Recommendations for phone upgrade

[Aleph256]

So my Redmi Note 8 Pro is starting to show its (relative) age.

Battery load time is inconsistent while using the same wall plug and cable...
Apps that I did lock randomly still close...
UI elements sometimes don't load propetly...
And most importantly, I'm running out of storage.

 

I've been looking at replacement options, and my 300-ish€ budget would let me afford a 128GB Galaxy A55.

I'm willing to stretch it and add a 1 TB Micro SD (there's currrently a nice deal on SanDisk Ultras), that would add 100€ but can be carried over to another phone if needed.

Would you guys have better/alternate suggestions at that 400-ish€ price point, considering the following requirements:

• No older than last gen
  • Something something security updates?
• Enough oomph to be used as a backup device for Genshin and Star Rail
  • I have to move for work a few times every month and sometimes can't take the laptop with me
• SD card slot and total capacity of >1 TB
  • Corrolary of the above point - the places I go to often have shitty network, if at all, so I wanna be able to dump my extensive and ever-growing music archive on the phone
• 5000+ mAh battery
  • 4500 as I have now tended to have me recharge during the workday, which is not always doable
• 3.5mm jack if possible but not a hard requirement
  • I do want to be able to charge my phone while listening to music and not buy another headset for it...
  • ... but you can find these nifty USB-C to C and jack on Ali for basically nothing, so...

 

Thank you for taking time to indulge me.

[dizmo]

The A55 is a nice phone. I can't really offer much advice as where you live you're likely looking at getting phones that they don't sell here (Redmi, Xiaomi, etc) for the value segment. There's a new OnePlus phone, the Nord, but I'm not sure how it compares price wise. GSMArena has a great tool that lets you put in your phone requirements and see what's available. It'll narrow down your search at least. https://www.gsmarena.com/search.php3?

 

I will say this; don't fixate on mah capacity. Look at reviews. Just because it has a bigger battery, doesn't mean it'll have better battery life. OS optimizations make an absolutely massive impact on that.

[thekingofmonks]

Galaxy S22 series

[191x7]

A35 is pretty much an A54 so you can consider that.

 

Or the OnePlus Nord series.

[Aleph256]

12 hours ago, thekingofmonks said:

Galaxy S22 series

Nice offerings and I did consider them, but the lack of expandable storage is a dealbreaker for me since the 1TB model would blow the budget.

 

12 hours ago, 191x7 said:

A35 is pretty much an A54 so you can consider that.

 

Or the OnePlus Nord series.

I did look at reviews of the A35 during my research, consensus + user feedback from a coworker convinced me the extra 50€ for the A55 was worth it, especially regarding battery life.

 

Looked at the Nords, and the CE4 Lite did appeal to me a fair bit... But it barely has more oomph than my current phone while being a little pricier than the A55. CE4 might have been a good option but not available outside India yet it seems.

 

12 hours ago, dizmo said:

GSMArena has a great tool that lets you put in your phone requirements and see what's available. It'll narrow down your search at least. https://www.gsmarena.com/search.php3?

Didn't know about this site, I'll look it up later today.

 

Thank y'all for the feedback.

Tangent question: is there a noticeable real-world difference between SanDisk Ultra and Extreme lineups?

[Fayzan]

On 8/3/2024 at 11:00 PM, Aleph256 said:

• No older than last gen
  • Something something security updates?
• Enough oomph to be used as a backup device for Genshin and Star Rail
  • I have to move for work a few times every month and sometimes can't take the laptop with me
• SD card slot and total capacity of >1 TB
  • Corrolary of the above point - the places I go to often have shitty network, if at all, so I wanna be able to dump my extensive and ever-growing music archive on the phone
• 5000+ mAh battery
  • 4500 as I have now tended to have me recharge during the workday, which is not always doable
• 3.5mm jack if possible but not a hard requirement
  • I do want to be able to charge my phone while listening to music and not buy another headset for it...
  • ... but you can find these nifty USB-C to C and jack on Ali for basically nothing, so...

 

CMF Phone 1. Checks all your requirements. I've been using this as my only phone for almost 3 weeks or so!

 

Gets 2+3 years of software updates and Nothing has been timely with their updates, gotten 2 already since purchase.

 

It can handle games well enough, while not using all of its juice in a single go! Battery lasts about 1 1/2 days with 6-7 hours of SOT

 

Expandable storage via microSD up to 2TB which is welcome!! Though the 3.5mm jack is a miss out but like you mentioned, USB-C to C and jack are basically for nothing! 

 

And it's priced at 175EUR so it's well within your budget!! If you want to know more in depth about this phone, pls dm me, I'd be happy to help ya!!

[Aleph256]

6 hours ago, Fayzan said:

And it's priced at 175EUR so it's well within your budget!! If you want to know more in depth about this phone, pls dm me, I'd be happy to help ya!!

I actually came across it when browsing GSMArena on Sunday.

Price was a good 100€ more than your quote, but I did seriously consider it.

 

Ended up going for the A55 in the end since I've had negative feedback about NothingOS from a friend, and... Well... Not exactly a fan of the looks of the back plate

But thanks for taking the time to recommend it anyway!

[Fayzan]

Okay, my bad. I converted it from INR to EUR, so might have been an issue there.

 

The A55 is pretty good, hope you enjoy your new phone!! Cheers bud!!