Alright, so if you want to buy a phone for around 30,000, the confusion level is here. Because there are tons of options—Samsung S23 FE or Moto Edge 50 Pro, Poco X6 Pro or Pico Z9—nothing but the phone 2 or Redmi Note 13 Pro—plus, with the Amazon and Flipkart sales, our confusion from here goes to here. Other discounts are really genuine; which phone should you buy? Now, before we begin, two things Number one, we have used all the phones that we’ll mention. Videos are up on the channel; if you want to check them out, you can check them out, so we’ll be speaking from a more practical experience, and number two, we’ll be mentioning the discounted price without card or bank offers, so technically, the prices can go down if you have the correct card. Use it if you have it.
First up is the performance champ, the Poco X6 Pro. Usually it sells for 25,999, but it would be available for around 23,000 rupees. This comes with the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 Ultra, and this is the phone to get if your priority is gaming. Like you can see here, the Antidote score is way higher than any other phone at the same price, plus you get gaming-specific features like frame interpolation, which adds an artificial frame. Like when we played Genshin Impact, it had a smooth 60 FPS. Besides this, the phone also has a good display, stereo speakers, and all of that, so watching videos and movies will all be just fine. The only thing about the POCO X6 Pro is the camera. Right now, after the update, the skin tone has gotten better, but overall, the camera is kind of average. Now I read in the comments and on Twitter that the Poco X6 Pro has some battery drain issues. Well, we have been driving the phone daily for some time now, and if you look at the graph, I didn’t face any such battery drain issues. So maybe it has been fixed with the latest software update. Overall, if gaming is your priority, then the Poco X6 Pro at $23,000 is a steal.
Next up is Sian’s daily driver now, the Moto Edge 50 Pro. We are working on a full review of that video, so stay subscribed for that. But this phone usually sells for around $30,999, but during the sale it will be at $27,999. For that price, this phone has some really unique features. IP68? Check. Curved display? Check. Wireless charging? Check. Those are all there. But the best part of this phone, I believe, is actually the camera. Have a look at these photos. The color, sharpness, and all are very nice. Like we clicked a few portrait shots, the background blur, edge detection, edge VR, and all are spot on. Like for years, the biggest drawback of Motorola was the camera, but with the Edge 50 Pro, they have fixed it. Oh, and it also does 4K selfie videos. Another plus point of the Motorola phone is actually the software; you get a lot of extra features here too. You can use your mobile as a webcam, you have a secure folder, and you can even use your TV as a wireless desktop. People usually think of Motorola software as stock Android, but currently, it is much more than stock Android. The only thing to mention here is the software update. Motorola has a history of giving slow updates, so we’ll just have to wait and see if that changes with the S50 Pro, but that’s there; that’s my job to mention.
Another great phone going on sale would be the iQOO Z9. Now, this usually sells around 20–21,000, but during sales, it will sell around 18,000. And the biggest selling point for this phone is the performance you get at this price point. But here, let me demonstrate. This is the NothingPhone 2A. Same price; I’ll have the same file on both phones, and I’ll add a black-and-white filter and export the files at the same time. See, it is faster on the iPhone Z9. And this performance even reflects on gaming. At this price point, I was happy with the gaming performance. Like you can see, it has this motion control here; it has 4D vibration. So, whenever I fire, there’s this haptic feedback. Also, one thing to mention here is that the main camera takes good pictures, like sharp, colorful photos, and all of that is there, but you don’t get any ultra-wide-angle cameras, which could be a turn-off for a few people, but I would still say a good main camera is better than a main camera and an ultra-wide-angle camera. Next up, we have the Nothing Phone 2. Now, usually it sells for Rs. 34,999, but during the sale, it will be available for under Rs. 30,000, and at that price, this phone has some impressive features. Like we have all heard about the Glyph interface, it makes the phone look unique, it is fun, and most importantly, it is also functional.
But another advantage of the Nothing Phone 2 is the software. Like you are getting Nothing OS, which is clean, no bloatware, and I like this. You can add widgets to the lock screen, so it is cool and functional. Also, it recently got an update that lets you add a chat GPT widget on the home screen. Besides this, you also get extra flagship-level features, like wireless and reverse wireless charging. Now there are two things that I must mention regarding the Nothing Phone 2. First, this phone came out in 2022, so technically it will only get one more year of updates. And second, the camera is a bit inconsistent. Sometimes it clicks great photos 7 out of 10 times. but those one or two times, it’s not that great. Another nothing phone is the phone 2A. Usually, it sells for around $24,000, but during the sales, it will be available for around $19,000, and at that price, this phone has some standout features like, yes, this. Like, it has all the advantages of the previous nothing phone too. You also get functional GlyphLite Now, clean, and minimal software. Plus, this launched in 2024, so you will get Android updates for three more years. Even the camera at this price is average. Like outdoors during the daytime, the photos look good; they are sharp, and the and the skin tone is decent. The only thing that bugs me here is that it doesn’t come with a charger in the box. So, you might have to buy a charger separately, and when you charge it, I’ve rarely seen it touch 45 watts. Other than that, the phone is pretty good for $19,000. Now, along with these good smartphone deals, there are some smartphones that you shouldn’t buy in this sale, no matter what.
Number one is the Samsung S21 FE, because, frankly, this phone launched in 2021. So, by 2024 standards, it is old. Like this phone, it will probably be under 25,000 to 30,000. What I would recommend is to get the S23 FE at $35,000, a better option. Number 2 is the Samsung S22, and the reason I would avoid it is the processor. It has the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which was famous for heating, plus the size of the S22 adds to the throttling issue. As a result, the phone runs hot, and the battery life is below average. What I would recommend is getting S23, which will be around $45,000 during the sale. And the third phone to avoid would be the Google Pixel 7a. This also has the same issue. If you are watching Reels for 10 minutes on mobile data, it starts to throttle. Basically, Pixel phones and Desi Indian heat don’t mix well. Also, battery life is below average. Also, there’s the Z Flip 3, which is selling around 30–35,000. I mean, it might be the cheapest foldable available in the market right now, but I would still recommend skipping it because the battery life is not that great. Plus, with the Z Flip 4 and Z Flip 5, there are major improvements. So yeah, that was our take on which phones you should buy and which ones you should avoid.
