High End Mobile Recomendations

[daocat555]

The specs of the Huawei Nova 3 have been pretty much fully leaked, and for Huawei Nova fans it promises to be the best Nova yet.  It is expected to be launched and available for purchase this month.  I'll just go ahead and pan it now, as Huawei just improves the things it likes to improve while ignoring the upgrades which would make this a nice phone.  The screen size will be 6.3 in, but it will be IPS not AMOLED.  The cameras will still lack OIS and optical zoom; which makes the number of pixels irrelevant.  It will still have a single down firing speaker, likely with a poor maximum audio output.  

 

Compare the Huawei Nova 3 with the soon to be released Cubot P20 and the Umidigi One Pro.  All three phones have big IPS screens and a big battery. The Umidigi One Pro has stereo speakers and supports wireless fast charging.  I'm betting that the Nova 3 will be the most expensive of the three phones.  The Nova 3 clearly will have the best CPU, memory, and performance score. The Umidigi One Pro is listed for pre sale on GearBest for 16,745 baht.  The Cubot P20 is expected to sell for 4,330 baht.  If you look at the comparison between it and the Nova 3, I think you will see that the Cubot P20 stands up very well to the Nova.  At a price that's about a quarter of the price of the Nova 3.

 

Comparison between: Huawei Nova 3, Cubot P20, UMIDIGI One Pro

 

For me, if I'm going to pay a lot of money for a phone with a big screen then I want the screen to be AMOLED.  Below are four phones with a large AMOLED or Super AMOLED screen.

 

https://www.kimovil.com/en/compare/samsung-galaxy-a9-star-lite,samsung-galaxy-note-fe,vivo-x21-ud,xiaomi-mi8-se

 

By virtue of having an AMOLED screen I rate all four of these phones higher than the Huawei Nova 3.  The Vivo X21 UD is 17,990 baht at Lazada, probably about the same price as the Huawei Nova 3 will start at.  The Samsung A9 Star Lite is 10,120 baht at Aliexpress, the Xiaomi Mi 8 SE is 10,287 baht at Aliexpress, and the Samsung Note FE is 12,450 baht at Lazada.

 

But I'm not very keen on the above four phones either   Because they lack stereo speakers.  While mono speaker, IPS screen fans have about a gazillion phone models to choose from when you up the ante to AMOLED screen with stereo speakers the number of available phones is reduced to a handful.  I think the Meizu 16 will touch all the bases well when it is launched on August 26, 2018.

[daocat555]

Meizu keeps moving up the announce date for the 16 and 16+ which may be as soon as July 30'th.  The specs of both phones have been pretty much fully released.  Here they are on devicespecifications and Kimovil as compared to the Samsung Galaxy S9+.

 

Compare Samsung Galaxy S9+ vs. Meizu 16 Plus vs. Meizu 16 - GSMArena.com

 

Meizu 16 Plus VS. Meizu 16 VS. Samsung Galaxy S9+: Comparison

 

The actual body dimensions of the Meizu 16 are expected to be 150 x 73.2 x 7.3 mm, and the Meizu 16+ are expected to be 160 x 78.2 x 7.3 mm, as revealed on the TENNA certification site; so I would use those dimensions and not the dimensions which Kimovil lists, which are probably wrong.

 

The Antutu score for the Meizu 16+ may be 291,866 which would be higher than any smartphone available now.  The 291,185 Antutu score which Kimovil lists for the Meizu 16 is surely way too high as the Meizu 16 is expected to have a Snapdragon 710 SoC and should be getting an Antutu score similar to the Xiaomi Mi 8 SE (174.333), perhaps somewhat higher, but not in the 15+ range.

 

Kimovil is probable correct in that the screen of the Meizu 16 will be 5.6 in, and not 6.0 in as stated on gsmarena.  The screen of the Meizu 16+ is 6.1 in per Kimovil and 6.5 in per gsmarena; I'll take a wild guess and say gsmarena has that one correct as a body width of 78.2 mm and typical Meizu ultra thin side bezels would be consistent with a 6.5 in screen.

 

Disappointingly the cameras of the new Meizus may be the same, or about the same as their predecessors.  Gsmarena reviewed the Meizu 15 and was less than glowing with regards to the performance of its cameras.

 

For me, I had once thought that I would upgrade my Meizu 15 to the Meizu 16 when it became available, but right now I doubt I will do that.  It seems that Meizu failed to upgrade the camera, I don't need a higher Antutu score than I have on my Meizu 15; and I don't need to pay a lot to increase my screen from 5.46 in to 5.6 in (at the cost of a wider body, the side bezels just can't get much smaller).  The stereo speakers of the Meizu 15 are just great; clear and loud.  I would expect the same from the Meizu 16, but there's no reason to think it will be much better.  I'll  probably stay with my Meizu 15 for a while, but I do recommend that people interested in a new High End mobile consider one of these two, soon to be announced Meizu phones.

[daocat555]

The Meizu 16 is finally released.  I ordered it from Hong Kong Skyway, which is the only store on Aliexpress listing it.  It was about $500 (16,951.61 baht) in white color and with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of ROM.  Turns out the screen is 6 in, so that's a good upgrade from the 5.46 in screen on the Meizu 15.  They may have upgraded the software of the rear cameras, which was what gsmarena found some problem with (white balance, noise), so I hope so on that.  Supposedly they also improved audio output.

 

 

 

[Rc2702]

I was offered a decent deal on my mobile contract in uk.

 

Pay £95 to cancel early and £75 for a new phone and they offered the new iPhone but only 32gb memory. I don't use iphones myself so it would have been for Mrs but apparently this iPhone comes unlocked buthe will Lock into the first network you put in the sim.

 

The guy told me that after the first 20 minute call.

 

Over the duration of last week I had him on the phone for nearly 2 hours (hands free) I grilled him about everything and when he asked for my card to take payment I told him I've changed my mind.

 

He asked why?

 

 I told him because you told me the phone is unlocked but will Lock into the first sim I insert so it kind of is not an unlocked phone.

 

His deflated tone was pretty priceless I'm sorry to say I enjoyed it but he really was going wide with the unlock info so he deserved it.

 

I have an iPhone for the Mrs from last year a 6 or a 7 s I forget. It's 64gb and cost £25 to unlock. It's ready to go now.

 

My Samsung A5 died yesterday that guy was a real warrior of a phone. I use an s7 now it's OK but I prefer the A5.

[daocat555]

I like small, light phones with Super AMOLED screens so I agree, two nice old Samsung's there.  Maybe take a peek at the Meizu 15.  Good price right now with the 16 out, also a small, light mobile with Super AMOLED screen.

 

Comparison between: Meizu 15, Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017), Samsung Galaxy S7 Exynos

 

[Henryford]

The choice of a high end mobile is obvious now, the new Samsung Note 9, ONLY 35-42,000 baht.

[petedk]

The choice of a high end mobile is obvious now, the new Samsung Note 9, ONLY 35-42,000 baht.

I agree entirely. I am temted to buy it, not having a high end phone for a few years.

I always used to buy the latest flagship models and was willing to pay almost any price just to have them.

After the failure of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, I bought a middle of the range Huawei phone that "would last meuntil Note 8 was released".

I still have my Huawei and after downloading a few apps have found that it suits all my needs.

I realise now that I don't need to spend 30 to 40K baht every year.

Sent from my GT-N5100 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[daocat555]

I think the Samsung Galaxy Note9 is the best of the three, big screen, big battery phones compared here.  But the Huawei has the biggest screen and the best battery.  The Meizu is lighter with a bigger screen, likely better audio output, and a better Antutu score (to be fair at those levels it really doesn't matter; all are blazing fast).  The Samsung is the best, one point of argument:  it is about twice the price of the other two phones here.

 

https://www.devicespecifications.com/en/comparison/ea8e115a87

 

https://www.kimovil.com/en/compare/huawei-honor-note-10,meizu-16th-plus,samsung-galaxy-note-9

 

Compare Meizu 16 Plus vs. Samsung Galaxy Note9 vs. Huawei Honor Note 10 - GSMArena.com

 

I'm not a fan of the Oppo Find X, but going purely by specifications is seems pretty similar to the Samsung, and is somewhat less expensive.

 

https://www.kimovil.com/en/compare/oppo-find-x-global,samsung-galaxy-note-9

 

Comparison between: Oppo Find X, Samsung Galaxy Note9 Exynos

 

Compare Samsung Galaxy Note9 vs. Oppo Find X - GSMArena.com

 

[daocat555]

While entry and mid-range phones have recently been released and become available by the boatload, not much is real new in the High End sector.  Nokia is set for an announcement August 21'rst, which might be the Nokia 9.  Oneplus will most likely release its 6T in October.  The Oppo R17 Pro has had some of its specifications leaked and it's triple camera setup looks hot.  It might be the best Oppo model yet as the Find X has been pretty much shown to be overpriced and underwhelming.  The LG Q8 is expected to be released in August.  To me it seems like kind of a me-too phone.   Lastly, ZTE may be announcing its Axon 9 which might be a nice phone. 

[Ks45672]

Just got Huawei mate 10 Pro and its really better than I expected 

 

Not as fast as the modern flagships in benchmarks but in day to day you wouldn't notice

 

Only 16,500 now in mbk which is pretty reasonable imo

[daocat555]

Great phone and a nice price.  Thanks for posting; enjoy.

[daocat555]

I ordered the Meizu 16th on August 9'th from Hongkong Skyway at Aliexpress and cancelled it today as it had yet to be shipped.  The Meizu 16X is not too far away and might be a better phone for me so I'm gonna wait and see what that looks like.  People interested in a great camera might want to follow pre-announcements of the Oppo R17 Pro which would appear to have a sensational camera.

[Ks45672]

1 hour ago, sarahjo said:

The Samsung Note 8 which I bought around 6 months back is the best High-end mobile I can recommend. A complete package it is. 

It is a very nice piece of technology 

 

I used note series for years and while not cheap, they were the best phones on the market 

 

Temporarily I moved from Samsung to a oneplus 5T  and a Huawei mate 10 Pro  because Samsung are nearly as greedy as apple now and the Chinese brands are getting better each year  while costing about half the amount 

 

I may still move back to Samsung, the spec of the note 9 looks impressive but its 33,900thb and less famous brands like xiaomi  are offering similar spec for 14,700 thesedays 

 

 

https://shopee.co.th/Xiaomi-Mi-Mix-2s-?พิเศษลูกค้าซื้อครั้งแรก-Code-:-NEWTREE-ลด-100-i.5088148.1092792634

 

 

 

[daocat555]

My brief infatuation with the Oppo F17 Pro ended as quickly as it took me to read the rumor sites about the upcoming LG V40 ThinQ.  Probable a better camera setup while touching bases I want such as stereo hi tech speakers.  Really no comparison, and this is before any rumor of a phone with Sony's upcoming hi-res optics.

 

In the next four months I'll be looking for an all round flagship with emphasis on the camera.  And right now the LG V40 ThinQ is at the top of the list.

[daocat555]

The Xaomi Pocophone F1 has a great review at gsmarena who praised it audio output, camera, screen, and performance.  The price of the phone is 10,990 baht and includes a free Mi Band 2

 

Highly recommended. 

[daocat555]

My Umidigi One Pro arrived from dealextreme with a screen protector and a paper rear protector glued to the phone.  I don't like or use screen protectors so if I was keeping the phone I would take it to my local shop and have them remove it and remove the protector on the back of the phone.

 

The speaker output is fairly clean but it doesn't seem very loud.  Since that was a major selling point for me I am disappointed in audio output,  The wireless charger works well and is convenient.  The weight of the phone is 180 grams and with only a 3,250 mAh battery that's a bit overweight.  Build quality I would subjectively rate as below average as the edges where the glass meets the metal border feels a bit sharp when holding it.  It has no "gallery" application and to see stored pictures I need to open up the camera and access them from there.

 

In summary I would say that I am disappointed in this model, and can not recommend it going forward.

 

Meanwhile LazMall at Lazada which had the lowest Prices on the Pocophone F1 6.64 dropped its price today to 9,990 baht in black and got in the blue color for 10,990 baht.  This is an outstanding phone at great price, a price which is lower than any International seller.

 

[daocat555]

My current best lists.

 

Best 6,000 baht phone: the Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite from Lazada.

 

Best 10,000 baht phone: the Xiaomi Pocophone F1 from Lazada.

 

Best 22,000 baht phone: the Huawei P20 Pro from Lazada.

 

Most anticipated upcoming phones:

 

1) Meizu 16X

2) LG V40 ThinQ

 

Best phone with April 2018 release which is my current phone and I'm sticking with it:  Meizu 15

 

Best phone less than 3,000 baht:  Cubot Nova from aliexpress for 2,400 baht.

 

Phones which I hyped a lot and then subsequent reviews brought them down; Xiaomi Mi 8 SE, Umidigi One Pro, and Xiaomi Redmi 6A.

 

Best phone for 4,860 baht: Samsung Galaxy J6 2018 from Lazada.

 

Readers; did I leave out anything?

[upu2]

Samsung. I have tried others and found Samsung to be the best. All smartphones are good but it really comes down to personal preferences. My preference is Samsung as the iPhone I found to be inferior. Some will criticize this but that is my opinion

[Ks45672]

1 hour ago, upu2 said:

Samsung. I have tried others and found Samsung to be the best. All smartphones are good but it really comes down to personal preferences. My preference is Samsung as the iPhone I found to be inferior. Some will criticize this but that is my opinion

Apple are experts at charging the customer more for less, I would say your opinion is spot on

[guzzi850m2]

5 hours ago, upu2 said:

Samsung. I have tried others and found Samsung to be the best. All smartphones are good but it really comes down to personal preferences. My preference is Samsung as the iPhone I found to be inferior. Some will criticize this but that is my opinion

Really?

 

My J7+ is far from perfect, uses old type usb 2, running android 7.1.1, finger print scanner is crap. The pro mode for the cameras are okaish but I can't set that as default, it always default back to auto mode where you can adjust depth of field, which by the way is absolutely crap, it looks so unreal.

Okay tried a working buddy's S9+ and that is nice, very nice I must say, so I will say; Sammy are good for high end phones but so so for mid range phones. 

Sadly I was sort of forced buying the J7 as my UMI super's panel died 2 days before I was going for 2 month work overseas and I needed a phone pronto so I got the J7 as a temp solution.

I don't like the bloatware on the Samsung's, trying to forcing me into using a Samsung account, will NEVER happen, fxxx them.  

I prefer an android One OP, updates from the play store and not from the brand.

Well I ordered a Poco F1, so I will keep an keen eye out for the mail man but doubt I get it before the weekend.

My 8 year old son will get the Sammy.

[daocat555]

Oh, sorry, big omission for the most anticipated phone, the Pixel 3, to me, is the most anticipated phone of them all.  It could possible be announced in less than a month.  And it is the upcoming phone that I am most likely to buy.  So here's wishing a speedy announcement of the Pixel 3.

[Henryford]

The Pocophone F1 was on Lazada for under 10,000 yesterday. Hard to justify paying more with specs like this. Look for another sale on the 9th. Even if you only want a cheaper phone worth paying a bit extra for this IMO. Even the "cheap" OnePlus6 looks expensive.

[upu2]

15 hours ago, guzzi850m2 said:

Really?

 

My J7+ is far from perfect, uses old type usb 2, running android 7.1.1, finger print scanner is crap. The pro mode for the cameras are okaish but I can't set that as default, it always default back to auto mode where you can adjust depth of field, which by the way is absolutely crap, it looks so unreal.

Okay tried a working buddy's S9+ and that is nice, very nice I must say, so I will say; Sammy are good for high end phones but so so for mid range phones. 

Sadly I was sort of forced buying the J7 as my UMI super's panel died 2 days before I was going for 2 month work overseas and I needed a phone pronto so I got the J7 as a temp solution.

I don't like the bloatware on the Samsung's, trying to forcing me into using a Samsung account, will NEVER happen, fxxx them.  

I prefer an android One OP, updates from the play store and not from the brand.

Well I ordered a Poco F1, so I will keep an keen eye out for the mail man but doubt I get it before the weekend.

My 8 year old son will get the Sammy.

Maybe you just dont know how to really use it

[daocat555]

The Pocophone's price went up today; back to 10,990, this time without the free watch/pedometer at that price.  So one thing for sure guzzi knows how to do is time his purchase.  He got the Pocofone at what will probably be its lowest price  for quite a while.

 

Nokia is set to announce something today.  It might be too much to expect that it will be the Nokia 9; but it's possible.  A photo of a Nokia phone with 5 cameras in the back is circulating among the rumor sites.  That might be the Nokia 10.  So much time has elapsed between the Nokia 8 and 9 that Nokia lovers might want to wait for the Nokia 10 even if the Nokia 9 is announced today.

 

For sure the next year is going to bring mobiles with nice cameras.  For me, I have a Nikon SLR which I haven't used since getting to Thailand this time.  The SLR camera is still way superior to any mobile camera, now, and in the upcoming year.

[guzzi850m2]

5 hours ago, upu2 said:

Maybe you just dont know how to really use it

Ha-ha, maybe.

 

I got my Poco F1 today and so far I am extremely happy with it, everything on it is better than the J7+.

[Argus Tuft]

Got my Pocophone F1 today also
Ordered late Sunday night, delivered to Phuket this morning - quick!

Happy happy happy - probably the best spec phone I have owned as I previously went for mid-low level Android models with decent specs, rather than high-end brands or flagship models

Recommend this article for those considering it

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bensin/2018/09/10/xiaomis-300-pocophone-vs-samsungs-1250-galaxy-note-9-its-closer-than-youd-think/#55de714b1a34

[daocat555]

LazMall is typically very fast with delivery.  They often have the best price as well but for the Pocophone 6/128 which about 7 Shops listed today on Lazada the other shops sell it for as low as 12,000 baht while it's 12,990 baht at LazMall.

 

Everybody likes the Pocophone, and so far there are two posters who have gotten it.  Myself I'm saving my satang for the Pixel 3 which has the official announce date of October 9'th.  Sure it will be slower with a smaller battery and screen, while being maybe twice the price, but hey, I like a narrow body with good sound output.

[Argus Tuft]

51 minutes ago, daocat555 said:

LazMall is typically very fast with delivery.  They often have the best price as well but for the Pocophone 6/128 which about 7 Shops listed today on Lazada the other shops sell it for as low as 12,000 baht while it's 12,990 baht at LazMall.

 

Everybody likes the Pocophone, and so far there are two posters who have gotten it.  Myself I'm saving my satang for the Pixel 3 which has the official announce date of October 9'th.  Sure it will be slower with a smaller battery and screen, while being maybe twice the price, but hey, I like a narrow body with good sound output.

 

I saw someone's post last week about a 10,990 deal with a Mi Band fitness thingy (I am not a fitness thingy person)
It sold out pretty quick
2 days ago Lazmall had a snap sale for the phone only for 9,990 baht, so I grabbed it.  Went back up to 10,990 soon after

And yes LazMall was very quick - didn't expect to get it until later in the week, so a nice surprise when it was in the office when I arrived this morning

[Henryford]

Seems to be so many high spec phones coming out now in the 12-15000 baht range. Hard to decide which is the better buy. Soon we will have the 2019 flagships as well, Huawei Mate 20, OnePlus6T, Samsung 10. I already have 2 phones so hard to justify buying others. Better to wait for the 2018 flagships to drop in price, like the Mate 10 now available for @ 16,000.

 

I was tempted by the Poco F1 but put off by the cheap looking plastic back.

Edited September 12, 2018 by Henryford

[daocat555]

Here is what gsmarena says about the plastic frame:

 

The Pocophone F1's body is mainly built of plastic. Xiaomi has made it nice-looking, almost premium.

 

And let's be entirely clear here - the Poco F1 is a flagship and looks like one. Let's not forget the Pocophone is all about keeping the price low while delivering some top-notch speed and experience and that's at the expense of the plastic build.

 

The frame is made out of plastic too - one with a nice matte finish, which is a nice grip booster. The good news is the whole frame is thick and sturdy, and we even mistook it for metal at first glance.

 

So my take, Henryford, is that unless you tend to scratch the back of your phone the plastic back is fine.  In the front there's Gorilla Glass.

 

I did buy a Pocophone for my friend who visited today and picked it up.  The phone indeed looks great.  I wasn't so lucky to get it for the 9,990 baht price but I got it when first announced for 10,990 baht with a free pedometer/watch.  That makes me poster number 3 who reports actually buying the Pocophone, I didn't want to post this earlier as my friend reads Thai Visa and he did not know what he would be getting.

 

Henryford I agree with you that there will be many upcoming announcements in the next month; I can add Samsung on October 11'th, so certainly taking a wait and see approach is reasonable.  I think it is also reasonable to grab a Pocophone now for people who like the specs, as the price can't get much lower.