While there is the occasional exciting launch, the middle of the year is a fairly quiet time. This makes it the season to get an older device, a high quality phone that has slipped down the price charts. Here are the best deals we’ve found this week.
Germany
The Nothing Phone (1) still holds up in terms of design and performance even if it turns 1 next month. Its price has dropped to €370 for a 128GB unit, if you want double the storage you can get it for €50 more.
Or you could get the Poco X5 Pro, which costs just $330 for an 8/256GB drive. It has a comparable Snapdragon 778G chipset (the only real difference here is the lack of wireless charging support), the display is also similar, a 6.67-inch 10-bit 120Hz OLED panel.
While the 8MP ultrawide camera can’t compete with the 50MP module on the Nothing, the 108MP fares well against its 50MP competitor (no OIS, though). The Poco has a bigger and faster charging battery: 5,000mAh/67W versus 4,500mAh/33W (and 15W wireless on the Nothing).
Redmi Note 12 and Note 12 Pro are a midrange 5G pair with Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 and Dimensity 1080, respectively. The Pro model costs €70 more, which makes it a little cheaper than the Poco. It has a 10-bit AMOLED panel (up from 8-bit on the vanilla Note 12) and doubles the RAM to 8GB.
The Pro has a 50MP 1/1.56-inch main camera with OIS that’s quite capable, but the 8MP ultra-wide is quite basic. Both Note 12 models have 5,000mAh batteries, the vanilla phone charges at 33 W (0-50% in 22 minutes), the Pro one at 67 W (0-50% in 15 minutes).
A more premium option (albeit still under €400) is the Xiaomi 13 Lite. It uses the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, which never caught on, but you get a high-quality 6.55″ 12-bit 120Hz display, 50MP 1/1.56″ primary camera (no OIS), and a 4,500mAh battery with 67W fast charging
The Xiaomi 12 is no spring chicken, but it costs less than €500 and has a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset in a fairly small package, slightly smaller than a Pixel 7a. This is partly due to its 6.28-inch (12-bit 120Hz) display. Its 50MP 1/1.56” main camera has OIS and can record 8K at 24fps. The 4,500mAh battery charges quickly both wired (67W, full in 39 minutes) and wirelessly (50W, full in 53 minutes).
The Realme C55 may not be for you, but it’s a great choice for an older parent or grandparent. It has an easy-to-see 6.72″ (90Hz, FHD+) IPS LCD display and a large 5,000mAh battery with 33W charging (50% in 29 minutes). The camera setup is pretty simple (main 64MP , 8 MP selfies), but there is a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a microSD slot on board.
Cheaper and a bit smaller is the Realme Narzo 50A Prime. It has a 6.6 (60Hz, FHD+) IPS LCD, its 5,000mAh battery only recharges at 18W. It also has a 3.5mm jack and a microSD slot.
We conclude with the Apple Watch Series 8, the aluminum version with Bluetooth/GPS. It is available in both 41mm and 45mm sizes and packs excellent health monitoring and incident detection features.
UK
Motorola unveiled the foldable Razr 40 Ultra just this week. You can pre-order it from Motorola.com and if you use the code PERK15 you’ll get 15% off, which cuts the £1,050 RRP to £893. If you order before 30 June you can also claim a free Lenovo Tab M10 HD. The optional Motocare crash damage protection is also discounted by 15%. Check out our review for a closer look at the Razr 40 Ultra.
The two Realme GT2 models were launched in January 2022, but are holding up quite well (especially at these prices). The GT2 Pro has a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 paired with a 6.7″ LTPO (120Hz) display with QHD+ resolution. These are rare qualities at £550, as is the 50MP 150° ultra-wide-angle camera.
The Realme GT2 is £190 cheaper and loses most of it: it has a Snapdragon 888, a 6.62-inch FHD+ 120Hz display and an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera. On the plus side, it has the same 50MP 1/1.56-inch main camera with OIS and the same 5,000mAh battery with 65W fast charging.
The Honor 70 is also from last year and for the same price as the GT2 offers a 50 MP ultra wide angle (plus a 54 MP 1/1.49″ main, without OIS). The display and battery are similar (6 .67″ FHD+ 120Hz, 4,800mAh with 66W charging) and this uses the Snapdragon 778G+ chip. This chip lacks GPU horsepower compared to the 888 and you might think it’s more efficient, but the Realme GT2 scored higher endurance score (115 hours vs 100 hours).
The Samsung Galaxy M33 offers 5G connectivity with its Exynos 1280 chipset and a large 5,000mAh battery (25W charging). At the front is a 6.6-inch 120Hz (FHD+) LCD, at the rear a 50MP main camera and a 5MP ultra-wide-angle camera. This phone covers the basics with a microSD slot and a 3.0mm jack. .5mm.
The Honor 70 Lite is a budget 5G phone. Most of the budget seems to have gone towards the Snapdragon 480+ chipset as the 6.5-inch 90Hz HD+ LCD isn’t particularly impressive. At least the battery is quite large at 5,000mAh (22.5W charging) .
Even though the XM5 generation is almost here, the Sony WF-1000XM4s are still some of the best TWS gems out there. And their case is much smaller than the XM3 series, making them much easier to carry in your pocket.
If you’re looking for a basic smartwatch that won’t break the bank, the Honor Watch GS 3 is down to £100. It has a 1.43-inch AMOLED display (466 x 466px) and is rated with a water resistance rating of 5 ATMs. The battery lasted about 4 days in our review, this is with Always On Display, 24/7 heart rate, SpO2, sleep and stress tracking enabled.
United States of America
The new Galaxy S23 series is still new and expensive. But Samsung offers the best software support of any Android manufacturer, so you’re not losing as much by getting an older model.
The vanilla Samsung Galaxy S22 costs $635 for a 256GB unit, while the S23 costs $860 for the same amount of storage. The Galaxy S22+ costs $800 and while it’s $200 cheaper than the S23+, however, it’s also only $100 cheaper than the Galaxy S22 Ultra. If you’re not after the diminutive size of the S22, we recommend the Ultra for its more capable display and cameras (even compared to the S23+).
Some find the minimalist aesthetic of the Google Pixel Watch appealing. If you’re one of them, you can pick up an LTE-enabled model for $333, less than you’d pay for a Wi-Fi-only watch from the Google Store.
Next, some Apple accessories. The AirPods Pro (2nd generation) are probably the best TWS buds you can use with an iPhone thanks to the unmatched Apple product integration (they’re also really good buds).
If $200 is too expensive for you, check out AirPods (2nd generation), which cost half as much. There are third-generation models available for $170, but at that price, you’d be better off with the Pros.
A pack of four AirTags costs $80, or $20 per tag. These rely on Ultra Wide Band (UWB) for wireless connectivity to tap into the growing network of Apple devices that can help you find your lost keys or backpack.
We’ll wrap things up with this rugged flip phone: the Cat S22 Flip. It is IP68 rated (dust and water resistant) and complies with the MIL-SPEC-810H standard. It can survive 6-foot drops onto steel and submerge up to 5 feet underwater for 35 minutes. And here’s the cool part: it runs the Android 11 Go edition. This gives you access to many apps for messaging (there’s a push-to-talk button on the side), music streaming, and so on. Note that it only works on T-Mobile and virtual operators that use its network.
India
India has been lucky enough to get Snapdragon versions of the Galaxy S22 series, so you won’t feel so bad about getting them instead of the 2023 models (not as bad as the Europeans, at least).
The Samsung Galaxy S22 is ₹12,000 cheaper than the S23, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is ₹15,000 cheaper than an S23 Ultra. Please note that these are new phones, not refurbished units.
You don’t need to spend that much to get 5G, here are a couple of options under ₹20,000. The Redmi Note 12 runs on Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 and offers a fantastic 6.67-inch 120Hz AMOLED display. It has basic dust and water resistance and a 5,000mAh battery that charges at an acceptable rate (56% in 30 minutes). Plus, you get expandable storage and a 3.5mm jack for wired headphones.
The Realme Narzo 50 5G is slightly cheaper and it shows: the 6.6″ IPS LCD (90Hz, FHD+) isn’t that impressive and neither is the older Dimensity 810 chip. There’s no ultra-wide-angle camera (not that the 8MP module on the Redmi is particularly good) and the battery is the same (5,000mAh/33W) This one has stereo speakers, which the Redmi lacks, microSD slot and 3.5mm jack are also present.
You can get 5G for even less, Lava Blaze 5G costs just over ₹10,000. The Dimension 700 is fast enough for this class, and you get a 50MP main camera (without UW), a 5,000mAh battery (with a glacial 10W charger). The 6.52″ IPS LCD (90Hz) only has an HD+ resolution, an unavoidable cost-saving sacrifice. At least the microSD slot and the 3.5 mm jack survived.
You should be aware of a couple of pre-orders starting next week. Samsung and Flipkart will launch the Galaxy F54 on Tuesday. The specifics are yet to be revealed, but you can book a seat in the queue right now with a ₹1,000 deposit and get a ₹2,000 discount.
Realme 11 Pro and 11 Pro+ will arrive on Thursday. We already know the specs for these: 100MP and 200MP cameras, respectively, 6.7″ 120Hz AMOLED display, Dimensity 7050, 500mAh batteries (67W and 100W charging, respectively), plus to those adorable designs for the back.
While most phones these days have some level of protection against dust and water, you might not always want to risk it. An action camera is tougher, something like the GoPro Hero11 goes underwater 10 meters without a case. Its ultra-wide-angle lens and new processor also enable HyperSmooth video stabilization. You can also leave the camera outside to capture a time lapse of the night sky.
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