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Cheap Android phone recommendations

I
Chz said:
They were fine as new, but £170 seems expensive for a 2 year old phone that wasn't any hot shakes brand new. If it's the regular A22, you can get better new at that price. The A22 5G holds up to the cheaper new phones, but then it is 2 years old so it boils down to how much you value the Samsung name.

You're not getting anything mid-range for £170. (The A22 is not mid-range) Maybe when the 12 Lite was on sale for £199 that's the closest you'd get. It's £249 at GG right now.
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Yeah fair play I hadnt dont any research and its not a great phone from the looks of things really. I would rather a higher end range phone like the A9 or whatever if buying basically new.

Really my budget is £150. I dont mind used and taking a risk. I would prefer to stick with Samsung though, had v good experiences with their handsets. What do you think of a S10 or a S20 second hand? S10 in good condition for sale near me for £150. Those are still v decent phones right? Would they count as midrange now?
 
Depends on your definition of "cheap" these days. Prices have gone up.
Best thing for the least money is the Poco M5, currently £139 on the Xiaomi UK site.

What I just bought for the Mrs was a Redmi Note 12 Pro. Currently ~£255 (€300) from Gomibo. Next to the M5, 50% more RAM, double the storage, finally a decent camera and a processor that's less than 5 generations old. There are other options around £250 right now though. O2 has the Xiaomi 12 Lite for £253 + £13 for one month of pre-pay, after which you can cancel. It's a faster and more svelte device than the 12 Pro, but with less battery and the camera doesn't have optical stabilisation. GiffGaff had the Nothing Phone 1 for £279, but they're out of stock of the 128GB version right now and the 256 is not cheap. Any of these are very good value, even if things aren't quite as cheap as they were 5 years back. I think any would be decent - I bought the Note 12 Pro because the Mrs currently uses a Redmi Note 9 Pro and I figured there would be less to adapt to.
 
Day after I post that and buy the Note 12 Pro, O2 puts the Nothing Phone up for £199 plus £17 for a one month plan. Easily the best deal going, just remember to cancel the monthly.

Nothing Phone (1) Deals & Pay Monthly Contracts | Buy Now | O2

Shop the highly anticipated Nothing Phone (1). Prioritising efficiency utilising a Snapdragon chip, browse our range of deals and pay monthly contracts with O2.
www.o2.co.uk www.o2.co.uk

After clicking the link, scroll down and select “See all our pre-built plans”, then scroll down a bit more and select “See our plans” next to "Pay for your device in full".
Then choose the plan below. Cancel after one month.
 
Chz said:
Depends on your definition of "cheap" these days. Prices have gone up.
Best thing for the least money is the Poco M5, currently £139 on the Xiaomi UK site.

What I just bought for the Mrs was a Redmi Note 12 Pro. Currently ~£255 (€300) from Gomibo. Next to the M5, 50% more RAM, double the storage, finally a decent camera and a processor that's less than 5 generations old. There are other options around £250 right now though. O2 has the Xiaomi 12 Lite for £253 + £13 for one month of pre-pay, after which you can cancel. It's a faster and more svelte device than the 12 Pro, but with less battery and the camera doesn't have optical stabilisation. GiffGaff had the Nothing Phone 1 for £279, but they're out of stock of the 128GB version right now and the 256 is not cheap. Any of these are very good value, even if things aren't quite as cheap as they were 5 years back. I think any would be decent - I bought the Note 12 Pro because the Mrs currently uses a Redmi Note 9 Pro and I figured there would be less to adapt to.
Click to expand...

Yes, phones have gone up in price. Maybe because of inflation, or the chip shortage, or maybe because 5G has been added to phones.
 
spent 100 quid on my last one and honestly it worked just as good as my 300 quid one. was very happy with it. can't remember the brand though.
 
Brainaddict said:
Is this used Pixel 6 for just over 200 likely to be a good deal? Google Pixel 6 128GB 5G Unlocked Grade A++ Green, Orange, Excellent Condition | eBay

Or would it make sense to go for, say, a new Redmi Note 12 Pro for a bit more?
Click to expand...
Note 12 Pro is often the same price if you wait around for the rotating deals on the Xiaomi web site to hit on it. I would say Pixel if you're dead set on camera stuff, but I would get the newer phone with a decent enough camera if you're not totally into photography. I have a 12 Pro here (it's the mrs') if there's anything you want me to check.

12 Pro is currently £214 for another day or so.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G - Midnight Black, 6 GB + 128 GB w/coupon at checkout | hotukdeals

www.hotukdeals.com www.hotukdeals.com
 
Chz said:
Note 12 Pro is often the same price if you wait around for the rotating deals on the Xiaomi web site to hit on it. I would say Pixel if you're dead set on camera stuff, but I would get the newer phone with a decent enough camera if you're not totally into photography. I have a 12 Pro here (it's the mrs') if there's anything you want me to check.

12 Pro is currently £214 for another day or so.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G - Midnight Black, 6 GB + 128 GB w/coupon at checkout | hotukdeals

www.hotukdeals.com www.hotukdeals.com
Click to expand...
I was trying to find out which was faster and which had better battery life, both important to me (within a limited budget), but benchmarking sites don't seem to include the 12 Pro yet. I suppose the pixel battery may be a bit faded too.
 
Brainaddict said:
I was trying to find out which was faster and which had better battery life, both important to me (within a limited budget), but benchmarking sites don't seem to include the 12 Pro yet. I suppose the pixel battery may be a bit faded too.
Click to expand...
I have a 12 Pro & the battery is good & has fast charging that takes minutes rather than hours. Charge mine whilst I am in the shower so is fully charged after 20 minutes. Not that up with the tec side of things but am happy with it for what I need.
 
Brainaddict said:
I was trying to find out which was faster and which had better battery life, both important to me (within a limited budget), but benchmarking sites don't seem to include the 12 Pro yet. I suppose the pixel battery may be a bit faded too.
Click to expand...
Pixel 6 series is more powerful for sure, but they had fairly poor battery life even when new. Also slow chargers to add to the problem. 12 Pro is certainly a bit less powerful, but Good Enough and has much better battery life. The Pixel's main advantage is still the camera. Not to say that the 12 Pro doesn't have an excellent camera for a £200 phone, but Pixel cameras are magic.
 
Chz said:
Pixel 6 series is more powerful for sure, but they had fairly poor battery life even when new. Also slow chargers to add to the problem. 12 Pro is certainly a bit less powerful, but Good Enough and has much better battery life. The Pixel's main advantage is still the camera. Not to say that the 12 Pro doesn't have an excellent camera for a £200 phone, but Pixel cameras are magic.
Click to expand...
MrsA got a 6a refurb from Google direct and the battery has been fine.

She isn't a heavy user, though.
 
Brainaddict said:
I was trying to find out which was faster and which had better battery life, both important to me (within a limited budget), but benchmarking sites don't seem to include the 12 Pro yet. I suppose the pixel battery may be a bit faded too.
Click to expand...
What about a £200ish Samsung?

Have always found them reliable, good battery, decent enough cameras etc.

I've had Xiaomi phones too and hated the interface Miui, same with Samsung's One UI. I always installed a different launcher.

e2a: some recently released mid range Samsungs

Compare Samsung Galaxy A25 vs. Samsung Galaxy A34 vs. Samsung Galaxy A15 5G - GSMArena.com

www.gsmarena.com www.gsmarena.com
 
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The A34 and the Note 12 Pro use the same processor and have the same sized battery, so are pretty similar in most ways. The Note's advantages are 3x faster charging, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and an IR port if you fancy replacing your remotes with your phone. (and a smidgen more screen space)

The A34's advantage is 5 years of updates. That's a biggie.

ETA: Samsung has a better waterproof rating as well. They're both proof against rain, but the A34 should also survive a brief total immersion better. The cameras look similar on paper, but I've seen it said the Xiaomi is a smidge better there. The Xiaomi also doesn't have that budget phone look that the A34 does, if you care about such things.
 
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That price for the A54 was so good that I went for it. It has 8GB ram and a card slot, and the reviews for it are good. I sort of want the pixel camera but I can live without it. I think a new A54 will last longer, and that's an important consideration when I've been so annoyed my last phone only lasted two years before lagging has made it unusable.
 
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