Lidar is interesting.... would be cool if you were into photography..ish.   when I was working I had a cheap non smart phone for calls and never had to worry about anyone wanting borrow for an extended period... and a IPhone for emails etc. when traveling. 

 

Used Iohone and IPad for work.. mostly because I wasn’t good at adapting to Android phone operating systems.... 

 

Thanks fir posting the topic makes fir interesting reading.. ..

On 2/4/2022 at 6:43 PM, DezLez said:

You get to meet more muggers the more expensive the phone.

Unfortunately an expensive phone stolen from someone is just a brick of no use to the thief. I would say most theives probably know this already. Good luck getting into an iPhone or top Samsung phone.

A high amount of the "middle priced" phones have more processing power and more gadgets built in than most people every are going to use.
You can easily add programs to your phone to make the phone suit to your needs.
Thus, I see no benefit to buy a very expensive phone unless you want to buy one to impress everybody.
On a sidenote, I see a lot of people with the latest model of I-phone or Samsung and only use that phone for watching Facebook, youtube or whatever social media that can be watched easily on EVERY phone.

Just over a year ago, after much bullying from wife, sister-in-law and many family members, I succumbed and bought my granddaughter a 16000Thb Smart phone for her 18th birthday.

In December she went up to university and I discovered that she had left it behind. I offered to send it to her but she declined. "i don't need it Grandpa, I can do everything on my I-Pad, besides it is too easy to steal!".

3 hours ago, JensenZ said:

Unfortunately an expensive phone stolen from someone is just a brick of no use to the thief. I would say most theives probably know this already. Good luck getting into an iPhone or top Samsung phone.

Come on, you can still show that phone to everybody. Hey, I have an iPhone! ???? 

45 minutes ago, Maybole said:

Just over a year ago, after much bullying from wife, sister-in-law and many family members, I succumbed and bought my granddaughter a 16000Thb Smart phone for her 18th birthday.

In December she went up to university and I discovered that she had left it behind. I offered to send it to her but she declined. "i don't need it Grandpa, I can do everything on my I-Pad, besides it is too easy to steal!".

Probably the other kids had they newest 40k phone and she didn't want to be seen with such a "cheap" phone. ???? 

4 hours ago, DJ54 said:

Lidar is interesting.... would be cool if you were into photography..ish.  

I knew about LIDAR from robot vacuum cleaners, they use that technology successfully.

And when I used a home design program and I measured an apartment I found an article about using a phone with LIDAR for that. The idea is like: Point that phone at a couple of corners and the software will calculate all the distances. Interesting! But I am not willing to spend 20k extra for a phone for a function which is nice but which I will only use a few times.

iPhones are made of high-quality materials, which goes a long way in helping them maintain their resale value. Apple phones also remain as flagship models and up-to-date longer, as there is only one manufacturer and new and better phones aren't launched as often as Android phones.
 

 

Apple world for me thanks. Fantastic after-sales support, no matter what country I’m in. 

13 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

In my original post/question I asked for unique functions i.e. like LIDAR or anything else which is something new and not just something better.

 

Obviously if someone wants a better than average camera on a phone then he needs a better than average phone.

Personally I am happy with the average camera quality of average phones. They are probably as good as the best phone cameras from a few years ago. I see pictures clear and sharp, definitely good enough for the pictures with I make. If someone is a (want to be) instagram star then I guess the latest camera and latest image manipulation software is a must. 

Here's a couple of photos from my cheap Redmi Note 9, look decent to me

On 2/4/2022 at 6:43 PM, DezLez said:

You get to meet more muggers the more expensive the phone.

So true, I had all the expensive Sj!t in my home country. Look at me how good i am. I thought that made me a better person. But not really. It only brings in a lot of hassle. I will never fall for the expensive rubbish anymore. A good running second hand car, a comfi little house and a good life with the miss and my mates is worth much more.

On 2/4/2022 at 6:27 PM, Hummin said:

The only good reason for an normal user to have expensive phone, is because of the camera! 

 

I rather spend my money on an laptop or tablet, and buy a cheap phone, since I already have a decent camera. I prefer a good camera on phone to, but 40k? I was not ready to spend that kind of money for a new phone now.

 

Bought a decent Nordplus at 13k instead. Not the same camera, but good enough for social use.

For most of us that don't work the cheap phones are ok. A lot of my Thai friends that work need the latest and greatest phones so they can download the latest app's purely for work.

6 minutes ago, vandeventer said:

For most of us that don't work the cheap phones are ok. A lot of my Thai friends that work need the latest and greatest phones so they can download the latest app's purely for work.

Again, I value a good camera on phone, and for me the only reason to buy a more expensive phone.

8 minutes ago, vandeventer said:

For most of us that don't work the cheap phones are ok. A lot of my Thai friends that work need the latest and greatest phones so they can download the latest app's purely for work.

I use a cheap brick with large battery Shock and water resistant with a simple camera for my Google maps/gps solution on the motorbike.

 

Some of the more expensive phones with optical stabilizer like the newest iphones get damaged because of the vibrations from the bike and riding.

On 2/5/2022 at 12:00 AM, OneMoreFarang said:

Hey, take it easy!

Am I wrong when I mention that expensive (broken) glass outside?

 

My current phone cost about 8000B. I bought it because it had a faster processor and more memory than my old phone. So yes, I appreciate when apps run fast and I can use a couple of them at the same time.

I didn't have any speed or too-many-apps problem on that 8000B phone and even if a more expensive phone would be faster I know that I don't need that extra speed for what I am doing. I don't play 3D games on my phone.

But there could be other "new" features and not just "only better" functions which I missed. This is why I asked and this is why I read all the post here.

 

Apart from that I have a powerful desktop computer and a high quality notebook. Most of the time my notebook is unused. But when I go on a trip and I have to work then I will certainly do it on that notebook. I.e. writing long mails or working on an Excel sheet on a little phone is no fun.

Agree plus trying to send messages on mobile phones is not easy if you have fat fingers like me , so the laptop is my choice .  Your 8000 baht price range can get you a decent phone with a fast processor but you have to know that with budget phones made in China , Chinese phone brands are loading up their budget handsets with malware for potential spying on users it's been revealed. ...  Chinese brands sold  include Realme, Oppo, Viacom and Xiaomi and Huawei, Oppo has also been identified by Norton Security as having malware installed. Try to avoid buying anything from China

12 minutes ago, superal said:

Try to avoid buying anything from China

Does that include submarines?

On 2/4/2022 at 7:43 PM, KannikaP said:

My Huawei Y9 2018 is still working perfectly, partly because I DO NOT get it out when it is raining. Bht 7000 !

Is that the one with the pop up camera? My daughter had the one with the pop up camera and it broke every 6 months or so costing 500baht to repair each time. No mishandling by her, just a recognised fault with the phone. She did use it a lot though with Tik TOk, Selfies and video messaging etc. Launched it in the bin after 3 repairs and got her a Samsung. I'll never buy another phone with moving parts again.

15 minutes ago, mrbojangles said:

Is that the one with the pop up camera? My daughter had the one with the pop up camera and it broke every 6 months or so costing 500baht to repair each time. No mishandling by her, just a recognised fault with the phone. She did use it a lot though with Tik TOk, Selfies and video messaging etc. Launched it in the bin after 3 repairs and got her a Samsung. I'll never buy another phone with moving parts again.

No moving parts on mine. Camera is as on most phones. Cannot fault it after 4 years.

I got the best already.

Why should I upgrade?

1 minute ago, Muhendis said:

I got the best already.

Why should I upgrade?

In the early 90"s I had one of those, battery pack required a large bag.

1 hour ago, superal said:

but you have to know that with budget phones made in China , Chinese phone brands are loading up their budget handsets with malware for potential spying on users it's been revealed. ...

I see it like this: With a Chinese phone the Chinese might spy on me.

With an American phone, especially outside of the USA, and/or with American cloud services, I can be sure that the NSA and maybe others spy on me.

What a choice! 

14 minutes ago, Muhendis said:

I got the best already.

Why should I upgrade?

I wonder how the kids would react if you show up with one of those.

Probably: Wow, where can I get that one?

Worst case put a sticker on it and people will love to buy it.

 

 

On 2/4/2022 at 7:12 PM, The Hammer2021 said:

An expensive  smart phone  is likely  to be better quality

Yes, but the OP is asking, apart from maybe the camera, what does an android smartphone costing around 20.000Bt have what one costing around 10.000Bt hasn't?

2 hours ago, KannikaP said:

No moving parts on mine. Camera is as on most phones. Cannot fault it after 4 years.

Just asked her. She had the Y9S (2019 I think) which has the pop up camera. You made the smart move

11 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Come on, you can still show that phone to everybody. Hey, I have an iPhone! ???? 

And there you hit on the main reason to buy expensive phones. Few buyers really know what's inside them - it's just the thought (and appearance) of having the best.

 

An expensive phone from 5 years ago is probably inferior to most cheap phones bought today. I have a regular stream of hand-me-down expensive phones from my wife, when she needs a new model. If I needed to buy one myself, I would be well served by a 5000 baht phone. Right now she sports a 43K iPhone 13 Pro, and last year's Samsung Galaxy Note (about 45k). They will be mine eventually LOL. At least I have a good look at the latest top models. My currently lineup is an iPhone 6 (2014) and an iPhone XS (2018) and a cheap Vivo from 2019.

I would also assume that there are more facilities in the expensive phone than in the cheaper one. For example Fingerprinting can be blocked in some of the expensive phones which may not be available in a cheaper phone

8 minutes ago, Photoguy21 said:

I would also assume that there are more facilities in the expensive phone than in the cheaper one. For example Fingerprinting can be blocked in some of the expensive phones which may not be available in a cheaper phone

That reminds me of my friend with this new iPhone. In times of Covid and masks he would love to use fingerprints but it seems his (the newest?) iPhone only allows face recognition and no fingerprint scanning anymore... 

5 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I wonder how the kids would react if you show up with one of those.

Probably: Wow, where can I get that one?

Worst case put a sticker on it and people will love to buy it.

 

 

Ah! 

You have got to the core of the problem and it gives me the pips no end!

6 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I wonder how the kids would react if you show up with one of those.

Probably: Wow, where can I get that one?

Worst case put a sticker on it and people will love to buy it.

 

 

 

That'll have them stumped !

 

To answer the question of the OP, it really depends on what your use is really. Horses for courses and all that.

 

I went for a functional "do the job" for what I want, occasional calls/sms pictures sometimes no heavy use in any area. Guanteed. good support, ease of parts if required, so I went with a Samsung A12. 

Main reason, exceptional battery life, lasting 4-5 days between charges.Good camera (for my use). All around,does the job !

WRT so called "Smartphones" I believe in the old adage of "A jack of all trades and master of none".

If I want something to make phones calls and comply with all the stupid security OTP's etc which we all need nowadays I have a basic  "Smartphone" that does just that and have had my present one for about 5 years, in Thailand. 

 

If I want to take GOOD photos I use my digital Camera. 

 

If I want to use the Internet and download stuff I use either a laptop or a computer. 

 

If I want to read a book I either read an actual book at home or use my good old fashioned Sony PSR reader (long before Kindle came along and stuffed it all up!)

 

I am a great believer in the right tool for the right job, and to use yet another old saying, don't put all your (breakable/steal-able/lose-able/enviable) eggs in one basket!