I need one for general purposes only, NOT for gaming, so I don’t really care about gaming-related features.

I’m going to buy it in Asia, as that’s where I live (Vietnam specifically), and would appreciate any advice. 🙂

  • Gallardo994@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    A general rule of thumb is to get a year or two old flagship instead of a budget new one. One can usually find a great deal on something like S21 Ultra or similar.

    • bitsplease@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      100% - also try and budget to get the battery replaced with this method though, most modern smartphone batteries start showing significant wear after 2 years

    • SurpriZe@lemm.eeOP
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      1 year ago

      What’s the best way to find actually good flagships of the past? I mean, to learn of which model was good.

  • popcap200@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    I’d personally recommend the second hand market depending on what your budget is.

  • Toes♀@ani.social
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    1 year ago

    Motorola has a bunch on Amazon currently. Pick out the one that is most affordable.

  • BigFig@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I’d get a generation or two old pixel, can get fully unlocked ones on Amazon for pretty cheap. Just replaced my mother’s pixel 2 with a pixel 5 for less than $200

    • SurpriZe@lemm.eeOP
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      1 year ago

      What does fully unlocked mean? Can such phones be sold at official retailers? And if not, why would I want it unlocked? Plus, is it easy to do so?

    • feef@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I can not recommend pixels anymore after owning my 7 pro for a year (been using google phones since the nexus 5x). Their own tensor chip is behind the competition by 2 years, but importantly they use a shitty modem which causes issues for a large portion of users.

      Also pixels used to have a significantly better camera than others, but I feel that gap is so small now that it doesn’t matter at the high end, they’re trading blows now.
      The only edge compared to the competition is getting access to google app features earlier than others, like magic eraser. Ain’t what it used to be anymore…

      • RogueBanana@lemmy.zip
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        1 year ago

        The single best feature and the only one that I looked for before buying my pixel was the custom ROM support. Installed grapheneos on day 1, nothing is the only other company in the market here that allows you to unlock bootloader without voiding the warranty so didn’t really have much choice to go for tbh. Would be nice if other ones like fairphone would expand out soon.

    • ChexMax@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Agreed. I’m about to update to the new (to me) Google Pixel, probably the 6a. (I think they’re on the 8 now?) The battery on my current pixel is not holding up. My last two phones were pixels and probably my next couple will be as well

      • BigFig@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        My whole family is on pixels, very reliable phones. My mother’s pixel 2 was 6 years old and only failed because the battery began to swell.

  • emergencyfood@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    I checked GSMarena for the most popular <$200 Android phones with decent specifications.

    The top results are:-

    • Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 (6GB RAM, 128GB HD, Snapdragon 4 Gen 1, 48MP camera)

    • Samsung Galaxy A14 (6GB RAM, 128GB HD, Mediatek MT6769, 50MP camera)

    • Realme C53 (6GB RAM, 128GB HD, Unisoc Tiger T612, 50MP camera)

    • Tecno Spark 10 Pro (8GB RAM, 256GB HD, Mediatek Helio G88, 50MP camera)

    Personally I’d go for the Redmi Note 12 because of the better processor.

    Edit: Also, here is GSMarena’s buyer guide for <€200 phones:- https://www.gsmarena.com/best_midrange_allrounders_buyers_guide-review-2032.php

  • jacktherippah@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    As a fellow Vietnamese, I would like to recommend a used Pixel. 6th gen Pixels are pretty cheap right now. Last I checked a used 6 Pro used was around 7m VND. They have flagship hardware and 3 years of updates left. And they’re open to custom ROMs unlike Samsung or Xiaomi. Honestly can’t beat them for the price.

  • Fake4000@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Depends on how you define good budget.

    To me, the Samsung galaxy a phones and the pixel a phones are good. They strike the balance between value and having an actually usable phone.

    • deven@kerala.party
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      1 year ago

      Any Pixel + graphene os

      Poco f5 ,if you dont like miui flash a custom rom

      Moto edge 30/20 pros

      • SanguinePar@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I would echo what OP said there, I had to get a temporary replacement phone while my main one was getting a screen repair, and I was amazed at how good a Galaxy A was for the price. Think it was about £120 or so, and it’s a great phone.

  • solrize@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Look at the budget Moto G series. Model designations might be different where you are. They start around $110 unlocked in US.

    • neumast@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Second motorola moto G. Imo they just work, not a lot of bloatware and a somewhat decent camera. I just dont get their model numbering anymore…

  • dunz@feddit.nu
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    1 year ago

    Fairphone 4 maybe? You pay a little extra for the faitrade stuff, but it’s still not awfully expensive

  • meow@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    1 year ago

    I currently use a ZTE Blade V Smart/ZTE 2050, which cost me 150€, pretty cheap, but still very usable (bought it a few years ago so that exact model isn’t worth it anymore, I had generally not absolutely terrible experience with ZTE phones before, tho). I also have a newer phone that I don’t use for no reason, a Xiaomi Redmi Note 11, which cost me 200€.

  • Chainweasel@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Get a flagship phone from a generation or two ago, I’m still using my Pixel 5 and I love this phone and they’re dirt cheap at the moment, both new and refurbished, because it’s 3 generations behind

    • SurpriZe@lemm.eeOP
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      1 year ago

      Thanks! But what newest features are missing there? Does Pixel 5 have anything useful the newer models don’t?

      • jet@hackertalks.com
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        1 year ago

        Pixel 5a has back fingerprint sensor and a headphone jack, plus it can run grapheneos

      • Chainweasel@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Well, in my opinion the fingerprint sensor is far superior for one. Other than that it’s a little smaller than current generation phones but I think it’s a more manageable size than the current generation

  • simple@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Realme phones are pretty good for the price. You may need to remove a couple of bloat applications and tune some settings after getting it though.