB and Whatsapp with lot of pictures. I don't like to carry DSLR's. BTW will never buy an iPhone.

Edit: Can we buy phones from AliExpress I checked the 256GB version is priced at 49k. Not sure if these phones will work in India without any iteration.

See, if you are convinced about the camera that you should really have, and you have the money to spend, these mundane numbers should not prevent you from getting it. Actually, Kirin 970 is really a good chip, and up there with the best.

If you would like to save a bit of money then there are the S9, Pixel, HTC U12+ etc that you can consider.

And despite your reservations about Apple, you get more usable photos off an iPhone than any other phone. And it will last you longer than any Android. And with the UIADI helpline number fiasco, am convinced that my next phone should not be an Android.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by civic-sense

And with the UIADI helpline number fiasco, am convinced that my next phone should not be an Android.

Thought it popped up on ios as well:

https://www.news18.com/news/tech/uid...t-1833207.html

[rohan_iitr]

I am looking to buy an Android phone in the upcoming sale on Amazon / Flipkart (depending on the deals available).

I am currently using Moto G 3rd generation, which is starting to age. I was happy with the size of this phone, but the current trend seems to be of 6 inch displays.

My requirements are Full HD display, good rear camera (for the price), good battery backup, good call clarity, lag free operation for the next 2-3 years. Budget is 10-15k, but I would like the price to be closer to 10k. I don't believe in spending much on mobile phone.

I am a pretty basic user, I would be using the mobile mostly for whatsapp, browsing, youtube, google maps, OLA, email etc kind of apps.

I am not too keen on Chinese phones because of their custom skins. Near stock Android would be preferred.

I have shortlisted Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 (3GB/32GB). Would it satisfy my requirements ? Is the size manageable ? Is it advisable to go for the 4GB/64GB model ?

I would love to get my hands on the 6GB model, but it is not readily available.

Please suggest other similar phones for my requirements.

Rohan

[civic-sense]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

Thought it popped up on ios as well:

https://www.news18.com/news/tech/uid...t-1833207.html

If you are using google contacts in your iPhone, it will get synced.

Google admitted that they coded it into Android.

[Prodigy07]

What's the minimum/maximum range for Bokeh mode for the Rear camera in Honor 10.

Can someone please let me know?

I somehow get a feeling that Bokeh mode doesnt work in my Honor 10.

[sagpatel]

Originally Posted by roby_dk

Thanks, but what should I buy then I need the best camera phone not interested at all in hardware and other gimmicks as I hardly use anything. My usage will be limited to calls, FB and Whatsapp with lot of pictures. I don't like to carry DSLR's. BTW will never buy an iPhone.

Edit: Can we buy phones from AliExpress I checked the 256GB version is priced at 49k. Not sure if these phones will work in India without any iteration.

I purchased xiaomi Mi5 from aliexpress and delivered to india without any customs duty. The seller declared the value as $50. At that time Mi5 was available in india for 23k and i got it for 14k brand new. But i would check seller's ratings before spending ~50k on aliexpress. You can even check ebay.com.
for e.g. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Huawei-P20-...-/192497003598

You can ask your relative or friend from USA (if you have any) to bring the phone with them.
I had purchased Lg G6 for my wife from the above ebay seller and phone was brand new sealed in original box. I had shipped it to Singapore where my sister lives and she was visiting India so she brought the phone with her.

You can also look at Pixel 2 if camera is your priority. It has one of the best cameras around. I think even Lg G7 is also launching soon in India which will have wide angle camera as a unique thing. But Lg is very very slow with updates. My wife's G6 which was Lg's flagship for last year is still stuck with android 7.0.

[sgiitk]

Seems that Android 9 (Pie) is on its way. As usual it will start with the high end Googles (eg Pixel) and then percolate down. Let us see what it gets. Obviously there will be claims of smaller footprint, longer battery life etc.

[para_7k]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

I am looking to buy an Android phone in the upcoming sale on Amazon / Flipkart (depending on the deals available).

If you are looking for stock android experience, then the Asus Zenfone max pro M1 or the Moto G6 is probably what you should look for.

Please go for the 4 GB / 64GB versions atleast as you intend to keep it for 2-3 years.

Another great option is Realme 1 6GB/128 GB. Trust me, once you start using Custom skins, you will never go back to stock android. Simple things which are in built in the OS will require apps to be installed from the playstore.

[vb-saan]

Got the Android Pie update on my Pixel 2 XL this morning!
The notification panel looks different and also now have the option of swipe gestures instead of the traditional 3 button layout. The time display and apps notifications are now on the top left corner. And noticed that the screenshots are now high-res files.

[rohan_iitr]

Originally Posted by para_7k

If you are looking for stock android experience, then the Asus Zenfone max pro M1 or the Moto G6 is probably what you should look for.

Please go for the 4 GB / 64GB versions atleast as you intend to keep it for 2-3 years.

Another great option is Realme 1 6GB/128 GB. Trust me, once you start using Custom skins, you will never go back to stock android. Simple things which are in built in the OS will require apps to be installed from the playstore.

Thanks for the suggestions, I will go for the 4GB/64GB variant.

I was also considering Moto G6, but they have priced themselves out of the market. Moto G series is no longer offering the bang for buck like it used to.

I had purchased Redmi 3 for my wife sometime back. I thought that we will start liking the custom skin as we use the device. But even after prolonged use, we never got used to it. Just a matter of personal preference.

Rohan