Budget 15-20K Phone for myself, intending to use for 2-3 years

[Calvin]

1. Budget?
A: INR 15k-20k

2. Preferred display size, type and resolution?
A: Above 6 inches, prefer AMOLED - LCD is fine too, FHD and above

3. Preferred operating system? (Android (with version), iOS, Windows Phone etc).
A: Android 12

4. Preferred connectivity options? (4G, 3G, 2G etc).
A: 4G is enough, not too keen on 5G

5. Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them.
A: Have been using Mi Phones for the past 4 years (Mi A1 to A3). While the stock OS and camera was good, the phone is plagued with signal reception issues and ghost touch. So no Mi/RedMi/Poco.

6. What is your intended use for this phone (internet, camera, multimedia, mails etc.)?
A: Social Media, camera.

7. Single SIM/ Dual SIM?
A: Dual SIM. Dedicated SD Card slot is an advantage, but willing to overlook the absence of it.

8. New or Used? Online or Offline?
A: New. Don’t mind buying online

9. Any other requirements?
A: Good signal reception (must), good battery backup, decent camera, closer to stock Android

10. If you have already considered a phone, then please mention the model
A: Moto G52, OnePlus Nord CE2 Lite. Would like to know if there are any other phones that satisfy the above criteria.

 

[Stronk]

Take a look at Galaxy A23, seems decent

 

[Kaleen Bhaiya]

Since you are already comfortable with stock android, G52 seems a viable option. It checks all of your requirements.
It has hybrid sim slot though.

 

[Synth-Pop]

G52 looks like a good option but it's only 4G, I'm considering it for myself too. Motorola also announced G82 recently which is almost same with SD 695 and is 5G. Don't know if they'll release it in India. Rumors also for something like G62.

 

[GoodGuyBel]

On amazon mi 11 lite ne is going for 19k check it out.

 

[burntwingzZz]

some iqoo phone is being sold under 20k with SD778 and other option would be motorola .Miss the Sonys and good old nokia phone with great specs .thank god motorola is making good efforts but their pricing is pretty bad .I so wanted moto g 5g , it was sold out waited for it to restock , now it harestocked and is priced at 22k :|

 

[Kaleen Bhaiya]

G52 looks like a good option but it's only 4G, I'm considering it for myself too. Motorola also announced G82 recently which is almost same with SD 695 and is 5G. Don't know if they'll release it in India. Rumors also for something like G62.

I am a bit skeptical whether having 5G will have great improvements in speeds, given the user base in our country. 4G was touted to be blazing fast and even using all the technologies, we could muster around 100-200 mbps, that too with 4CA. Given that 4g will be the base for 5G, any improvements in 5G, will indirectly translate to improvements in 4g. Unless, there are specific use-cases(ultra high speeds, for which mmwave is necessary), I think upgraded 4G should be decent for average use.
Just my 2 cents..

 

[AINDRASIS_GUPTA]

Motorola wouldn't be my suggestion if you're looking to use your phone for the next 3 years. They hardly release updates & support older devices, while releasing new phones every other month.

Also, camera isn't the strongest suite of Motorola. Their camera post-processing software is pretty bad and sluggish.

I'd suggest looking for similarly priced Samsung phones, if you want your device to be supported for a considerable period. Take a look at the F23 5G, M53 5G or the A23 like @Stronk suggested.

 

[Kaleen Bhaiya]

Miss the Sonys and good old nokia phone with great specs .thank god motorola is making good efforts but their pricing is pretty bad

Since they are near to stock, with no bloatwares, they need to charge some extra amount to keep their business sustainable. Redmi and other Chinese phones with bloatwares get good commission for adding them which helps to keep costs down. Moto and Nokia can't do that.
I too agree, Nokia is overpriced but because of their pricing they lost out to Chinese. They just couldn't compete with them.

 

[burntwingzZz]

Since they are near to stock, with no bloatwares, they need to charge some extra amount to keep their business sustainable. Redmi and other Chinese phones with bloatwares get good commission for adding them which helps to keep costs down. Moto and Nokia can't do that.
I too agree, Nokia is overpriced but because of their pricing they lost out to Chinese. They just couldn't compete with them.

well they launched the first moto g5g lot at i think 20-21 k ,and my direct comparison is with their moto g71 with a newer chipset (performs similar to 750) which is priced less :|

 

[Kaleen Bhaiya]

my direct comparison is with their moto g71

If you are fine with absence of compass, lack of SD card, G71 is a decent buy. Plus it had oled screen so screen content looks good. I was to go for G71 but the lack of the mentioned features forced me to get Edge 20 fusion.

Motorola wouldn't be my suggestion if you're looking to use your phone for the next 3 years. They hardly release updates & support older devices, while releasing new phones every other month.

Also, camera isn't the strongest suite of Motorola. Their camera post-processing software is pretty bad and sluggish.

I'd suggest looking for similarly priced Samsung phones, if you want your device to be supported for a considerable period. Take a look at the F23 5G, M53 5G or the A23 like @Stronk suggested.

Agreed. Camera and updates aren't their strongest points. But if we compare Moto with other Chinese vendors, then Moto is relatively better off coz the updates in the Chinese brands are actually downgrades and leave the users frustrated. Camera is a plus for the Chines phones.
In the android ecosystem, After Google, the only decent option left is Samsung.

 

[DEVRAJ BARIA]

I think you should get a MOTO EDGE 20 Fusion. I think there will be no updates after 2 years on this device but the quality of a phone and overall less hassle and after sale service( just in case of need) will satisfy you the period of time you mentioned easily. I would forgive motorola for using a mediatek processor in this price range if i were you.

 

[OMEGA44-XT]

Realme 9 Pro+ 6/128GB with SBI debit/credit card is 20k. No dedicated SD card slot. IMO it is one of the best camera phone for its price, has OIS with a good Sony sensor. UI is not as light as stock android but is ok. I personally consider One UI as the best android UI, followed by stock android, then the Chinese ones - Xiaomi & BBK.

 

[Synth-Pop]

Motorola wouldn't be my suggestion if you're looking to use your phone for the next 3 years. They hardly release updates & support older devices, while releasing new phones every other month.

Also, camera isn't the strongest suite of Motorola. Their camera post-processing software is pretty bad and sluggish.

I'd suggest looking for similarly priced Samsung phones, if you want your device to be supported for a considerable period. Take a look at the F23 5G, M53 5G or the A23 like @Stronk suggested.

Agreed, Moto will not provide updates for 3 years and their camera processing is pathetic. Moto is good for display, battery backup and soft optimization without bloatware.

Samsung provides regular updates. I am still getting regular updates on my A50 but they 've their own bloatware pushed again n again every time we update. Samsung has a brand value so they usually charge extra premium.
I won't suggest other M or F series. I own F62 as well, very poor build and mediocre software experience. I may be wrong but what I've experienced is these midrange M and F series are just power bricks with a good display.
Samsung A23 isn't a good option either, LCD with Snapdragon 665 (11 nm) ?. SD 680 and POLED on moto g52 is comparatively superior. Moto is also 3-5k cheaper.
Surely camera on A23 will be much better with OIS.

IQoo Z6 pro for 20k after discounts looks good, atleast on paper but it lacks 3.5mm jack.

 

[Kaleen Bhaiya]

I won't suggest other M or F series. I own F62 as well, very poor build and mediocre software experience. I may be wrong but what I've experienced is these midrange M and F series are just power bricks with a good display.

+1. Don't know about F series but M series has been a mixed bag as per comments from members here and elsewhere. If going for Samsung phones, anyone would be better off with A series as they are international variants meaning uniform specifications across all countries unlike S series(still serving exynos in India, while globally snapdragon SoC) and M series(specifically for India, so cost-cutting everywhere).

 

[Titokhan]

....unlike S series(still serving exynos in India, while globally snapdragon SoC)

This is no longer true since the release of the Galaxy S22.

 

[Kaleen Bhaiya]

This is no longer true since the release of the Galaxy S22.

Yup.Was aware of that. I searched through Samsung site for which s- series phone came with SD soc, didn't find the mention of S22. It seems they didn't update it.

Latest Snapdragon Processor Phone | Samsung India | Samsung India

Choose Samsung Qualcomm Snapdragon processor phone that suits you best, we have a range of new snapdragon mobile. Know more about price, offer & features visit Samsung India.

www.samsung.com

 

[Calvin]

Motorola wouldn't be my suggestion if you're looking to use your phone for the next 3 years. They hardly release updates & support older devices, while releasing new phones every other month.

Also, camera isn't the strongest suite of Motorola. Their camera post-processing software is pretty bad and sluggish.

I'd suggest looking for similarly priced Samsung phones, if you want your device to be supported for a considerable period. Take a look at the F23 5G, M53 5G or the A23 like @Stronk suggested.

What would I be missing because of lack of updates? I have no idea and I'm just curious. Reg camera post processing, would using gCam solve the issue?

G52 looks like a good option but it's only 4G, I'm considering it for myself too. Motorola also announced G82 recently which is almost same with SD 695 and is 5G. Don't know if they'll release it in India. Rumors also for something like G62.

I think 4G is fine for me, even if 5G becomes mainstream in next two years.

On amazon mi 11 lite ne is going for 19k check it out.

Like I said in OP, I'm not keen on Mi phones after using them for 4 years, the signal quality is really frustrating.

Since you are already comfortable with stock android, G52 seems a viable option. It checks all of your requirements.
It has hybrid sim slot though.

I could compromise with hybrid SIM slot. A dedicated card slot is a nice to have, but not a deal breaker.

 

[Kaleen Bhaiya]

What would I be missing because of lack of updates? I have no idea and I'm just curious. Reg camera post processing, would using gCam solve the issue?

I would be in minority, but I never desire for updates except when there is something major broken. Most brands won't do proper QA testing and more often than not, it ends up introducing more bugs rather than resolving. This has been my experience with Chinese brands. I think Samsung does go that extra mile in ensuring updates don't break the code, but I won't be the right person since I never used Samsung phones in recent times.
Regarding Gcam, it does produce some great results. Been using it occasionally with Edge 20 Fusion and it shows Moto has hardware but lack processing software. Gcam on snapdragon Soc would be more stable than on MTK Soc.
I got my device in March and I have got only security updates, no other updates. But didn't feel the need for it as everything was working smoothly.

 

[Calvin]

I'm surprised why no one suggested OnePlus Nord CE Lite. Has OnePlus become so bad these days? I've used OnePlus One and it was really good.