Android flagship prices have been known to drop quite quickly after launch and we are seeing it just this week. We’ve also found tablet deals for those who want a bigger screen. Use the links below to jump to your region:
United States of America
The Galaxy S23 series may fly off the shelves, but that (thankfully) didn’t stop the price from dropping even earlier in its lifecycle. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is already down to $1,000 for the base 12/256GB unit, $200 off MSRP. Similarly, the Galaxy S23+ is down $150 and is now close to the vanilla model’s starting price. By the way, the Galaxy S23 is now $700, $100 less than full price.
Here’s something for people looking for an affordable 5G phone. The Moto G (2022) costs half as much, up to $200. And if Moto hadn’t insisted on using an HD+ display, we’d be more enthusiastically recommending it. A OnePlus Nord N200 5G can be found for $240 and has an FHD+ display (plus 18W charging instead of 10W), but it’s with just 64GB of storage while the Motorola comes with 256GB (both have microSD slot). Also, $40 is $40.
Subsequently, iPad at three different price ranges. The Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2021) is the older model with an Apple M1 chipset instead of the M2 of the 2022 models. However, iPadOS is not macOS, so it’s difficult to use the extra horsepower. This model may cost a hefty $1,000, but it comes with Wi-Fi and LTE connectivity, as well as a decent amount of storage (256GB).
For work/study from home, you can buy the iPad Air (2022) instead, which costs half as much if you forgo the LTE modem and upgrade to 64GB of storage. It has the same M1 chipset, so the main difference between the two is the display: 12.9″ 120Hz vs 10.9″ 60Hz (not to mention brightness, HDR, etc. which are in favor of the pricier Pro). You could get LTE connectivity for $150 more, but we’d probably choose extra storage and tether from our phones if we needed data on the go.
The vanilla iPad (2022) has the same screen as the Air, well, unless using the older 1st-generation Apple Pencil instead of 2nd is important to you. The real reason for the $100 price drop is the weaker chipset, not that we’d ever call the Apple A14 “weak,” especially at $400. Again, LTE is an option, but $150 more seems like a lot. .
Finally, while iPhones have gained satellite messaging capabilities, it’s only for emergencies (you get location sharing for friends, though). So a dedicated satellite messenger like the Garmin InReach Mini might still make sense if you enjoy camping or have to go to the wilderness for work.
UK
Which would you rather have? A Samsung Galaxy S21 FE with Snapdragon 888 or a Galaxy S22 with Exynos 2200? We ask because they both cost basically the same. The FE is the bigger phone (6.4″ vs 6.1″) and has the bigger battery to match (4,500mAh vs 3,700mAh), but the S22 has the better cameras. You can compare the FE to the S22+, even though that one is more expensive.
Instead of a former flagship, you can save some money and get a mid-ranger, for example the Oppo Reno8 Pro. That packs a large 6.7″ 120Hz (FHD+) AMOLED screen and a 4,500mAh battery with 80W fast charging (compared to 25W for the Galaxy).The phone is powered by the Dimensity 8100-Max chipset.Its 50MP 1/1.56″ main camera lacks OIS and there is no lens zoom to edge.
For £50 less you can get the Honor 70 with a Snapdragon 778G+. It has a much better ultra-wide camera (50MP 120° vs 8MP 112°) and a different battery configuration, 4,800mAh with 66W charging (the endurance rating for both phones came out at exactly 100 hours). Note that the Honor 70 comes with half the storage, 128GB.
Another £50 down and we arrive at the Motorola Edge 30 Neo with a Snapdragon 695. We know it’s nobody’s favourite, partly due to its inability to record 4K video. The 64MP main camera has OIS, however, but the 13MP 120° ultra-wide-angle isn’t as impressive. This phone is smaller with a 6.28-inch 120Hz OLED display and a 4,020mAh battery with 68W charging (and 104 hours of endurance).
Cut another £50 and we’re looking at a Galaxy M33 or Moto G73. Both are 5G phones (use Exynos 1280 and Dimensity 930 respectively), both have mid-sized FHD+ screens, 120Hz LCD, both have 50MP main cameras (no OIS), both have 5,000mAh batteries with comparable charging speeds (25W versus 30W). There are some pros and cons for each phone, which you can see in a direct comparison.
Another showdown between Samsung and Motorola is the Galaxy A14 against the Moto G23. This isn’t so much of a fight as the Samsung has an FHD+ screen compared to the Moto’s HD+ (both 90Hz LCD), not to mention 5G connectivity. It lacks an ultra-wide camera (the Moto has a 5MP unit) and is slow to charge its 5,000mAh battery (15W vs 30W), but we’d almost certainly choose it over the Motorola at current prices.
If you’re into VR, you may have watched the Meta Quest 2’s price fluctuations with concern. The 128GB model is down to £350, £50 less than in March this year.
Germany
Our weekly survey showed that the Samsung Galaxy A54 has potential, but most people have been waiting for the reviews to come out. Ours ended (including our video review) and our conclusion was that the A54 is a solid mid-ranger, even if the MSRP was a bit steep. Currently, the 8/256GB is down to $500, which is how much you’d pay for the 128GB model at launch. The price is still a bit high, perhaps, but it is rapidly reaching more palatable levels.
The Redmi Note 12 Pro is also a recent arrival in Europe and looks quite competitive against the A54 if you put them head-to-head. The 8/128GB model costs €100 less than the Samsung, the 8/256GB model costs the same (ie €500). You get a slightly larger display (6.67″ vs 6.4″) and faster charging for the 5,000mAh battery (67W vs 25W). Check out our review for more details (we also have a video review).
Next up is the Battle of the Pocos. Both the Poco X5 Pro and the X4 GT cost €370. The former is a new model from February, the latter came out in June last year. You’re looking at a Snapdragon 778G (X5 Pro) vs Dimension 8100 (X4 GT), 6.67″ AMOLED @ 120Hz vs 6.6″ IPS LCD @ 144Hz, 108MP Camera vs 64 MP and essentially identical batteries with around 5,000mAh capacity and 67W charging. Also, both phones launched with Android 12, although the newer model has MIUI 14 instead of v13.
Another Poco worth looking at is the X5. Its screen is similar to that of its Pro sibling (except with Gorilla Glass 3 instead of GG5), but you lose the 778G in favor of the Snapdragon 695. Also, the 108MP camera is replaced with a 48MP base module and the charging speed is reduced to 33W. That’s a lot of cuts, but the phone is 33% cheaper.
Further down the price charts is the Moto G13. This is a sub-$200 phone and lacks 5G connectivity, an ultra-wide camera and the 6.5″ (90Hz) IPS LCD display only has HD+ resolution. But the G13 is 33% cheaper than the Poco X5, so there’s that too.
India
Two 5G phones, both cost about the same: well, the Oppo A74 5G is ₹500 more expensive than the Tecno Pova Neo 5G, but that’s a small difference. The Pova is larger with a 6.8″ screen and 6,000mAh battery (versus the 6.5″ and 5,000mAh), plus it runs the screen at 120Hz instead of 90Hz. The chipsets on both are nothing to write home about (Dimension 810 and Snapdragon 480), but the A74 has an extra 2GB of RAM, both have 128GB of expandable storage. The Oppo also has an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera compared to none on the Tecno.
We next looked at a pair of 10-inch tablets, both with 2,000 x 1,200px 10-bit screens. The Redmi Pad costs ₹1,500 more but has a 90Hz panel (versus 60Hz), the best chipset (Helio G99 versus Snapdragon 680) and double the RAM (both have microSD slots), plus a slightly smaller battery. bigger (both with 18W charging). We’ve looked at both lists if you want to go into more detail.
There’s a sale on Sony headphones. Let’s start with the over-ear models, the WH-1000XM4 and XM5 with a price difference of ₹7,000 between them. The newer model has improved ANC, though we’re not sure it’s worth the extra money (especially since we had a few gripes in our review).
If you are looking for TWS buds on the other hand, you can have the Sony WF-1000XM4 or the LinkBuds S for ₹3,000 less. LinkBuds are smaller and lighter which makes them more comfortable. Both have ANC on board, but the WF model has better drivers (5mm vs 4mm).
We’ll wrap up with a huge but surprisingly cheap phone: the Tecno Pova 3 costs less than ₹10,000 and has a huge 6.9-inch display, a 90Hz IPS LCD with FHD+ resolution, and an equally huge 7,000mAh battery with charging 33W fast. It’s not the fastest, but it’s fast enough for a device under ₹10,000. And it also has a 50MP main camera capable of 1440p video recording, as well as niceties like a microSD slot, 3.5mm jack and stereo speakers.
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