What phone would you recommend in this scenario?

[senge1337]

Hi,

so my dad is currently using a Samsung Galaxy S9+ and he is looking for a phone ~600 USD (or actually about 2000-2300 PLN).
I tried looking and all I found were decent too cheap and lacking in some places phones (like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro) or too expensive phones.
It shouldn't be a downgrade in any place (except the ones in the features below that are not required). Of course, it's kinda ridiculous, to get a phone that cheap that has basically everything that a 2018 flagship had. Possibly, tell me the cheapest options that are the closest. It's not a strict limit. Right now, I'm thinking of the S20 FE the most but I'm not sure.
Features: (+ = should have, - = doesn't have to have, ^ = nice to have)
^ main camera higher than 32mpx (possibly? the poco x3 camera is kinda not that good)
+ nfc
- wireless charging
- more storage that 128gb, if it has less, needs to have microsd slot
+ dualsim, kinda linked to the previous one, if it has less than 128gb of storage then it needs to have physical 2 slots for sim cards and a slot for an sd card
+ android 11 (obviously) and at least an upgrade to android 12 in the future
^ ip rating, not a massive requirement
- glass back, metal sides
+ screen not bigger than something like 6.7 (obviously if there's a perfect phone that fits all of these an is 6.8 its ok)
^ better cpu than the exynos s9+
+ 8gb or more ram
+ not more than 1 camera at the front, possibly a hole-punch and not a massive notch or slide-out
^ 3.5mm headphone jack
- ultra fast charging (10 or 15w is enough)
+ decent sized battery (4200-ish mAh or more)
+ fingerprint scanner (can be on side, in screen, at the back)
^ 5g

+ OLED/AMOLED screen

- more than 60hz screen

And yeah... Ending writing this it seems kinda ridiculous for it to have all of that, but if you know a phone that kind of fits the requirements and is not an insane price, leave a suggestion below.

Thanks!

[dizmo]

Megapixel count doesn't denote camera quality. Something to keep in mind whenever you're looking at cameras. Same with screen size. You can't really just base it on that, as different aspect ratios will create a different feel in the hand. Battery size also doesn't automatically give you better battery life. Optimization plays a massive part, as do the other components in the build. I wouldn't worry about 5G (I know it's in the nice to haves, but still), as they absolutely kill most phones batteries until the 2nd or 3rd iteration of SoCs that support it.

 

If you're considering the S20 FE, I'd recommend it. I have one and aside from some niggles that aren't really the phone's fault, it's been excellent.

[senge1337]

Just now, dizmo said:

Megapixel count doesn't denote camera quality. Something to keep in mind whenever you're looking at cameras. Same with screen size. You can't really just base it on that, as different aspect ratios will create a different feel in the hand. Battery size also doesn't automatically give you better battery life. Optimization plays a massive part, as do the other components in the build. I wouldn't worry about 5G (I know it's in the nice to haves, but still), as they absolutely kill most phones batteries until the 2nd or 3rd iteration of SoCs that support it.

 

If you're considering the S20 FE, I'd recommend it. I have one and aside from some niggles that aren't really the phone's fault, it's been excellent.

Obviously, you're right. But it just doesn't feel right barely upgrading right? 

[dizmo]

1 minute ago, senge1337 said:

Obviously, you're right. But it just doesn't feel right barely upgrading right? 

In what way is it barely upgrading? It's better in nearly every regard.

[senge1337]

4 minutes ago, dizmo said:

In what way is it barely upgrading? It's better in nearly every regard.

Not talking about the S20 FE, I'm talking about the camera megapixels. They dont mean quality, but phones wouldn't have 108 megapixel cameras. Gonna put the first point to the nice to have section, thanks. 

 

Edit: As for the battery size, I'm only looking for Android phones, so optimization isn't very different He and I always use phones in Battery Saving Mode anyways. 

Edited June 5, 2021 by senge1337

[dizmo]

1 minute ago, senge1337 said:

Not talking about the S20 FE, I'm talking about the camera megapixels. They dont mean quality, but phones wouldn't have 108 megapixel cameras. Gonna put the first point to the nice to have section, thanks. 

There's way more to a camera sensor than megapixels. There's pixel size, the way they're designed (most 108mp cameras put out pictures of much lower mp, they just use pixel binning), the processing improves with newer SoCs, better lenses, etc etc.

[senge1337]

1 minute ago, dizmo said:

There's way more to a camera sensor than megapixels. There's pixel size, the way they're designed (most 108mp cameras put out pictures of much lower mp, they just use pixel binning), the processing improves with newer SoCs, better lenses, etc etc.

Stop complaining about my crappy camera knowledge . A manufacturer knows what's good. The camera should be just *GOOD*. 

[dizmo]

10 hours ago, senge1337 said:

Stop complaining about my crappy camera knowledge . A manufacturer knows what's good. The camera should be just *GOOD*. 

Haha I wasn't complaining, just pointing out Good is different to each person. Some are fine with slow start up times, others aren't, etc etc. It's subjective.

[senge1337]

6 hours ago, dizmo said:

Haha I wasn't complaining, just pointing out Good is different to each person. Some are fine with slow start up times, others aren't, etc etc. It's subjective.

Haha thanks. Yeah, I totally understand. And jokingly, the startup times are most affected by the megapixels . The S20 FE looks pretty solid. 

[dizmo]

On 6/6/2021 at 1:32 AM, senge1337 said:

Haha thanks. Yeah, I totally understand. And jokingly, the startup times are most affected by the megapixels . The S20 FE looks pretty solid. 

Once you go 120hz you'll never want to go back. 

[XLZSLAYER]

ive heard some bad things about the s20 fe, most of them being battery degradation and overheating, which isnt really surprising considering its using an exynos chip, so yeh u might wanna take that into consideration

[senge1337]

On 6/9/2021 at 9:11 PM, dizmo said:

Once you go 120hz you'll never want to go back. 

I know.. I use a 144hz monitor and I will never go back but its my dad and he doesnt really mind. 

[senge1337]

On 6/10/2021 at 12:44 PM, XLZSLAYER said:

ive heard some bad things about the s20 fe, most of them being battery degradation and overheating, which isnt really surprising considering its using an exynos chip, so yeh u might wanna take that into consideration

Wdym Exynos?? Its using a Snapdragon globally (i meant the 5G version) and battery degradation is in every phone and you can just replace it. Overheating? He just plays Candy Crush... If youre an X brand employee and you are trying to get me to choose another one then go ahead and dont lie. 

[XLZSLAYER]

36 minutes ago, senge1337 said:

Wdym Exynos?? Its using a Snapdragon globally (i meant the 5G version) and battery degradation is in every phone and you can just replace it. Overheating? He just plays Candy Crush... If youre an X brand employee and you are trying to get me to choose another one then go ahead and dont lie. 

when i say battery degredation, i mean noticeable battery degradation, since the more heat there is, the more ur battery will degrade. and u cant just "replace it", first its not user replaceable, second u dont really know how well the shop will put it back together, u might risk losing some water resistance. also overheating doesnt necessarily occur just while playing heavy games. i didnt notice that u were referring to the snapdragon model, the issues i brought up were with the exynos model (non 5G) . not sure why id be "an X brand employee", all i did was give u a heads up lol

[dizmo]

4 hours ago, XLZSLAYER said:

when i say battery degredation, i mean noticeable battery degradation, since the more heat there is, the more ur battery will degrade. and u cant just "replace it", first its not user replaceable, second u dont really know how well the shop will put it back together, u might risk losing some water resistance. also overheating doesnt necessarily occur just while playing heavy games. i didnt notice that u were referring to the snapdragon model, the issues i brought up were with the exynos model (non 5G) . not sure why id be "an X brand employee", all i did was give u a heads up lol

It really doesn't cost much to send it back to Samsung to have them swap in a new battery. 

[Montana One-Six]

Why is he looking for a new phone? Are there issues with it?

 

If it were my dad I would tell him something along those lines:

The Galaxy S9+ is a 2018 phone and upgrading to a new phone won't give you many benefits if any at all. Could spend those 600 bucks on something more useful than a new phone to be honest.

 

I mean phones haven't made any real improvements that justify those hefty price tags in the last 3-4 years imo.

I made the experience that many don't really look at what they have and what a new model offers them that they don't already have. When I pointed that out in context with for what they use their phone they often realized that it isn't really worth it.

Reducing e-waste is important and people unnecessarily replacing their phones every 1 or 2 years are probably on of the biggest reasons why there is a problem with e-waste in the first place.

 

But then again I don't know what your dad does and how and for what he uses his phone. So in the end that is for you to decide but just trying to point that out.

[senge1337]

18 hours ago, Montana16 said:

Why is he looking for a new phone? Are there issues with it?

 

If it were my dad I would tell him something along those lines:

The Galaxy S9+ is a 2018 phone and upgrading to a new phone won't give you many benefits if any at all. Could spend those 600 bucks on something more useful than a new phone to be honest.

 

I mean phones haven't made any real improvements that justify those hefty price tags in the last 3-4 years imo.

I made the experience that many don't really look at what they have and what a new model offers them that they don't already have. When I pointed that out in context with for what they use their phone they often realized that it isn't really worth it.

Reducing e-waste is important and people unnecessarily replacing their phones every 1 or 2 years are probably on of the biggest reasons why there is a problem with e-waste in the first place.

 

But then again I don't know what your dad does and how and for what he uses his phone. So in the end that is for you to decide but just trying to point that out.

Uhh... Do you kind of need a reason why to upgrade? Upgrading from a GTX 1060 is also kind of non-sense - it can run everything fine. If you do not want to help, then just please go away. I am not asking "should he upgrade". We are still thinking and looking for something since mid-rangers are getting so good now.

[Montana One-Six]

3 hours ago, senge1337 said:

Uhh... Do you kind of need a reason why to upgrade? Upgrading from a GTX 1060 is also kind of non-sense - it can run everything fine. If you do not want to help, then just please go away. I am not asking "should he upgrade". We are still thinking and looking for something since mid-rangers are getting so good now.

I just wanted to point out that switching from a 3 year old flagship (without any problems) to a mid range 2020/2021 phone probably will not give you much if anything.

Like I said out of my own experience most look at it from the age perspective and don't evaluate if it really is necessary or worth switching or "upgrading".

Considering how most people use their phone switching from a 3 year old flagship (without any problems) to a newer mid-range doesn't make sense and is probably just because that person wants a new phone.

 

You asked what we would recommend and my recommendation would be save those 600 and continue using your "old" phone if there are no issues with it.

If you don't like my recommendation don't listen to it, in the end it's your/his decision how you want to spend your/his money.

[Eumel2]

Randomly popped in here, i switch from axactly a galaxy s9 to a zenfone 8 (S9 constantly lost connection to the mobile network and that sucked)

Coincidentally the Zenfone 8 also has exactly your requirements so definitely my choice if you really want to upgrade